Funny Face hat up for auction

Another big Hollywood memorabilia auction is coming up, and this time the bright yellow/orange/green hat Audrey wore while singing "How Long Has This Been Going On?" in Funny Face is going up on the block.

Julien's Auctions will be putting the hat up during a large two day auction May 7 and 8, but if you are in the L.A. area right now you can drop in their showroom in Beverly Hills and see the hat for yourself! Not touch, of course, for they have it securely behind glass, but you are welcome to look all you want and also see the other fantastic costumes and memorabilia they have available. Indiana Jones, Lucille Ball, tons of Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, even The Brady Bunch, Heroes, and Planet of the Apes!

I stopped in last Thursday to have a look around and photograph the hat to share with those of you who can't make the trip to see it in person, and everyone present was so helpful and kind and very giving there. A first rate staff! If you can make it out before the auction, the exhibit will be open to the public until May 6, and hours are from 10 am to 5 pm. The address is 9665 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills.

The hat is expected to fetch between $2000-3000, and comes with the costume sketch for Marion's gown and hat and a DVD copy of Funny Face.

some quick tidbits

There's a lot of nice little stories floating about, so I'm going to gather them all together for you:

- Our Dutch friend Joop says that dear Audrey was recently voted the most beautiful woman ever, which is quite an achievement! Lovely picture and short story (in Dutch) here.

- A dress from Funny Face recently went up for auction and was sold for the impressive price of $56,250.00, though I can't seem to find which dress it is. Anyone? You can read more here. (From Kendal)

- And finally, an article on how Audrey Hepburn shaped sex. It's an interview with Sam Wasson, author of the new Fifth Avenue, 5 AM book, and the interview was done at Café Audrey in Hollywood, a place where I've spent quite a bit of time! You can read the interview here, but be warned that Sam drops the F-bomb towards the end.

(at Café Audrey in 2008)

It's that time again . . .

Time for summer film screenings in the park! I love this part of summer. This morning I went over to Facebook, the only way I know what's going on with any of my friends, and found an update from Cinespia, the group that does the film screenings in the Hollywood Forever cemetery. They just posted their June schedule, and it's always a good sign when they put a picture of Audrey next to their post. :)

So, all you fabulous L.A. and southern California fans, mark your calendars for Saturday June 13th. Gates open at 7:30, the film starts at 9, and it's a $10 mandatory "donation" to get in. Come early because parking is hideous and I'm sure the place will fill up fast. You're encouraged to bring low picnic chairs, blankets, food, anything to make you comfortable that won't block other people's line of vision, so make a fun night of it. It'll be great, I promise. I'll go as an early birthday present to myself (oh, like I need an excuse!), and having seen Funny Face before on the big screen in San Francisco, I can tell you with absolute certainty that it will be amazing. It's like seeing the film for the first time all over again. And if you haven't seen the film yet or have some friends who haven't, it's a great way to introduce yourself or them to Audrey on the big screen. Or, rather, the side of a mausoleum, if you want to get technical. Either way, she sings, she dances, she wears amazing Givenchy creations, she's completely in her element in this film. Go. GO! You can even sit with me if you can't find anyone else to bring along, just be sure to come out, it'll be great. Maybe we can get a sing-along going. ;)

And I'm still working on all my pictures from my trip, so once I'm done editing I was thinking I'd just post all of the Timeless Audrey exhibit pictures on Flickr for everyone to peruse at their leisure. There's quite a lot -- they take up pretty much my entire 1 GB memory card, and they're all huge, high quality pictures -- so rather than posting in batches and making the blog load slowly, I'll just post a link. And if you really like any you may comment. :)

Emma Roberts as Audrey Hepburn

I'm eating dinner right now (a bit early, but I'm hungry! I'll have dinner again in a few hours), and while I eat I like to surf the web. It beats TV. Anyway, after clicking around I found that Glamour magazine has done a 2009 American Legends series, where they take girls and women they think are going to be big this year and make them into American legends. There's athletes, musicians and entertainers, and I was just beginning to think, "Oh, they won't include Audrey, she wasn't American," when I hit page 5 and saw this:


Instantly recognizable as a scene from Funny Face, right? Or do I just know my Audrey movies too well? ;) There's a small blurb from Glamour and Miss Emma herself:

OK, she was born in Belgium, but Hepburn became one of the most beloved American movie stars. Her sharp, sensitive turn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s made the film a must-see for women of all ages, while the late actress’s elegant style continues to inspire women to this day.

