Monday, September 24, 2007

How to be Audrey Hepburn/Holly Golightly for Halloween

It's that time of year again ... Halloween! And I've noticed that a lot of people have been searching for an Audrey Hepburn costume, so here's everything you need all in one convenient post. Since most women tend to do Holly Golightly as an easily recognizable Audrey costume, most of these tips are Breakfast at Tiffany's oriented. The film was recently voted the most stylish film of all time, so it's hard to go wrong as Holly Golightly!

1. The hair. A lot of people think that Audrey's iconic "pineapple 'do," that massive updo from the beginning of Breakfast at Tiffany's, is almost impossible to do by yourself. But this step-by-step tutorial shows that it's actually quite easy and possible for almost any hair length. You might need a lot of hair pins and hairspray, especially if your hair tends to be fine, but it's definitely achievable. Ask a friend for help if you have trouble; what friend could resist dressing you up as Audrey Hepburn?


2. The makeup. Recently makeup artist askmemakeup posted a video tutorial on how to do Holly Golightly's makeup. It's very good and true to Audrey Hepburn's real makeup both on and offset, so whether you're doing Holly or Audrey you're in good hands with this video.



3. The accessories. What's an Audrey Hepburn costume without a tiara? And not just any old tiara will do, my dear. Luckily, Tiaratown offers very good replicas of some of Audrey's most iconic jewelry pieces, from Breakfast at Tiffany's to My Fair Lady, and even Funny Face. Available in both gold and silver finishes, these tiaras and necklaces are beautiful enough to wear anytime, not just on Halloween.*


Sunglasses. You can't be Audrey Hepburn without some fabulous, oversized sunglasses now, can you? Audrey's top choice in shades were the iconic Ray-Ban Wayfarers, but they may be out of your price range for the time being. Not to worry, though! The Wayfarers are so enduringly popular that they've spawned tons of knockoffs, all much more affordable and all still good looking. You can get good knockoffs starting at $2, if you know where to look.


*Bonus: While you may not feel comfortable parading around in nothing but a men's tuxedo shirt and an outrageous sleep mask in the middle of autumn, you can still get an excellent replica of Holly Golightly's sleep mask, made by Fred Flare. You know, for personal use. ;)


4. The dress.* If you're very crafty, you could sew your own dress, but you'd probably have to either make your own pattern or modify an existing one to get what you want. If you're not so crafty, or you're just running out of time, then it's probably just easier to buy a dress off the rack. It's completely up to you whether you want to go long and formal or do an easier little black dress, but shop around before deciding! Remember that Audrey was known for simple and elegant LBDs, so less is always more. Try to stick with knee-length, maybe with a nice boatneck, since that was Audrey's preferred neckline. Any local boutique should have what you're looking for.
from Charade

Well, that should be everything you need. If I've forgotten something or you have any further questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll be happy to help. Have fun!

*Update: I've added a second section with even more costume tips and tricks here. This entry includes opera gloves, jewelry, dresses, cigarette holders, and more!
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Sewing patterns for Audrey costumes of all sorts and sizes can be found in this guide.
- And to add a little touch of Audrey the humanitarian to your Audrey as a fashion icon costume, click here.
- As long as you're going to be Audrey for Halloween, why not enter our contest and get a free book or DVD out of it? See details here.
-
Link checked on July 9, 2010 and the Tiaratown website is temporarily closed for a holiday. If it's not back by the end of July, I'm afraid it's closed for good. I will find alternatives for you.

36 comments:

blushing apples said...

darling post :o)

Alla Moda said...

Thank you so much for this post and the one with all the links! I was so stuck on what to be for Halloween and this has helped me so much :)

Anonymous said...

FYI - I found a great replica wig for Audrey Hepburn/Holly Golightly Breakfast at Tiffanys on E-bay Instant Purchase. It has the tiara sewn onto the wig. It will run you around $47 including shipping. Just search: Audrey Hepburn Customes. Hope this helps with the Audrey hair dilemma's.

Anonymous said...

I am doing this costume this year. I am a total cow, but I have a boatneck size 6 dress I am squeezing into (doesn't quite close in back...) and it's PERFECTION> My mom wore it to a wedding a few years back. Costume jewels, orange cat on arm.....long gloves, of course- I am set! -Emilie

Anonymous said...

This was so much help. You have no idea how excited I am!!! I made a tiara from a cheapie version from a craft store (silver sparkle paint is everyone's friend), made a faux cigarette holder from a simple magic wand also from the craft store (just ripped off the star and painted the end black) and raided my mom's endless supply of costume jewelry!!!

