Marilyn Monroe's Personal Black Silk Cocktail Dress

From the personal wardrobe of Marilyn Monroe: A hand-tailored, one of a kind cocktail dress in black silk, sleeveless with a plunging, gathered neckline and a back zipper; with the bottom hem having weights sewn into the lining to keep the dress lying flat when worn by Marilyn.

Marilyn wore this dress to an event held by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, where her husband, Arthur Miller, was recognized for receiving their Gold Medal for Drama Award on May 20, 1959 in New York City. See photo below.

Marilyn's Evening Wear: Marilyn's public wardrobe was full of film-star black dresses. The 1999 Christie's auction showed us Marilyn wore seemingly endless variations of the sophisticated little black evening dress, most often with the dresses being seamed, darted, and even boned, to make the most of her curves. Her dresses were cool and elegant, every inch emphasizing Marilyn's lush, yet at the same time fragile blonde beauty; the special luminous quality that made of her a major star in front of still or moving cameras. This was all part of the film star image she had so carefully created for herself.