Marilyn Brings Back the Bouffant

Marilyn by Bert Stern, 1962

The bouffant hairstyles of the early 1960s are making a comeback, as Marisa Meltzer reports for the New York Times.

Kenneth Battelle styles Marilyn’s hair for photographer Bert Stern, 1962

“‘The inspiration was the 1960s and Priscilla Presley,’ said Serena Radaelli, who did Cher’s hair. ‘Cher said, “Excuse me, I was alive then,” and showed us photos of herself in the ’60s.’

The hairstyle, known for its round shape, with hair swept off the face and shellacked into place with quite a bit of hair spray, is symbolic of all that is retro. Think of Catherine Deneuve, Betty Draper in Mad Men and multiple first ladies (Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Jacqueline Kennedy).

‘They used to be this glaring symbol that you were a lady of the leisure class, right?’ said Stellene Volandes, the editor in chief of Town & Country. ‘They said, “Yes, I have time to go to Kenneth and spend the afternoon there and have him tease my hair high and eat sandwiches from William Poll.”‘

She was referring to the hairdresser Kenneth Battelle, who was a master of the bouffant. Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy were clients.

Ms. Volandes said she would send those curious about the bouffant to stylists who know their way around an uptown clientele: John Barrett, Valery Joseph, Julien Farel or Serge Normant — or to Paul Podlucky’s apartment salon on East 67th Street for real Upper East Side verisimilitude.

If you’re curious about attempting a D.I.Y. bouffant, Ms. Radaelli has some counsel. ‘Have a nice comb to tease the hair — maybe you need to have a hairpiece — and lots of hair spray,’ she said. She recommended L’Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Hairspray, which came on to the market in the 1960s. Its gold packaging still has a drawing of a lady with a bouffant.”

Thanks to Eiji Aoki

Marilyn at Julien’s: Fashion and Beauty

In today’s post about the upcoming Legends event at Julien’s Auctions, let’s take a look at Marilyn’s fashion and beauty habits, and what they cost her. (Read more about the June 13-14 sale here.)

UPDATE: I have added the final bids to each item.

“A typed letter on Jamie, Inc. letterhead dated July 24, 1958 in regards to a newspaper article reporting that Marilyn’s new white platinum bleach is breaking off her tresses. The letter, from the president of Jamie, Inc. reads, ‘Enclosed is a clipping from one of our daily newspapers regarding damage to your hair. We are sending you under separate cover our hair conditioner. If used according to directions, it will allow you to bleach your hair as light and as often as you desire. I am sure you will find that you will no longer have hair damage of any kind, and you will also be able to obtain a truer color.’ Enclosed with the letter is the original newspaper clipping referencing Monroe’s hair.” (SOLD for $1,152)

“An October 19, 1959 invoice for the storage of several of Marilyn’s furs, including a white ermine coat, a black fox stole trimmed with silk, a ranch mink coat, a white beaver coat, a white fox stole, a black fox stole, and a white fox stole and muff, among others. Nearly all of the furs listed on this receipt are instantly recognized in photos of Marilyn at publicity and red carpet events. ” (SOLD for $750)

“An extensive collection of statements from Lilly Dache Boutique and Beauty Salon in New York, with dates throughout 1958 and 1959, together with a letter addressed to Marilyn informing her that she has an overdue balance of $238.40.”  (SOLD for $768)

“A grouping of shopping receipts addressed to Marilyn Monroe Miller for various purchases, one receipt specifies an alteration to a tweed item for her stepdaughter, Janie Miller. Also included is an envelope from the famed clothing line address to Jax in Beverly Hills.” (SOLD for $875)

“A receipt from I. Magnin & Co. addressed to Mrs. Arthur Miller at the Beverly Hills Hotel, dated December 23, 1959, for the purchase of ‘5# Original,’ indicating a purchase for the famed perfume, widely believed to be a favorite of Monroe’s. Interestingly, the order was specified to be delivered to ‘Dorothy Blass,’ a name Marilyn occasionally used for past purchases and deliveries to disguise her identity. During this period Marilyn was completing filming of Let’s Make Love. Research indicates she actually called out sick on this date.” (SOLD for $1,152)


