In my last few posts I have been looking at fashion inspiration and thinking about who, over the years, has inspired me. Over the years my own personal style has remained relatively steady, in that I've not swung from being a goth to dressing like I work in a bank. There are definitely items in my wardrobe, that are 30 years old, and if they still fitted me, I'd still be wearing them! I've always loved the fashions of the '60s and '70s, and other than a brief interest in 1950s Americana when I was about 11 (think full circle skirts, ballet pumps and tight tops - I blame it on watching too many episodes of Happy Days), my style has always gone back to a love of those two decades, with a hefty pinch of whatever decade I'm passing through at the time. But how do we come to dress like we do? What informs our style?
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| 1950s Happy Days style |
When I was in the sixth form, I had a friend who would come in every day dressed in a completely different style. One day, she'd be full on decked out in hip hop gear - adidas tracksuits and big gold hoops, the next day she'd come in dressed as a Chelsea Queen in preppie Ralph Lauren with a jumper slung over her shoulders. Whatever style she chose she always perfected it to the minutest detail, and I always thought she rocked her looks. There was a lot of sniggering behind her back though - that she was 'inauthentic', 'dressing up' 'didn't know who she was'. But when you think about it - isn't that part of growing up? We'll call her 'Alex' - Alex's experimentation to me was just her getting to know what she liked and expressing that through her fashion. Any anyway, isn't fashion meant to be fun?
And whose personality is that staid? One day you might wake up and feel like a rock star and dig out your PVC trousers and a t-shirt. Another day if the sun is shining and your serotonin flowing, you might want to wear something floaty and flowery. Equally eclectic and divergent are the style icons who influenced and informed my own style over the years.
In part 1, I looked at 90s fashion icon Kate Moss and 60s rock god and his muse, Jim Morrison and Pamela Courson whose laid back rock'n'roll vibes influenced a generation. In Part 2, I will go back to the '80s, when Marilyn Monroe and Madonna were the strong female that inspired this young girl. And in the case of Marilyn Monroe, it's proof that it's not all about the clothes, but the unique and irreplaceable aura that she imbued.
When I say that Marilyn Monroe inspired my style, I don't mean that at age 12 I started bleaching my hair and wearing evening dresses to school, what I mean is that I was fascinated by her glamour, her aura, her iconic and immediately recognisable style. I would watch all her movies - Some Like It Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes being favourites - devour books on her, collect memorabilia - I even had an album of her songs. And it wasn't just me - many of my friends were equally obsessed. Marilyn Monroe is a right of passage for many young girls (and boys) growing up. She is a pop culture phenomenon. But she was also a fashion revolutionary in her time that still inspires today.
The influence she has had on popular culture is simply immeasurable. Like other legends of her time, such as James Dean and Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe fascinated the masses with her sensuous, glamorous good looks, and her classic movie star appeal.
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| Marilyn's at home style was much more laid back and classix |
Whether it was due to her tragically young death,, her beauty, her work or her charisma, Marilyn’s legend extended far beyond the time of her passing, at the early age of 36. Films such as Gentleman Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch, and How to Marry a Millionaire were among her most mainstream film roles, and they were also her most famous. She later appeared in hits like Some Like it Hot and Let’s Make Love and the Misfits, which further secured her historical spot on the Hollywood starlet map.
Marilyn essentially invented the bombshell. In the 1950’s when her career exploded, her image was viewed as vulgar and offensive by many. Her barely-there outfits, her breathy voice and blatant sexuality were seen as highly improper.
Monroe used it to her advantage, knowing full well that it would set her apart and get her more work. Little did she know it would totally transform American culture. Marilyn Monroe single-handedly made it OK to be sexually attractive. Her image has since become an icon of femininity and sexuality.
She embraced her curvaceous figure, highlighted her assets and minimised her flaws. In using her body as a tool, she mixed sex and fashion yielding the image we know today.
Marilyn Monroe’s style lessons extend further than how to wear figure-hugging gowns and platinum-blonde hair. The actress’s beguiling take on fashion altered Hollywood as she knew it: in an era of prim Peter Pan collars and stiff petticoats, she made it acceptable for women to embrace their own sexuality.
