Style Icons: Marilyn Monroe is a ‘dress-up paper doll book’ with Australian artist Kelly Smith’s illustrations accompanied by text from Elizabeth Weitzman.
“Celebrate the timeless allure of one of Hollywood’s most captivating style icons, Marilyn Monroe, with the deluxe paper doll book.
Marilyn Monroe is the ultimate symbol of silver screen glamour – an icon whose beauty, charisma and style continue to captivate the world.
This elegant paper doll book features a press-out Marilyn mannequin and ten of her most unforgettable looks, exquisitely illustrated by artist Kelly Smith. From the billowing white halter dress of The Seven Year Itch to the glittering pink Gentlemen Prefer Blondes gown, each outfit captures Marilyn’s playful spirit and enduring magnetism.
With dazzling costumes designed by legends like William Travilla and Jean Louis, Style Icons: Marilyn Monroe is a celebration of Hollywood’s golden age and the woman who defined it.”
Beginning in 1953, we see Marilyn as she appeared for LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt in a black polo-neck sweater and checked capri pants. The glamour queen emerges in a red sequinned gown (and headdress) worn during ‘Two Little Girls From Little Rock,’ the opening number from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
This classic comedy includes one of Marilyn’s greatest musical moments, as she shuns suitors for diamonds, and dances through an opulent world of pink.
The Seven Year Itch (1955) gave us the immortal image of Marilyn standing over a subway grate, as her white dress billows in the breeze.
Also featured are Marilyn’s ‘Bye Bye Baby’ ensemble from Blondes; costumes from Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Misfits (1961); the casual chic glimpsed in photo shoots with Sam Shaw and George Barris; and the shimmering beaded she wore while singing ‘Happy Birthday Mr President’ in 1962.
Among the earliest paper doll tributes was an ‘authorised’ booklet published by Saalfield in 1953, and later reissued for the ‘American Beauties’ series – it is now a collectors’ item.
Perhaps the gold standard of the genre, Marilyn Monroe Paper Dolls was first published in 1979 and is still in print today.
The prolific fashion iIlustrator Tom Tierney revisited Marilyn’s style in 2012 for a limited edition title commissioned by the Travilla estate.
And finally, other items of interest include Marilyn Henry’s 2007 booklet; Marilyn Monroe: Your Personal Fashion Consultant (2009), by Michael and Karan Feder; and Some Like It Haute, a ‘magnetic dress-up set.’
The Marilyn Report 