Audrey-lightful

Amazingly enough, finding the perfect photo of Audrey Hepburn to commemorate this - what would have been her 79th birthday - was difficult, and was certainly not owed to the volumes and volumes of pictures of her available online, but to the fact that the sage, gentle actress was purportedly more comfortable in her casual, day-to-day life than in the savvy trappings of a coiffed, bejeweled screen icon, no matter how natural she looked dressed so decadently.

It's amazing to me that this goddess of couture had little or no interest in the material gains that her position in Hollywood could have garnered her, considering that she revolutionized the fashion world several times, often with only an Edith Head gown and an updo. Somehow she fully absorbed the delicate and long-lasting fads that took hold during her fifteen or so years as a box office contender, but she always managed to maintain the definitive elements of Audrey: the sad, passionate eyes, the lithe, spare figure, and the dark tresses, cropped Caesar-short in Roman Holiday, left long in the ill-fated Green Mansions, or teased into a chic chignon as the epitome of elegance, Holly Golightly.

Even fifteen years after her untimely death of cancer at the age of 63, Audrey remains an inarguable enigma of sartorial savoir-faire; she is still the benchmark of beauty that defies mere makeup but instead incorporates more emotive elements of femininity: intelligence, kindness, confidence, generosity, dignity.

And why do I rhapsodize at length about the exterior of this fascinating woman, when she has so many worthy attributes to admire? Because her beauty was owed as much to her giving spirit, her unpretentious attitude (a rarity in her profession), and the humanitarian efforts she wholeheartedly embraced late in her life as it was to the doe eyes and gamine figure. Selfless and self-effacing, affectionate but unaffected, owing her life to luck and not looks - that was Audrey. Watching her even now, that is Audrey, still.

Happy birthday, Miss Hepburn.

image source

Deck the Walls

Deck the walls with pics of Holly - Golightly, that is. US retail giant Target has channeled the work of artist Frank Ritter onto its shelves, where decadent framed faces of cinema icons like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe are now available for purchase. The images are transferred from a traditional paper print and fused onto a thick, artist-grade canvas, giving them a striking richness and texture that complements such subject matter as Norma Jean and Holly Golightly. Prices vary, but the unframed canvases shown here retail for just $35.99; framed prints run from $230-$300 or more.

Visit Target.com or a local Target to browse the selection of Ritter prints.

Audreylightful

   If the myriad of posts on the subject didn't cue you in to the fact that I adored Life Magazine's Remembering Grace issue - the vibrant, glossy, picture-packed special edition devoted entirely to actress and princess Grace Kelly's timeless glamour - then you probably won't fathom how rabidly I received the news that Life has accorded like treatment to her sister icon, the inimitable Audrey Hepburn.

   Fifteen years after her death of cancer at the age of 64, the life of The Gamine Girl of the 1950's and 60's is celebrated in page after page of photos by her trusted photographer Bob Willoughby, many of which were unpublished until now. And though captions are sparse in the 144-page tribute, they are nearly unnecessary when coupled with such lush imagery over the span of Audrey's life: instant and lasting stardom in Hollywood at the start of her career, two saddeningly tumultuous marriages, and two sons who saw her through to the charity work she participated in until her illness became debilitating. Even if each phase isn't depicted within these covers, Aud's essence shines through in the impressive array of pictures, whether she's being dirtied on the set of My Fair Lady or riding her bicycle around the studio lot with her Yorkshire Terrier in its wicker basket: she is at once kind and compassionate, self-conscious and slight. She is simply stunning.

Remembering Audrey. As if we could ever forget.

Photo Source

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The January 8, 2008 magazine reportedly retails for 12.99, just like Grace's, and is available on newsstands through April (it is not, however, available online).

Audrey Abomination!!!

I was still half-asleep this morning when, settling down with a cinnamon roll and a fat Sunday paper full of circulars, I was bombarded by a screechingly-loud AC/DC song accompanying a tv commercial. I was furiously trying to mute it when Audrey Hepburn appeared on the screen, whirling and traipsing straight out of the nightclub scene in Funny Face, with guitars wailing in the background and tiny snippets of her unmistakable voice peppered throughout the song.

Surely this is a commercial for a re-release of her collection? I thought. Turner Classic Movies does a dependably brilliant job of fusing clips of classic cinema with contemporary music and themes, although generally, they aren't peddling anything with their commercials (TCM is self-supporting, so its rarely-aired advertisements are for its own programming lineup and specials). But, alas, Audrey's hipness was being used to sell black pants for the GAP. No, I'm not kidding you...slender, gorgeous Holly Golightly has been reduced to hawking slim-fit crops.

In case you're not a mall shopper, I'll fill you in a bit: The GAP is a chain store for the trendy individual which maintains its slightly more-pretentious status by charging slightly-more ridiculous prices than the average clothing destination. The GAP prides itself on setting fads not by gently ushering in its wares to the consumer public, but by boldly proclaiming a new sartorial direction and placing their brand's name at the forefront. (That being said, they do have a fabulous collection of pea coats and trenches, and I must admit perusing their clearance racks is a surefire way to add smart pieces to your closet). In this case, Audrey's lithe likeness is used to herald the return of the "skinny black pant", as she leaps and twirls to the strains of the 80's rock classic "Back in Black". Not exactly the kind of role she would have taken had The GAP existed in her heyday, is it?

It basically pares down to this: those who know of Audrey Hepburn - how many GAP shoppers could identify her on-the-spot?- generally hold a delicate reverence for her, regardless of how sartorially-savante they are. Audrey equals style, as simple as that - sophisticated, uncomplicated, Givenchy style. And unpretentious though she was, chances are slim that Madamoiselle Hep would ever be found browsing the local mall's GAP for forty-dollar skinny pants. I can appreciate the fact that even today she is an unfaltering icon of fashion, but I think utilizing her image in a marketing campaign for wares that don't directly involve her borders on exploitation.

That's right. I said abomination.




Question of the Week: What is your reaction to the commercial? Do you approve of or abhor the use of Audrey Hepburn's image to sell clothing?

You guess? Don't you know?

We've got a two-part question for you this time, as last week's trivia champion Amelia Lucia answered not one but two questions concerning 1940's The Philadelphia Story. This week we'll focus on a film that marks the signature collaboration of three of Hollywood's most eminent figures during the 1960's - director Blake Edwards, composer Henry Mancini, and gorgeous actress Audrey Hepburn - yes, it's Breakfast at Tiffany's. Let's see how much you know about this 1961 classic cinema confection.

1.Holly Golightly's (Audrey Hepburn's) neighbor Paul Varjak (George Peppard) has one published book to his credit, a compilation of short stories that he gives her as a housewarming gift. What is its title?
and,
2. Paul quotes a newspaper review of his book to Holly, complete with the month, day and year it was published: "...so said the New York Times book review, ________." According to his quote, what is the exact date?

Update: Wow, talk about a record here....less than three hours after I posted this doozy, fellow blogger Tillerman bowls over the Classic Film Trivia with two concise, and correct, answers: Paul's book, Nine Lives, was reviewed in the New York Times on October 1, 1956.
Congratulations to Tillerman for posting correctly, and first! I think Paul and Holly are chatting about his incredible film knowledge in the photo above.