Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe's Personal Beaded Tassel Pucci Belt

From the 1999 Christie's Auction, The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe, a green silk Pucci belt, with tassels consisting of colored glass beads.

Related Collection Pieces / Links:

- Marilyn Monroe's Lime Green Pucci Blouse

- Marilyn Monroe's Paisley Pucci Belt

Buried in a Green Pucci Dress: Marilyn is said to have been buried in the green Pucci dress she wore while in Mexico in February, 1962, shown at right.

From the book "Marilyn: The Last Months" by Eunice Murray:

Eunice visited the house on Fifth Helena one more time before the funeral. On Tuesday, clothes had to be selected for the services on Wednesday. Although this was the task of Marilyn's half-sister, Bernice Miracle, Eunice was called in by estate executrix Inez Melson to show the two women where things were. The mortician was in attendance also, a quilted satin folder across his arm on which to lay the garments. The house seemed strangely silent as the party of four filed solemnly into Marilyn's bedroom. Eunice walked over to the wardrobe closet and pointed out the dresses. Mrs. Miracle began to sort through them, a look of confidence on her face. The others stood waiting for her choice.

"Where are the blue dresses?" Mrs. Miracle finally turned to ask. "There are no blue dresses," Eunice said. "No blue dresses? But that was her favorite color. She always wore blue when I knew her." "Not lately," Eunice replied.

Mrs. Miracle seemed at a loss, not so sure at all anymore. "She always liked blue," she repeated as she sorted through the rack helplessly. But it had been several years since Marilyn and her half-sister had been close, and that had been only for a brief while.

"Perhaps Mrs. Murray would show us her favorite dress," Mrs. Melson said. Eunice stepped forward and took the pale green Pucci from the rack. She could still see Marilyn radiant in the dress at the press conference in Mexico City. It was the dress about which Marilyn had quipped to reporters, "You should see it on a hanger."

It was on a hanger now, and its lines were straight up and down, formless all by itself. Marilyn's own shape would provide the curves of her last garment.

Eunice walked across the room and laid the dress on the queen-sized bed for the others to examine. Mrs. Miracle and Mrs. Melson stood together at the foot of the bed, Eunice on one side and the mortician on the other. Mrs. Miracle approved the dress. She handed it to Mrs. Melson. "This will do," she said.

History does not relate when Marilyn discovered the brilliant colors and easy shapes of the Italian house of Pucci. Founded in 1947 by Emilio Pucci, scion of a venerable Italian Florentine family, the first designs Pucci made were for skiwear, which is hardly surprising as he was a member of the Italian Olympic ski team. From the first jewel colored prints, inspired by motifs from the Italian Renaissance, to the ultimate simplicity of little silk jersey shifts, Pucci was one of the hottest looks of the early sixties.

Marilyn collected Pucci items in multiples; if she didn't have a dress in every color, she certainly had one in every other shade. She favored a palette of flesh tones, of leafy greens or of shocking pinks and mauves with occasional excursions into deep blues. Unlike her 'working' daytime wardrobe, which was predominantly black, these were clothes for Marilyn to play in, and by the beginning of the sixties had replaced the natural colored chambrays, the capri pants and matching shirts she had worn throughout the mid to late fifties. Looking at Marilyn's Pucci wardrobe today, it is astonishing how contemporary it seems; the feather light dresses cut as simply as T-shirts; the silk shirts in brilliant colored jewel prints, designed to be worn, as Marilyn did with simple white pants or with jeans, are of today, not of yesterday.

Marilyn's Pucci wardrobe, on display at Christie's prior to the 1999 Auction "The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe."

Provenance: Christie's New York: The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe, October 27-28, 1999. Click here to buy your copy of the Christie's auction catalog for the sale of Marilyn Monroe's personal items.

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