Marilyn Monroe's Iconic Upskirt Dress to be Sold at Auction in Beverly Hills

The subway dress.

You could probably argue that it's the dress that started modern fetishism (although Hitler and J. Edgar Hoover might have had something to say about that). At the least, it popularized the "upskirt."

Yes, Marilyn Monroe's up-the-air-number from The Seven Year Itch is being auctioned off (FishbowlLA), and according to reports it could fetch as much as $2 million.

Ah yes, the dress that started it all. But what about ...

... canned air from under said dress? That would fetch some cash too (don't even try it, scam artists).

The Profiles in History auction house is selling the "subway dress" to the highest bidder in Beverly Hills later this month. Its part of a collection from actress Debbie Reynolds, who states:

Debbie Reynolds shows the dress off to Oprah.

My lifetime dream has been to assemble and preserve the history of the Hollywood film industry. Hollywood has been an enormous part of my life as I know it has been for countless fans all over the world. This collection represents a lifetime of collecting Hollywood artifacts and this is a rare opportunity to own a piece of Hollywood History for those who love the movies as much as I do. For the first time in nearly five decades, these iconic pieces will be made available to the public through a series of auctions presented by Profiles in History beginning in June 2011.

The auction house promises ...

... The Debbie Reynolds Collection is deemed to be the most significant collection of Hollywood costumes and props since the liquidation of the MGM and FOX studios in the 1970's.

FishbowlLA reports that some in Hollywood don't want to see the dress fall into pervy private hands, so they've organized a fund-raising group, Save the Dress Project, in an attempt to pry it from the grasp of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Next up, we organize the Save the Panties Project. (We kid).

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]