Hmmmm...this controversial issue is a hot topic these days, but back in the fifties it was about being fit and healthy and happy. About being a better person, NOT about striving to be a size double zero 00! Some say that she was a size 12, some say 16! Let me show you some evidence which might reveal what size Marilyn really was. Enjoy lovlies!
Her measurements were recorded by her dressmaker as 36-23-37 and sometimes fluctuated between that and 36-24-37. If you think about that it's not a size 0! But, that is a waist size that is genetically tiny, especially with those curves! She was a real woman and that is evident but I'm wondering what that would measure up in today's standards? Let's look!
MODELS TODAY:
From the website theage.com.au
"The deaths of models has sparked an international debate about the ethics of using models with "size-zero" measurements: a 56-centimetre waist — that of an average eight-year-old girl."
And a quote from the site www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/09/15/1157827140142.html
"The body mass index is a statistical measure of ideal body weight calculated by dividing a person's body weight by their height squared. An ideal body max index is between 18.5 and 25. A measurement under 15 is considered grossly underweight."
Fashion Model "measurements".
On this website I found something VERY disturbing: www.fashionmodelquicktrack.com/magazine-model.html
(They Claim this is the ideal size for a fashion runway model...)
5'9" - 6" Bust 32"-36" Waist 22"-26" Hips 33"-35"
Description: very thin with fantastic posture
(AND they go one to describe something entirely uncontrollable to most women who are beautiful just the way they are, this leads to body dismorphic disorder, as well as, plastic surgery addictions...)
This is the image they use on the site to show the "perfect symmetrical face" which doesn't even exist
(Here is a snip-it of one of their pages)
So lets look at facial features...
What makes a models face model material?
To begin with, the more symmetrical a face is the better looking the face will be.
The proportions of the face are very important.
The face is neither long nor round but somewhere in-between.
The eyes will be normal to large with a perfect shape; the eyelids will not be hooded (when looking forward the skin will not touch the eyelashes).
The nose will be well proportioned and straight.
The lips will be full and good shape.
The skin will be near perfect and without fine lines.
The eyebrows will be thick and perfectly shaped.
The hair will be in good condition and cut by a professional stylist.
The model will be in peak physical condition.
The focus is not on the face for bikini and lingerie models.
Catalogue models faces have to look attractive, while the fashion models face must be very attractive.
::this website is just disheartening and WRONG, and I had to post it to show you all what is wrong in the industry of "perfection" which prevails today and is leaking into our homes today. No one is perfect and in fact we can't even begin to strive for perfection because it won't happen. We GET fine lines, unless you don't smile of course, we ARE naturally assymetrical and we are beautiful because we are all different. Our imperfections are what define us and without them, then we are just a pretty face with emptiness inside. In this month's issue of GLAMOUR, which was the most inspiring one I think I've ever read, there was a quote that just stuck in my head, "Simple but true: Women who place the most importance on looks are also the most unhappy." That is the truth. If you wake up and pick and pick and pick at yourself, YOU will be miserable. If you wake up and emphasize everything that you like about yourself, you will be beautiful and you are beautiful naturally. SERIOUSLY go get the Glamour this month, it's very inspiring and shows before and after photos of models from today as compared to how they looked only a year ago or so. It's eye-opening, OKAY Back to the subject at hand! hehehe::
So we'll generalize that todays model really look like this:
THE truth is conveyed on this website I found: Let me know if you thinks this sounds like "perfection" to you? This website is the best one I've come across and I'm going to post some of it on here so that you can just scan over it, but if you want the whole article click here: www.femininebeauty.info/physique.htm
I'm so excited that I found this it's soooo lovely!!! Read on ladies!!
(The following is from www.femininebeauty.info/physique.htm)
Body shape:
High-fashion models tend to possess multiple masculine features such as broad shoulders, naturally small to near-flat breasts (if you see prominent breasts, then they are almost certainly fake), near-flat buttocks, male-typical height, masculine skeletal proportions, elevated waist-to-hip ratios, etc.
The physique of high-fashion models:
The central tendency among high-fashion models is to approximate the physique of adolescent boys.
The overall face structure of high-fashion models contrasted with glamour models:
This section has three pages(on the website, but I will lay only two of them out here for you); contrasting gracile high-fashion models with gracile glamour models and yet another contrasting robust high-fashion models with masculinized/robust glamour models.
Gracile high-fashion models vs. gracile glamour models
The most gracile high-fashion models (top) still have usually less feminine facial features compared to gracile glamour models (bottom).
