Marilyn Monroe’s Personal White Fox Fur
A coordinated set of white fox fur accessories from Marilyn Monroe’s personal wardrobe, designed to be fastened to multiple garments. The furs were worn interchangeably, appearing as the collar of a white jacket and as sleeve adornments on a white, full-length evening coat. Marilyn wore the fur at multiple public appearances, and they also appear in her final completed film, The Misfits, as seen here.
For premieres, grand parties, and major public appearances, Marilyn possessed an instinctive understanding of her own image and dressed precisely as she believed a film star should. Her evening formula was deliberate and unmistakable: long white kid gloves, cascading rhinestone-and-pearl earrings, and the dramatic elegance of fur. For Marilyn Monroe, fur was not simply fashion. It was reserved for the evening, for spectacle, and for embodying the presence of a star.
As Worn by Marilyn
The 1953 Premiere of The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.: Marilyn Monroe attended the 1953 premiere wearing a white evening coat finished with these white fox fur accessories worn as cuffs at the sleeves. The film starred Tommy Rettig, who had also appeared earlier that year as Marilyn’s young co-star in River of No Return.
With Joe DiMaggio in 1953:Marilyn Monroe appeared with Joe DiMaggio and New York columnist Walter Winchell wearing the same white evening coat, finished with her white fox fur accessories fastened at the sleeves.
March of Dimes Charity Event, January, 1958: Marilyn wore these fur pieces attached to a white jacket.
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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