Marilyn Monroe dress from 'The Seven-Year Itch' sells for $4.6 million | Ministry of Gossip | Los Angeles Times Marilyn Monroe dress from 'The Seven-Year Itch' sells for $4.6 million June 20, 2011 | 6:49 am The dress that famously billowed up around Marilyn Monroe as she stood over a subway vent while filming "The Seven-Year Itch" sold for $4.6 million on Saturday at an auction of memorabilia belonging to actress Debbie Reynolds. "Oh, do you feel the breeze from the subway?" Monroe said in the 1955 film. "Isn't it delicious?" Delicious indeed -- the winning bid for the "subway grate" dress easily outstripped the $1 million to $2 million estimated value placed on the frock by dealer Profiles in History. Reynolds, 79, had hoped to see the ivory-colored rayon-acetate halter dress with pleated skirt housed one day in a museum that would hold her massive collection of costumes, key props, movie posters, original costume sketches and more, assembled over the course of 50 years from studios including 20th Century Fox and MGM.

A planned project in Tennessee went bankrupt in 2009, leaving the actress with creditors to pay. Reynolds, of course, is mother to actress and writer Carrie Fisher and was married to Eddie Fisher until he left her for Elizabeth Taylor. The Saturday auction, held at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, presented 700 items from Reynolds' collection, including Elizabeth Taylor's ceremonial headdress from "Cleopatra," the blue "Dorothy" dress worn by Judy Garland during the first two weeks of filming "The Wizard of Oz" and a Santa suit from the original "Miracle on 34th Street." A second auction will be held in December. The winning bidder for Monroe's subway dress will add another $1 million in commission, CNN points out. Sound like a sign of a world going quietly crazy? Fear not: An original poster from the 1944 Ingrid Bergman-Charles Boyer film "Gaslight" was valued at a relatively sane $300-$500. Next major pop-culture item on the auction radar: Michael Jackson's original "Thriller" jacket, which goes on the block this coming weekend.

RELATED: The Seven Year Itch (1955) - Connections - IMDb The Seven Year Itch (1955) Connections Showing all 240 items "Why does helen keep talking about moving into one of those enormous buildings that look like Riot In Cell Block 11" Referenced in Bewitched: The Catnapper (1966) (TV Episode) Endora references the film's title. Tinseltown (1980) Poster seen on wall. Frasier: Selling Out (1993) (TV Episode) referenced by Niles Hercules (1997) One scene during the "Zero to Hero" sequence depicts Hercules and Pegasus riding through a muse-like constellation. As they do, the muse's dress in the constellation blows up, just as Marilyn Monroe's character's dress did. Farscape: Revenging Angel (2001) (TV Episode) Aeryn imitates Marilyn Monroe's character from this movie. The movie "The Seven Year Itch" is mentioned by Val Guest during his interview.

Cleavage (2002) (TV Movie) Saudade (2003) in a club, there is a picture of Marilyn Monroe on a grating holding her dress as it blows upwards Rottweiler (2004) a woman has a blonde wig and the white dress that Marilyn Monroe wore in this movie Battlestar Galactica: Collaborators (2006) (TV Episode) Number Three visits Baltar wearing the white dress similar to the one worn by Marilyn Monroe in the film NCIS: Witch Hunt (2006) (TV Episode) Abby spinning around in her Marilyn Monroe costume resembles the famous scene from this film Jeopardy!: Episode #26.34 (2009) (TV Episode) Subject of an $800 clue in the category "Movies by the Numbers" Cold Case: Bullet (2010) (TV Episode) The harater Claire is based off of Marilyn Monroe.

A poster for a film that Monroe starred in called The Seven Year Itch is seen in Paul's video store.i Parenthood: Opening Night (2011) (TV Episode) "Marilyn Monroe" in her white dress Smash: The Workshop (2012) (TV Episode) The movie is mentioned by name. Particka: Episode #4.4 (2012) (TV Episode) Marián wears famous Marilyn Monroe dress. Particka: Episode #7.9 (2014) (TV Episode) Michal appeared in Marilyn Monroe's famous dress. The Chase Australia: Episode #1.13 (2015) (TV Episode) Mentioned by Andrew O'Keefe as a possible answer, and as the correct answer, to a question about the 1955 film in which Marilyn Monroe famously stands on a subway grate wearing a white dress asked when Jacob and the Chaser go head to head.

Marilyn Monroe's white dress beats Madonna's conical bra to top poll of most iconic outfits | Daily Mail Online comments The white dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch has beaten Madonna’s busty cone bra and Jennifer Lopez's super-low-cut Versace dress as the most iconic outfit in fashion history. E-retailer Kaleidoscope posed the question to its customers and more than half the women polled picked the flirty film gown as the most memorable moment in fashion over the last 100 years. Meanwhile men recalled Geri Halliwell's Union Jack dress as their favourite, and gave a shout out to Audrey Hepburn's LBD too. Scroll down for video Marilyn Monroe cuts a sultry figure in 'that' white dress, voted the most memorable moment in fashion history Fifty-one per cent of women voted for Marilyn's dress, which famously blew up to reveal her perfect pins as she stood seductively over a Subway grate in Billy Wilder’s 1955 film. The Hollywood starlet’s halter-neck number was designed by William Travilla and sold by actress Debbie Reynolds in 2011 for a staggering US$5.6 million (£3.7million).

RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share Meanwhile Madge’s iconic Jean-Paul Gaultier bustier, designed for her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour, came in at a distant second with 15 per cent. In third place was Jennifer Lopez’s eye-popping low-cut green Versace dress, worn at the 2000 Grammy Awards. Most women said the reason these garments are memorable is because they ‘stand out from the crowd’. Madonna wearing Jean Paul Gaultier's pointed gold bustier corset during her Blonde Ambition tour. It came a paltry second to Monroe's halter-neck number, with only 15% of women voting it most memorable But when they were asked if they would ever wear the racy outfits themselves, more than half said ‘no way!’ On the flipside the men polled gave strikingly different answers, with 37 per cent crowning Geri Halliwell’s 1997 Brit Awards Union Jack mini-dress as most iconic. Kaleidoscope fashion designer Kirsten Emery said: ‘We were fascinated to see which outfits from the past century British men and women deem to be the most iconic.

Jennifer Lopez's Versace dress worn by the pop star at the 2000 Grammy Awards was voted in third place Spice Girls' Geri Halliwell performs 'Who Do You Think You Are?' in Union Jack dress at the Brit Awards. Nearly 40 per cent of men chose this as their most memorable fashion moment ‘All of the outfits highlighted have a unique twist to them which has meant that they have stood the test of time, and still remain front of mind with the British public. ‘Not all of us would be brave enough to slip on Geri’s mini dress or head to a party in JLo’s Versace frock, but we do all like to be bold in our own way and put our own individual stamp on our style choices.’ Monroe’s sultry ensemble was a second favourite with 20 per cent of the male vote, while silver screen star Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast At Tiffany’s black cocktail dress won over 15 per cent of men polled. Audrey Hepburn strikes the Breakfast at Tiffany's pose in a black cocktail dress, gloves and pearls.

Men voted her LBD as their third most memorable fashion moment Surprisingly, Monroe’s second husband baseball star Joe DiMaggio is said to have hated his wife's slinky little white number. Although Monroe earned her sexy stripes way before the white dress. She posed nude when she was out of work in 1949 at the age of 22 - and the original colour separations released recently are estimated to be worth $6 million (£4million). Marian McPartland's Storied Life, Told 'In Good Time' | WRTI Marian McPartland's Storied Life, Told 'In Good Time' By NPR Music • Aug 18, 2012 Marian McPartland hosted NPR's Piano Jazz for 33 years. Courtesy of the artist Marian McPartland and filmmaker Huey after a cast and crew screening of In Good Time in Port Washington, N.Y., in 2001. Films By Huey / Originally published on August 19, 2012 12:32 pm More than half a century ago this week, on Aug.

12, 1958, some of the greatest jazz musicians of the day assembled in Harlem at what was, for them, the ungodly hour of 10 a.m. Fifty-seven players came to East 126th Street to have their picture taken for Esquire magazine. Freelance photographer Art Kane bunched them together in front of the steps of two brownstones. Some neighborhood kids plunked down on the curb — so did pianist-bandleader Count Basie . And "A Great Day in Harlem" was captured in a black-and-white image. Jazz pianist Marian McPartland was one of just three women in the photograph. She's wearing a halter dress like the one Marilyn Monroe wore when she stood over that windy subway grate — but McPartland's dress sits flat and proper. "I never get tired of looking at that picture — one of the world's greatest photos," McPartland tells NPR's Susan Stamberg.

"I was working at the Hickory House, and Nat Hentoff came rushing in and said, 'You've got this date to have this picture taken at 10 o'clock.' And I didn't particularly want to get up that early, but I did." The picture shows Dizzy Gillespie , Thelonious Monk , Charles Mingus , Gene Krupa, Maxine Sullivan , Mary Lou Williams , Gerry Mulligan , Lester Young , Sonny Rollins — all the '50s gods of jazz. Marian McPartland stands out not only as a woman, but as white, foreign and young. "It seems like everybody encouraged me and let me be myself, and gradually things grew together," she says. "Nobody bothered whether I was black or white. I just wanted to play better and listen to a lot of people, people I really loved — Bill Evans and horn players like Sonny Rollins. I just wanted to hear everybody." There's a new documentary film about Marian McPartland. In Good Time: The Piano Jazz of Marian McPartland is full of archival footage, family photos and interviews. Documentary filmmaker James R. Coleman Jr., who goes by the name Huey, spent five years making the movie.

"I was very lucky," he says. "There were so many wonderful moments, and one of the precious moments is when, in the show, Jimmy McPartland — Marian's husband — and Marian are on together and talk about how they first met, which was a real gem to find." Marian McPartland says she met Jimmy in war-torn Europe. "He was a foot soldier, and I was working in USO camp shows. Somehow we got together over there, and we were married in Aachen, Germany — so we were married by the time we got back here to Chicago," she says. "It took a while for us to uproot ourselves and move to New York, because that's where things really happened more. And Jimmy found a gig for his band, and I was at the Hickory House, so we were all busy." McPartland says the Hickory House, the storied jazz spot and steakhouse in midtown Manhattan, was a special kind of club. "People just walked in," she says. "A lot of times they would just jump on the bandstand and sit in with me. It was a ball." Duke Ellington , with whom McPartland shared a press agent, would come to see her play, too.