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| Monroe in her green Pucci dress |
”She knew exactly how to get the effect she wanted with black jersey, fine silk-crepe or a solid nimbus of skintight sequins’‘ according to Meredith Etherington-Smith, ex-editor of Paris Vogue. She worked closely with some of the costume designers from her films to create looks for herself off-camera. She found little known designers and propelled them to fame by wearing their designs (Ferragamo, Gucci, Oleg Cassini, Emilio Pucci, etc.) She even stole ideas from other milieus and used them to her advantage, such as wearing a thong under a dress to eliminate panty-lines, after having seen the garments at a burlesque show.
She was a fashion visionary who brought body-conscious clothing to the masses. We owe her much more than we think, her influence is immeasurable.
Traces of her signature aesthetic can be glimpsed throughout the history of pop culture, with fans as illustrious as Madonna having imitated Monroe's style. For the singer’s Material Girl music video in 1984, she even replicated the strapless satin pink sheath and evening gloves worn by the starlet in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Whether it’s a shade of platinum, a bold red lip or a plunging neckline, countless celebrities continue to mimic Marilyn Monroe’s fashion, heightening their own sensuality in the process.
Marilyn’s ability to spot up-and-coming designers made her a fashion visionary.
Before they were household names, she wore Ferragamo pumps, carried Louis Vuitton bags, and donned the designs of Norman Norell, and Lanvin. On film, Marilyn was dressed exquisitely by Oscar-winning designers Jean Louis, Orry Kelly and William Travilla, who dressed Monroe in eight of her films.
Monroe’s eye for fashion was innate. She often adapted dresses to suit her shape, as well as to enhance her effervescent persona. After choosing an emerald green Norman Norell dress for the 1962 Golden Globes, she had a halter-neck strap attached to give her silhouette maximum impact.
“She [always] knew exactly how to get the effect she wanted with black jersey, fine silk crepe or a solid nimbus of skintight sequins’’, said Meredith Etherington-Smith, Paris Vogue’s former London Editor.
Although Monroe sang about diamonds being a girl’s best friend, she rarely adorned herself in ostentatious jewellery, opting instead to let her dresses – and her shape – command the spotlight.
Renowned for favouring Emilio Pucci dresses and blouses, Monroe was often photographed in the label’s striking prints and shades. Yet it was a much-adored apple-green shift that exemplified her relationship with the fashion house.She even left explicit instructions to her long time make-up artist and friend, Allan 'Whitey' Snyder, to ensure she be buried in the dress and that he do her make-up as only he knew how.
Travilla created some of the most recognisable movie costumes of all time for her. She became his muse and even for a brief time, his lover. “Marilyn has the most fantastically perfect figure in the world,” he told Screen Life in 1954. “No matter how you dress her, she looks sexy.”
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| Monroe in her knife pleat gold lame Travilla dress |
Marilyn wore another creation by William Travilla at an awards reception when she was named ‘Fastest Rising Star of 1952’. As has happened in the past, her choice of attire overshadowed the event. The dress was made from knife-pleated gold lamé, with a halter neckline and style lines that are somewhat Egyptian.
The entire gown was created from ‘one complete circle of fabric’. The authors of Marilyn in Fashion, Christopher Nickens and George Zeno, write: “By twenty-first century standards, the dress seems tame (especially since the neckline had been altered upwards several inches for this event), but it was so tight Monroe had to be sewn into it. That, combined with her sexy walk, created pandemonium at the award presentation.”
“When she wiggled through the audience to come to the podium,” wrote columnist James Bacon, “her derriere looked like two puppies fighting under a silk sheet.”
One of her most recognisable looks is from a scene she shot in the film The Seven Year Itch. The famous image of Marilyn Monroe from the ‘subway’ scene, when the subway rattles beneath her, Marilyn stands over a vent that swirls her skirt around her waist. In Marilyn in Fashion, the authors write: “The photographic images from that night continue to be some of the most reproduced in history. The white halter dress she wore became an instant iconic fashion symbol.
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| Monroe in her famous 'subway' dress |
Paired with her blonde curls, bright red lipstick, dramatic eyelashes, and high-arched brows, Marilyn created a signature look all on her own, which she is still recognised for today. It is both classic and unique, and will forever be identified as “the” Monroe style.
The images from the subway shoot struck a nerve immediately upon publication and signalled Monroe’s ascension to pop culture queen. Even in the midst of the buttoned-down 1950s, few could resist the unique combination of creamy beauty, sexual allure, and playfulness that Monroe conveyed so naturally in this scene and the photographs it generated. (This shoot was one of the first in which a major star’s exposed panties were showing in mainstream studio publicity).”
