Posts with tag Audrey Hepburn

While you might not be familiar with the Westmore family by name, you're most definitely familiar with their work, and it's their artistry in make-up that has earned the Westmores the 2,370th star on the Walk of Fame.

A Walk of Fame spokesperson said, "The Westmores not only created, but they defined the role of make-up artists in Motion Pictures. George Westmore opened the very first make-up department at Selig Studios in 1917." Members of the family were responsible for the signature looks of stars like Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, and even Barbie.

Like many legendary actors, Audrey Hepburn has an urban legend of sorts. There are many claims that Hepburn penned this infamous beauty list.

British fashion designer, Bruce Oldfield, has a criticism of today's A-listers. He thinks they've killed off elegance. There's that and the fact that oversized purses make him "want to vomit."

Audrey Hepburn -- every fashionista has swooned and mimicked her style in Breakfast at Tiffany's (if you haven't seen that movie how dare you call yourself a fashionista). She can easily be called the most fashionable woman of all time and even today has an impact on all of our closets.

Audrey turned a plain old black dress into the can't-live-without "little black dress." She made pearls, ballet flats, giant black sunglasses, and over the top hats look amazingly classy and chic with her simplistic elegance.

To nab the Audrey Hepburn look you need to have these items in your closet. Extremely petite figure and cigarette not required.

Audrey Hepburn Closet Staples:

• Little black dress
• Pearls
• Over-the-top hat
• Black cigarette pants
• Ballet flats

When an article of clothing dates back to the 15th century and is still around today, I would say that it is a style that sticks. The turtleneck sweater's origin is pretty spotty but we do know its original purpose was to keep people warm.

In the 1890s the turtleneck sweater was seen all over town, specifically when people were riding this fancy new contraption called a bicycle. Soon after the turtleneck sweater became a staple in sailor's wardrobes to keep them warm while they were on duty. By World War II it became the official uniform of the US Navy; the trend was then taken around the world.

Fast forward to 1950's when beatniks got a hold of them and rocked the turtleneck with a little black beret turning this simple garment into a cultural staple. Next thing you know fashion icon Audrey Hepburn started wearing a little black turtleneck and the rest is history.

Turtleneck sweaters remain a wardrobe staple today but be warned, you must choose your turtleneck wisely. There is nothing fashionable about wearing a holiday turtleneck or cheap knit turtleneck from Wal-Mart. Opt for a black cashmere turtleneck, you will look effortlessly chic and it will last you a lifetime.

If there's a style from the movies that is recognizable the world over, it's that from Breakfast at Tiffany's. More than 40 years later, the upswept hair, the black sheath dress, and a strand of pearls is a classic "look" that can never be bad. Don a pair of oversized sunglasses with your evening ensemble, and you're ready to go, Holly.

A cigarette holder and long black gloves might be overdoing it a little, though.

Ahh, the trench coat. One of the most beautifully classic pieces of outerwear. Just think of the rain-soaked kiss of Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffany's, or the typical super-mistress of espionage, and you can get the full effect of this lovely coat. Although the trench is not necessarily a wardrobe staple, it has managed to stand the test of time, so having one on-hand in the closet is never going to be a bad thing.

When shopping for a trench coat, it is impossible to go wrong with Burberry, since the company was the first to come up with the coat, originally intending it as a raincoat for army officers. However, when I say it's "impossible to go wrong with Burberry", I'm assuming that everyone has at least $1500 to spend per coat. For those that don't have that sort of pocket change, the trench is popular enough to be available in stores everywhere... Well, it will be available everywhere once the sweltering hot Summer is over. As with any coat, the fit of a trench coat is very important. The structured lines can be very flattering, as long as the size is perfect against the body. One size too big, and the coat can look like a lumpy coat, emphasizing all the wrong parts.

And for those of you who are daring enough to stray from the traditional beige and black, many designers have come up with brighter colors to liven up the rainiest of days. Burberry even has a stunning tweed trench with their famous check pattern, but, again, don't bother unless you have at least $1500 to spare.

Okay, so you didn't have $932,178 to spend on Audrey Hepburn's iconic Breakfast at Tiffany's little black dress. Now you have a chance to bid on the hot pink cocktail dress she also wore in the movie and it is estimated to sell for a lot cheaper. Christie's is holding a Film and Entertainment Memorabilia auction on May 30 in which they are selling this dress along with a variety of other film memorabilia including props from Laurel and Hardy. The auction also includes costumes for leading ladies from classic movies such as Tippi Hedren in The Birds, Barbara Striesand Funny Girl and Elizabeth Taylor's turn as a Southern belle in Raintree Country. Hepburn's pink dress estimated to sell for $20,000 to $30,000 but will likely easily sail over those numbers but might not hit six figures like the other dress did.

