https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16 Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:26:48 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16/page/2#post-124023 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:03:51 +0000 Maya 124023@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16/page/2#post-124010 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:04:57 +0000 Anonymous 124010@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I love Marylin Monroe and from what I've seen she was a great actress with an unfortunately short life. She was a beauty no doubt, in times when women were subjected to alot of the good ole boy teasing which didn't help her self esteem as a real actress. In fact I've read that she just wanted people to take her seriously at her trade.<br /> We just watched the movie 'The Misfits' and Marylin Monroe had it going on. She was much more than just a pretty face and body, she was a great actress. She carried that movie. There is absolutely no comparison of Marylin Monroe to Queen Latifa. Puleese. You are saying that because Queen Latifa is large, that makes her a role model, and she isn't even that much of an actress! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16/page/2#post-124006 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:21:52 +0000 Angie 124006@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This has been a fun read! </p> <p>I’d say that sizes in the US are about 3 sizes larger than what they used to be in the 70’s. If you wore a US6 then, you’ll probably wear a zero now if your body has stayed the same. </p> <p>MM’s weight did fluctuate, AND she wore a corset. At her slimmest she was probably a today's size US6 but with the waistline of a size 2. At her heaviest, she was probably a US10 with the waistline of a size 6. Scarlett Johansson is the modern MM in my book – to the T. She wears a US6. It might make a good reference point. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-124003 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:17:38 +0000 Maya 124003@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I would prefer to just let this thread go. I think my point is being missed and it isn't that important anyway. But by all means...continue the discussion if you please! I have nothing more to say on the subjet though. It generated a lot more controversy than I expected so I'd rather not participate myself. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-124001 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:13:37 +0000 RoseandJoan 124001@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Maya, just to add fuel to your fire, here's a bio of Marilyn compiled by handbag.com who state MM was a 16.<br /> <a href="http://www.handbag.com/fashion/celebrity-fashion-icon-marilyn-monroe-2/gallery" rel="nofollow">http://www.handbag.com/fashion.....-2/gallery</a></p> <p>Shiny just for reference when I left university I weighed 119lb, wore a UK size 8-10 but had a cup size e and I'm 5 ft 8. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123759 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:30:34 +0000 medusa 123759@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wikipedia has a chart for "women's standard clothing sizes" which it says was developed in the 40s &amp; 50s: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_standard_clothing_size" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.....thing_size</a></p> <p>According to the chart I should wear a size 8 or 10, and I actually wear a 4 or 6 most of the time. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123755 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:15:57 +0000 Maya 123755@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Back to the point though...that cute dress is tiny. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123754 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:15:14 +0000 Maya 123754@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>If your waist is significantly smaller than your hips and bust, it can give the illusion that your hips and bust are much bigger than they really are. A person who is 28-35 is going to look very different than someone who is 23-35. Also, how you carry weight in your bottom half can create different impressions. She was also a 36D, which is actually a very average size today (keeping in mind that most women wear the wrong bra size). It just looked large compared to her teeny waist. </p> <p>One might guess that I had either a small or no chest at 105 pounds, but I was a D cup. Bust size is mostly genetic. Anyone at any weight can have any cup size.</p> <p>I'd loathe having her body. I struggle enough as it is to look modest and get a good fit.. It's a very good thing that she had mostly custom made clothes, otherwise I have no idea how she would fit into absolutely anything off the rack. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123750 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:14:39 +0000 shiny 123750@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'll be the naysayer here. First, if you look at Marilyn's photos, her weight fluctuated quite a bit. Second, celebrities have been known to lie about their weight and their measurements.</p> <p>I find it VERY hard to believe she had 35 inch hips. That's what I have, and I'm 5' shorter than her. What's more, today's typical model has 35 inch hips. She is far more curvy than today's typical model. She has thighs. She has wiggle. She has breasts.... 118? No way! At that height, she would have no chest and be skin and bones. </p> <p>I absolutely believe Marilyn - at times - was a today's size 12 or 14. And, I think she was absolutely gorgeous. I would kill to have her figure. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123685 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:19:51 +0000 chewyspaghetti 123685@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I guess you could turn it around and think that her body (which was very unique) was held up and glorified, so that each of our own unique bodies could also be the ideal to some certain sect in certain circumstances.<br /> Every Woman the Ideal?<br /> I don't know- I have a migraine so maybe I am not making sense LOL </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123645 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:38:44 +0000 Maya 123645@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It just makes no sense to me because those statements are misleading. A size 12/14/16/whatever you heard she was, was small back then. MM was curvy, but she was thin or at the very worst average (I disagree that she was ever really "plump"--guess that is subjective), and her body is at least as unattainable as any of the size 0 catwalk waifs of today. Why she is used as the ultimate size/ body type role model for women is what I do not understand. I don't really understand using ANY single person as a size or body type role model but especially someone with such a unique set of measurements and a size that--even when you take her biggest measurements from when she was at her largest--is still below average for today's women.</p> <p>Queen Latifah is a role model! She isn't a perfect hourglass. She isn't a size 0. But she is a beautiful woman. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123644 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:27:56 +0000 londonkiwi (now back in NZ) 123644@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Isn't a US 12 the equivalent of a UK 16 - perhaps that is where the confusion comes from? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123630 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:35:23 +0000 Mamapicklejuice 123630@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Anne - those are the versions I'm familiar with as well...not sure why those would be considered harmful to anyone's morale...if anything holding up a curvy body (and yes, she did have her plump phases) as an ideal is a good thing, in my book. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123538 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:56:28 +0000 anne 123538@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Maya, the version of the rumour as I have encountered ( and I have come across it a lot) usually either goes<br /> a)" "ideal" body shapes have changed a lot of the decades. Look at curvy size 12 MM compared to the waifs of today"</p> <p>or</p> <p>b) "look how good MM was and she was a size 12"</p> <p>Garmenta, I know shape wear was pretty much everyday wear back then, but I have read that MM liked to wear no underwear under her clothes! (haven't checked this though)</p> <p>Joanna Lumley, the British actor in Abfab, was a model in the 60s in Britain and said in her memoirs that she was a size 12 and that was the standard model size at that point, with a 34 inch bust. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123469 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:34:34 +0000 Lee Hovey 123469@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>LOL good point Garmenta! </p> <p>Maya, ok, I stand corrected. I guess I was put off by when you said "what does that do for my morale?"... you're way to fab to let a celeb rumor affect your morale </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123452 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:28:18 +0000 garmenta 123452@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Whatever Marilyn Monroe's actual waist measurement, you can bet she was cinched into her dresses by some heavy-duty 1950s shapewear. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123443 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:03:58 +0000 Maya 123443@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ah, gotcha Dusty. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123439 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:59:35 +0000 Dusty 123439@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>"I actually think those sizes are still much too big. I wear a 2 or 4 and I sure as heck don't have a 23" waist. A size 0 usually corresponds with a 24" or 25" waist."</p> <p>I was actually going off her hips - she'd have to have the waist altered on absolutely everything. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123432 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:53:40 +0000 Maya 123432@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I reemphasize that I didn't mean that *I* care about her size. I thought this was a well known rumor but I could be wrong. </p> <p>That's one of the reasons I don't envy her or her figure Julie. As a "normal" non-celebrity, she would have a devil of a time getting clothes to fit. As an actress, she was typecast and valued almost exclusively for her body and blonde hair. I truly couldn't envy her less.</p> <p>Yikes Rae, her dressmaker claims her measurements were 35-22-35. 22! Good grief. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123431 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:51:33 +0000 rae 123431@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>According to this site, she weighed 118 lbs. Yeah, that's a size 16... (crosses eyes). With her bust size and that weight, I'd believe it if she did have a 23 inch waist, sheesh!</p> <p><a href="http://marilynmonroepages.com/facts.html" rel="nofollow">http://marilynmonroepages.com/facts.html</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123428 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:50:01 +0000 marianna 123428@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm a size 16 and I obviously look nothing like Marilyn Monroe. Case in point. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123424 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:43:57 +0000 RoseandJoan 123424@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm sure if Marlyn was on the forum today she would have to alter all of her clothes. Her proportions were phenomenal, and in my opinion proportion is far more important than size. Maya, I never bought she was a UK size 16 never mind a US 16. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123417 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:37:28 +0000 Maya 123417@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>No, I totally agree with you Kendra! I just see that as being an argument being made very frequently to make women feel better about their size. I couldn't give a fig how my size relates to MM. I don't actually envy her body, to be honest. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123415 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:33:08 +0000 Lee Hovey 123415@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am just not sure we should allow the rumored sizes of celebrities affect our morale, as you mentioned, Maya. Who cares what size she was in comparison to ourselves?? </p> <p>She was her, we are us. We all have different bodies. One's morale should only be affected by how one feels about themself... am I healthy? And I comfortable in my own skin? Am I dressing to flatter my current shape? </p> <p>Sorry to be the downer... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123398 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:34:43 +0000 Maya 123398@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I know sizing standards have changed but I mean people should just be able to look at her and see that she is not a modern size 16, no matter how curvy her bust and hips were. </p> <p>(I suck at math too...I used a calculator to make sure, hehe) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123397 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:33:20 +0000 Kristine 123397@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yeah, I'm sure this rumor relates to sewing or upscale fashion sizes. I'm a 4 and when I sew I use something like a 10/12. </p> <p>I love that dress by the way! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123395 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:30:52 +0000 Mamapicklejuice 123395@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Okay, well, sorry for my math mistake. Sizing has changed. I don't really think about the numbers too much. Like I said, I could be a 4, 6, 12, 14 or 16 depending on the era of the garment. I would never look like MM tho - she had very unique measurements. I also sew for kids - so 13.5 inch waist didn't throw me very much! lol</p> <p>I can sew how the myth started as not everyone is educated about the changes in sizing standards. I also think the had her plump phases (see "Some Like it Hot"). It wouldn't take a lot of extra weight to make her curvy - she was fairly short and busty with a narrow rib cage. I thought she was particularly delicious in that movie, btw. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123391 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:21:11 +0000 Maya 123391@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Haha obviously MPJ! Who has a 13.5" waist! :p But still, 13.5" x 2 is 27, which is my size. Yes, a size 4. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123390 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:20:02 +0000 Mamapicklejuice 123390@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Okay, I'm fairly certain those are "flat pattern" measurements. So the bust is really more like a 34" and the waist would be a 26." I'm still a little surprised that it's a 16 if it's circa 1970's. I thought the pattern sizing changed a decade or two earlier. I currently sew a 12 in patterns, a 14 in patterns before 1973 and a 16 in circa 1950s patterns.</p> <p>Anyway, long story short to say that's about a size 4 in rtw today. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/this-is-why-i-laugh-when-people-say-marilyn-monroe-was-a-size-16#post-123388 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:18:41 +0000 Maya 123388@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have heard everything from a 10-16. That should be the first indication that it is a myth!</p> <p>I actually think those sizes are still much too big. I wear a 2 or 4 and I sure as heck don't have a 23" waist. A size 0 usually corresponds with a 24" or 25" waist. </p>