Nowadays, overt sexuality in Hollywood and throughout pop culture is barely new nor exciting. But in the early 1950s, it was revolutionary for a woman to celebrate and accentuate her feminine shape. Without Marilyn Monroe’s style lessons, the landscapes of contemporary fashion and film wouldn't be the same.
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| Madonna's early 80s look was accessible and easily copied |
When it comes to stylish pop culture icons, few come close to Madonna. After all, if there could be one word to describe the singer, it would be “chameleon.” With a career that spans four decades, Madonna’s style has constantly changed with the times. In the process, she has created an endless list of trends among her loyal fans.
Madonna has packaged and repackaged herself many times during her lengthy and illustrious career. Her influence as a fashion leader has been consistent from the very beginning of her career. Her style has been watched and followed from the first moment she appeared on MTV. In my case, it was Top of the Pops.
Madonna incorporated punk-influenced styles, such as the heavy makeup, fishnet tights and rubber bracelets, which blurred the line between pop and rebellion, one of the keys to her phenomenal success. In 1984 Madonna blurred this line further as she shocked audiences by wearing a punked-up bridal ensemble with her signature 'Boy Toy' belt and writhed on stage to 'Like A Virgin'.
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| Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan |
In her videos for 'Lucky Star' and 'Borderline' she wore her own version of punk-black miniskirt rolled down to expose her navel, mesh knit tank tops with her bra peeking through, black lace gloves, stiletto heeled boots, a 'Boy Toy' belt, armfuls of rubber bracelets, black leggings, crucifixes, teased hair with an oversized bow and heavy makeup. Madonna's look spawned 'Madonna wannabes' - of which I was one. Legions of mostly young girls who copied her accessible, fun, punk-but-girly style. The craze for the look was only heightened with her appearance in the Johnathan Demme movie she starred in with Rosanna Arquette - Madonna pretty much playing herself - 'Desperately Seeking Susan'. She spent most of the film wearing a lacy bra top under a beautiful black and gold embellished jacket (that I have spent nearly 40 years trying to find a replica of) , wildly accessorised with stacks of bracelets, lace gloves, a thick black hair bow, and strands upon strands of necklaces.
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| Madonna's Like a Virgin look |
Her bridal look from the 'Like a Virgin' video was similarly copied and a dressed down version of the look worn at the 1984 MTV Music Awards ceremony. She wore a white lace corset and 'bridal' ensemble accessorised with her 'Boy Toy' belt and strands of pearls. It was a controversial look at the time, but the song was so good, and accompanied with just the right amount of 'girly' and 'fun' that like her idol Marilyn Monroe before her, she countered the negativity with her charisma, and just the right amount of tongue in cheek to silence her critics .Her look permeated street styles of the mid-1980s. Her influence and the popularity of this 'early Madonna' look was even copied two decades later when Britney Spears and Christina Aguillera paid homage to her look onstage, highlighting her legacy as an artist both musically and in fashion.
To a young girl in 1984, learning about fashion and clothes, Madonna's early style was a perfect introduction. This iconic, easily accessible, rebellious look created by Madonna was quick to catch on amongst teenagers across the world: Macy's created a 'Madonnaland' selling Madonna-licensed and -inspired fashion and Madonna-themed boutiques cropped up across the world causing the look to become a high street staple throughout the 1980s. Even other artists, such as Banarama, adopted this 'Madonna' style.
Note the graffiti jean jacket, hair bow, trainers and stacked-up bangles in the picture above– just a few of her style staples, and for a young girl with no money, easy to copy. Her style early on was not the high end, cone bra, Jean Paul Gaultier designs of the 90s Madonna, but instead involved items that could be homemade, thrifted, crafted. It was a marketing coup, because her fanbase were able to emulate her look easily and cheaply, creating an army of dedicated young clones. Her early success wasn’t simply a result of her hit pop songs, it was also achieved through her bold, easily recreated fashion choices. Madonna's style was an eclectic, colourful, seemingly thrown-together urban look - it was a look that would make her an icon for a new generation of youngsters.
Today, although her style is constantly changing, Madonna continues to both shock and inspire: she once said “I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.” Her iconic ‘80s look however, remains amongst her most recognisable and influential.
Part 3 available next week
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