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Madonna wore bows and scarves in her hair a lot during the early and mid 1980s as well as off and on during the 1990s. I say this was another calculated attempt by Madonna to look like Marilyn Monroe.
Yes, other women before Madonna wore bows in their hair, but Madonna has said in interviews that she supposedly grew up 'idolizing' Marilyn Monroe and has been forced to admit that she copied off Monroe during her show business career.
Therefore, I say it is safe to say that she copied this 'scarf or bow in the hair' fashion off Marilyn Monroe, rather than, say, for instance, actress Jean Seberg (yes, Madonna has been known to copy off Seberg too).
Marilyn's real name was Norma Jeane, and before she became a movie star, she was a model. During Monroe's modeling days (the mid and late 1940s) she wore bows / scarves in her hair quite a bit, including the famous photo shoots by Andre Di Dienes, which I have no doubt that Madonna has seen, (especially since she ripped off one such Marilyn and Di Dienes photo shoot for her Burning Up music video).
So for all the Madonna fans who wrapped scarves on their heads in the '80s trying to look like Mads: hey, you were cribbing Monroe's style, not Madonna's. More photographic evidence:
| MADONNA 1980s | ||
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| MARILYN MONROE mid - late 1940S | ||
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| below: MADONNA circa 1985 | below: MARILYN MONROE mid - late 1940s | below: JEAN SEBERG circa 1950s or 1960s |
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| MADONNA 1980s - 1990s | ||
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| MARILYN MONROE mid - late 1940S | ||
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