Updating three days in a row? I must be ill! Or there's just too much going on for me to stay silent. Today finds us looking at the Italian Vogue website, where writer Cesare Cunaccia tells us about the time he met Audrey Hepburn in 1983. I don't want to spoil anything, as the article is very sweet and telling, but I want to recommend you read the story for yourself, then watch the video put together to go with Cesare's writings. I won't say anything but this: it's my two favourite things together in one place, which makes me very happy. Be sure to check out the sidebar on the right as well, it's full of related Audrey articles, including Trend of the Day, giving style tips on how to channel your inner Holly Golightly.The entire article and video can be found here.
Hello strangers! I have not forgotten you, never fear. Instead, I've been busy. As usual. Amongst this busyness is completely revamping the website from the ground up, so rest assured that this is for your benefit. :)
Anyway, my friend Natalia sent me a fantastic little article this morning, and I just had to share. A recent survey was taken out on the most iconic female screen outfit of all time, and Holly Golightly's long black evening gown beat out some stiff competition to come out on top. The long little black dress even beat Marilyn Monroe's unforgettable halter neck dress from The Seven Year Itch and Keira Knightley's stunning green gown from Atonement. You can read the article, courtesy of The Daily Mail, here, and see who else rounded out the top ten.It's nice to see that 50 years on, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Audrey and Givenchy are still as influential as ever. As Coco Chanel once said: "Fashion fades, only style remains the same."
There are no two ways around it: Audrey Hepburn is a style icon. But what makes her an icon? What can you do to be your own style icon? According to Nina Garcia's new book, The Little Black Book of Style
, you just have to be yourself. What makes the great fashion icons -- Audrey, Jackie O., Marilyn Monroe -- stand out from the crowd is the fact that they ultimately forgot about what was in fashion from season to season and focused on what worked best for them, building their own style. Garcia and Givenchy think the same: both have said that anyone can be in fashion, buying the latest looks, but not everyone has style, knowing what works for them and making it their own.Since we're online and you can't really flip through the book to decide if it's worth the buy or not, the author has done the next best thing (for you) and written an article in the Daily Mail, putting some of the best tips in this article for free. The clothing tips at the bottom are excellent, all focusing on timeless clothes and accessories that will never go out of style, yet always look stylish and elegant and come in enough varieties to work with any body type. You can go here to read the article. Get inspired to become your own style icon!
As Honolulu, Hawaii holds their first Fashion Week, The Honolulu Advertiser brings back their recurring article, My Fashion Icon. Today's item is about a young woman named Willow Chang and her fashion icon, Audrey Hepburn. The article mainly focuses on what Willow has to say about Audrey -- beautiful, kind things, focusing equally on Audrey as a fashion icon and Audrey as a deeply feeling and caring person. Willow also theorizes on where Audrey would hang out in Hawaii, what she would be wearing now, and even what roles she would be taking if she were in her prime now. There's also photos of Willow in her off the rack finds that she's put together to get her own version of Audrey style, something that any of you can easily do with a little determination and a lot of patience. To read the full article and see pictures, go here.
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. :)
An article from the Daily Collegian discusses fashion icons and what made them tick, and Audrey is one of the lucky few mentioned. She's still noted daily as an icon to many people, but today's article has a nice bit added from Sean Ferrer that gives a little more insight into why Audrey's fashion sense stood out from all the rest. I won't spoil it for you, so click here to read the article for yourself (there are two short pages in total, and Audrey is on both). I will, however, say that it has a lot to do with inner beauty, and how clothes are just an extension of what's inside you.
In the midst of Paris Fashion Week and all the new collections coming out for fall 2007, it's nice to hear that Audrey Hepburn is still alive and well on the catwalks. In spite (or because?) of Gap's usage of her last year, women everywhere still aspire to her cigarette trousers, little black dresses, large glasses, and all around aura of sophistication and class. Bend Weekly has an article discussing Audrey's lasting power in the world of fashion and even provide a checklist to make sure you have all the Audrey essentials in your closet. Remember, Holly Golightly had a small, bare closet in her flat, but she still managed to always look smashing. If she can do it, you can do it.
