Happy Birthday Audrey Hepburn! How to get her iconic style
Hollywood starlet, Oscar winner and the greatest LBD icon of all time, the beautiful Audrey Hepburn was the inspiration behind our best-selling Audrey dress from the Little Black Dress Collection. To celebrate her birthday, on 4 May, we take a look at her oh-so stylish life and explain how you too, can get Audrey's timeless style.
Inspired by icons, but designed for today. That's the thinking behind our new and exclusive Little Black Dress Collection, thirty dresses each inspired by and named after a fashion great, past or present. What comes as no surprise is that it's our classic Audrey dress, £120, that has become our all-time bestseller, so much so, that we've reimagined it for SS15 in three new colours as well as the original black.
Renowned for her elfin beauty, timeless style and elegant grace, Audrey Hepburn changed the face of beauty and style, showing us that you don't have to look a certain way to be considered beautiful. She was French couture designer Hubert de Givenchy's muse, and earned a place in Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame, which since its inception in 1940, has lauded the most polished, eclectic, and stylish of dressers. She could go from cocktail dresses and ball gowns to her Capri pants, roll neck and pumps but somehow always managed to look like she was on the set of a photo shoot. Even since her death in 1993, she continues to influence fashion and just this month, was revealed in a survey as Britain's favourite style icon, revered as the most stylish woman of all time.
It was her Oscar-winning role as Holly Golightly, a spontaneous and eccentric New York playgirl, in the 1961 romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany's (the story of boy meets girl as he moves into her apartment building… you know the rest!) that really catapulted her to super-stardom and cemented her reputation as one of the world's most stylish women. French couture designer Hubert de Givenchy was in charge of the film's wardrobe and he created dresses for Audrey that went on to become some of the most famous LBDs of all time.
The beautiful black Givenchy dress she wears in the opening scene of the film (and the inspiration behind our Holly dress, £110, named after Holly Golightly) is without a doubt the most famous LBD of all time. But it was Holly's little black cocktail dress that we turned to for inspiration when creating our own LBD Audrey dress. We fell in love with its elegant silhouette and flirtatious feathers; it was Holly's go-to party dress, just like ours.
Due to the popularity of our original Audrey Dress in Black, from the AW14 collection, we have reinvented it for SS15. Available now in nude, white, lace and black, the Audrey dress is cut to flatter with a slender fit. It's the perfect dress for any occasion having an element of stretch in the figure-skimming, luxurious fabric allowing for easy movement and comfort. The gently boned Ostrich feather detailing on the hemline is not only a stand-out feature but creates a sleek and flawless silhouette.
So Happy Birthday Audrey, and thank you for your your wonderful style, which will live on forever.
Shop the outfit: Adele Marie Ivory and Gold Earrings, £18, Fiorelli Betsy Open Heart and Pearl Stretch Bracelet, £16, Aftershock London Becca Embellished Evening Clutch Bag, £74.95, Gatsbylady Bolero Jacket in Cream, £49.
Shop the outfit: Aftershock London Lorena Shoe in Black, £64.95, Aftershock London Gracie Diamante and Jewel Black Hardcase Clutch Bag, £50, Krystal London Tiger Drops Earrings, £35.
Shop the outfit: Krystal London Tiger Drop Necklace, £35, Krystal London Rectangle Rock Ring, £18, Aftershock London Valarie Black Evening Clutch Bag, £64.95, Aftershock London Lorena Shoe in Black, £64.95.
Audrey had a pet deer named Pippin. After working on the 1959 film Green Mansions the star adopted her on-screen sidekick and would even take him shopping in the Beverly Hills supermarket.
Audrey had UK size 8 feet. She was always extremely self-conscious despite being renowned as one of the most beautiful women in the world and once said: “I'd like not to have such angular shoulders, such big feet, such a big nose.”
Audrey's real name is not really Hepburn. Audrey was christened Audrey Kathleen Ruston in 1929 but stared calling herself Hepburn, her great grandmother's name, in 1948 before her acting career began.
Audrey lived under Nazi occupation in World War II. During her time in the the Netherlands from 1939 til the end of the war, Audrey who was just 11 years old, resorted to eating tulip bulbs and trying to bake grass into bread as the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands became increasingly brutal.
