Costuming in Film: Funny Face - The Evolution of Audrey Hepburn's Look

Hello hello,

Before I get into the costume review I must mention my going away for a little 3 week vacation to Europe now that I’m done school! The itinerary will consist of Amsterdam and Serbia (random, I know) for some sightseeing and visiting family and friends. I’m extremely excited as I haven’t been travelling since I started school and it’ll be nice to get away and decompress.

Will I be updating the blog you ask? Most definitely. I thought it would be fun to include some photos of my travels as well, so I'm really looking forward to making some worthwhile memories in the next coming weeks!

Now for the review…

I thought it would be fun to do a throwback costume review and mix things up a little bit, and what better movie to do it with than 1957’s Funny Face? For those of you who haven’t seen it, it is a fashionista’s dream. I'm not even a huge fan of musicals at all and this movie holds a dear place in my heart. The film revolves around a doe-eyed and young Audrey Hepburn, who works at a book store, only to be scouted as the new face of a fashion magazine. Along the way she falls for the Dick Avery, (the photographer who scouted her) played by Fred Astaire. She also grows to be liked by the magazine’s editor, played by the hilarious Kay Thompson. A fun fact about the movie is that Thompson's character is said to be modelled after Diana Vreeland, the late editor of Vogue.

The film's legendary costume designer, Edith Head was one of the best in the business, working with all of the top Hollywood starlets at the time. She also boasts an impressive 8 Academy Awards as a costume designer, which is to this day more than any other person. However, Edith can't take all the credit for the movie's extravagant garments. Givenchy designed all of Hepburn's Paris wardrobe, as stated in the film's opening credits. The gowns are absolutely spectacular, and I'll get to them later as there are a total of 9 I believe (!)

I thought we could get started with the adorable Jo, played by Audrey. When we first see her she is portrayed as the polar opposite of a fashion icon (I still found her cute, but that’s beside the point). She’s wearing frumpy clothes that are extremely shapeless, telling the viewer that all Dick Avery had to go by when scouting her was her “funny face”. This also speaks to her character, who doesn't believe in fashion magazines and “silly women” as she calls them. She’s wearing shapeless clothes to rebel and show her discontent to anything fashion-related.

As she later on gets hauled to Paris for numerous photoshoots, we see her slowly changing her style. She escapes her frumpy wardrobe and while not being photographed she wears all black. She's still an individual that won't succumb to trends, wearing all black keeps her neutral and unaffected by fashion. She also spends a lot of time in underground Parisian cafes and bars, home to intellectual and artsy beatniks at the time. Her all-black style is pretty beatnik in itself, with the black cigarette pants and black turtle neck.

Her gorgeous pieces she wears while she's being photographed I don't believe really speak to her character, as she's posing in them for a magazine, but it would be treason not to include them, so...

Lovely, aren't they?

Next on our list is Maggie Prescott, editor of Quality magazine. She is the polar opposite of Jo, completely enthralled in a fashionable lifestyle. Dressed to the nines in a plethora of one of her dazzling ensembles, Maggie always looks in charge. An interesting observation about Maggie’s costumes is that her neck is almost always covered by what she’s wearing, speaking maybe to her character and how uptight she is.

Dick Avery, Jo’s love interest and photographer, isn’t as uptight as Maggie although he works in the same industry. His colour palette includes soft colours; pastel blues, pinks, and yellows. He’s got a kind heart and delicate colour palette to go with it.

Dick’s shirts usually aren't buttoned all the way and his ties are undone, which speaks to his laid back personality, unlike Maggie’s. He usually rolls up his sleeves while he’s working, or casually drapes a sweater on his back. In the fishing scene, he sports a pair of white sneakers, speaking to his character yet again.

I thoroughly encourage whoever hasn't seen this classic to do so, as it’s a must for anyone interested in fashion. It really was a delight to watch it again, proving that this film goes against the test of time. 

I hope everyone is having a lovely start to their Saturdays, and has a wonderful weekend ahead of them.

xx

Marta