“She was so simply beautiful. And she loved charity work, something even more beautiful about her.”—Emma Roberts, 18, of this month’s big-screen drama Lymelife, reenacting a scene from the 1957 musical Funny Face

Any thoughts? I know Emma doesn't look like Audrey (in fact, I think she's nearly the spitting image of her aunt Julia), and I don't know if she's a fan, but it's still nice to see Audrey represented as a women's icon, and especially nice to see a fresh face made up as her.

catching up

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I apologize again and again, it's all my fault and my lack of a good regular Internet connection. Did everyone have a fun Halloween? Did you flood the streets with Holly Golightlys? :) It seems the costume guide from last year held up pretty well, and while I didn't receive any complaints, can you think of any way to expand or improve it? I'd love to eventually do a costume guide for a number of Audrey costumes, but since Holly Golightly is the most easily recognizable and easiest to shop for, I figured that was the safest bet.

Speaking of being easy to recognize in costume, I found myself without a costume the morning of Halloween, due to a fabric malfunction the night before. On short notice I ran out and got a black turtleneck and borrowed some loafers, and hit Hollywood as Jo Stockton (Funny Face). There were loads of people there, but through the whole night I only heard 10 people (not counting my two companions) realize it was an Audrey costume! I guess I should have tried that outfit the year that Gap commercial came out. Anyway, at a party later on in the night Holly Golightly, Eliza Doolittle and Jo met up:


It sounds like the setup to a joke, but no punchline comes to mind. (By the way, Eliza is played by Kendal, well known on our forums as well as the audrey1 forums.) Anyway, did anyone else dress up as Audrey and meet a twin?

Moving on, I've got some odds and ends to share. First, I've been slowly catching up with the site's email, and had a request that's really stumped me. Hopefully, someone out there can help! Tracey wrote in after seeing a gorgeous poster in a Flor catalogue, and the customer service people had no idea as to where it came from. I've never seen it before, but would sure like a copy! Here's the picture:


You can click on the picture for the full-sized version. Unfortunately, the chandelier obscures all the text, but I'm fairly sure that's French. Does anyone have any ideas as to where this came from? It may be a reprint of a vintage poster, though one I've never seen before. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

Next up, this year is the 50th anniversary of Breakfast at Tiffany's. The book, that is. The movie's birthday won't come up for another three years. The book is due to be released soon, with the vague publication date of November 2008, though I can't seem to find it on Amazon yet. Since B@T is short, a novella really, it's matched up with three other short stories under this stylish cover:


And lastly, speaking of reissues, curse Paramount Studios! Just as I'm starting to catch up on my Audrey DVDs, they have to go and re-release nearly all their Audrey films. *sigh* The worst part is that you know I'll buy them all. You probably will, too! Well, if you're trying to save on space and don't see the point of owning multiple versions of one film, you can always go the Audrey route and donate or give away your older versions. I like senior centers, myself, since they're always in need of entertainment and would definitely appreciate some Audrey Hepburn in their lives. Coming November 11th, just in time for the holidays, is Roman Holiday and Sabrina. Marketed under the Centennial Collection, both films feature all of the extras from previous DVD releases, plus some new featurettes and goodies that will hopefully make it worth your while. Just after the holidays, due out January 13th, comes Funny Face
and Breakfast At Tiffany's -- yes, again. Both just celebrated anniversaries and had special editions come out, but now it comes in more dramatic packaging, also under the Centennial Collection. There's no additional information on these, so I don't know if there's anything new, but there'd darn well better be. People are starting to think I'm crazy, with three copies of every movie on my shelves!

A passion for fashion

I must say, UK Audrey fans are pretty lucky right now. There's the Golden Age of Couture show currently running at the Victoria & Albert Museum, which has on display the distinctive blue cape Audrey Hepburn wore as Jo Stockton in Funny Face, and now there's a new, one day only display of Funny Face costumes in Buckingham. Buckingham's Film Place will have various costumes (no word on which ones) from the stylish film on display for November 2nd only, so you might want to pen that in now! The proceeds from this event and many others that are taking place that week are to benefit local schools, so it will be for a good cause as well as being beautiful and entertaining. You can read more about all of the exhibits that will be on display here, along with contact information for tickets.

Entertainment Weekly review of Funny Face

I've been catching up on my Entertainment Weekly issues (I still don't know how or why I'm getting them in the first place), and I noticed that they actually reviewed the 50th Anniversary edition of Funny Face. What's more: they're actually huge fans of Kay Thompson! I've scanned it to share with you:

And in the issue after that one (I'm way behind), there's a pretty random mention of Audrey in a sidebar article:

I guess I just never think of Audrey being cranky, morning or any other time of day.

