| JANE RUSSELL |
 |
Jane Russell, American movie actress. This shot was probably taken during the 1950s. |
| To refresh your memory, here are photographs, taken anywhere from the early 1980s to the early 21st century of Madonna with the 'clunky jewelry look' |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| BILLY IDOL | |
 |
 |
British rocker Billy Idol, circa early to mid- 1980s. He had several hit songs during the '80s. Idol once said in an '80s magazine interview that he thought of Madonna as being his "female counterpart," meaning she was, in his estimate, the 'female version' of Billy Idol |
|
| CARMEN MIRANDA | ||
 |
|
|
| "The Brazilian Bombshell", Carmen Miranda, (1909 - 1955); photos: probably circa 1940s | ||
This page: Janis Joplin, Billy Idol, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Carmen Miranda, Debbie Harry View Maripol's early 1980s jewelry designs on her official site: View Madonna wearing Maripol's jewelry in this early '80s publicity photo:
|
No, Madonna is not the originator of the wearing of multiple necklaces and bracelets (many journalists in this day and age are still mistakenly attributing this to Madonna). Madonna stole these looks from either Janis Joplin, Billy Idol, or any number of actresses from the 1940s - 1950s, or from a combination thereof. It's also possible to attribute this look, in part, to an art director / music video stylist / jewelry designer named "Maripol," who Madonna consulted in the early 1980s. It could be that Maripol herself got these ideas from the aforementioned celebrities. In one interview Maripol stated,
No matter who Madonna (and/or Maripol) stole this from, Madonna should not be credited with creating this old fashion craze. Photographic proof below: |
| MARILYN MONROE | ||
|
|
|
Above and Center: Publicity shots from There's No Business Like Show Business, released December 1954
|
Costume test and publicity shots from River of No Return, released May 1954 | |
MARILYN MONROE |
 |
| Above: photo of American actress Marilyn Monroe in a scene from the movie As Young as You Feel (1951) with closeup of Marilyn's wrist, complete with multiple bracelets, on the right |
| MARILYN MONROE |
 |
| Scene from from River of No Return, released May 1954: close- up of Marilyn's wrist on right |
| Deborah Harry |
 |
Above: Debbie Harry, lead singer of 1970s band Blondie. Harry admitted to being a Marilyn Monroe fan; Madonna, in turn, admitted to being a Harry fan (in addition to being a Monroe fan as well). The cover of this 1977 magazine reads: Blondie: The Marilyn Monroe of Punk Rock |
| JANIS JOPLIN | ||
 |
|
 |
| Above: American blues and rock singer Janis Joplin, who died in October 1970. She was one of the leading singers of the 1960s, so you better believe that Madonna knew of her. | ||
