Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn emerged in the acting world in the 1950's and was immediately recognized for her unique sense of style. Hepburn's focus on simplicity and modesty was groundbreaking in a world of voluptuous and ostentatious Hollywood stars. She collaborated with the couture designer, Hubert de Givenchy, to create her iconic style which influenced the fashion of her era and the decades to follow. With the end of WWII and the return of women to the role of "housewife", America saw women's fashion retreat to the classic femininity of the 1930's. Ankle length hems and waist accentuating silhouettes made a come back. Hepburn took this style into her own interpretation with more pants, tighter silhouettes, and boyish looks. Her thicker eyebrows and lack of eye shadow challenged the classic feminine look that most of Hollywood was sporting during this age. Her short, tied back hair rebelled against femininity as seen in The Roman Holiday when her character cuts off her feminine locks to a look as short as a boys.

I have been inspired by the strength of Audrey Hepburn's style. Her basic color schemes as seen in her iconic "little black dress" look causes as many glances as any bright colored pattern. She shows us that a women can be beautiful by embracing simplicity and rebels against the traditional femininity of the 1950's house wife. This has inspired me to feel feminine and strong without using bright colors and that modesty is just as breathtaking as provocativeness. Her iconic look is still influential today and the little black dress is now a staple in every women's closet.

 To the left there is a picture of the traditional 1950's hair and makeup as well as a picture of Audrey Hepburn's iconic hair and makeup. The many differences between these two looks makes it hard to believe they are from the same era, only coinciding with the strong lip color. Audrey's style is very innocent and young in comparison. Her eyebrows are thick, dark, and straight; a technique that gives a youthful look. Her eyebrows are strikingly different from the classic look and are a style that is iconically her. I find this choice interesting because it adds to her innocence and rebels against the thin, feminine brows of the 1950's women. Thick eyebrows even today are a trend that many women use to not only look younger, but to portray confidence through the rejection of house-wife femininity. I personally love this look and filling in my eyebrows is the most important part of my morning makeup routine. Audrey also portrays innocence with the simplicity of her eye makeup. Most of her looks include only a simple liner on her upper lid. This enlarges her eyes, adding to her youthfulness and again rejecting the color that so iconically marks femininity in the 1950's.

Audrey Hepburn emerged during a time of voluptuous movie stars and curvy silhouettes, yet she rejects this norm and chooses to embrace her straight body type and accentuate her lack of curves. Most of her looks do not show her chest and almost bind her top so that her breasts are hidden. This adds to her innocent, almost boyish style. Although I like showing off my body when I can, Audrey's confidence in her modesty encourages women, such as myself, to feel beautiful without curves.

Audrey's reinvention of femininity as innocence and modesty was
highly influential during her time and continues to be today. Her makeup and fashion choices are a classic look even 60 years later. Audrey's looks have encouraged me to be confident in simplicity and feel comfortable rejecting traditional femininity.