Audrey made the LBD famous. Her appearances in Breakfast at Tiffany's in several iconic LBDs made the dress an instant hit. She also never believed herself to be a style icon, saying “My appearance is accessible to everyone. With hair tied in a bun, big sunglasses and black dress, every woman can look like me.”
Renowned for her elfin beauty, timeless style and elegant grace, Audrey Hepburn changed the face of beauty and style, showing us that you don't have to look a certain way to be considered beautiful. She was French couture designer Hubert de Givenchy's muse, and earned a place in Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame, which since its inception in 1940, has lauded the most polished, eclectic, and stylish of dressers. She could go from cocktail dresses and ball gowns to her Capri pants, roll neck and pumps but somehow always managed to look like she was on the set of a photo shoot. Even since her death in 1993, she continues to influence fashion and just this month, was revealed in a survey as Britain's favourite style icon, revered as the most stylish woman of all time.
It was her Oscar-winning role as Holly Golightly, a spontaneous and eccentric New York playgirl, in the 1961 romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany's (the story of boy meets girl as he moves into her apartment building… you know the rest!) that really catapulted her to super-stardom and cemented her reputation as one of the world's most stylish women. French couture designer Hubert de Givenchy was in charge of the film's wardrobe and he created dresses for Audrey that went on to become some of the most famous LBDs of all time.
The beautiful black Givenchy dress she wears in the opening scene of the film (and the inspiration behind our Holly dress, £110, named after Holly Golightly) is without a doubt the most famous LBD of all time. But it was Holly's little black cocktail dress that we turned to for inspiration when creating our own LBD Audrey dress. We fell in love with its elegant silhouette and flirtatious feathers; it was Holly's go-to party dress, just like ours.
Due to the popularity of our original Audrey Dress in Black, from the AW14 collection, we have reinvented it for SS15. Available now in nude, white, lace and black, the Audrey dress is cut to flatter with a slender fit. It's the perfect dress for any occasion having an element of stretch in the figure-skimming, luxurious fabric allowing for easy movement and comfort. The gently boned Ostrich feather detailing on the hemline is not only a stand-out feature but creates a sleek and flawless silhouette.
So Happy Birthday Audrey, and thank you for your your wonderful style, which will live on forever.
Get Audrey's style
Whatever your occasion, you can channel Audrey Hepburn's classic style in the Little Black Dress Collection Audrey dress.For Weddings...
Shop the outfit: Adele Marie Ivory and Gold Earrings, £18, Fiorelli Betsy Open Heart and Pearl Stretch Bracelet, £16, Aftershock London Becca Embellished Evening Clutch Bag, £74.95, Gatsbylady Bolero Jacket in Cream, £49.
For Evening...
Shop the outfit: Aftershock London Lorena Shoe in Black, £64.95, Aftershock London Gracie Diamante and Jewel Black Hardcase Clutch Bag, £50, Krystal London Tiger Drops Earrings, £35.
For a Party...
Shop the outfit: Krystal London Tiger Drop Necklace, £35, Krystal London Rectangle Rock Ring, £18, Aftershock London Valarie Black Evening Clutch Bag, £64.95, Aftershock London Lorena Shoe in Black, £64.95.
Five things you didn't know about Audrey Hepburn
Audrey had a pet deer named Pippin. After working on the 1959 film Green Mansions the star adopted her on-screen sidekick and would even take him shopping in the Beverly Hills supermarket.
Audrey had UK size 8 feet. She was always extremely self-conscious despite being renowned as one of the most beautiful women in the world and once said: “I'd like not to have such angular shoulders, such big feet, such a big nose.”
Audrey's real name is not really Hepburn. Audrey was christened Audrey Kathleen Ruston in 1929 but stared calling herself Hepburn, her great grandmother's name, in 1948 before her acting career began.
Audrey lived under Nazi occupation in World War II. During her time in the the Netherlands from 1939 til the end of the war, Audrey who was just 11 years old, resorted to eating tulip bulbs and trying to bake grass into bread as the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands became increasingly brutal.
Audrey made the LBD famous. Her appearances in Breakfast at Tiffany's in several iconic LBDs made the dress an instant hit. She also never believed herself to be a style icon, saying “My appearance is accessible to everyone. With hair tied in a bun, big sunglasses and black dress, every woman can look like me.”
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