12 Audrey Hepburn Fashion Moments That Will Always Be Classic
- Dr Theresa Phillips
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
Audrey Hepburn wearing a sun hat and structured floral dress in 1955.
The Gist
Audrey Hepburn was an Oscar-winning British actress who graced the screen from the 1950s to the late 1980s.
Through her decades-long career, audiences revered the actress for her sartorial choices—which largely skewed minimal and remain classic today.
Hepburn's most iconic looks come from her most famous film, Breakfast at Tiffany's, as well as her everyday fashion. The latter includes capri pants, ballet flats, and statement coats.
There is no aesthetic that achieves more Old Hollywood aura than Audrey Hepburn's fashion. The three-time BAFTA winner was as much a fashion icon as she was a legend of the silver screen, and her most famous looks work just as well today as they did when she debuted them. “Audrey’s aesthetic was timeless, minimalist, and modern,” says expert Meghan Friedlander. From her hair to her toes, Audrey Hepburn set the stage for timeless beauty.
While Hepburn always had an innate sense of style, Friedlander cites the star’s relationship with one equally famous designer as the catalyst for her legendary aesthetic. “When [Hepburn] was teamed with Hubert de Givenchy in 1953 for the film Sabrina, together, they were able to create the 'Hepburn Look,'” she says. “They had the same appreciation for art and fashion, preferring clean lines, solid colors, and interesting details. They were perfect collaborators.”
Meet Our Expert
Meghan Friedlander is the author of Audrey Hepburn in Paris from HarperCollins. She is also the curator of Rare Audrey Hepburn, a website that archives Hepburn's style and career and can be found across all social media platforms @rareaudreyhepburn.
While classic and minimal, Hepburn's tastes were anything but one-note. “As fashion advanced, so did Audrey’s style,” explains Friedlander. “She was never afraid to experiment with new trends. In the '60s, she embraced mod fashion, wore shorter hemlines, and played with bright colors." Friedlander adds that Hepburn's style undergoes a "radical transformation" in How to Steal a Million and Two for the Road. "By the '70s, semi-retired and living in Rome, she traded in her French haute couture for designs by Valentino and boutique lines.”
While Hepburn’s style remains a cornerstone of her legacy, reflecting the style of the times back into the world like a looking glass, it would be a mistake to attribute her fashion It- Girl status to trend-chasing. “Hepburn’s true aesthetic was her authenticity,” Friedlander notes. “So much of fashion is instinct and her greatest secret was her intuition.”
Looking back at Audrey Hepburn’s most iconic looks is an exercise in anachronism. Many of her sartorial achievements feel at home in a modern, minimalist wardrobe, but a trip through her fashion archives also reveals a signature aesthetic, timestamped with a bygone era. Audrey Hepburn paved the way for the actresses people know and love today—including Zendaya and Emma Watson, who both named the Oscar-winning actress as a source of inspiration.
Ahead, find a dozen of Audrey Hepburn’s most beloved and notable looks, including how to style them for your very own Breakfast at Tiffany’s fashion moment.
Audrey Hepburn in a publicity still on the set of Breakfast at Tiffany's in NYC in 1961.
Audrey Hepburn in a publicity still on the set of Breakfast at Tiffany's in NYC in 1961.
The Givenchy dress Hepburn wore in the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's is likely her most well-known and oft-emulated look. Accessorized with oversized sunglasses, opera gloves, and a decadent yellow diamond and pearl Tiffany necklace, the sheath dress with its cinched waist has become one of the most iconic 'fits in cinema.
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