Become a Member
Life

Recapturing Marilyn

November 23, 2011 10:58

ByJan Shure, Jan Shure

2 min read

The 1950s and '60s are set for another fashion moment. The specific era - the 10 years which span the middle of the 1950s and the first half of the 60s, moments before mini-skirts and Vidal Sassoon haircuts transformed fashion - was given a fresh veneer of glamour when Mad Men hit our screens three years ago.

Then, this summer, 50s fashion was given another boost by BBC2's The Hour, in which Ramola Garai and Oona Chaplin contrived to make pencil skirts, prim blouses and demure shirt dresses look deliciously covetable.

Now, thanks to the hit US TV series Pan Am, which arrived on BBC2 this week, and the Marilyn Monroe bio-pic My Week With Marilyn, which opens here on November 25, the fashion spotlight is again shining on that era, ramping up the retro wave still further.

Michelle Williams, in the title role, wears the kind of iconic pieces that Monroe was famous for: insouciantly draped trench coat, Capri pants, pointed courts, curvy dresses and those sunglasses which perfectly capture the glamour of a pre-geometric-hair era.