

Norma Jeane is wearing a Catalina two piece suit.
In 1946, Norma Jeane's modeling career had taken off, coinciding with the boom in exploitation magazines. Though virtually nonexistent today, these types of publications flooded the market after World War II, particularly after paper rationing ended in 1950. Several types of exploitation magazines appeared on newsstands following the war. Some were devoted to lurid crime stories, others to dimestore romance or Hollywood scandal.
A significant number were aimed at men. Contrary to what might be assumed today, the magazines did not include photographs of nudes but displayed women in bathing suits, negligees, towels, and other scanty but tasteful attire. By modern standards, the layouts are amusing, even innocent.
Because Norma Jeane was not the tall, willowy type best suited for fashion modeling, she began to make her mark in pinup magazines such as Laff, Peek, See, Glamorous Models, Cheesecake, and U.S. Camera. A result of the popularity of the pinup during the war, these inexpensive magazines featured the best in cheesecake photography.
Norma Jeane posed for a number of photographers who sold their work to pinup magazines. One of the best of these photographers was André de Dienes, a fine technician gifted with a sensitive eye that enabled him to work with equal success in color and black and white. De Dienes worked with Norma Jeane from 1945 to 1949, capturing her at the peak of her modeling career. Their last session together was a series of seashore photos shot at Tobey Beach in 1949, when Norma Jeane, by that time Marilyn Monroe, was in New York City to promote one of her early films. These images are from that session.
Marilyn Monroe was a Jantzen model back in the days when she was known as Norma Jean Baker. In 1947 She modeled the Jantzen Double Dare and Temptation suits. The “Double Dare” was a two-piece suit with peek-a-boo cutouts on the hips. She also modeled for Catalina sportswear for advertising and publicity purposes.
2 comments:
Hi, was the white suit from Andre de Dienes photo shoot Catalina swimwear?
Thank you!
Hi Emily,
Not sure if it was Catalina or not. Sorry.
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