“Not even close!”
“No way!”
“There’s only one!”
“She’s no Marilyn!”
Planning to dress up as Marilyn for Halloween this year? Better start with a good layer of thick skin, because no matter who you are, these are the kind of comments you can expect.
It seems there’s nothing quite like another person dressed up as Marilyn to bring out the ire in Marilyn’s fans. If that person is a celebrity, the responses become even more rude, derogatory, and downright angry. For some reason, seeing another woman do a Marilyn impression or homage turns on some irrational desire to defend her from a damage that isn’t actually being done.
Marilyn has had her imitators since the moment she exploded into fame. The very fact that women today still want to emulate her look and to pay tribute to her iconic clothes, poses, and sittings stands as irrefutable evidence of the power of her legacy. People are still choosing the white subway dress or pink Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend gown as a Halloween costume. Celebrities from aspiring starlets to A-listers have donned blonde wigs and a beauty mark in homage to the most famous blonde of them all.
And for some reason, a large portion of the Marilyn fandom absolutely can’t bear it.
There seems to be a feeling that every female actress, model, or singer who tries out a Marilyn look is trying to replace Marilyn, which leads to cries of “There’s only one Marilyn!” and “She’ll never be Marilyn!” Which seems to ignore the fact that not one of these women is trying to be Marilyn. They’re not trying to be the next Marilyn, or another Marilyn, or any sort of Marilyn. They’re just paying tribute, in their own way, to a woman who paved Hollywood trails ahead of them. To a woman they appreciate and admire. To a Hollywood icon.
At the end of the day, they’re just fans. Famous, wealthy fans, but really still fans.
Why is it that the first reaction to a woman doing a Marilyn homage is, for so many, to cut that woman down? To point out how unlike Marilyn she is instead of simply realizing this person loves Marilyn too? Perhaps it’s the natural tendency to defend and protect Marilyn that many who knew her said she brought out in people. But that would imply that the compliment of being imitated is something Marilyn needs to be defended from. Which defies logic.
No, there will never be another Marilyn. That’s never been up for argument. But the desire of women everywhere to grasp a little of what it would be like to be so beautiful, so admired, so glamorous as to be Marilyn – even for a moment – that isn’t going to go away. And that’s not about being another Marilyn, it’s about her incredible draw.
It’s a testament to Marilyn’s staying power that of all the beauties that have come and gone, she remains the one most imitated. It’s a little too easy to say how Marilyn might have felt about any particular subject, but I feel relatively safe in saying that if she could see today the impact she has had, she would certainly not feel derision or anger towards the women who imitate her. So why, then, do her fans?
And the phenomenon seems to be mainly limited to Marilyn. I have never seen anyone accused of trying to be Britney Spears in a white tied top and a plaid skirt. Nor have I ever heard anyone accused of trying to be Audrey Hepburn in a black dress and pearls. If these can be viewed as a fun way of paying homage to an iconic image, why can’t we see a blonde in a white halter dress the same way?
For those who do feel the need to defend Marilyn, there is an internet full of fake quotes, photoshopped pictures, and downright lies about her. Defending her against those things is much more important to her legacy than defending her against another actress in a similar dress.
