Marilyn Monroe’s Personal Screen Worn Fur from The Misfits
From her personal wardrobe, two white fox fur elements previously affixed to a white sweater worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Misfits, her final completed motion picture. The film was released on February 1, 1961. Marilyn would die the following year while filming Something’s Got to Give, which remained unfinished at the time of her death.
The use of these furs in The Misfits offers a revealing example of Marilyn wearing her own personal clothing in a studio production. This practice was not unusual for her; a similar instance occurs in Let’s Make Love (1960), in which Marilyn appears in the film’s final scenes wearing a black dress from her private wardrobe rather than a studio-issued costume.
Marilyn first owned these fox fur pieces in the early 1950s, when they were originally attached to the cuffs of a long white coat. By 1958, the same furs had been repurposed and applied to the collar of a white jacket, as documented in period photographs. See photos here. Their final known configuration, however, was when worn by Marilyn during the rodeo sequence in The Misfits. This evolution, from coat cuffs to jacket collar to film costume, demonstrates both the longevity of the pieces and Marilyn’s personal approach to clothing, reuse, and self-presentation.
Related Collection Artifacts:
- Marilyn Monroe’s Personal Cowgirl Boots from The Misfits
- Marilyn Monroe’s Personal Script for The Misfits
- Marilyn Monroe’s Personal Script Sides from The Misfits
Notably, Marilyn was photographed wearing the same white sweater from The Misfits, this time without the fur, when she exited Payne Whitney Psychiatric Hospital in February 1961, further underscoring the intimate connection between her personal wardrobe and her public image during the final years of her life.
The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe
October 1999
Collector’s Note
One of the most revealing aspects of Marilyn Monroe’s wardrobe is not its glamour, but its continuity. She did not treat clothing as fixed or disposable. Instead, she kept pieces she loved and returned to them repeatedly, reshaping and reusing them across many years of her life.
These fox furs are a clear example of that practice. Rather than belonging to a single garment, they moved with Marilyn. In the early nineteen fifties, they were attached to the cuffs of a long white coat. Later, they appeared as part of a white jacket. Eventually, they were worn on screen in The Misfits. Their changing forms reflect a personal approach to dress that was practical, sentimental, and expressive rather than driven by fashion trends.
What makes this especially significant is that Marilyn did not separate her personal wardrobe from her film work. She often wore her own clothing in studio productions when it felt right to her. These choices allowed her to maintain a sense of authenticity and comfort, while also shaping the characters she portrayed. As a result, many of her garments exist both as personal possessions and as part of cinematic history.
Seen in this light, these furs are not simply costume elements. They are objects of lived use, worn privately, altered thoughtfully, and ultimately carried into one of Marilyn Monroe’s most important films. Their survival across time offers a rare and intimate connection between the woman herself and the image she presented to the world.
Scott Fortner
Marilyn Monroe Collection
Founder & Owner
@mariylnmonroecollection 
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