“A black chiffon overblouse. Label reads ‘Rudi Gernreich Design for Walter Bass.’ A separate paper label reads ‘Style 104 M. Monroe.'” (SOLD for $19,200)

“A pair of drop rhinestone ear clips with three strands of teardrop-shaped rhinestones, unmarked; and a
six-stranded iridescent crystal necklace in purple and green. ” (SOLD for $28,125 and $11,250, respectively)

Marilyn’s Hair, By Kenneth

A lock of Marilyn’s hair – comprising around 35 strands, and preserved by Kenneth Battelle, her stylist from 1958-62 – is currently on offer from autograph dealer Moments in Time for $16,500, as TMZ reports.  It’s said Kenneth collected several locks as gifts for friends; and though undeniably peculiar, this sale is not unprecedented as two locks of Marilyn’s hair from the estate of Monroe Sixer Frieda Hull were previously sold for $70,000 at Julien’s in 2016. (You can read my tribute to ‘Mr. Kenneth’ here.)

Marilyn and Kenneth, 1961 (photo by Eve Arnold)

The Man Who Bought Marilyn’s Hair

Hair test for Something’s Got to Give (1962)

Following recent news that two locks of Marilyn’s hair have been sold by Julien’s Auctions, the man who paid $37,000 for one of them has been interviewed by CNBC.

“The locks from the estate of Monroe super-fan Frieda Hull, who had obtained the hair from the Tinseltown starlet’s hairdresser, sold for a whopping $70,000 combined. Julien’s originally expected the hair to sell for only a few thousand dollars.

One of the bidders on Monroe’s golden tresses was Remi Gangarossa, a 31-year-old Chicago financial professional. Despite his relatively young age, Gangarossa told CNBC he’d been ‘infatuated’ with Hollywood and one of its most tragic icons for most of his life.

Fate may have intervened to grant Gangarossa one of his biggest wishes. He explained that Julien’s was originally scheduled to auction a slate of Monroe’s former property in November, but decided to auction just a few of her items off in a separate event, which took place last weekend.

The Chicago resident said he had already received offers to buy the hair, but ‘I said absolutely not,’ Gangarossa told CNBC. ‘It’s an interesting thing to know my investment was worth it, but it’s not for sale.'”

Marilyn: Still Loved For Her Yellow Hair

Marilyn during filming of Some Like It Hot

‘Love me for my yellow hair alone’, Marilyn once wrote to her friend, Norman Rosten – it was an ironical misquote (perhaps intentionally so) of a line from W.B. Yeats’ poem ‘For Anne Gregory‘, which actually read  ‘Love me for myself alone/And not my yellow hair.’

This weekend, two locks of Marilyn’s hair – previously owned by Frieda Hull, a former member of the teenage group known as the Monroe Six, who befriended the star when she moved to New York – were sold by Julien’s Auctions for $70,000, as part of their latest Icons and Idols sale. Other items from the late Ms Hull’s collection, including many rare, candid photos, will be sold by in November’s Marilyn-only auction, also at Julien’s.

In a macabre footnote, the ashes of novelist Truman Capote – another friend of Marilyn’s – were also sold at Julien’s this weekend for $43, 750.  And in other hair-related news, a wig worn by Marilyn in The Misfits will be on sale at Heritage Auctions on November 12.

UPDATE: You can now read a CNBC interview with Remi Gangarossa, who placed the winning bid for a lock of Marilyn’s hair, over here.

The Sugar Kane Hairdo

“Now this is actually a lot easier than it may seem. If your hair is already of the correct length, all you need is a good set of medium barrel hot rollers!

I recommend using hot rollers of about a 1 inch diameter. When you’re putting them in, be sure to hold them up and out from your head when you start rolling, so that they go all the way down to the base of your hair and don’t just hang there.

Make sure not to use too big of sections or the heat won’t adequately penetrate all of the hair. You also want to be sure to roll them in the direction you want the curl to go.

For instance, in the pic above the curl goes toward her forehead and under, so you want to roll the hot roller toward your forehead and under when putting it in.”

Rockabilly Online