You don't have to be a history buff to know that once upon a time (aka in 1962), Marilyn Monroe sang a very sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday" to the then-Mr. President, John F. Kennedy. It was an iconic moment for sure, as was the dress the star wore on stage: a sparkly, illusion number, which Marilyn ultimately had to be sewn into. Decades later, the custom Jean Louis creation [1] was put up for auction by Julien's Auctions, with bidding starting on Nov. 17, 2016.

The piece — which includes 2,500 crystals — ended up being sold to Ripley's Believe It or Not for a price tag of $4.8 million. Still, it's a small price to pay for a piece of Hollywood history. Scroll through to revisit the dress we're talking about, then check out some beauty secrets we learned from Marilyn [2].

The Dress

A Bit More About Its History