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Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress

31/3/2021

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Audrey Hepburn did not invent black dress, but no one in the history of fashion is more connected to the Little Black Dress.

In her films,  Audrey Hepburn told us stories of different girls wearing the black dress portrayed by her and touched our heart with every single one of them, the girl and the dress: From the iconic black floor length dress she wore at the beginning of Breakfast at Tiffany's, to the unforgettable short sleeved black dress she wore holding balloons in Funny Face, to the playful sleeveless black dress with tie shoulders she wore in Sabrina, to the sublime black velvet dress she wore in film War and Peace. 

In her life, Audrey Hepburn loved to wear black dresses just as she did on screen, whether they were designed by Hubert de Givenchy or not. Once and again, she showed us how to look eternally elegant in an extremely simple black dress, and made us understand why we think of her when we think of black dress.

Audrey Hepburn alone can be an encyclopedia of the Little Black Dress.

On screen

Film Sabrina(1954)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress in film Sabrina(1954)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress in film Sabrina(1954)
Film War and Peace(1956)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress in film War and Peace(1956)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress in film War and Peace(1956)
Film Mayerling(1957)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress on the set of film Mayerling(1957)
Film Love in the Afternoon(1957)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress: Audrey Hepburn in black dress on the set of film Funny Face(1957)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress: Audrey Hepburn in black dress in film Funny Face(1957)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress: Audrey Hepburn in black dress in film Funny Face(1957)
Film Funny Face(1957)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress in film Funny Face(1957)
Film Breakfast at Tiffany's(1961)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in black floor length dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film Breakfast at Tiffany's(1961)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in black floor length dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film Breakfast at Tiffany's(1961)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film Breakfast at Tiffany's(1961)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film Breakfast at Tiffany's(1961)
Film Charade(1963)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film Charade(1963)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film Charade(1963)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film Charade(1963)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film Charade(1963)
Film How to steal a million(1966)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film How to steal a million(1966)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film How to steal a million(1966)
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, in film How to steal a million(1966)

Off screen

Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, Paris, France
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress on the set of film Sabrina, 1953
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress on the set of film Sabrina, 1953
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, photo by Bob Willoughby at Paramount, 1953
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, Heathrow Airport in London, 21 May 1953.
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, Heathrow Airport in London, 21 May 1953.
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, Heathrow Airport in London, 21 May 1953.
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, photo by Cecil Beaton, 1955
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, photo by Cecil Beaton, 1955
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, photo by Jack Garofalo, 1955
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, 1955
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, Las Vegas, 1956
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress, Las Vegas, 1956
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in black dress in her suite at the Hotel Hassler Rome Italy, 1958
​
Elegant style icon wardrobe essentials: Audrey Hepburn in little black dress
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Audrey Hepburn movie costume Breakfast at Tiffany black floor length sheath dress with back cutout of silk satin designed by Hubert de Givenchy

9/2/2021

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The film

Picture
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 American romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, written by George Axelrod, adapted from Truman Capote's 1958 novella of the same name, and starring Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, a naïve, eccentric café society girl who falls in love with a struggling writer (George Peppard). 

​The film received five nominations at the 34th Academy Awards: Best Actress (for Hepburn), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, winning Best Original Score and Best Original Song for "Moon River". The film is considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant by the U.S. Library of Congress and was selected to be preserved in the National Film Registry in 2012.
Audrey Hepburn in Givench black floor length dress in opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's
Audrey Hepburn in Givench black floor length dress in opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's
Audrey Hepburn's portrayal of Holly Golightly is generally considered to be one of her most memorable and identifiable roles, partly because of the wardrobe designed by French couturier Hubert de Givenchy.
Picture
Audrey Hepburn first met Givenchy in Paris while she was looking for authentic Parisian outfits for Sabrina, the protagonist she played in the film Sabrina. Givenchy was busy preparing his coming collections but Audrey Hepburn was able to choose a few outfits from the couturier's past collection, which are some of the most iconic outfits in the actress's film career as well as in the movie history.
Audrey Hepburn in strapless floral floor length gown in film Sabrina
Audrey Hepburn in strapless floral floor length gown in film Sabrina
Audrey Hepburn in collarless wool suit in film Sabrina
Audrey Hepburn in collarless wool suit in film Sabrina
But none of Audrey Hepburn's Sabrina outfits in her Parisian wardrobe has achieved the iconic status of the black dress she wore as Holy Golightly in the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's. This black floor length dress is cited as one of the most iconic items of clothing in the history of the twentieth century, and perhaps the most famous "little black dress" of all time.

