Will Marilyn Monroe ever go out of style?

Marilyn Monroe encapsulated the sexy, glamorous, Hollywood pin-up girl of the 1950s post-war era in the U.S. She was held up as the absolute ideal of feminine beauty and sexuality, and even now, close to 70 years later, we still regard her with awe. There are thousands of fan webpages dedicated to the star and over 2 million Instagram posts with the hashtag '#marilynmonroe'. A number of stars today still clearly draw influence from the bombshell. 

But why is it that Marilyn Monroe is still so popular? Perhaps it was her body. Monroe had an hourglass figure; a curvy, ultra-feminine shape. Her modelling career, which remained strong even into her later years as an actress, concentrated largely on her bodily beauty and sexuality.

Perhaps it was her image. She was blonde, doe-eyed and big-lipped. Today she would be described as having a classic style, which epitomises a long-standing Western beauty ideal up to today (arguably which Monroe created herself). This is the image of an elegant, classy woman, usually with curly blonde hair and red lipstick. Just remember Taylor Swift’s line in 'Style', ‘I got that red-lipped, classic thing that you like.’ Even Taytay has often depicted herself in this way, by curling her short hair and wearing clothing that is sexy but elegant and unrevealing. 

It was more than just her looks and classic image though which has made Monroe so iconic and imitable. There were plenty of other beautiful women with similar looks in Monroe’s time, such as Veronika Lake or Betty Grable but something else made Monroe exceptional.

Very likely, it was Monroe’s personality, or at least the one that she put across in her films and pictures. Her coy smile, her laugh, and the way that she carried her body was what made her beautiful. Monroe was confident in who she was. This could be comparable to the inspiring way in which Beyonce carries herself today – with steadfast self-assurance. The most iconic photo of all of Marilyn Monroe, where she is holding down her dress which is blowing up from air issuing out of a subway vent, is a wonderful expression of both Monroe’s beauty and image, and also her playful personality. She was comfortable in her own skin, Marilyn reinforced that need to be confident in ourselves - we should be proud of our bodies in all their individual glories.

This is precisely why Marilyn will never go out of style. She made her own ideal of beauty and she owned the living daylights out of it.

Image: Cosmopolitan