I am intrigued by the new Marilyn Monroe movie, My Week with Marilyn and cannot wait to see it.
What I love most about Marilyn is that she was the first real woman who challenged the public’s ideal of size and body image and won! It is too bad she had such a tumultuous life.
Was she plus size?
At 5 feet 5 inches tall with measurements of 36-23-35, it looks as though she was a size 8-10 and not a 14-16 as some reports say, with an hourglass figure it may have thrown some people’s impressions of her size. Also, sizing back in the 1950′s and 60′s was a bit different than it is now.
Whatever her size, I do believe that this icon of motion pictures was not only a sex symbol but one of the first women who challenged the ideal body image and influencing our impression of style and fashion.
Go see a movie or two over the holiday season! I cannot wait to kick back, relax and enjoy time with friends and relatives!
Speaking of friends, check out Staness with her post as she hosts the week’s Fashion Flash!
More as it happens! Jodell
[...] Monroe was the first icon to challenge the ideal and pave the way for plus size women to be stylish and fashion [...]
She may not have been plus sized but she defied the standards with her soft curves.
I remember the 50′s and Marilyn quite well. Then, a 36 bust WAS a size 16. I remember that as I was a size 16 at the time. I am now a size 16 and nowhere near the size that I was then. She was NOT considered to be plus sized. Look at the others of the time: Jane Russell etc. Sizing was quite different. (I still have dress patterns from the time.)And Marilyn did not challenge the public’s ideal woman of that time. She WAS the public’s ideal woman in the ’50′s. What is considered to be ideal these days was then looked at with memories of the horrors of prison camp photos of starving women as well as men. What is today considered ideal was then considered sick.