From the 1999 Christie's Auction,
The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe, a lime green, long-sleeved
boat neck Pucci blouse of silk jersey, size 14, label reads, "Emilio
Pucci / Florence Italy" and "Made in Italy exclusively for Saks
Fifth Avenue."
This Pucci blouse is noteworthy and significant in Marilyn's
life for two reasons:
1) The JFK Birthday Gala:
This is the blouse Marilyn wore
when rehearsing for what is now known as her most famous public
appearance: Her performance of "Happy Birthday Mr. President"
for President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden on May 19,
1962. For more information and photos,
click here.
2) The Final Weekend of
Marilyn's Life: This is the blouse Marilyn was
wearing when the last photos of her alive were taken the weekend of July 28 &
29, 1962, at the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe, California. For more information and
photos, click here.
Marilyn Monroe's Lime Green Pucci
Blouse:
May 19, 1962: "Happy
Birthday Mr. President"
American Politics and Hollywood
crossed paths in a way not seen before or since when the reigning
queen of the silver screen, Marilyn Monroe, sang Happy Birthday to
President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden wearing a sheer
gown embellished with thousands of crystal beads. Marilyn
rehearsed her performance earlier in the day wearing this Pucci
blouse. The rehearsal was captured on film, and video footage
captures her returning to her East 57th Street apartment after the
rehearsal wearing this blouse. Footage also captures Marilyn
leaving her apartment later in the day, still wearing this Pucci, and she was likely going to have her hair and makeup
done in preparation for her historical performance later that
evening. The photo collage below shows Marilyn rehearsing,
along with screenshots from the actual performance.
July 28 and 29, 1962: "The
Cal-Neva Lodge and The Last Weekend of Marilyn's Life"
Cal-Neva Lodge, the Lake Tahoe resort
named after its location on the border between California and
Nevada, was owned by Frank Sinatra and, allegedly, Mafia boss Sam Giancana.
The images below show Marilyn at
Cal-Neva the weekend of July 28 and 29, 1962. Buddy Greco, a
jazz pianist, now 82, who was at Cal-Neva that weekend performing with Frank Sinatra, remembers Marilyn being in 'good spirits' towards the start
of the weekend but later being 'out of sorts'. Mafia boss Sam Giancana, her former husband and baseball player Joe DiMaggio, as
well as Dean Martin, were all on the trip, the pianist said.
'I remember it was a wonderful
weekend. Marilyn turned up wearing a green scarf, green shoes,
green slacks and a green blouse, and looking just wonderful.She turned up in a
limousine and put her arms around me. I was very lucky my manager
was there to take the photographs.'
Cal-Neva Lodge is highlighted in nearly all accounts of
the last week of Marilyn's life. Depending on the biographer,
Marilyn either spent the weekend of July 28 and 29 in a drug and
drink induced state, went there and attempted suicide, stayed as a
guest of the Lawfords, had sex with Giancana, had a quiet weekend
reunion with Joe DiMaggio, or, never went there at all and the story
of her attendance was merely a cover-up for a secret abortion.
The photos below, the last ever images
taken of Marilyn alive, show her wearing this lime green Pucci
blouse.
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 is said to
have been buried in the green Pucci dress she wore while in
Mexico in February, 1962, shown at right.
Marilyn's Pucci wardrobe, on display
at Christie's prior to the
1999 Auction "The Personal Property of
Marilyn Monroe."
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.