Kay Thompson steals the show

At the beginning of this year I saw an Audrey Hepburn double feature that included Funny Face, the first time I'd ever seen that film on the big screen. I was surprised to see that a good portion of the audience, maybe even half, was there because they were huge Kay Thompson fans. Sadly, little information seems to be readily available on her, but I did find someone who is willing to share Kay with the world. At People vs. Dr. Chilledair, the author shares some insider information that he has on her, including the fact that Kay's goddaughter Liza Minelli is currently recording a tribute album to her. It will be called "The Godmother + The Goddaughter," though no release date has yet been set. Kay herself only has two albums available (that I could find, anyway), "The Golden Years 1934-1954," and "Queen of Swing Vocals and Her Rhythm Singers 1933-37." It's a shame that more isn't available, because she was a prolific and highly talented woman. The author of Dr. Chilledair has also posted a great video on YouTube with some of Kay's earlier film performances, including one song and dance routine done just five years before Funny Face:



And, if you needed a little refresher course on Funny Face, here she is completely owning "Clap Yo Hands." Sorry, Fred Astaire! If it weren't for Audrey singing "How Long Has This Been Going On?" this would be my favourite song from the film:



Maybe this new wave of attention to Kay will inspire someone to write a great biography on her, or release more of her music.

show us your Audrey style

I've noticed that lots of people have been coming here for Audrey Hepburn or Holly Golightly costume tips, and it got me curious. I would love to see what you guys look like dressed as Audrey! So I have a proposition for you: if you feel comfortable with this, I would love to see pictures of you dressed in your Audrey Hepburn best. It could be your Halloween costume or just an everyday outfit, but take a pic and send it in! They will be posted here and on our MySpace blog (with first name only, no full names for privacy and safety), and you will automatically be entered in our latest contest. One first place winner and two runners-up will be chosen at random by names drawn out of a hat. I must stress that you will not in any way be judged by your appearance or looks for this contest. It is strictly for fun and to encourage other fans to dress up and show off!

First place will receive a copy of the new 50th anniversary edition of Funny Face. Both runners-up will receive a copy of Sean Ferrer's book, Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit in paperback.


We will take entries until November 10th, so you have enough time to send in your Halloween pictures, and the deadline is noon PST. You may enter on our contest page or send your email with picture(s) directly to contests [at] fabaudrey.com. Most of all, have fun dressing up and feel beautiful! If you need any help or tips, you can look around here or email me (at right) for help.

More Holly Golightly/Audrey Hepburn costume tips

If you missed it the first time around, here's part one of the costume tips. I've found even more great items to put together a really fantastic Audrey Hepburn or Holly Golightly costume, so keep reading!

1. Opera gloves. How could you forget opera gloves? If you'd really like to look classy, try to find some above the elbow length gloves, which make for a more formal, elegant look. I've found some beautiful satin gloves in a vast array of colours, so you can do black for Holly Golightly or white/cream for a Princess Ann or Eliza Doolittle look.


2. Ballet flats. You can pair pretty much everything with ballet flats and automatically be 50% cuter. Works well with any little black dress and is a more comfortable alternative to heels, especially if you're going to be on your feet all night. Paired with some capris or skinny pants, it looks more stylish and put together than sneakers but not as fancy as heels would. They were Audrey's shoe of choice throughout her life!


3. Little black dresses. Earlier I had left you on your own by telling you to hit the pavement and shop around at local boutiques. Wasn't very helpful, was it? After lots of scouring, I've found a few little black dresses that happen to be affordable and the perfect Audrey style. You can either do a shorter, knee-length dress for a more casual affair, or I've found a longer formal gown if you really wanted to go all out and do the beginning credits Holly Golightly with pearls, updo and a cup of coffee (which I am completely leaving up to you to find).


4. Pearls. I honestly don't know if anyone makes an exact replica of Audrey's multi-strand pearl necklace with the rhinestone pendant, but what you can do is nab a strand of long pearls and a rhinestone brooch. Wind the pearls around a couple of time to make a thick multi-strand set like Holly's, pin the pendant front and center and voila! Instant Holly Golightly.


5. Cigarette holder. I don't know about you, but I know quite a few people (myself included) that have been looking for a cigarette holder for ages! Today I've found two that would suit Audrey Hepburn equally well. The first is an extra long gold ciggie holder, just like the one she waves around at her out of control party in Breakfast at Tiffany's. The second is a smaller, black holder, and may be a bit easier to handle in crowded situations. It's also the sort of ciggie holder she used in real life.


*Bonus* To go along with your fabulous cigarette holder, you can also have fake cigarettes that smoke like the real thing!

