Marilyn Monroe’s most memorable and iconic ‘skin and beads’ dress—flesh coloured, backless and studded with thousands of rhinestones— is now going to be auctioned off on November 17, by Julein’s Auctions in Los Angeles. Prior to the sale, the dress will embark on an exclusive world tour with stops in the United States and Ireland. The legendary dress has an amazing piece of history attached to it, and a fair bit of jaw dropping tidbits such as this: apparently it was so form-fitting, Monroe had to be sewn into it prior to her performance! No wonder the last sale of this dress in 1999 had fetched in a handsome $1 million dollars—and here’s the reason why. It was the year 1962, when more than 15,000 guests had gathered in Madison Square Garden to celebrate US President John F. Kennedy’s 45th birthday. The evening was packed with star-sudded performances but Marilyn Monroe stole the show with her sultry rendition of “Happy Birthday, Mr. President,” which impressed Kennedy so much that he joked “I can now retire from politics after having had ‘Happy Birthday’ sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.” The performance was one of Monroe’s very last public appearances before her unexpected death less than three months later, and the dress was immortalized for all ages to come.
