When most of us think of Marilyn Monroe, we probably picture her in a satin gown, covered in expensive jewels. But Monroe didn’t always dress like a glamorous bombshell. In fact, her favorite clothes to wear at home were incredibly laid-back. Some people who worked with Monroe even saw her natural sense of style as “slovenly.”
Eventually, this sense of style began to pose issues. Photographer Milton Greene was a close friend of Monroe. Eventually, he decided she needed a wardrobe makeover. “You have something that looks fantastic on screen, but you walk around like a slob,” he reportedly told her. “Look at Katharine Hepburn — she has a certain style … You need a certain something, something other than cheap blonde sexpot” (via Vogue). So, Greene and his wife helped her find comfortable, casual clothes that fit with her public image as a glamorous actress. As the magazine reported, they eventually worked with the designers George Nardiello and Norman Norell to create a whole new wardrobe filled with “skintight,” glamorous outfits.
So, next time you see a picture of Monroe in a laid-back outfit, you’ll know that her friends probably didn’t approve!