"I remember he made a sort of a subtle criticism," she says. "He said, 'Oh, you play so many notes.' I thought, 'He's obviously telling me that I'm playing too many notes,' so from that I kind of eased off a little bit. I was probably showing off." All those notes found a home for 30 years on public radio. Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz began in 1979. The first program was recorded in the Baldwin Piano showroom on 59th Street in New York. Some 700-plus programs later — her last show was recorded in 2010 — the series keeps running with archival tapes, plus new ones with new hosts. At 94, McPartland remains the show's artistic director. Her radio guests included all the jazz greats: Billy Taylor , Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughan , Bill Frisell , Norah Jones , Diana Krall , Dave Brubeck , George Shearing , Herbie Hancock , Ray Charles , Tony Bennett . Krall, Brubeck, Frisell and many others appear in In Good Time. The film will be screened this fall at jazz festivals in Savannah, Ga., and Seattle.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit Transcript SCOTT SIMON, HOST: More than half a century ago this week, August 12, 1958, some of the greatest jazz musicians of the day assembled in Harlem at what for them was pretty ungodly hour - 10 A.M. Fifty-seven jazz-makers came to East 126th Street to have their picture taken for Esquire magazine. Art Kane, the photographer, bunched them together in front of the steps of two brownstones. Some neighborhood kids plunked down down the curb and so did the pianist-bandleader Count Basie. And A Great Day in Harlem was captured in a black and white image. NPR's special correspondent Susan Stamberg says there were just three women in the photo, and now one of them is the subject of a documentary film. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) SUSAN STAMBERG, BYLINE: It's Marian McPartland, beloved by fans of NPR's long-running Piano Jazz program. In the 1958 Esquire photo, she's wearing a halter dress like the one Marilyn Monroe wore when she stood over that up-windy subway grate.

McPartland's dress sits flat and proper. The 94-year-old jazz pianist remembers the day that legendary photograph was taken. MARIAN MCPARTLAND: I was working at the Hickory House and Nat Hentoff came rushing in and said you've got this date to have a picture taken 10 o'clock. And I didn't particularly want to get up that early but I did. And as you know, it turned out to be a fabulous photograph. STAMBERG: So fabulous that in 1994 a documentary film was made about it. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "GREAT DAY IN HARLEM") UNIDENTIFIED MAN: This film is the story of a magic moment when dozens of the greatest jazz stars of all time gathered for an astonishing photograph. STAMBERG: The picture shows Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonius Monk and Charles Mingus, Gene Krupa and Maxine Sullivan and Mary Lou Williams and Gerry Mulligan and Lester Young and Sonny Rollins - all the '50s gods of jazz. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) STAMBERG: And Marian McPartland.

MCPARTLAND: I never get tired of looking at that picture, one of the world's greatest photos. STAMBERG: Well, I'm just looking at you there and you stand out, as you must have, when you first went to New York. Because you had three things that could have gone so against you; you were a woman, you were white, and you were foreign. It occurs to me you had three things that were so in your favor. One was your enormous talent and, two, your great charm, and, three, you were some beautiful young woman - and still are, of course. MCPARTLAND: Well, trying to be in my old age. It seems like everybody encouraged me and let me be myself. Nobody bothered whether I was black or white. I just wanted to play better and listen to a lot of people, people I really loved - Bill Evans and horn players like Sonny Rollins. And, oh, I just wanted to hear everybody. STAMBERG: Now, there's a documentary film about Marian McPartland. "In Good Time: The Piano Jazz of Marian McPartland" is full of archival footage, family photos, interviews.

A fellow named Huey - one name only - spent five years making the movie. HUEY: I was very lucky. There's, oh, so many wonderful moments that I found. And one of the precious ones is the show where Jimmy McPartland, Marian's husband, and Marian are on together and talk about how they first met, which was a real gem to find. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IN GOOD TIME") JIMMY MCPARTLAND: How we met? UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yeah. MCPARTLAND: The concert - first thing, they had a big jam session there. You know, they were having a big session. Jimmy McPartland's coming, Jimmy McPartland's coming, and I'm saying, you know, who's Jimmy McPartland? STAMBERG: Jimmy McPartland was a famous jazz cornet player. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IN GOOD TIME") MCPARTLAND: I asked what do you want to play? Marian had said yes. She said, you know "Honeysuckle Rose?" I said, oh, yes, I know the guy that wrote it. Fast forward, yeah, and asked what should we do?

Play. I said, OK. So, I beat off and stamp, beep-bo-ta-do-po, beep-ta-da-tat. She started the de-do-do-da-da and then she started to get excited. Den-ta-da, da-dat-da-da. And she's getting excited. And rushing, you know, and I, oh no. This is it, you know. But... MCPARTLAND: Yes, you were right. He was foot soldier and I was working in USO camp shows. And somehow we got together over there and we were married in Achen, Germany. So, we were married by the time we got back here to Chicago. It's Jimmy's hometown. And it took a while for us to uproot ourselves and move to New York, 'cause that's where things really happened more. And Jimmy found a gig for his band. And I was at the Hickory House, so we were all busy. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) MCPARTLAND: It's just a very open kind of club. People just walked in. A lot of times, they would just jump on the bandstand and sit in with me. It was a ball.

