Marilyn Monroe

my wife loves Marilyn Monroe. So when I was scrolling through the internet one day, I came across some photos of Marilyn wearing a strange dress made of potato sacking with potato print on it. I showed my wife and she was immediately anamoured to it, and wanted to know more. So after some research, here it is.

Marilyn Monroe Silenced a Rude Journalist — With a Potato Sack, so the article said that I found. Don’t you love the internet? Beats going to the library and wading through books and old newspapers and microfiche. And waiting until morning when the library opens. The internet is always open.

the story.

Over 75 years ago, a young, rising star named Marilyn Monroe walked into a party wearing a stunning dress. The cameras loved her. The crowd was enchanted. But not everyone was impressed…

A snarky journalist wrote a bitter piece, claiming Marilyn’s charm came only from her expensive gowns. “Put her in a potato sack,” she wrote, “and no one would even notice her.”

Well, guess what?

Marilyn heard about it — and laughed.

With that signature mischievous smile, she said:

“A potato sack? Let's see about that.”

Instead of getting offended, Marilyn turned the insult into pure magic. She posed — confident, radiant, iconic — in an actual potato sack dress

And the result? History.

She didn’t just clap back.

She made it fashion.

The back story.

This moment wasn’t just witty — it echoed a real chapter in American history. During the Great Depression, many women couldn’t afford fabric. So they made dresses from flour and potato sacks. Manufacturers even began printing patterns — floral, stripes — just so women could feel stylish while surviving hard times.

one 17 year-old girl‘s dress made from flour sacks now lives in the Smithsonian Museum. Proof that resourcefulness is timeless.

Marilyn’s Lesson?

Elegance isn’t about price tags.

Confidence doesn’t need approval.

And the best comeback? Being so good they can’t ignore you — even in a potato sack.

Next time someone throws shade, channel a little Marilyn:

Smile, own it… and make it iconic.

Marilyn Monroe has many iconic photographs, yet one that often flies under the radar is her adorned in a fitted burlap potato sack, which she, of course, looked incredible in. Yet there is an intriguing story behind why the photoshoot even took place.

One story claims that Monroe had received criticism for a provocative dress she wore to a party taking place in the Beverly Hills Hotel. The red dress in question was said to be low cut and drew the ire of a female journalist, who according to Monroe, called her ‘cheap and vulgar’. She even went on to say that Monroe would have looked better wearing a potato sack.

This led Twentieth Century Fox to take advantage of the situation, organizing the now-famous photoshoot that saw Monroe posing in a burlap potato sack that was designed to highlight her famous figure. The photos would go on to feature in newspapers across the country, proving the fact that Monroe could indeed look amazing in a potato sack.

Another story follows a similar idea, claiming a random statement made by someone who alleged that Monroe was gorgeous enough to make a potato sack sexy. This was supposedly what inspired the publicity stills to be taken and released by Twentieth Century Fox, who were more than happy to prove it to be true.

The 1952 photo shoot.

Further research disclosed that sellers on eBay and Etsy have listed original and authentic potato sack dresses from that era for sale at an eye popping price of over $ 152. My wife loved the story, and I gained her love and effection for bringing it to her. Next thing I know, she will be wearing a potato sack dress.