When Kim Kardashian showed up at the Met Gala in 2022, she caused a stir by wearing “Marilyn Monroe’s iconic beaded tank gown that she famously wore to sing ‘Happy Birthday, Mr. President’ to President John F. Kennedy in 1962,” according to Page Six. While Kardashian’s gown definitely made waves, she has one particular regret about her look and it isn’t what you think.
During the post-credits confessional from the sixth episode of “The Kardashians,” the star recalled, “I don’t know why, but everyone told me, ‘Don’t do Marilyn hair, you’re going to look like a wax figure of Marilyn.’ We just thought we wanted to be blond.”
However, she added, “I should have been like dark, Jackie O vibes hair.”
While the star and her hairstylist, Chris Appleton, went for “Marilyn blond,” Kardashian is still unsure about the choice.
“I’ve actually photoshopped it 500 different ways after the fact — like, last year — to see,” she said. “Do you want to see? Because I have tortured Chris Appleton on this decision.”
She also asked, “Should it have been a Marilyn vibe hair in blond … should it have been more of a Jackie O dark? Either one of these would have worked.”
GettyKim’s Regret Has Nothing to Do with the Dress
You might have assumed that Kardashian’s regret had to do with accusations that she damaged the iconic dress when she wore it on the Met Gala’s red carpet.
“[P]hotographs taken … by Scott Fortner, a collector who works to authenticate and verify Monroe memorabilia, appeared to show stretched and buckled fabric and missing crystals on the back of the dress,” according to The Guardian.
“In the photos, posted to Instagram …, rips, stretches and substantial wear and tear can be see on the dress, which also does seem to be missing some crystals with others ‘left hanging by a thread.'”
Ripley’s Said the Dress Wasn’t Damaged by Kim
GettyThe Guardian also noted that “[t]he post quotes the dress’s owner, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!, who at the time claimed ‘great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history. With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists, the garment’s condition was top priority … no alterations were to be made to the dress and Kim even changed into a replica after the red carpet!’”
“From the bottom of the Met steps, where Kim got into the dress, to the top where it was returned, the dress was in the same condition it started in,” Amanda Joiner, Ripley’s vice-president of publishing and licensing, said in a statement, according to the BBC.
Ripley’s also noted that a condition report from 2017 pointed out that “a number of the seams are pulled and worn” and “[t]here is puckering at the back by the hooks and eyes.” They pointed out that the pre-existing flaws are “not surprising given how delicate the material is.”
