The Baby Giraffe: Film Fashion Friday: Audrey Hepburn and Charade.

I have always ~~secretly~~ not so secretly wanted to be a film critic/historian. Classic film has always been my thing, thanks to my mom having me watch Gone with the Wind at age five and my Grammy watching Singing in the Rain with me at about age three. I am a TCM junky and I have a HUGE crush on Robert Osborne. I want to hug him. And do his job for him when he needs a day off.

My earliest memory of movie watching is when I was about two years old, sitting on the always awesome floor pallet with my cousins and brother watching The Wizard of Oz. It scared and delighted me all at once and from that point on, I was hooked.

There are a million reasons why I love classic films and one of those things is the fashion. Duh, right? So every now and then I would like to share my love of film and film fashion with you fine folks.

Today I will start with a pretty obvious one. The reason why I wear my collars popped and one of the most beloved actresses and fashion icons of all time....Ms. Audrey Hepburn.

No, I am not going to write about Breakfast at Tiffany’s. There is nothing that I could ever saw about the black dress in the opening seem that hasn’t already been said one million times over. I would never dare to remark on one of the most iconic cinema moments in all of film history.

What? I said I wouldn't talk about it...I didn't say I wouldn't show you a picture of it....

Instead I will talk about my favorite film of Audrey’s. Charade. While it is not the most amazing example of film making or even close to best acting that we see from Ms. Hepburn, it is really good and really funny. No there are no monkeys or punches to a penis. It is the kind of funny where you actually have to pay attention to the dialogue. There are little witty joke nuggets tucked into the words that, if you can catch them, are brilliant. It is what my husband calls “smart funny”. It can easily be missed if you are not in the mood, etc.

Charade is a highly styleized romantic comedy/mystery thriller that has Audrey running around Paris in the most fabulous early 60’s fashion throwing herself at Cary Grant. What is there not to love, am I right?

According to Wikipedia “Cary Grant (who turned 59 during filming) was sensitive about the 26 year age difference between Audrey Hepburn (33 at the time of filming) and himself, and this made him uncomfortable with the romantic interplay between them. To satisfy his concerns, the filmmakers agreed to add several lines of dialogue in which Grant's character comments on his age and Regina — Hepburn's character — is portrayed as the pursuer.”

I am so glad this happened because this gives the film so much of its uniqueness and makes for some of the best moments in the movie.

(Here Audrey proves that mustard is indeed a fashion statement...not just a condiment.)

Audrey is probably the most influential fashion icon as far as movie stars go. We can thank her for making the gamine body type sexy coming in on the heels of ladies like Marilyn Monroe and Ava Gardner. She brought sex to cigarette pants, ballet flats and the pixie cut. She essentially made the unsexy, sexy. Oxford shirts, peter pan collars, capris, bug like sunglass lenses, loafers….the list goes on. She was usually covered from head to toe in layers and often a coat. She really showcased the importance of fit and silhouette. Also her face was just so damn beautiful that she could wear a snuggy and crocs and look smokin.