Marilyn Monroe’s White Dress from The Seven Year Itch

William Travilla’s design for Monroe in The Seven Year Itch became an icon of innocence and sexual suggestion. The billowing, white halterneck dress, best remembered for the moment it gets blown up around her waist over a subway gate, embodies the ideal of feminine beauty in the 1950s. The soft fabric and simple cut of the dress communicate a delicacy, while the billowy effect gives it a playful, even flirtatious element.

 “It blows up again, but she doesn’t push it down this time, and it flies up over her head, clearly revealing two pairs of underwear that, because of the bright lights, do not protect Ms. Monroe’s modesty quite as much as she might have liked. (6)"  This dress helped solidify Monroe’s status as the consummate “sex symbol” of her era — a persona based in vulnerability yet endowed with overwhelming power. As one component of Monroe’s larger cultural legacy, this gown embodies the ways in which fashion played a role in creating a narrative surrounding femininity, sexuality and innocence, beyond its practical use. Modern designers, have taken inspiration from this image, reframing it to convey empowerment and confidence, stripping down the granularity of the texture of the garment to reflect form and silhouette, with strength in femininity. 

This dress, therefore, represented a pivotal moment in how fashion reflected and influenced the female experience in popular culture.