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A.H
From the minute she graced our screens in Breakfast at Tiffany’s oh so
many years ago, that tiny elfin figure is responsible for influencing literally
thousands of women in terms of not only fashion and style but posture and
manners. Audrey had grace and elegance,
traits that are so easily lost these days (in the era of Vicky Pollards and The
Royle Family!!). People magazine voted
her one of the “50 most beautiful people in the world” and in 1996, 3 years
after her death, Harpers and Queen conducted a poll to find the most
fascinating women of our time and Audrey was right at the top.
Just like George Peppard, I too fell in love with Holly Golightly and
her adorably independent ginger cat. Her cheekiness, naivety and ability to
look fabulously “coiffured” in under 5 minutes were her trademarks. However in
terms of her personal style and the fashion rules that she lived by ……here are
a few from a favourite book of mine - “Audrey Style” by Pamela Clearke Keogh
The Essentials:
·
A little black dress. Enough said
·
A sleeveless sheath dress (a tunic or shift dress to
you and me)
·
The white shirt. Tucked in, tied at the front,
embellished, worn lose with a belt. Just worn – period.
·
A jazzy suit – preferably with Chanel on the label
·
Capri pants.
Often just worn now in summer time but the new “tulip” trousers are a
great updated look
·
A turtleneck jumper. This is one of my favourites.
It’s timeless and in a thinner wool fabric it can look very classy. But then I am also a fan of the occasional
polo neck and I know that society is divided on that particular matter!
·
One “what the hell item”. Now unfortunately, I have far too many of
these to the point where my husband has taken up saying this phrase far too often.
In my case it could be a £40 giant corsage or a cobalt blue jumpsuit, a red
tutu or a taffeta tartan skirt that I shall never wear because the waistline is
only made for Twiggy BUT, what the hell.
When I fall, I fall hard. In
Audrey’s case, I imagine she was a little more sedate and probably paired
something like jeans with a headscarf and said “what the hell – casual and
fancy, what will they think of next”.
·
One killer dress
·
Blue jeans
·
Flats – she was a massive fan of ballet flats,
probably deep-routed in a her dancing history
·
The (preferabley Hermes) scarf. Ah the 1950’s, when it was totally normal to
wear headscarves with large fly style glasses.
Think of the French Riviera and white coated waiters arriving with your
Pellegrino.
And if I had to
list my essentials – this is what they would be:
·
A little red dress.
Don’t get me wrong, I love black and it will always have its place but
nothing turns heads or grabs attention like a little red dress (well, long in
my case). Works everytime (unless you
are a gorgeous red head then avoid it at all costs).
·
The full 1950’s style skirt. If you are curvy they are fab but they are
also lovely on skinnier women as they give the appearance of hips that aren’t
there!
·
Anything in polka-dots. Again, a classic. Shirt, skirt, prom dress…..I love them.
·
The accordion pleat skirt. These have been very popular in the last 18
months after Kiera Knightly was spotted in a gorgeous yellow one from
Whistles. I must admit, I probably have
one in almost every colour. All very
soft, floaty fabrics.
·
A Chinese dress.
I love them and my two are both from charity shops.
·
The classic wrap dress. Think Diane Von Furstenburg or
classic Halston. I am quite short but quite curvy and they just seem to suit my
figure perfectly.
·
The skinny jeans.
With heels for a night out or cowboy boots for the day. Indespensible – even if you have a fuller
figure they can look great.
·
A very old denim jacket. My favourite Gap jacket is so worn now. She came from a charity shop about 10 years
ago but I love her. I’m always sticking
brooches or corsages on her
·
A fabulous hat.
Now, I love a woman in a hat and I have several upstairs that I sadly do
not wear often enough. Perhaps due to my
husband who pointed out that I looked like Miss Marple in one of them. Never
the less, they can make you feel fantastic.
·
A trench-coat.
If like me you cannot afford a Burberry classic – check out the charity
shops – there are lots to be found. I have a gorgeous red one that was £20 but
it still had the tags on and was $220!
·
A selection of evening dresses – maxi, satin, bright
colours, any colour to be honest. My
favourite thing is that absolute show stopper of a dress. Now I know that technically you should have
an occasion to wear such a piece but I am a firm believer in the art of
dressing up and finding the occasion! I
used to go to a certain wine bar with my partner in Weston most Saturday nights
and each week I would wear a different dress.
Most people were dressed for clubbing and I always wore a lovely
(usually long) dress. So many people
used to comment on how nice I looked or how nice it was to see someone that
still makes an effort. To be honest – I was
making the effort for me (and my partner at the time), but also, because I love
clothes so much, I have to rotate and wear them somehow – I cannot justify them
otherwise!!
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