STAMBERG: And I know that Duke Ellington came every night - he was a fan of yours - but I'm not sure he was coming every night just to hear you play. MCPARTLAND: Well, I don't know. He probably came because the food was good. And his press agent was also the press agent for the Hickory House. STAMBERG: Will you tell what it was that Duke Ellington said about your piano playing? MCPARTLAND: Oh, I remember he made a sort of a subtle criticism. He said, oh, you play so many notes. I thought he's obviously telling me I'm playing too many notes. So, from that I kind of eased off a little bit in that I was probably showing off. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) MCPARTLAND: Hi I'm Marian McPartland. My guest today on Piano Jazz... STAMBERG: All those notes found a home for 30 years on public radio. Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz began in 1979. The first program was recorded in the Baldwin Piano showroom on 59th Street in New York.

There was Marian, surrounded by pianos for sale, just playing away. Some 700-plus programs later - her last show was recorded in 2010 - the series keeps running and running and running - archival tapes, plus new ones, with new hosts. Marian remains the show's artistic director. Her radio guests over the years have included all the jazz greats: Billy Taylor, Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughan, Norah Jones, Oscar Peterson, George Shearing, Herbie Hancock, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) STAMBERG: There is moment in the film which brought me to tears, and it was you and Dave Brubeck. MCPARTLAND: Oh, yeah. STAMBERG: When he's playing a song he wrote for you based on rhythms of your name. DAVE BRUBECK: Ma-ree-an Mc-part-land.

Style icon Lauren Bacall mastered seductive elegance - TODAY.com Today.com Style icon Lauren Bacall mastered seductive elegance 2014-08-13T14:35:00.000Z comment () Today American actress Lauren Bacall in an all wool suit, designed by Leah Rhodes, in Dec. 1946. The legendary Hollywood star passed away on Aug. 12, 2014. Nobody else could ooze such sophistication and sexiness while rocking trouser suits and full-length skirts. Lauren Bacall’s seductive expression may have coined “the look” she became famous for, but the leading lady of Hollywood’s Golden Age also will be remembered for a fashion elegance that became a trademark throughout her legendary career. Among her signature staples: the high-waisted trouser, which accentuated her long, lean frame. Closed Captioning Lauren Bacall dies at 89 Play Video - 2:24 Lauren Bacall dies at 89 Play Video - 2:24 Drones could threaten crowds such as inauguration attendees, experts say Bacall, who died Tuesday at age 89, also preferred silky, billowy blouses that showed off her strong shoulders.

The way she exuded sexiness without revealing skin was a testament to her keen sense of ageless style that looks relevant decades later. Today Bacall in a 1945 publicity photo. "Maybe it's just a hold-over from my modelling days, when I had to dress to the nines whether I felt like it or not, but I just don't like to doll up for my own admiration," she told Vogue in 1945. Today American screen star Lauren Bacall sits cross-legged in a trouser suit in 1945. Bacall, who started off as a fashion model before finding early success on the silver screen, often incorporated tailored suits with simple lines into her wardrobe. Today Bacall with her husband Humphrey Bogart after returning home from their wedding in 1945. Her fashion choices remained consistent even after she became a mother. Today Bacall and Bogart with their son, Stephen. Bacall's natural sense of glamour and style followed her on stage and screen throughout the years. Today Bacall stops traffic in London's Leicester Square in 1972.

Today Photos The most memorable style icons Icon status has been achieved by a specific canon of women whose look has inspired, endured and infiltrated pop culture, designer collections and mass trends time and time again. The most memorable style icons of The most memorable style icons - When it comes to fashion, reaching that truly iconic status requires more than just great clothes. Style icons have poise, grace, vision, courage and an open mind in order to take fashion to another level. Icon status has been achieved by a specific canon of women whose look has inspired, endured and infiltrated pop culture, designer collections and mass trends time and time again. Lauren Bacall Sept. 16, 1924 – Aug. 12, 2014 American actress Lauren Bacall, who passed away on Aug. 12, was celebrated for her sexy elegance, relying on sophisticated trousers, midriff-baring ensembles, and form-fitting evening gowns.

Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Priscilla Presley - May 24, 1945 – Priscilla Presley, wife of the legendary Elvis Presley, made her mark on the '60s fashion scene, thanks in part to her glamorous, teased hair and bold wardrobe choices. She reigned over the rock 'n roll scene, often spotted at Graceland with her signature beehive hairstyle, dramatic ensembles, and striking eye makeup. Everett Collection / Everett Collection The most memorable style icons of Princess Grace Kelly - Nov. 12, 1929 – Sept. 14, 1982 Her life as an actress-turned-princess is usually found only in the movies (or fairy tales). The Hollywood actress was known for her classic beauty as well as her regal and tasteful style. The floaty blue dress she wore in “To Catch a Thief” was perhaps her most famous on-screen moment, while her sophisticated lace wedding dress to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco was and is still her most memorable off screen look. AP / AP The most memorable style icons of Princess Diana - July 1, 1961 – Aug.

31, 1997 As one of the most photographed women in the world, Princess Diana had plenty of major style moments throughout her life in the public eye. Her most memorable is quite possibly the voluminous ivory silk and taffeta and antique lace wedding gown designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel. It was the occasion that officially ushered her into the royal family and introduced her to the world as a regal figure and international style icon. AP / AP The most memorable style icons of Marilyn Monroe - June 1, 1926 – Aug. 5, 1962 Even after more than 50 years after her death, Monroe is still the most recognizable style icon today. Her allure lies in her bombshell curves, glowing platinum tresses and adoration for all things glamorous. The strapless pink gown and gloves she wore in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and pleated, white halter neck dress that famously flew up above a subway grate while shooting “The Seven Year Itch” in 1954 are forever cemented in our psyche and are copied by pop stars over and over again.

