Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Style

    Kim Kardashian shared a behind the scenes look at her Marilyn Monroe dress

    Penny Goldstone's avatar
    By Penny Goldstone
    Published 4 May 2022 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    (Image credit: GC Images)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Kim Kardashian's Marilyn Monroe dress at the Met Gala, not least because the already petite reality star and entrepreneur revealed she had to lose 16lbs to fit into the dress, so cut carbs and sugar for three weeks (don't worry, she had a pizza and doughnut party at her hotel to make up for it).

    Extreme diets aside, there is no denying the beauty of the gown, which the late actress and singer wore to the White House in 1962 when she famously sang 'Happy Birthday' to President John F. Kennedy.

    As you can imagine, wearing such an iconic piece of fashion history comes with a lot of responsibilities, so Kim actually wore a decoy dress after the red carpet, to avoid any food or drink spills on the original.

    Speaking to Vogue she said: 'I would never want to sit in it or eat in it or have any risk of any damage to it.'

    Speaking about the whole ensemble and her inspiration, she said: 'The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year. I thought to myself, what would I have done for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? What’s the most American thing you can think of? And that’s Marilyn Monroe.'

    You may like
    • Kaia Gerber Kaia Gerber Just Wore the ’90s Dress Style That’s as Flattering as It Is Low-Effort
    • Julia Restoin Roitfeld Marie Claire'd Anatomy of A Wardrobe 'I Function Better With Less': Julia Restoin-Roitfeld on Timeless Style, Wardrobe Investments and Borrowing From Her Mother’s Closet
    • Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel entering 10 Downing Street “Are We Just Jealous?” Victoria Moss Unpacks the Sexist, Ageist Commentary Around Marie-France van Heel’s Victoria Beckham Dress

    A photo posted by on

    Luckily, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum, which bought the dress for $4.8 million in 2015, were happy to lend it to her, and she is the only other person to wear it apart from Marilyn.

    Naturally, Kim took to her Instagram to give us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her getting ready for the event. You'll notice she wore white gloves to keep it pristine, and as she was a fair bit shorter than the singer, she wore super high heels to avoid tripping on the hem.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    A photo posted by on

    That, plus the tightness of the gown, explain why Kim had to take such small steps on the red carpet.

    Ripley's also shared a video of Kim trying on the gown for the first time.

    Penny Goldstone
    Penny Goldstone
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Fashion Editor

    Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

    She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.

    Read more
    Kaia Gerber
    Shopping Kaia Gerber Just Wore the ’90s Dress Style That’s as Flattering as It Is Low-Effort
    Julia Restoin Roitfeld Marie Claire'd Anatomy of A Wardrobe
    Fashion 'I Function Better With Less': Julia Restoin-Roitfeld on Timeless Style, Wardrobe Investments and Borrowing From Her Mother’s Closet
     
     
    Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel entering 10 Downing Street
    Fashion “Are We Just Jealous?” Victoria Moss Unpacks the Sexist, Ageist Commentary Around Marie-France van Heel’s Victoria Beckham Dress
    Realisation Par
    Fashion The Internet's Most-Wanted Dress Is Back in Stock—It's So Good, You Can Wear It (Almost) Anywhere
     
     
    Latest in Style
    Jodie Comer
    Shopping Jodie Comer Just Announced the Start of Knee-High Boots Season
    Coach Tabby bag
    Fashion Why Coach’s Forever Bags Are the Ultimate Wardrobe Investment
     
     
    Kaia Gerber
    Shopping Kaia Gerber Just Wore the ’90s Dress Style That’s as Flattering as It Is Low-Effort
    Oxfam
    Fashion “The Water Used to Produce Britain’s Unworn Clothes Is Enough to Supply 1 Million People for a Lifetime”: Oxfam’s Latest State of Style Report Finds
     
     
    Latest in News
    New Beauty Products: The Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Dyson Does Teeth, Fenty Rips Up the Rulebook (Again) and a Surprisingly Fragrant Week for Dogs
    Jodie Comer
    Shopping Jodie Comer Just Announced the Start of Knee-High Boots Season
     
     
    Kaia Gerber
    Shopping Kaia Gerber Just Wore the ’90s Dress Style That’s as Flattering as It Is Low-Effort
    Oxfam
    Fashion “The Water Used to Produce Britain’s Unworn Clothes Is Enough to Supply 1 Million People for a Lifetime”: Oxfam’s Latest State of Style Report Finds
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.