How to Dress Like Audrey Hepburn

Clichéd though it is to say it, Audrey Hepburn is one of my top style icons – and judging by the continued popularity of my Audrey Hepburn capsule wardrobe post from last year, I’m not alone in that!

In that post, I provided links to specific items to include in an Audrey-inspired capsule wardrobe. As many of those pieces will be long since sold out, for this post I thought I’d provide some more general tips on the kind of items to look for if you want to dress like Audrey Hepburn every day…

HOW TO DRESS LIKE AUDREY HEPRBURN

First things first: there are two important rules to bear in mind when trying to re-create that classic, Audrey Hepburn-inspired look:

01. KEEP IT SIMPLE

Audrey’s look was just about as simple and classic as it gets. Think clean lines, classic shapes, and minimal accessories. In fact, “simple” and “classic” should be your key words for this look – anything that can’t be described using those two words is probably not going to work.

02. PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO FIT AND FABRIC

The key to making the minimal look work is close attention to detail. Clothes are only “basic” if they’re poorly-made or ill-fitting: one thing Audrey Hepburn (and women like her) knew about clothes was that even the most “ordinary” of basics can look amazing if they’re they’re right basics – and that means they have to fit impeccably, and be of a decent quality. This isn’t the time to stock up on fast-fashion: when you’re buying clothes that you’ll wear often, and which will form the backbone of your wardrobe, it’s always worth paying a little more if you can.

HOW TO DRESS LIKE AUDREY HEPBURN | WHAT TO BUY

The style associated with Audrey Hepburn is essentially an early 60s aesthetic. This is a look that has remained classic throughout the intervening decades, and adding just one or two pieces in this basic style to your outfit will allow you to instantly create an Audrey Hepburn inspired look, without looking like you’re in fancy dress. Items to look out for include:

♥ BOAT NECK TOPS 

Boden tend to have lots of these each season: try the Tilly, Grace and Marion tops for starters.

♥ CROPPED PANTS

Black cigarette trousers cropped at the ankle – very Audrey, but also very contemporary and easy to wear.

♥ POINTED FLATS

Good news for those who hate heels: the Audrey Hepburn look lends itself really well to a shiny, patent flat – you can substitute a classic court, however, if you can’t part with your heels!

♥  BRETON STRIPES

For dressed-down days, nothing beats a good Breton stripe: these were a key component of Audrey Hepburn’s causal look, and you can find them absolutely everywhere.

♥ CROPPED, FITTED SWEATERS

Replace loose, slouchy knits with short, fitted sweaters in a variety of colours: they’re just as comfortable, but create a more polished look.

♥ SKIRTS – BOTH FULL AND PENCIL 

Whether you like your skirts full or narrow, they work perfectly with all of those boat necked tops, fitted sweaters and stripes. Just make sure the length is knee-length or longer to create the Audrey Hepburn look.

♥ OPEN COLLARED SHIRTS

I did tell you this look was all about classic dressing – a crisp white shirt, open at the neck and with the collar popped can be worn with jeans, cropped trousers or skirts.

♥ BIG SUNGLASSES

It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing – add a pair of over-sized, 60s-style sunglasses, and you have an instant-Audrey-effect.

♥ THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS

I couldn’t write a post about Audrey Hepburn without mentioning one of the items she’s best known for: the little black dress! This can be in any style you like, as long as you remember to keep it simple, clean, and ideally hitting around the knee. Bonus ‘Audrey’ points if it has a boat-necked top or stand-up collar!