One can hardly wear red lips, short platinum hair, a halter neck top or sexy wiggle dress without recalling a Marilyn reference. AP / AP The most memorable style icons of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994 Her pedigree, poise and marriage to a beloved U.S. president all add to the allure and impeccable style of Jackie Kennedy. She is best known for her polished ensembles – mostly pale colored suits and pillbox hats, and donning the chicest looks of the ‘60s and ‘70s style. She was loyal to certain designers like Oleg Cassini, Coco Chanel and Hubert Givenchy, all of whose designs ultimately became mainstays of her signature look. Onassis was always dressed appropriately, whether for a presidential press conference or walking through the streets of Capri, Italy. The oversized style of sunglasses she always punctuated her look with has widely become known as “Jackie O” glasses, and continues to be an incredibly glamorous accessory for women today. AP / AP The most memorable style icons of Michelle Obama - Jan.

17, 1964 – The first lady looks as sophisticated in glamorous, floor-sweeping designer gowns as she does in bright cardigans and printed pencil skirts from J. Crew. Obama has been applauded for her ability to mix affordable retail designs with luxury items from designers such as Michael Kors, Tracy Reese and Jason Wu. She’s regarded as approachable and effortlessly stylish around the world: In March 2013, she was crowned fashion royalty by Britain’s Sunday Times Style magazine, which ranked the first lady at the top of its best-dressed list. Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Katharine Hepburn - May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003 Hepburn was a true fashion rebel, eschewing skirts in favor of jeans and khaki pants back in a time when women almost only wore skirts and dresses and possibly even girdles on a daily basis. Androgynous dressing can directly be attributed to her strong, angular and mostly male-influenced style.

Hepburn was so adamant about wearing the understated but chic button down blouses and high-waist trousers that defined her look that she fought against Hollywood studio executives in order to wear what she pleased. "Any time I hear a man say he prefers a woman in a skirt, I say, 'Try one. Try a skirt,'" she said, according to "Katharine Hepburn: Rebel Chic." Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Kate Moss - Jan. 16, 1974 – Arguably a fashion muse for today’s biggest designers, stylists, photographers and most anyone interested in fashion, Moss has transcended model status into enduring style icon. Since emerging onto the fashion scene in the early ‘90s with her waif-like “heroin chic” look, Moss’ effortless yet glamorous approach to clothes, combined with a devil-may-care attitude, has always painted an aspirational image for anyone watching and trying to emulate her look. She is self-styled, has access to the best clothes in the world and seems to mix high-end and mass market, vintage and couture and bohemian and evening gowns all with the greatest sense of ease.

AP / AP The most memorable style icons of Marlene Dietrich - Dec. 27, 1901 – May 6, 1992 One of the most glamorous movie stars of all time, Dietrich looked just as opulent whether she was wearing a full fur coat and jewels or one of her signature, crisp tuxedos. Dietrich paved the way for cool, androgynous dressing by donning a tuxedo with tails in the 1930 film “Morocco”. Women wearing tuxedos became not only acceptable, but chic and sexy, and in 1966 it inspired designer Yves Saint Laurent to create a menswear-inspired suit with tuxedo details, but made with the sleek lines of a woman’s body. Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Madonna - Aug. 16, 1958 – While her style may not be considered classic, it is the ultimate in boundary breaking, envelope pushing and pioneering fashion. A lot of Madonna’s allure is in her constant style evolution and changing look. The most memorable Madonna fashion era was her clothing and makeup during the mid-‘80s.

Her floppy lace hair bows, scrunched pants, high top sneakers and arm full of bracelets influenced women then and still today. Madonna went on to don cone bras and ‘70s looking leotards and always owns the look and takes it all the way. Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Audrey Hepburn - May 4, 1929 – Jan. 20, 1993 The epitome of femininity and style; almost all of Hepburn’s film looks have become major fashion moments. From the ultimate LBD and quintessential cat eye sunglasses worn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to the belted circle skirts and basic button down shirts donned in “Roman Holiday”, Hepburn infused everything she wore with her classic and ultra feminine approach to style. Her quirky cropped bangs and perky ponytail added a uniquely Hepburn punctuation to anything she wore. She remained loyal to Hubert Givenchy as the designer who dressed her both on and off screen and looked just as gorgeous in ballet flats and capri pants as she did in an opulent ball gown. Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Brigitte Bardot - Sept.

28, 1934 – With style that’s best described as the ultimate ‘50s sex kitten, it’s Bardot’s tousled blonde tresses, heavy bangs, cat eye makeup and pale pink pout that most people recognize. The French actress also popularized the bikini after appearing in one on film and then cavorting on the beaches of Cannes during the Cannes film festival in 1953, wearing a two-piece swimsuit. Her fondness for flirty fashion even inspired the Bardot neckline, which is an open neckline that exposes both shoulders. Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Coco Chanel - Aug. 19, 1883 – Jan. 10, 1971 One of the most influential designers of all time, Chanel carried her own visionary look and approach to style that still informs the way we dress today. She was the first to use and wear fabrics with stretch and movement, allowing women to feel less constricted in their clothing and start dressing with a more modern sensibility. Her signature string of pearls, which she wore tiered and draped over a little black dress (another signature item), is still a symbol of the luxury brand today.

