#potato sack

[poppingmary]

When a catty newspaper columnist supposedly said Marilyn Monroe would be better off wearing a potato sack, she did just that.

1951

[floridaboiler]

After Marilyn Monroe attended a party at the Beverly Hills Hotel in a red velvet dress, a journalist (often identified as Edith Gwynn) called her "cheap and vulgar," suggesting she'd look better in a sack of potatoes. To respond to the insult, 20th Century Fox orchestrated a historic "troll": Designer William Travilla cut an Idaho potato sack to fit her figure. The photos, taken by Earl Theisen or Gene Kornman, proved that Marilyn was stunning even in a burlap garment stamped "U.S. NO. 1 IDAHO." The images were published nationwide, turning what was meant to be a humiliation into one of the best publicity moves of her career. And that's because Marilyn was one of a kind.

[animationsaurus]

“After she received criticism from a journalist who disapproved of a sultry red dress Monroe wore, going as far as to say that even a potato sack would have looked better, Monroe's film studio, Twentieth Century Fox, took advantage of the negative press and arranged a photo shoot where Monroe wore just that: a potato sack. It was the only piece of evidence necessary to prove that the actress would look radiant no matter what she wore.” - InStyle

[blondebrainpowered]

24-year-old Marilyn Monroe arrived at a party at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1951 wearing a red dress. The following day, a report in the local paper declared that Monroe “would have looked far better in a potato sack than in what she wore to the party.” Marilyn and her PR team at Twentieth Century Fox set out to make the most of the negative comment by proving the reporter right.

Photographer: Earl Theisen

[pushindaisies813]

[yetihideout]

Can't get enough of this potato sack disguise.

[thatsbelievable]

[fubaoub]

thinking about them a lot recently.