Much has been said over the years about Marilyn Monroe’s curves and voluptuous figure, with some suggesting that she was up to a 16 in size. Well thank GOD! these rumours can finally be put to rest, following a Timesonline Women feature, in which the journalist documents trying on a whole range of Marilyn’s clothes.

Marilyn Monroe

Timesonline reports:

Was Marilyn Monroe a size 16?
An exhibition of Marilyn Monroe’s costume reveals the truth about those famous curves

There has been much debate about Marilyn Monroe’s vital statistics. She possessed one of the most celebrated bodies in the world and the ludicrous rumours, hyperbole and aura of enigma that surrounded her image were all part of the Marilyn machine. They certainly contributed to the extraordinary level of fame she had acquired by the time she was found naked and dead in bed on August 5, 1962, at just 36 years old.

After all these years, mystery and conspiracy theories still surround her death, but when it comes to her physical attributes, I can put a few facts straight. Contrary to received wisdom, she was not a voluptuous size 16 – quite the opposite. While she was undeniably voluptuous – in possession of an ample bosom and a bottom that would look at home gyrating in a J-Lo video – for most of the early part of her career, she was a size 8 and even in her plumper stages, was no more than a 10. I can tell you this from experience because a few weeks ago, I tried to try on her clothes.

The opportunity arose thanks to David Gainsborough Roberts, a retired investment banker, whose collection of Monroe’s costumes and clothes is currently on display in Jersey. I have always been a massive Marilyn fan. When I was 11 years old, I took full advantage of my parents’ separation by insisting my loving, generous father spend his weekend visits buying me Monroe paraphernalia. By the time their divorce came through, I owned almost every inanimate object in existence – tin cigarette cases, dustbins, badges, postcards, combs, mirrors, books and magazines – anything, as long as it had a reproduction of the screen idol’s face on it. (One year later, much to my long-suffering father’s horror, I did it all over again with Madonna.)

And so, rather egotistically, I’d had visions of myself hamming it up in Monroe’s actual outfits – but in a punky kind of way, a bit like Madonna in Material Girl. I wanted to get to the heart of this enigmatic woman, and I guessed the closest I could get to being in her skin would be being in her second skin.

One of the first things that struck me about the costumes Monroe wore in her various films is that they were designed with one thing in mind: nudity. Even when they did cover her up – an essential requirement given the studios’ general censorship and the Hays Code (a set of guidelines governing what was “morally acceptable” on screen until 1968) – they were layered with suggestion. It was the costume designer’s task to make the ultimate showcase for that famous body while remaining within the realms of decency.

One of the outfits considered most risqué was a black, heavily beaded, Twenties-inspired dress, by legendary costume designer William Travilla, which she wore in Some Like it Hot. Gainsborough Roberts bought it through Christie’s for $38,500 in 1993 and it got its outing in the latter part of the film in which Sugar, Monroe’s character, sings the beautifully dejected ballad, I’m Through With Love.

Although she eventually won a Golden Globe for Best Actress, Monroe was, famously, a nightmare during the filming of Some Like It Hot. As Billy Wilder rather harshly put it:

[read more here]

Well I’m glad that’s all sorted out!

I very much doubt the same will be said in 50 years time when they try on J-Lo and Kim Kardashian’s clothes.

They’ll be like, “Surprisingly, whilst it did appear to be an eight man tent, it was in fact only big enough for three people!”

Ooh!

I know, I’m going STRAIGHT to hell!