The famous Chanel tweed jacket so synonymous with the house was something regularly worn by Chanel, often paired with a black dress, pearls and an embellished hat. Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Jennifer Lopez - July 24, 1969 – From sparkly pantsuits to revealing red-carpet gowns, Jennifer Lopez’s wardrobe never fails to disappoint. The Latina singer’s most famous fashion moment was the plunging green print Versace she wore to the 2000 Academy Awards, later spoofed by “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker. Lopez carries a sexy and glamorous confidence that allows her to pull off any risqué outfit. “If you mix Jackie O with Madonna in the ’80s and Ava Gardner, that would be kind of like my style,” she told OK! magazine in 2013. “You just have to decide what you feel most confident in, because confidence is what makes people sexy.” Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Jane Birkin - Dec. 14, 1946 – An actress, singer and muse, Birkin is best known for her effortless style and relationship with French singer Serge Gainsbourg.

She continues to be an inspiration to current day designers, stylists, bloggers and fashion editors for her natural beauty and signature bangs. From simple flared jeans and a white T-shirt to a micro-mini LBD, Birkin always looked perfectly chic. The coveted Hermes Birkin bag was named after her, and Birkin’s daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon are also modern day style icons, posing for various ad campaigns and inspiring designer’s collections. Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Ali MacGraw - April 1, 1939 – She may have been in incredibly stylish movies like “Love Story” and “The Getaway”, but MacGraw also honed her eye for fashion as a model and stylist for Harper’s Bazaar under legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland and while working at American Vogue, before hitting the big screen. Her signature all-American look was cemented in history through her picture perfect Ivy League wardrobe in “Love Story”. Off screen, she dressed like a fashion editor, utilizing statement accessories, wearing thigh-high boots, short shorts and elegant silk scarves tied around her signature brunette locks. Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Twiggy - Sept.

19, 1949 – Catapulted into the global fashion scene as the “face” of the mid-‘60s, Twiggy embodied the style movement of the decade with her androgynous look, waif-like frame, large eyes and exaggerated eyelashes. Fashion actually followed her lead, with clothing like A-line dresses, unisex-looking items like uniform-inspired pieces and minimalistic and structured shorts and jumpsuits. Her pixie hair cut and big doe eyes are still Twiggy signatures and a symbol of swinging London fashion. Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Grace Jones - May 19, 1948 – Strong and striking, singer and model Grace Jones captured the world’s attention in the ’70s with her fierce, unique presence. Her angular looks and androgynous style inspired the likes of Andy Warhol, and she quickly became an avant-garde fashion inspiration. Nearly 6 feet tall and boasting hard-to-miss cheekbones, she possessed an exotic, futuristic look that is still admired today. Getty Images / Getty Images The most memorable style icons of Diane Keaton - Jan.

5, 1946 – Keaton has famously perpetuated the menswear-inspired trend started by Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn. Her most memorable display of boyish style was playing the title role in “Annie Hall”. Keaton sported neckties, wide-brimmed hats, high-waist trousers and fitted vests in the film which went on to launch countless trends and inspire others to incorporate the laid back men’s-inspired style into their own look. Getty Images / Getty Images Marilyn Monroe: five best moments <p>As The Misfits gets a rerelease, we take a look back at the short but unforgettable career of the dazzling star</p><p>Given her status, it’s easy to forget that Marilyn Monroe’s career lasted for just 15 years, a brief moment in film history. While her legacy persists, the focus on her looks and much-copied style often overshadows her fine work as an actor.</p><p>This week’s rerelease of The Misfits, Monroe’s last finished film, is a tragic reminder of her talent, as she plays a divorcee who strikes up a relationship with an ageing cowboy, played by Clark Gable.

It serves as a necessary reminder that she wasn’t always playing a dizzy blonde, something that’s often forgotten. Here’s our pick of her career highlights:</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Marilyn Monroe 'That silly little dress': the story behind Marilyn Monroe's iconic scene <p>Sixty years ago today, Marilyn Monroe stood on top of a subway grate in New York City and made cinematic history</p><p>Sixty years ago, on 15 September, 1954, Marilyn Monroe stood on a subway grate in New York City wearing a little white dress and fought an upward breeze. The scene from the Seven Year Itch, went on to become one of the most iconic moments in movie history. But a lot more went into to the scene than what’s portrayed in director Billy Wilder’s film. And its consequences rippled far beyond making young moviegoers blush. </p><p>Not much, just a giant Marilyn Monroe statue face down in a garbage dump in China.

<a href=""> <a href="">@Reuters</a> <a href="">pic.twitter.com/wl3Apnz9YO</a></p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Marilyn Monroe Top 10 comedy movies You want funny? We got funny! From Airplane to Duck Soup, here are the Guardian and Observer critics' pick of the 10 best rib-ticklers<br /><br /><a href="">• Top 10 romantic movies</a><br /><a href="">• Top 10 action movies</a><p>Notionally, one of the most loved of genres, comedy persistently finds that it is somehow ineligible for greatness. Comedies rarely get Oscars. Charlie Chaplin, the great comic, was one of cinema's first international superstars. Keaton, the Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy produced sublime gems of film-making, arguably cherished more now than at the time. Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot is one of the most loved films of all time, with a miraculously light touch and a glorious romantic chemistry between Curtis, Lemmon and Monroe.

