If you've ever drawn on a mole on your upper lip or took out a tube of red lipstick to channel the confidence of your inner Norma Jeane, then you're in luck: Marilyn Monroe's "Happy Birthday" dress is for sale, and it could be the next big thing in your wardrobe.
While some might argue Monroe's Seven Year Itch dress was the iconic staple piece from her career — the white halter that flurried over her knees once she nonchalantly stepped onto a subway grate — the "Happy Birthday" dress still wasn't a frock one would sneeze at.
According to US Weekly, the gown was the icing on the cake (pun intended) when Monroe breathlessly sang "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy in May 1962 at Madison Square Garden. She made sure she was all sultriness and slink for the event, calling the dress "skin and beads," as Julien's Auction's president Darren Julien explained to the Associated Press. And that it was — when she stepped on stage it looked like she wore nothing more than a tumble of cascading diamonds.
US Weekly reported that not only did the dress come in a suggestive nude shade,but it was sewn onto Monroe to make it as body hugging as possible and had more than 2,500 hand-stitched crystals running down it's length.
As you can see in the video above, she stepped on stage in a stream of glitter, with the back of the dress plunging daringly as she flirtily breathed her well wishes as the crowd cheered her on.
So where can you buy Monroe's "Happy Birthday" dress? As you can imagine, the price for the gown isn't exactly bargain basement. In fact, only the bravest spenders should reach for their credit cards.
The Guardian reported, "Julien’s Auctions is offering the sequined garment on 17 November in Los Angeles. The auction house believes it could fetch as much as $3 million."
If you have a few million casually lying around, book your ticket to L.A. and get your bidding hand ready. For those of us that don't sleep on top of a mattresses stuffed with cash, there is still hope to get close to this piece of fashion history, and it comes in the form of a museum ticket.
"Prior to the sale, the dress will be showcased at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, New Jersey, and the Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge, Ireland," The Guardian said. Admission is free at both museums — in other words, the price of an entrance ticket just might be a little more doable.
But whether you'll be seeing the iconic dress up close or just admiring it from the screen of your phone, one thing is for certain: That dress represented everything that was amazing about Monroe. And it'll be worth the trillion ton of pennies it'll take to nab it.
Images: Getty (3); @AlterEgo/ YouTube (1)