Again, THANK YOU!!! :D

deniz said...

thank you for all those awesome tips. for a halloween party I wore a giant men's tux shirt and a blue sleeping mask, btw! does it make sense?

Anonymous said...

thankyou thankyou thankyou it took me like 10 mins to put together this costume on october 30th :P and the makeup video really helped!!

F.Y said...

hiii! just came across ur webbie accidentally its so pretty i absolutely adore audrey! and ur tips are so hip :)
Could you please just help me out with somethin,i'm having trouble posting videos on to my blog from youtube, how do you do it ? Thanks in advance! xx

Unknown said...

:]
I was lucky enough to find a pair of vintage tortoiseshell rayban's in a charity shop for a bargain 50p before they started to come back into fashion!

Anonymous said...

wooow your blog is fantastic ! I'm french and i'm looking for a site like this one for a long time ! Bravo !

A. Rose said...

Awesome blog!
Are you aware that for $5.99 (plus shipping) you can now own blue tassel earplugs to go with that lovely eye mask?

check it out: http://earplugs.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=812517

Unknown said...

I am tyring to find this out for a friend. Please respond if you know where i can find all these "pretty little things". email: tiaboudreaux@yahoo.com


thanks

Anonymous said...

Once i tell my mom, i know she'll help me out on being audrey hepburn for halloween. Shes my all time favorite actress! i just love her oh so much:)

Anonymous said...

Thanks sooo incredibly much for this site!!! I absolutely adore Audrey Hepburn and I was having trouble trying to get the exact hairstyle from Breakfast at Tiffany's since I am being Holly Golightly for halloween this year. Your site is perfect!! I already had the entire costume so thank you for everything!!!

Anonymous said...

i adore audrey hepburn, this helped alot

Anonymous said...

If you want the perfect dress wal-mart has a black Norma Kamali dress for about 15.00, it's very close match. (walmart is my least favorite store and I hate plugging them)but, this will help if you don't own a black vintage dress.

Anonymous said...

Macys.com has Ray Bans that are very similar to the pair Holly wears in Breakfast at Tiffany's. They are called the Ray Ban Oval Sunglasses.

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=354818&CategoryID=32441

Anonymous said...

http://www.audreyhepburnposters.com/index.html

this site has some great posters of her

Anonymous said...

Hello Audrey Fans. I'm getting married and want to find, or have made, a dress like the Red Givenchy Audrey Hepburn Dress, from the Movie Funny Face. Any ideas or leads?

The Fabulous Audrey Hepburn said...

To miss last anonymous:
Yes! I stumbled across a pattern in October that, with a little alteration, would be the spitting image of Jo's stunning red gown in Funny Face. That was actually going to be my Halloween costume, before I ran out of time. :)
Vogue pattern V2481 is the dress and stole, just take out the gathers over one hip and make it a straight front with a fitted waist. Here's the link.

If you have any other questions or need more information, or have trouble finding the pattern, email me! webmaster@fabaudrey.com

Anonymous said...

i adore audrey always wanted to be her, i try to put my spin on her style, thanks for the site, hope ican pull it off:]

Photo Booth Girl said...

Wow! Thank you for such a wonderful round up of links and ideas!

Suzy-Q said...

My 9 yr old daughter is planning to dress up like Holly Golightly for Halloween. Too bad only the grown ups will know who she is!

Anonymous said...

hi, I'm italian and I love audrey so much....my favourite films are breakfast at tiffany's and roman holiday...
this blog is very good..I'm afraid I can't speak english as well as I wish but I'm young...there is time to learn it.

Pandam said...

Fabulous audrey.

Wholesale Sunglasses said...

It seemed the girls just couldn't resist a guy wearing military sunglasses, and soon sales began to rocket.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
fashion jewelry said...

Brilliantly beautiful !!!
I really love your collection and work.

cubic zirconia said...

Thank you for such a wonderful round up of links I'm getting married and want to find, or have made, a dress like the Red Givenchy Audrey Hepbur..

Loose Cubic Zirconia said...

thank you for all those awesome tips. for a halloween party I wore a giant men's tux shirt and a red sleeping mask, btw! does it make sense?

silver jewelry said...

Could you please just help me out with somethin,i'm having trouble posting videos on to my blog from youtube, how do you do it??

Bridget said...

It's actually interesting... her real sunglasses weren't Ray Ban Wayfarers. They were a model called the Manhattan by Oliver Goldsmith.

Unknown said...

Amazing how simple it can be to communicate with people and have them understand a certain topic, you made my day.

Fashion jewelry

Anonymous said...

the hair instruction site sucks.

Anonymous said...

Agreed. Not much for Wallyword, but I bought the dress this morning, sewing pearl beads across the back and neckline. Purrfect dahling!

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