In Hollywood, the screwball tradition came to be supplanted in public taste by Woody Allen, whose DNA can be traced through the cerebral creations of Charlie Kaufman.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Comedy My favourite film: Readers' comments – week two We're rounding up the best of your comments and reviews on our <a href="" title="">My favourite film series</a>, in which our writers pick their favourite films of all time. <br /><br />Here's what you had to say in <strong>week two</strong>, when we bigged up the films Some Like It Hot, The Consequences of Love, The Big Lebowski, Beautiful Girls and – can it be? – Predator<p>"One of the best closing lines ever," said <a href="" title=""><strong>shodfather</strong></a> in response to Becky Barnicoat's nomination of <a href="" title="">Some Like It Hot</a>, which opened the second week of our <a href="" title="">My favourite film series</a> in giggling, jiggling style.

Billy Wilder's note-perfect comedy stars Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as two musicians, disguised as women, who join an all-girl band to escape the mob. "Even on my X-tieth viewing I laughed at jokes I'd missed before," said Becky of a film that was "the sum of many impeccable parts". Some of them, according to <a href="" title=""><strong>nocod</strong></a>, belonging to band leader Marilyn Monroe. "Still haven't seen all the film," (presumerably) he said. "My glasses keep steaming up."</p><p>"Some Like It Hot is all about being two things at once – goofy and clever. Funny and dark. Men and women," wrote Becky. It's black and white, too. And while Becky wished Wilder had gone for Technicolor, loads of you (<a href="" title=""><strong>verygoodyear</strong></a>, <a href="" title=""><strong>Fennellinator</strong></a>, <a href="" title=""><strong>WalneyGirl</strong></a>) disagreed. There was also a fair old do (be-do) about Tony Curtis's famous statement that kissing Monroe was like "kissing Hitler".

It was said sarcastically, as <a href="" title=""><strong>lobster1</strong></a>, <a href="" title=""><strong>EgeBamyasi</strong></a> and <a href="" title=""><strong>Glazza</strong></a> pointed out. Less contentious was Curtis's impression of Cary Grant, a highlight for many of you. "Tony Curtis took Cary Grant to see it," said <a href="" title=""><strong>TimFootman</strong></a>. "Grant enjoyed it but afterwards he said: 'Do I really talk like that?'" Yuuurrresss, Cary.

You-uh shurre did.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Billy Wilder My favourite film: Some Like It Hot Our writers' <a href="" title="">favourite films series</a> sets Becky Barnicoat back on the familiar road to Billy Wilder's joyous comedy of dualities<br /><br />• Serenade us with <a href="" title="">a personal review of Some Like It Hot</a>, or deliver a classic one-liner of your own in the comments below<p>I can't remember the first time I saw <a href="" title="">Some Like It Hot</a>. I've no idea how many times I've seen it, either. There's no narrative to our relationship; I haven't grown into it or out of it as I've got older, I'm not nostalgic about it. <a href="" title="">Billy Wilder</a>'s classic comedy was sparkling and brilliant the first time I saw it many years ago, and it was just as sparkling and brilliant when I watched it again last weekend.</p><p>Still, in the 21st century it seems a rather unlikely cinematic reference point.

Since its release in 1959, Some Like It Hot has been repeatedly held aloft in top-whatever film lists. The greatest American comedy of all time, <a href="" title="">according to the American Film Institute</a>. Number three in the Guardian's list of <a href="" title="">best comedy films of all time</a>. Fifth greatest film ever made, <a href="" title="">according to Channel 4</a>. All this for a black-and-white screwball comedy about two musicians disguised as women on the run from the mob?</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Billy Wilder Monkey Business – it's an ace ape jape Howard Hawks's 1952 comedy with Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe and an uncredited simian is due for re-evaluation<p>This is a rare, relatively quiet moment in the critic's year: perhaps because of the Baftas, there are comparatively few new releases.

So out of sheer indulgence, I have checked out something at the Howard Hawks season at the BFI Southbank in London: his <a href="" title="">1952 screwball comedy, Monkey Business</a>.</p><p>It is part romp, part druggie-surrealist masterpiece, and a complete joy. Monkey Business is undervalued by some, on account of its alleged inferiority to <a href="" title="">the master's</a> 30s pictures, and the accident of sharing a title with a film by the Marx Brothers. I can only say that this film whizzes joyfully along with touches of pure genius: at once sublimely innocent and entirely worldly. Cary Grant plays Dr Barnaby Fulton, a mild-mannered, bespectacled industrial scientist working on a "rejuvenation" elixir for his tetchy boss Mr Oxley (Charles Coburn).

One of Dr Fulton's test chimps escapes and mixes up the lab chemicals in a random way so as to create the perfect "eternal youth" recipe – somewhere between Viagra and LSD – and dumps it in the water supply.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Howard Hawks Hello, Norma Jean ... Could CGI help Marilyn Monroe star in new film? A US business has bought up Monroe's brand rights in the hope of reviving her via Tron: Legacy-style technology. Will it work?<p>"Death," purred Gandalf, back in <a href="" title="The Lord Of The Rings">The Lord of the Rings</a>, "is not the end. Death is just another path – one that we must all take." The wizard may have said these words trying to console a scared hobbit, but he could have easily been describing a tentatively emerging Hollywood philosophy.</p><p>Toronto businessman <a href="" title="Jamie Salter">Jamie Salter</a> recently announced his i<a href="" title="ntention to cast Marilyn Monroe in a movie">ntention to cast Marilyn Monroe in a movie</a>.