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I think you get the point.
Robust high-fashion models vs. robust/masculinized glamour models
Glamour models with robust/masculinized facial features (bottom) are typically more feminine-looking than robust high-fashion models (top).
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And NOW I will do the same with Marilyn and high fashion models(even some, such as Giselle and Carolyn Murphy, who are known for their "curves"):
Clearly this is the biggest discrepancy...which do you think is more beautiful?
typical models
Marilyn
fashion model
Marilyn poses for test shoot for the movie Monkey Business.
high fashion model
Marilyn 
Karolina Kurkova
Marilyn at her smallest.
cutest little pic ever of young Marilyn
another well-known model, Carolyn Murphy
Okay, well I think I showed you the different standards that there are today for women. REALLY, it seems to me that it is more beautiful to be curvy and healthy looking. The whole reason I did this was to show you that we do have a problem, which you probably all know, and we need to change our standards of beauty. We need to equate health with beauty, and I thought I'd never say this, BUT like they did in the 1940s, 1950s during Marilyn's era. They didn't do a lot of things right back then, but that I must say they were right on track. How did it get as bad as it is today? And where did it go wrong?
Thanks gals(& guys too) and send me a message, if you would like, on your opinion about this matter.
BTW: I am in no way, shape or form saying that skinny is not beautiful. IT IS if it is a natural, healthy woman who just happens to be a slim girl(believe me I am one and used to get made fun of my "chicken legs") so this is just about being HEALTHY AND BEAUTIFUL, AS YOU ARE.
Givenchy
Wow, lots of information!
Diane von Furstenberg says even she's surprised at clothing sizes now. That what used to be a size 12 in her line 25 years ago would now be sized as a 10 or an 8. This just supported my theory that the sizes have been altered to feed into the whole skinny thing and letting people think they're wearing smaller sizes, and even wearing a 0, which if you think about it, isn't a size at all. So Marilyn Monroe probably WAS a size 12; just what was considered a size 12 then.
1Girlie, you did an awesome job on this blog!!
I agree, everyone should be happy and
healthy, for their individual body size! 
2Man, I never really noticed how masculine and odd some of the runway models are. They are just walking clothes hangers.
I may wish I could lose a few lbs, but I'm glad I'm more on the Marilyn end of the body scale.
3Really cool post. Like the first post, I think that "vanity sizing" has made it tough to tell what size she would wear now. One thing is for sure, though, she is def. thicker than what is standard beauty these days.
4yeah, I think in the hips(pant) she would probably be a size 8 or 10, and then on top probably a small or medium. Hmmmm...it's really hard to know. I wish I could find a cutout of the typical model and one of Marilyn, put em together and look at the diff. Well, thanks for the compliments guys, I just know it made me feel better when I read this info so I thought I'd share it!
5You did a great job, Tnkerbelli.
6Yea just backing up marci here. Sizes were diff back in the day. When I was in my prime lol I had 36 hips ass area and I was in a size 5, so marilyn though very curvy and beautiful looking liek a real woman was still quite small I am sure
7Great blog. I love the potato sack picture.
"She would look good, even in a potato sack" So they took her picture in one to prove it!
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8"We're forced to bed, But we're free to dream" Gord Downie
this is a great blog, thanks for posting!
9I agree that high fashion models really look like 14 year old boys! All boney and rectangular looking...And the majority of them are not what normal people would consider "pretty" - they're really kinda strange looking!
Great job on this post!
10love the post... i can add that sizing back then was different then now. i have a vintage clothign business and i am amazed at some of the dresses that come through with tags of 10,12,14 and they look like they would fit an 8 now... very deceiving...
11Thanks for the lovely compliments ladies!
12Great post. I'm thinking she was prob a 12 or 14 in retro-size. i'm 36-28-38 and I'm typically an 8 and at times a 6. Some a the few vintage items I have bought over the years I generally have to at least get a 10. What surprises me most about clothes is the shift in sizing to make room for 00 clothing. Double zero?? Who are they marketing towards? A size 2 wasn't a small enough goal? jeesh!
13Marilyn had a beautiful and healthy looking body, but I don't think she was as "robust" or full-figured as some people make her out to be. She was like 5'6" and 118-140 lbs (she was 140 when pregnant, apparently) so that would make her probably a size 4 or 6 at the most in modern sizes. In most of her pictures taken in her "prime", she looks like a 4 to me, and probably had to have the waist taken in! A 23" waist is so small--smaller than a size 0, which usually fits a 24-25" waist!