6. Skinny black pants and a turtleneck. Who says you have to be Holly Golightly to be Audrey Hepburn? Thanks to the exposure of the Gap commercials last year, pretty much everyone knows that an all black beatnik outfit with white socks and black loafers equals a funky dancing Audrey Hepburn as Jo Stockton. This costume is so versatile and comfortable it will quickly become a wardrobe staple.



You can find more pictures of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly here, and pictures of Audrey as Jo Stockton in Funny Face here.

You can also find all of the accessories listed above, plus the items mentioned in the first costume post, here.

Special edition Funny Face out today!

I'd just like to remind everybody that two new Audrey Hepburn goodies were released today. The first is the highly anticipated 50th anniversary Funny Face, which has new featurettes, including a retrospective on Audrey and Givenchy's lifelong friendship and partnership. It looks to be at least as good as the special anniversary edition of Breakfast at Tiffany's, so either order your copy today or be sure to put it on your wish list! The holidays are coming before you know it, and there are plenty of new goods coming out to make sure you have an excellent holiday.

The Audrey Hepburn 5-pack is also out today. This is a great gift for the new Audrey fan who maybe hasn't seen a lot of her films or doesn't own any yet. With pretty much all of her classics (Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Paris When It Sizzles) in one pretty box, this is easily the best gift ever. It's quite affordable, too, so it's a great idea to keep in mind when you're doing your holiday shopping or November/December birthday shopping.

The Golden Age of Couture now open

Just a quick reminder to Audrey's UK fans that "The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957" is now open at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. I first mentioned this exhibit back in March when I first heard about it,* but since then the Museum has put up a special website dedicated to the exhibit. It's really nice because it has a fraction of the collection up for viewing, and a Givenchy couture gown is one of the featured, a beautiful one at that. From the site you can send e-cards with preselected pictures of couture items, and book tickets if you're available to go. The coolest part of all is that you can download and print out a pattern for a couture-inspired dress, which you can then make at home! If you're really into shoes, there is also a competition to send in your original shoe designs for a chance to have your design shown on the V&A website. Intrigued? Click here to see more.

*Reminder: the blue cape Audrey wore in Funny Face is on display at this exhibit.

New Audrey Hepburn goodies coming soon!

You can tell that the holiday season is coming 'round again, because new Audrey products are coming out all at once now. We've already discussed the new, 50th anniversary DVD of Funny Face coming October 2nd, but also to be released that day is a new Audrey Hepburn boxed set (left). This new set features five great films: Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, Sabrina, and Paris When it Sizzles. Wow!

This is in addition to the already much hyped Audrey Hepburn: A Life in Pictures book that I reviewed earlier, and a re-release of the wonderful Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales, an audio CD where Audrey reads classic fairy tales. The book and CD both come out November 1st in the US. You can either start saving your pennies now, or start putting together that wishlist and conveniently leaving it out in front of all your friends and family. ;)

50th Anniversary edition of Funny Face coming soon!

Great news from loyal reader Bill! The release of a 50th anniversary special edition of Funny Face (Region 1) has been announced, with a release date of October 2nd. This new DVD will feature a few items already seen on the original DVD -- the Paramount in the 1950s featurette, original theatrical trailer, and photo galleries -- plus a few new featurettes, including a cryptically named Parisian Dreams and a new piece on Givenchy and Audrey called A Fashion Designer and His Muse. You can already pre-order through Amazon so you'll be sure not to forget, and it's close enough to the holidays so you can put it on your wish list without having to wait too long. Mark your calendars!

Speaking of Givenchy, I came across this story recently. Apparently, the fashion guru is of the personal belief that fashion in and of itself is dead. People seem to only be fixating on popular accessories and following mindless fads, rather than spending the time (and money) to actually find what works on you as an individual and look good. It's a great read, though fairly short, and I agree with him on all accounts. If I could afford it, he could dress me every day of the week. :)

the Audrey hoodie; win tickets to see an Audrey double feature!

Aspiring to be mistaken for the one and only Audrey Hepburn, but don't want to put any effort into it? Or maybe you just really want to advertise your love for Holly Golightly? Either way, if you're interested in wearing Audrey's head on your head, then the Audrey Hepburn Hoodie may be right for you. It's made exclusively through Headhoods, and is printed on American Apparel wear, so it's sweatshop-free and American-made.

