As a young girl, classic films were always a staple for our family movie nights. Whether it was westerns featuring Jon Wayne (my grandmother’s favorite) or musicals like White Christmas and State Fair I loved each one. They became a part of me in a special way like no recent movies ever had. Like new found friends, each classic movie I watched influenced my sense of self, fashion, and interests.
The first “old” movie I ever saw, was the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Charade featuring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Probably about 11 years old, this movie terrified me the first time I watched it. Hepburn plays a recently widowed young woman who gets embroiled into her late husband’s sorted affairs along with Cary Grant, who we learn plays many different people throughout the movie. Though probably a bit too young to watch this when I did, I fell in love with it even if it was terrifying to me at the time.
Fun, zany and oh so wonderful, Audrey Hepburn not only shines on screen through her acting, but also through her style. Styled by the iconic costume designer Edith Head in Givenchy (as she is in many of her films), Audrey Hepburn provides us a stunning array of outfits. Never mind that she’s just come home from a weekend ski trip and her apartment is ransacked – She doesn’t wear the same thing twice the whole movie and we are all the better for it.
Edith Head’s costume design for this movie features what every girl would be jealous of – the perfect, never repeating, always matching outwear closet along with some pretty stellar dresses. I take a great deal of influence for my own style from this movie and am continually inspired by Edith Head’s eye for fashion throughout all her films.
How to capture this iconic style
Classic Cuts Outerwear
This Blazer is perfect for channeling that classic 1950’s Hollywood star. To modernize it, style with a slip dress like this one and to keep it classic Audrey put on these sling backs.
Amplifying Accessories
While Audrey’s coats and dresses remain relatively simplistic and minimal in cut and form, her accessories are the vodka to her otherwise cranberry wardrobe. Remember that adding accessories makes your outfit unique. Add mystery with these sunglasses. Or try pairing this bag to add some fun to a otherwise plain black coat. Keep your shapes classic but add some flair with new colors and patterns.
Feminine Flair
A staple of Edith Head’s costume decisions for many of her female leads is making them feminine while still maintaining a certain sense of sex appeal. As she iconically said about dressing women, “A dress should be tight enough to show you’re a woman and loose enough to prove you’re a lady.” For styling looks that embody this moto, change out those dress slacks every once and awhile for this dress and a pair of pumps.
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