Also of interest is the fact that Marni Nixon, the singer who dubbed about 95% of Audrey's vocals in My Fair Lady, is onstage in New York in a new revival of the show as Mrs. Higgins. She doesn't sing in this show, but most reviewers have been noting that it's refreshing to see her onstage for once, as opposed to always being stashed in the wings. You can read more about the new show here.
The British Film Institute is teaming up with Hewlett-Packard to publicize more than 300 film clips from their vast archives. A new "mediateque," a sort of mini-film theatre, will open March 14 in London's South Bank and will be completely free and open to the public. Audrey Hepburn's first screen test ever will be available, along with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and early Victorian films. BFI also hopes to release around 300 more clips before the end of the year to the general public. You can read more here.
If you have access to cable TV, tomorrow night (Friday, Feb. 23) TLC is airing "The Greatest Fashion Icons In Film." You're right in figuring that Audrey will be featured! There's not much information about this show yet, but if you can, watch it! I'm sure it will be interesting, and maybe someone will be kind enough to tape it and share the Audrey-relevant parts with those who don't have cable. You can read more here. (Bonus: if you click the link, check out the banner ad at the top of the page!)
Time Magazine wrote their own tribute to our lovely Audrey on the 14th anniversary of her death. At first, I was wishing I had just posted their story instead of writing my own awkwardly expressed tribute, but the more I read, the more I was disgusted that this article was printed by no less than Time. While starting out as a lovely remembrance for one of the few top-notch celebrities who lived their life drama-free and managed to turn their life into something meaningful, it quickly degenerates into a crass article that you'd think was talking about Lindsay Lohan or some other tartlet that isn't held very high in anyone's esteem. To give you some lowlights of this "serious piece," author Richard Corliss accuses Audrey of having anorexia during her UNICEF work to make the starving children she was visiting feel better about themselves, and gives a very crass image of Albert Finney's attraction to Audrey during filming of Two For the Road. I understand the idea behind not whitewashing the past and being wary of putting anyone on too high a pedestal, but why is making up drama considered an okay thing to do? In journalism, no less! Audrey faced this even in her own life, and she said, "If you lead a simple life, and that story is written, then that story will not satisfy. It needs an angle. Suppose there is no angle?" I guess Time's answer is, "Make something up." If you'd like, you can read the story for yourself (note that there are two pages), and then click on the author's name to write him a letter.
Seemingly in answer to the work mentioned above comes another article called "What Ever Became of Class?" Though it's not particularly an Audrey-heavy article, it does draw heavily on her image and that aura she and a few others had of real grace and style. Audrey's name was evoked a lot in recap articles about the Golden Globes, and it seems that people are finally realizing that Hollywood has lost its class. "Where's Audrey Hepburn when you need her?" columnists wailed, and in today's article, Audrey, Grace Kelly and Jacky Kennedy are invoked to remind women of a more subtle femininity. Girls today are taught how to be women by buying toy stripper poles and wearing tube tops. Has subtlety died when we weren't looking? The article ends on a cautiously optimistic note, and invokes a line from the aforementioned Sam Levenson poem Audrey loved, talking about a women's charm: ". . . The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides."
Updating three days in a row? I must be ill! Or there's just too much going on for me to stay silent. Today finds us looking at the Italian Vogue website, where writer Cesare Cunaccia tells us about the time he met Audrey Hepburn in 1983. I don't want to spoil anything, as the article is very sweet and telling, but I want to recommend you read the story for yourself, then watch the video put together to go with Cesare's writings. I won't say anything but this: it's my two favourite things together in one place, which makes me very happy. Be sure to check out the sidebar on the right as well, it's full of related Audrey articles, including Trend of the Day, giving style tips on how to channel your inner Holly Golightly.