In a survey conducted in 2010 by 
LOVEFiLM, this dress was chosen as the best dress ever worn by a woman in a film.
Audrey Hepburn in Givench black floor length dress in opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's
Audrey Hepburn in Givench black floor length dress in opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's
Audrey Hepburn in Givench black floor length dress in opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's
Audrey Hepburn in Givench black floor length dress in opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's

The dress

The dress is a sleeveless, floor-length gown with fitted bodice embellished at the back with distinctive cut-out décolleté in the shape of half moon, the skirt slightly gathered at the waist and slit to the thigh on one side, labelled inside on the waistband Givenchy; accompanied by a pair of black elbow-length gloves".The bodice is slightly open at the back with a neckline that leaves uncovered shoulders.  

​The dress is made in Italian satin.
Picture
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy

The story

After Givenchy created the opening scene satin dress for Audrey Hepburn, she took two copies of the dress back to Paramount, but the dresses, which revealed a considerable amount of Audrey's leg, were not suitable for the movie, and the lower half of the dress was redesigned by Edith Head.

The original hand-stitched dress is currently in Givenchy's private archive, whilst one copy Audrey took back to Paramount is on display at the Museo del Traje in Madrid and another was auctioned at Christie's in December 2006.

None of the actual dresses created by Givenchy were used in either the movie or the promotional photography. ​The actual dresses used in the movie, created by Edith Head, were probably destroyed by Head and Hepburn at Western Costume in California after shooting.
In November 2006, Natalie Portman appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, wearing one of the original Givenchy dresses created for Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Natalie Portman wearing Givenchy black dress for cover of Harper's Bazaar 2006
Natalie Portman wearing Givenchy black dress for cover of Harper's Bazaar 2006
Natalie Portman wearing Givenchy black dress for cover of Harper's Bazaar 2006
Natalie Portman wearing Givenchy black dress for cover of Harper's Bazaar 2006
The dress was donated by Givenchy the designer to Dominique Lapierre, the author of the book City of Joy, and his wife to help raise funds for the charity.
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
On 5 December 2006, this dress was auctioned at Christie's in London and purchased by an anonymous buyer by telephone. The sale price was estimated by the auction house to have ended somewhere between £50,000 and £70,000, but the final price was £467,200 ($923,187).The money raised in the auction of the black dress went toward helping build a school for the poor people of Calcutta. ​
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
the black dress with back cutout worn by Audrey Hepburn in film Breakfast at Tiffany's, designed by Hubert de Givenchy
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Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert

5/12/2020

1 Comment

 
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert
No. 1: fitted brown fur hat and jacket, accesorised with a tonal headscarf and (of course) oversized black sunglasses.
Charade is a 1963 American romantic comedy mystery film directed by Stanley Donen, written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, and starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.  It spans three genres: suspense thriller, romance and comedy.

The film has a sparkling screenplay, especially the repartee between Grant and Hepburn. It was filmed on location in Paris. ​

Cary Grant, who turned 59 during filming, was sensitive about the 25-year age difference between Audrey Hepburn (33 at the time of filming) and himself, and was uncomfortable with their romantic interplay. To satisfy his concerns, the filmmakers agreed to add dialogue that has Grant's character comment on his age, and Regina — Hepburn's character — is portrayed as the pursuer.

