Words of Wisdom

On this International Women’s Day, I give you a homage to a woman who hardly needs an introduction: Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993). As famous for her grace and beauty of spirit as her chic appearance, Hepburn was a model, an actress and a humanitarian, working with UNICEF in her later life.

Here are some of her words of wisdom, always and forever relevant:

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

Paris is always a good idea.

Audrey Hepburn as Sabrina (1954)About a year ago I cut my hair super-short for the first time since my early twenties (quite a while ago!), in a pixie-cut. And although I don’t think I took any reference pictures of Audrey to my hair stylist, I was later reminded of her pixie cut during the filming of Sabrina in 1954. So here I am, emulating a publicity portrait of her with gloves.

I hope you have had time to celebrate the day with your best women friends, for in Audrey’s words: ‘The best thing to hold onto in life is each other’.

Photo: March 2017

May the Fourth Be With You

On this auspicious occasion who could go past a homage from one princess to another? This is actually a throwback to a photoshoot I did more than six years ago, when I attempted to recreate Princess Leia’s iconic buns. My hair was very long then, and my home hairstyling was a complete failure – I found it harder than expected to twist my hair into buns of the requisite size! This time round I’ve used an outtake from the shoot, and inflated my floppy buns with the aid of Photoshop. Vale Carrie Fisher, and …

Photo: January 2011

Audreyesque

Recently my niece Bluejay and I decided to have a Twin Peaks marathon, ahead of the new series being released next year, especially because we had done one nearly twenty years ago (Bluejay is only four years younger than me). Yesterday we had our first session, managing to get through the entire first season. It was so much fun!

As far as style goes, Audrey Horne is – as she probably is for many others – my favourite character. Her cute, preppy look has become iconic over time. As Bluejay asked yesterday evening, “How is it that though Audrey wears the same kind of clothes as everyone else, she looks much sexier?” I laughed, and we decided that it’s because her clothes are closer-fitting, and her sweaters are mostly plain, rather than emblazoned with hideous 80s patterns. Any hint of subversiveness lies more in her character than in the demure clothes she wears.

“How is it that though Audrey wears the same kind of clothes as everyone else, she looks much sexier?”

The iconic Audrey Horne of David Lynch's Twin PeaksIt was very entertaining to see the fashions everyone was wearing – so sloppy and dowdy! So many enormous sweaters in earthy, muted tones. And the big hair! I asked Bluejay in astonishment, “Did we think they were dowdy back then?” I couldn’t remember wearing such clothes – I was at art school when Twin Peaks was first aired in Australia. “We didn’t dress like that,” Bluejay answered, “it was weird.” Well of course the whole show was weird! The fashion just gave it an extra dimension of strangeness.

The fashion just gave [Twin Peaks] an extra dimension of strangeness.

I’ve managed to put together an Audrey-esque outfit from existing items in my closet: I actually own a great many plaid pleated skirts, although I wouldn’t say I dress preppy at all! However, I do have a sneaking fondness for the look. Nor do I currently own any brogues or penny loafers – I had to make do with a pair of very high brogue-inspired heels.

Bobbysoxers are just so darned cute! Click the image to find out more about bobbysoxers and their entertaining origins.Interestingly, earlier in the week while researching 1950s daywear, I came across another section in my book Fashion: The Whole Story (Marnie Fogg, Thames & Hudson, 2013) about bobbysoxers of the 1940s, who wore skirts with sweaters, and the eponymous bobby socks with loafers. These rebellious teens were surely the inspiration behind Audrey’s look, along with shades of the 50s and 80s.

I was amused to note the first close-up of Audrey’s penny loafers as she enters her father’s chauffeur-driven car to go to school: black and white, and worn without socks – a saucier rendition of the look.

Her hair and makeup are also reminiscent of the 40s (the lack of bangs and side part) and 50s (the short curls). I pinned up my hair at the back and curled the shorter layers to emulate Audrey’s do, but her hairstyle is giving me some much-needed inspiration.

I can’t wait to see what David Lynch has in store for us – narratively and sartorially – in the new series!

Photos: This week

Classic Style

Last weekend I saw the 1946 film The Big Sleep on the big screen – by accident! I was actually meant to see something else, but I got the days mixed up. Though I’ve seen this Bogey and Bacall film before, it’s been many years so it really was a serendipitous pleasure to watch it again, in an old-style Art Deco theatre especially.

I’m sure most people would agree with me that Lauren Bacall is gorgeous in general – those cheekbones! those eyes! that hair! – I was also drooling over her costumes for this film. I’ve long loved Forties style; my particular favourite here is the houndstooth suit with beret. My own ideal wardrobe would be comprised of these outfits. Absolutely classic.

You’d certainly never yawn over Lauren Bacall!

A Famous Little White Dress

One of the most iconic dresses of the twentieth century must surely be Marilyn Monroe’s halter neck that she wore in Billy Wilder’s film The Seven Year Itch. Those famous photos show the dress blowing up in the air as Marilyn stood over a sidewalk grating, revealing her legs and her double-strength white knickers. (One pair was too see-through apparently.) The shooting of this scene was the catalyst of her separation from her jealous husband ballplayer Joe DiMaggio. The dress was auctioned for $4.6 million in June 2011. That white dress cost a few people a lot.

Tom Ewell and Marilyn Monroe in that famous scene from The Seven Year Itch

My white chiffon dress, on the other hand, cost only $30 from a charity store. While it is also pleated, it’s not quite the same as Marilyn’s dress, I like the shape more – it’s cut on elegant Grecian lines rather than Bombshell. It also has a waist-tie (hidden at the back), though it is black. I wore it to my family’s Christmas lunch last year.

Read more about the shooting of this famous scene of The Seven Year Itch at Arts-Stew.