Kim Kardashian Wore Marilyn Monroe's Iconic "Happy Birthday" Dress to the 2022 Met Gala

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It's hard to believe Kim Kardashian could top her meme-invoking, head-to-toe T-shirt look by Balenciaga from last year's Met Gala. But the reality star, who does have a knack for breaking the Internet, has managed to do it once again. For the 2022 Met Gala, she opted to make history by wearing Marilyn Monroe's dress from 1962, which the Hollywood icon wore while attending President John F. Kennedy's 45th birthday at Madison Square Garden.

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The skintight, bedazzled ivory dress, designed by Jean-Louis, includes a scoop neckline and a plunging back. Since it's a historical artifact, the piece could not be altered or tailored in any way, so Kardashian's attendance was a last-minute decision. At the premiere of Hulu's The Kardashians last month, she told Access Hollywood that she would be gracing the carpet only if the dress she had in mind fit perfectly, alluding to the fact that the dress was an archived piece.

"The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year. I thought to myself, what would I have done for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? What's the most American thing you can think of? And that's Marilyn Monroe," she told Vogue. "For me, the most Marilyn Monroe moment is when she sang 'Happy Birthday,' to JFK, it was that look."

Kardashian accessorized with a girl's best friend: diamonds, of course. She wore fringe drop earrings and dyed her hair to Marilyn's famous platinum blonde hair. Silver platform heels and a white jacket completed the look.

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According to People, the delicate and embellished dress was sold to Ripley's Believe It Or Not for $4.81 million during a 2016 auction hosted by Julien's, which would explain Kardashian and her boyfriend Pete Davidson's quick trip to the Ripley's Orlando office last week.

The sparkling, hip-hugging dress perfectly fits into Kardashian's fashion repertoire. In fact, over the weekend, the SKIMS founder made her red-carpet debut with Davidson at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner — perhaps another hint to the significant piece worn by the Hollywood starlet for JFK's birthday bash — wearing a blinding metallic silver gown.