So Audrey

© 2011 by Cindy De La Hoz
All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions

Printed in China

This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter
invented, without written permission from the publisher.

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010926193

ISBN 978-0-7624-4058-0

Designed by Corinda Cook
Photo research by Susan Oyama
Typography: Goudy, Trade Gothic, Brownstone Frames, Ed Script, and Corinthia

Running Press Book Publishers
2300 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4371

Visit us on the web!
www.runningpress.com

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Audrey Hepburn excelled like no one else in three distinct areas of her public life—humanitarian, actress, and the absolute epitome of style. The breadth of her charitable work, helping children all over the world through UNICEF, affected millions. In terms of acting, she won dozens of awards and left behind a legacy of great films that still resonate with audiences today. As if that weren’t enough, the woman also taught us all how to achieve style in a manner that’s posh, polished, and comfortable, to boot. The name “Audrey” has even become a byword for expressing admiration for simple good fashion sense. Her many admirers, who emulate her style, consciously or not, can hope for the thrill of being told on any given day that their look is “so Audrey!”

While Audrey Hepburn’s look has become the essence of the term timeless, it was con- sidered daring in her youth. To appreciate the full import of the lessons she taught the world about fashion, you have to remember that Audrey reached the United States from Europe in the early 1950s, an era when Marilyn Monroe was on the rise and popularizing a shapely hourglass figure with her sexy sense of style. Audrey’s was the polar opposite of that look. No one had seen anything like her!

Her face was considered, shall we say, problematic. One of Audrey’s iconic movies, Funny Face, is a tribute to her “quirky” features; the separate parts—huge doe-like eyes, a prominent nose, full brows, slightly off-kilter teeth—all happened to add up to a perfectly charming face. Hollywood accepted that, but confronted with her gamine figure, the natural inclination for studio designers was to help this girl out—pad the hips, pad the bra, cinch the waist to highlight what curves she did have. What they didn’t count on was Audrey’s polite but firm resistance to the fashion makeover they had in mind.

Audrey may have been small, but she was no pushover. She had taste and innate fashion sense cultivated during her upbringing in Europe. Most importantly, she knew instinctively what looked good on her, and she wasn’t about to let anyone make her look silly. At 5’7”, Audrey didn’t feel the need to add length to her frame with high heels, so she wore flats, or kitten heels, at best. She preferred slim lines to padded clothes, so she wore fitted tops, crisp button-down shirts, and cropped slacks, often in black.

Feeling pressure to conform from Hollywood stylists, Audrey turned to a then fledgling fashion designer in Paris, Hubert de Givenchy. Together, Hepburn and Givenchy revolu- tionized the world of fashion through their collaboration on her personal wardrobe and on many of her most famous films. The classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s alone blessed us with the Little Black Dress and helped popularize kitten heels, streaked highlights, oversized ________

sunglasses, trench coats, the statement neck- lace—and yes, eating fruit Danish in the most posh setting possible.

Look at any photo or watch Audrey in Sabrina, Charade, Funny Face, Two for the Road, or How to Steal a Million, and you’ll see why she became a fashion icon in her own time and for generations to come. She never thought the attention was warranted, though. In Audrey’s words, “Truly, I’ve

never been concerned with any public image. It would drive me around the bend if I worried about the pedestal others have put me on. And also I don’t believe it.” Audrey’s looks, talent,