When Monroe asked costume designer Jean Louis to make a dress for her, she told him, “I want you to design a truly historical dress, a dazzling dress that’s one-of-a-kind, a dress that only Marilyn Monroe could wear,” according to Ripley’s. Bob Mackie drew the original sketch as his first job out of college. The unlined gown made it impossible for Monroe to wear undergarments. The nude color perfectly matched her skin tone, with the crystals strategically placed to cover her up.