Call us obsessed, we don't mind, for it is the dress that launched a global wardrobe of LBDs. We mentioned earlier this summer that the black Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's would be up for auction, then were hyped about it as the auction day drew near. Today, we have found that the dress sold at Christie's for almost six times the pre-sale estimates, bringing in $807,000 from a call-in bidder. The proceeds will go to a charity called City of Joy Aid, which helps the needy in India.

While the sale price sets the record for a dress associated with a movie, but still did not beat a dress worn by a celeb, which is the white dress that Marilyn Monroe wore singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to JFK. That baby brought in $1.27 million.

Attention Audrey Hepburn fans, Breakfast at Tiffany's fans, and well... fashion fans. Here's your chance to own an icon.

Back in July, Sarah told us that the little black dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's would be auctioned off at Christie's auction house in London. Well, the time has come at last. Next week, the dress will go up on the auction black. The gown, credited with making the "little black dress" a wardrobe staple, was designed by Hubert de Givenchy and worn by Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's.

You can see more of the dress in a special article in this month's Harper's Bazaar magazine, worn by Natalie Portman. The dress is expected to sell for a relatively modest 70,000 pounds, which is about $136,000.

That's right. The little black dress (or LBD, as we all seem to like to call it) is no longer just an item of clothing.

Little Black Dress is a charity event that raises money while celebrating the universal wardrobe essential. Starting in 2002, the event is held every year in a different location, and this year, in fact, tomorrow night, the Little Black Dress will be in Los Angeles, highlighting creations by LA designers like Puella, Jennifer Nicholson and Louis Verdad It's a special event since the gala, to be filled with fashion icons, celebrities, and designers, will commemorate the 80th anniversary of Coco Chanel's little black dress, and displaying Audrey Hepburn's Givenchy black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's

The event costs $200 and will benefit the Pediatric Epilepsy Project. The location is revealed once a guest RSVPs. (Sounds like an underground rave).

The next Little Black Dress event will be in Bagkok, Thailand, in August 2007.

In case you haven't noticed, there is quite a hullabaloo surrounding the movie Marie Antoinette, and it seems that the fashion world has taken to it as well. Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette appeared on the most recent Vogue magazine, and elements of the style have showed up on the runways, from high hair (oh, how I am hating my wispy fine stick straight hair that doesn' do anything but hang there) to puffy skirts to brocade fabrics.

But it's not just Marie Antoinette this year. Film has definitely affected the fashion world (and vice versa, I suppose) through the decades, and Forbes has put together a short list of some of the more influential films.

A friend and I were talking about style and old movies this weekend. While bonding over our mutual annoyance regarding the Audrey Hepburn Gap commercials, we discussed the theory that most people are either an Audrey Hepburn or a Kate Hepburn. Both actresses were screen legends who were also famous for inspiring women to adopt their iconic styles. Stylewise, Katharine Hepburn is associated with bringing menswear to women, being one of the first in Hollywood to make trousers trendy. Audrey Hepburn launched a thousand little black dresses with her signature look in "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

My friend and I are both more Kate, preferring simple classic tailored looks over the trendy and pretty. In my view an Audrey is someone who always looks feminine, who goes for dainty over bold, sweet over striking. A Kate wears a shirt, an Audrey, a blouse. It's not so much about the clothes as it is the overall style, a Kate projects an air of brash confidence, an Audrey reflects a more fragile beauty. Let me know in the comments which one resonates with you.

A new Gap commercial stars Audrey Hepburn, albeit a scene from the 1957 film "Funny Face," dancing along to AC/DC's "Back in Black." It was quite a sight to see Hepburn, the paramount of classic style, prancing around to the rock chords of AC/DC.

After noticing who exactly it was in the ad, I wondered why Hepburn isn't used more often in commercials. And come to find out, this is the first time in 12 years that a Hepburn film clip has been authorized to endorse a product (PSFK.com).

The commercial is promoting Gap's new skinny black pant line. They've created quite an array of skinny black pants; the flagship of the line is the "Audrey Hepburn twill cropped pant."

The look can definitely be pulled off, but beware, the skinny black pant is a potential Stylefoul if you don't have Hepburn's figure.

If you liked the high-fashion world in The Devil Wears Prada, you should check out Audrey Hepburn's 1957 film, Funny Face. Granted, it's a much tamer vision of the world of fashion than the one we saw with Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, but that's part of this classic film's charm. Funny Face follows the young ingenue Jo Stockton (Hepburn) as she travels to Paris to model high-end fashions for the famous photographer Dick Avery, played by Fred Astaire. If you have a soft spot for Gershwin, 1950s Paris, and for vintage Givenchy clothes, Funny Face is the film for you.