My Week With Marilyn Shows the Personal Style of a Legend

If I were asked who were the celebrities I’d like to meet via a time machine, my answer would be Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. The two stars are so iconic that I wish that I could see them in real life. I like Audrey Hepburn because of her role in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” but I have never watched any of Marilyn’s movie. Photos of Marilyn have appeared everywhere as a famous cultural icon, but do the photos really show her personal style? Watching “My Week With Marilyn” will surely help you answer that question.

It’s undoubtedly going to be an interesting movie to watch as some scenes in the movie show the private life of Marilyn and you can see the elaborate wardrobes that reflect her personal style. It’s also no surprise that My Week With Marilyn is nominated for a couple of categories in the 2012 Oscars: Best Actress in a Leading Role and Actor in a Supporting Role. The movie documented the life of Marilyn during the 1956 production of “The Prince and The Showgirl” in England and Michelle Williams plays Marilyn Monroe in the movie. At the time depicted in the movie, Marilyn was 30 and already with her third husband Arthur Miller.

Jill Taylor the costume designer created the costumes based on photos of The Prince and Showgirl’s cast and crew. “What struck me was how she was way ahead of her time, in terms of simplicity. I’ve got loads of stills of her in England just riding her bike in a big chunky sweater in a pair of jeans and loafers. Very simple. Very easy. She was a Calvin Klein girl before there was a Calvin Klein. That’s the side I wanted to get across in the film,” Taylor explained about Marilyn’s personal style to Vanity Fair. In realizing the look, Taylor designed the costumes based on Marilyn’s photos within a neutral palette with colors like camel, black and white.

The movie wardrobe includes a white dress when Marilyn was filming “The Prince and Showgirl” that was recreated for 11 days. Taylor recreated one dress only because of the limited budget. On the fourth day, the zip broke. “The way the dress was constructed, you’d have had to take the whole dress apart to get it out. So Vicki (costume assistant) stitched Michelle into that dress every day. Poor Michelle had to stand there for ages, and poor Vicki had to stitch her in! Every time Michelle went outside or ate something, Vicki ran after her to throw a wrap over her,” says the costume designer.

What was the secret to achieve a Monroe-like body since Michelle’s figure is different with Marilyn’s? Jill Taylor said, “The magic of cinema achieves that shape!” While the movie producer Harvey Weinstein confessed to the Huffington Post, “we added something to her butt”. Moreover, the costume designer gave her a conical 50′s bra from a company called What Katie Did which specializes in retro underwear.

So are you a fan of Marilyn and have you seen the movie?

Rizka – editor of www.fashionesedaily.com – Style & Beauty with Attitude

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