While on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, expatriate American simultaneous interpreter Regina "Reggie" Lampert (by Audrey Hepburn) meets a charming American stranger, Peter Joshua, and after she returns to Paris, she is met with an empty home, the news of her husband's death, the appearances of several strange man, including Peter Joshua.

In the film, Audrey Hepburn as Reggie Lampert's costumes are designed by Audrey Hepburn's friend, French couturier Hubert de Givenchy.

The outfits are designed with such sensitivity to both Audrey Hepburn herself as well as her character, they could all well be part of Audrey's own wardrobe off screen. 
No. 1:
​
The ski ensemble: a brown knitted ski suit with separate hood, and a cropped fur jacket with matching hat.
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the ski ensemble
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the ski ensemble
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the ski ensemble
No.2:
Beige wool coat with three-quarter length sleeves, accessorised with pillbox hat of same color, black flats and white gloves.
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the ski ensemble
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the beige wool coat with pillbox hat
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the beige wool coat with pillbox hat
No.3:
​
Black boucle wool coat of high collar and a pillbox hat, with a netted veil
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the black wool coat with pillbox hat
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the black wool coat with pillbox hat
No.4:

Red wool cocoon coat with funnel collar and three quarter length sleeves with leopard print hat and long black leather gloves.
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the red wool coat with jeopard print hat
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the red wool coat with jeopard print hat
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the red wool coat with jeopard print hat
No. 5:
​
​Black two-piece cocktail outfit comprising a fitted sleeveless top and corresponding skirt of black wool moss crêpe trimmed with imitation jet pailletes.

This ensemble was auctioned off by Christie's in 2006.
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the black cocktail ensemble
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the black cocktail ensemble
No. 6:
​
Beige double-breast trench coat with silk headscarf of same color, and short sleeve belted wool sheath dress underneath.
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the beige trench coat with headscarf
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the beige trench coat with headscarf
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the beige short sleeve dress
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the beige short sleeve dress
No.7:

​Red skirt suit with collarless cropped jacket, accessorized with white pillbox hat and white gloves.
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the red skirt suit with white pillbox hat and white gloves
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the red skirt suit with white pillbox hat and white gloves
No. 8:
​
Navy blue long sleeve pajamas with white trims.
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the navy blue skirt pajamas with white trims
No. 9: 
Mustard yellow wool cocoon coat with standup collar,three-quarter length sleeves and large black buttons.
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the mustard yellow coat
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the mustard yellow coat
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the mustard yellow coat
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the mustard yellow coat
No.10:

Navy blue skirt suit with three-quarter length sleeves, accessorized with white pillbox hat and white gloves.
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the navy blue skirt suit with white pillbox hat and white gloves
Audrey Hepburn movie costume Charade(1963) complete outfits as Reggie Lampert: the navy blue skirt suit with white pillbox hat and white gloves
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  • HOME
  • PEOPLE
  • ICON
    • Alain Delon
    • Amal Clooney
    • Audrey Hepburn
    • Brigitte Bardot
    • Babe Paley
    • Cary Grant
    • Charlene, Princess of Monaco
    • Coco Chanel
    • Cristobal Balenciaga
    • C.Z. Guest
    • Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales
    • Edward VIII, King of England, Duke of Windsor
    • George Clooney
    • Gianni Agnelli
    • Gloria Guinness
    • Grace Kelly, Princess Monaco
    • Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
    • Karl Lagerfeld
    • Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales
    • Letizia, Queen of Spain
    • Marella Agnelli
    • Maria Callas
    • Mary Donaldson (Queen Mary of Denmark)
    • Millicent Rogers
    • Mona von Bismarck
    • Moza bint Nasser al-Missned
    • Rania al-Yassin, Queen of Jordan
    • Romy Schneider
    • Slim Keith
    • Sophia Loren
    • Tom Ford
    • Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor
  • MODE
  • Culture
    • Film & TV >
      • Charade 1963 screenplay
    • Book
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    • Music
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