This, you may think, causes something of problem: the Hollywood icon's last completed film, <a href="" title="The Misfits">The Misfits</a>, was a flop; its star has been dead some 49 years. Yet if Slater's intentions are true, it's perhaps the first issue that matters much more than the latter.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Marilyn Monroe Tony Curtis: a true Hollywood star He was beautiful as a young slave in Spartacus, yet Curtis's greatest role was in Some Like It Hot, dressed as a woman and wooing Marilyn Monroe<br /><br /><br /><a href="">Blog: A career in clips</a><br /><a href="">Gallery: A life in photographs</a><br /><a href="">Obituary: Tony Curtis</a><p>Tony Curtis, a tremendously witty and self-deprecating raconteur in his later years, used to tell a story about starting out in the movies.

Playing the tiny role of "bellboy" in <a href="" title="the 1949 Barbara Stanwyck film The Lady Gambles">the 1949 Barbara Stanwyck film The Lady Gambles</a>, he was in his bellhop costume, getting ready to come on for a rehearsal, when he saw the director picking his way towards him behind the set over the light cables. Curtis fluttered with excitement: what did he want? Give advice about the craft of acting? To discuss his motivation? His characterisation? To discuss a fascinating, subliminal frisson of erotic connection with Stanwyck? At last the director arrived, leant over and hissed: "All you want is a TIP!"</p><p>Something in Curtis's cheeky, lovably attractive face meant that he would get a huge tip out of audiences for the rest of his career. He was extremely beautiful as a young man, a quality most famously deployed on screen in his legendary "bathing" sequence with Laurence Olivier, playing the manipulative Roman senator in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960).

Playing the comely bath-attendant slave Antoninus, Curtis is asked in what appears to be coded language by the lascivious Olivier if he might not prefer "snails" to "oysters". As a young actor, Curtis probably had a strong following in both the snail and oyster demographic.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony Curtis Tony Curtis: a life in clips Tony Curtis, whose career spans 60 years in Hollywood, <a href="">has died aged 85</a>. We look back over his career in clips<p>He was young, he was pretty and he came fired by ambition. As a contracted Hollywood actor, the youthful Tony Curtis found himself shoehorned into all manner of substandard (and at times wildly inappropriate) studio outings. In The Black Shield of Falworth (1954) he plays a hardy swashbuckler in the time of Henry IV. "Yonder stands the castle of my faddah," he is reputed to say at one stage. Except that he never actually did.

The line was actually concocted by critics to poke fun at the actor's broad Bronx accent.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Tony Curtis With the death of Jack Cardiff we have lost one of cinema's true visionaries Jack Cardiff, the British cinematographer <a href="">who died today aged 94</a>, is one of the few members of his profession to achieve name recognition. It's richly deserved: his stunning, painterly work on the films of Powell and Pressburger means we have lost a pioneering great<p>The cinematographer Jack Cardiff's long and distinguished life made him a virtual folk memory of the movies, a man whose vaudevillian father worked with Chaplin, who began his career in the silent era, became the first cameraman chosen by Technicolor to be trained in colour photography and then achieved greatness when Michael Powell asked him to shoot his films: A Matter Of Life and Death, Red Shoes and Black Narcissus. He was to work with Huston, Hitchcock and Welles, and with some of the most beautiful and famous women in screen history.

But it was perhaps the association with Powell and Pressburger which made his name, enabling his mastery of light, and bold, even ecstatic and hallucinatory deployment of vivid colour. </p><p>Martin Scorsese's friendship with Powell, and passionate love of Powell's movies, also played a secondary role in reinforcing Cardiff's prestige - he contributed a warm foreword to Cardiff's 1996 autobiography Magic Hour and Scorsese's evangelism for Cardiff's greatness was perhaps partly instrumental in securing his honorary Oscar in 2001, to go with his actual Academy Award for Black Narcissus. Cardiff's career in fact continued in rude health until the 1980s, when he worked on action pictures by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. He was also a successful director, his account of DH Lawrence's Sons and Lovers making it to Cannes in 1960.

</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Film Why you should watch Fanfaren Der Liebe, the original Some Like It Hot Go see the 1951 Kurt Hoffman comedy that inspired Billy Wilder to make Some Like It Hot – it provides an unmissable insight into the art and history of film-making<p>This year sees the 50th anniversary of what some think is the greatest Hollywood comedy in history, or maybe simply the greatest comedy, or just greatest film: Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot, starring Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as two hapless 1920s musicians, on the run from murderous mobsters. They disguise themselves as women, join an all-girl band, Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopators, and find themselves sharing intimate sleeping cars on an overnight train to Florida, where the band has a hotel engagement. Both men are to be entranced by the sexy, yet lonely and vulnerable blonde singer, Sugar Kane, played of course by Marilyn Monroe.</p><p>Some Like It Hot is a remake.

Billy Wilder took his inspiration from the 1951 German film Fanfaren Der Liebe, or Fanfares of Love, directed by Kurt Hoffman – itself a remake, in fact, of the 1935 French comedy, Fanfare d'Amour.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Marilyn Monroe

Question: Who famously stood over a subway grate while wearing a billowy white dress?
Answer: Marilyn Monroe