How a 60-year-old dress got its time in the spotlight once more

Sound familiar? You know, how other famous people resent the Kardashians?

So then, Kardashian might well be saying, “Ha! You underestimated me, just like you did with Marylin”. Or, she might be saying, “Yes, I’m the celebrity equivalent of nouveau riche – jealous?” It’s entirely possible she is saying both.

OK. So does Kim think she’s a modern Marilyn?

Well, it’s an audacious comparison she’s making, especially with the bleached blond hair. It was Kanye West who first compared his then-wife to Monroe during a podcast interview in 2013, calling them both controversial.

And it’s true: both women have caused controversy for their provocative brand of sexuality. Both have been called stupid, too – Monroe by Lawrence Olivier and Kardashian, by everyone, but most notably, Daniel Craig.

Anything else?

When Monroe flung off her white fur coat to reveal the dress in all its glory at Kennedy’s 45th birthday party, it elicited literal gasps from the audience. Nobody had seen anything quite as risqué since…well, since Monroe stood over a New York subway grate in an ivory dress in 1955’s The Seven Year Itch. The woman born Norma Jean became Marilyn through a series of iconic moments, that were forever etched in our collective consciousness. This might be what Kardashian, who has previously “broken” the internet when she posed on the cover of Paper, might be going for here.

Yeah, but wasn’t Marilyn secretly sleeping with John F. Kennedy when she sang to him? Wait – is Kim secretly sleeping with someone?

Not that we know of. The seven-month romance with Davidson shows no sign of an itch.

Sadly, Monroe would die alone just months after serenading the president. The authorities ruled it suicide as drugs and alcohol were found in her system.

Kardashian, meanwhile, rarely drinks, never touches drugs and is part of a sprawling, ultra-rich family, marred by death, sure, and cover-ups, but with enough wealth and power to influence a President. (Kardashian did successfully lobby President Trump for prison reform in 2019).

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And, if one were to compare the family to an iconic American name at all, it would be a surname – Kennedy. Listen, they both start with K. Maybe Kardashian is signalling to us one thing and one thing only: prepare for the second Kamelot.

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