Here's an extra little bonus for the Texan Audrey fans lurking about: The Austinist is having a ticket giveaway contest for this weekend's Audrey double feature at the Paramount Theatre! You can read more about the double feature (featuring Breakfast at Tiffany's and Funny Face) here, and enter to win tickets at the bottom of the page, directly under the Funny Face description. As an added bonus, the Breakfast trailer they have posted on the page was uploaded by yours truly. :D

another Audrey Hepburn double feature in San Francisco

The Castro Theatre in San Francisco started 2007 out right with an Audrey Hepburn double feature, and it's continuing what it started by having yet another back-to-back Audrey double feature in July. This time they're screening Funny Face and My Fair Lady (along with The Wizard of Oz) as part of a triple feature called "Classic Musical Fashion." All three films will be preceded by special guest hosts, and audience members are encouraged to dress up!

Funny Face will be introduced by Jim Van Buskirk, who is labeled as a Hepburn Expert on the Castro's website and most definitely a film expert.

My Fair Lady will be co-hosted by Jan Wahl and Donna Sachet, and there will be a Night of the Fabulous Hat competition. So dust off your flying saucer hat and glue some false flowers on and enter yourself in the competition! Stay for the film while you're at it. ;)

Magically enough, admission to all three of these films is just $12.50 for adults, $8 for children. If you're planning on being in the Bay area around July 29, definitely book yourself some tickets! And if you haven't any plans, maybe you should consider a little trip to San Francisco. The fun starts at 1pm with Wizard of Oz, then a quick break before Funny Face starts at 4, and My Fair Lady kicks in at 7. It sounds like it will be loads of fun and a great way to introduce some friends to the magic that is Audrey Hepburn films.

P.S. Again, apologies for the sporadic updates. An ongoing computer problem has been fixed, and hopefully that will mean business as usual for all of us.

watch Funny Face while you can!

While searching You Tube last night I found that someone was in the process of uploading Funny Face in its entirety! They've finished by now, so if you haven't seen this fantastic musical yet, or just haven't seen it in a while, you should go while the getting is good. I don't know how long these will be up, so go! Part one is below:

Edit: video has been removed from YouTube by its user.

Target.com also has a little goodie for you: an Audrey Hepburn pop art tee! It's four different coloured silk screens of Audrey as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's, and I must admit it's a pretty cute shirt (as you can see). For the unbeatable price of $9.99 it's hard to come up with an excuse to not buy it.

The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957

There's a new fashion exhibit coming to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in September that's all about the golden age of modern fashion: 1947-1957, the ten year span when fashion went from war utilitarian to post-war lushness. While it seems that the exhibit will feature mostly Dior pieces, Givenchy's pieces will be on display. Specifically, a replica of the bright blue cape Audrey Hepburn wore in Funny Face will be shown, along with fashion portraits by Cecil Beaton and Richard Avedon (and perhaps some Audrey portraits?). You can read more about the exhibit and the designers that will be featured here, and The Independent has another article that goes more into fashion in general during that period.

Lucky London, they're having all the Audrey luck lately!

how Cameron Crowe fell in love with Audrey Hepburn

On iFilm there's an interview with director Cameron Crowe about Elizabethtown, and he's asked about his obsession with Audrey Hepburn. If you're not familiar with his films, in Vanilla Sky there is a Sabrina reference, in Jerry Maguire there's the line "That's more than a dress; that's an Audrey Hepburn movie," and in Elizabethtown there's footage of Roman Holiday (besides "Moon River" playing throughout the film and the obvious Kirsten Dunst as a modern Holly Golightly bit throughout as well). I won't ruin it for you, so just click the link above to go to the video. It's short at just under 3 minutes, so the interviewer doesn't have a chance to get too annoying. :)

As a special bonus, here is an animation of cute little Parisian kitties prancing about to the tune of the instrumental "Bonjour Paris" from the Funny Face soundtrack. Such a great little song! Thank you to the shy one who sent this video in.

Audrey Hepburn: A Celebration author dies

There are scads of books out on Audrey Hepburn now, from picture books to biographies to bizarre fantasy conspiracy "tell-all"s, but one of the first ones out on Audrey was Audrey Hepburn: A Celebration, by Sheridan Morley. While spotty and fairly breezy as a biography, it was a nice black and white picture book and very enjoyable to flip through. Morley was also a film critic, and is cited often in Barry Paris's biography of Audrey. Morley was most certainly a Hepburn fan from day one, it seems. To read more about Morley and his life, go here.

In other news, if you're an American looking to live in Paris for a while, this article can lend you some helpful tips. The first tip? Watch Funny Face before you go! There are more practical tips in the article as well, but the Funny Face part was the best, and possibly the truest. I have a friend leaving for Paris in two months and I'm determined she watch that film (and Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) and learn all the words to "Bonjour Paris!" before she leaves.