14Oh, btw, I am definitely not a fan of the ultra-skinny models on the runways nowadays. I think clothes look better on slimmer figures, but only to a certain extent! Some of those models look so malnourished, I can't tear my eyes from their scrawny thighs and their chest bones!
15Hahaha, yeah i totally do the same thing when I look at them puddinpie, I just feel sorry for them. Although they are walking down a runway as a job. What will they do when they are too old to do that? Or when they need a bite to eat? I guess that will have to be another blog topic.
16Marilyn is such a goddess
17there's no doubt about it enough! (L)
This was a great blog, very informative. I read somewhere that this trend in uber-thinness is driven by the fashion designers. NOT the celebrities or models. The fashion designers request models who are skinny with no curves because they basically resemble hangers that feature the clothes. Remember in fashion, it's not about the models...it's about the CLOTHES! So the models that they choose are basically glorified hangers. So that their design looks the same on a person as it did in their two-dimensional sketches. And the celebrities have bought into the skinny trend because they want to be able to fit into the sample sizes that are dictated by the designers. So, this whole too-skinny craze won't end until the designers start designing clothes that will fit real women (instead of gratifying their egos). Whew, that was a long-winded two cents!
18Marilyn was way more beautiful than any of the modern day models. I mean she's an actual icon! Most of these models won't even be remembered. I don't see people walking around with Giselle on their shirts or purses. I always see Marilyn stuff like that though. Great job on the blog =)
19This is such a positive blog Tnkrbelli, I wish every young girl could see this! Your research is really thorough, and the accompanying photos really prove your point about how far the fashion industry has gone in the thin trend. I used to love watching fashion shows on TV back in the Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington era (these women are obviously thin as well, but not sickly thin), I can hardly stand to watch the shows now that the models look so desperately thin and ill. It's such a horrible image of "perfection" to bombard impressionable young girls with in today's various media. I'm hoping by the time I have a child the trend will have turned away from this walking skeleton look onto something healthier and more realistically attainable.
20Yeah, sizes were very different in Marilyn's day. I am about 50 pounds overweight now, but back in my early twenties, at my smallest, my measurements were very similar to Marilyn's: 36-24-37 -- and sometimes 36-25-37 -- and I typically wore size 4 to size 6 (and even had a few items that were size 3). I think Marilyn at her heaviest (Some Like it Hot or Let's Make Love) was probably in the equivalent of today's size 8 or 10. Really not that big at all.
21Wow.. Dat was some information.. Thanx a lot.. the truth is.. Yes.. marilyn is much more beautifull than anyother model who walks the ramp today.. i don understand.. dont they ever know dat Beauty is only skin deep.. its good to be slim and fit.. u will feel great.. but not thin and fragile.. The thing is.. all these people looked great before.. but now totally strange..
22Wow.. Dat was some information.. Thanx a lot.. the truth is.. Yes.. marilyn is much more beautifull than anyother model who walks the ramp today.. i don understand.. dont they ever know dat Beauty is only skin deep.. its good to be slim and fit.. u will feel great.. but not thin and fragile.. The thing is.. all these people looked great before.. but now totally strange..
23Wow.. Dat was some information.. Thanx a lot.. the truth is.. Yes.. marilyn is much more beautifull than anyother model who walks the ramp today.. i don understand.. dont they ever know dat Beauty is only skin deep.. its good to be slim and fit.. u will feel great.. but not thin and fragile.. The thing is.. all these people looked great before.. but now totally strange..
24I have to say I understand where you're coming from but most fashion models don't have a celebrity status that Marilyn did. They're not idolized, they're used to show clothes and with the exception of Kate Moss and very few others, they're not good for much else, they're tall, look like they're made of sticks, unattractive and generally scary. Think of the women that ARE celebrities like Marilyn, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Selma Hayek, Catherine Zeta Jones, all of these women are similar shapes ans and sizes and much like Marilyn, in the 50's and 60's do you know who else was a celebrity? Aundrey Hepburn, Twiggy, Joan Crawford. All of those women were amazingly thin. It's not a new occurance, the want for women to be thin. Although it is a psychologically unsound one for many reasons. All I'm saying is comparing Marilyn Monroe to fashion models that not many people know the names of is absurd. And using Marilyn Monroe as an icon to the 60's is also absurd, being thin was in then too.
25i agree. not that skinny isn't beautiful if it's natural, but i personally think all those runway models look plain atrocious! i don't think they look close to beauty! people should just be their own healthy weight and not worry about it.
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