FIVE

19505

’m going to have my precious baby standing over a grate,” costume designer William Trav-
illa recalled of the steamy New York street scene in The Seven Year Itch (1955). “So I won—
dered what I could do with this most beautiful girl that Marilyn was to play, to 100k clean,
talcum—powdered, and adorable. What would I give her to wear that would blow in the breeze and
be fun and pretty? I knew there would be a wind blowing, and that would require a skirt.” Travilla
also knew that the script had been subjected to endless rewrites by the Hays Office for sexual
innuendo; his costumes would have to play it safe. He conjured a white pleated halter dress for
Marilyn Monroe, which avoided even the shadow of cleavage. To keep the bodice from moving
(in either dangerous direction), Travilla inserted wire boning from neck to waist. The dress, a
practical solution to the Hays Code’s prudery, is now at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.—a
cultural icon of sex appeal.
In the 19505, filmmakers built on the powerful storytelling tools they had developed during

nearly a half—century of moving pictures. The realism of the postwar years continued to capture

ODDOS/TE: “l had fun making it, but never expected it to have the impact it did. l was as surprised as
anyone when Tshirtsjeans and leatherjackets suddenly became symbols of rebellion. Sales of leather
jackets soared. " —Marlon Brando, The Wild One (7953)