My hobby.....

As a collector, I understand the excitement of purchasing a long sought out for item. As a collector of Marilyn memorabilia, well thats the excitement at finding a new venue of Marilyn items to collect. The fan base that not only keeps growing but keeps adding to her legend is voluminous. Most recently the Marilyn Monroe brand which originally only sold lingere, now has a full fledged clothing line, complete with modern replicas of some of her famous costumes. Since I was 15 I have collected Marilyn items, begining with my giant book of Marilyn Monroe, a huge heavy pictorial of some of her more famous pictures.

This was quickly precedded by a random trip to Walmart where I purchased (2006) a Marilyn Monroe shirt and a Audrey Hepburn shirt. This was the begining of the screen tee. Once I graduated I had only comenced the iceberg of what fandom was. I had a huge help from a Marilyn site  http://www.marilynmonroe.ca/ in which I verified some of the quotes and discussed the falsities of her life. In college I now had more access to films and a knowledge of how better to get what I wanted. I watched her famous films e.g. "Some Like it Hot" and "Gentlemen prefer Blondes" and her little known work "Don't bother to knock" and "All about Eve". At some point I got my hands on a set of her DVD's

This set included "The seven year itch", "Niagra", "Lets Make Love", Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", "River of no Return", and a dvd for "Marilyn the final days". For a while this was enough to keep me at bay. I read books on her life, and decided I didn't agree with some authors, others were too sympatheic. Marilyn remained, at least in my head, misunderstood on all levels. I continued to find ways in which my poor college student self could indulge into the world of memorabilia collecting. In almost all stores they now carry screen t' s. I Think this is due to people wanting to become nerdy. whatever the reason, I had now an incessant source an enabler if you will of Marilyn Monroe t-shirts. I only have six because I am extremely picky about the design or sometimes the quote that comes with it. Here's a pic of my six shirts.

My pride and glory Marilyn Monroe has become a fixture in my life. I cannot say why. Perhaps because she is eternally altered she herself never knew her truth. Maybe I have a soft spot for fuck-up's.  I though I should share my smAll addiction.