7 things you didn't know about Audrey Hepburn

(and where you can benefit from them)

There was a time when Givenchy Givenchy was not the label for which Riccardo Tisci split to the slip (or further) and décolletés to, well, actually to the same location, tore. Because Givenchy is the surname of Hubert de Givenchy, the designer who created the label.

It doesn't matter that you thought he had passed away. The best man is already 89 and lives quite in the shadows. But last night he left his palace to open the exhibition ‘From Audrey with Love’. Because that, dear friends, was one of the greatest style icons ever and I'm going to catch you up in 7 dizzying (well, well, let me just say, it alliterates so nicely with the word that comes next) details.

1. She was half Dutch

And also of noble descent. Her father was a British banker and her mother was the Dutch Ella Baroness van Heemstra. Yes, that's how it goes with baronesses, first the first name and then the title (#learnedfromJort). Anyway. Of nobility, so not exactly poor. They first lived in Brussels, then in London but during the war, the Dutch soil seemed safer to them and they lived in Arnhem and Velp.

2. She was sweet and well-behaved, but did love the gentlemen.

Audrey is known for not having star attitudes and cooking pasta for the whole crew, but she was married twice, treated each husband (first an older actor, then a younger psychiatrist) to a son, and had, for example, a relationship with the Dutch Robert Wolders when she died. And oh yes, she was also engaged to James Baron (here we go again) Hansons in 1952. If you look at all the marriages, engagements, and four miscarriages (one when she fell off a horse during the filming of ‘The Unforgiven’), you could say she lived a grand and captivating life.

3. She was a free model for Givenchy

Audrey and Hubert de Givenchy met during the filming of the movie ‘Sabrina’ and since then it was thick as thieves between the two. Hubert designed her celebrated outfits (like of course the little black dress with the long gloves in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’) and was so captivated by Audrey's figure where ultra-feminine met a petite touch of garçonne, that he brewed a perfume: L’Interdit. Of course, Audrey was the face of the campaign. It was the first time a celebrity advertised a perfume. And probably the last time it happened for free.

4. She ate and she cooked

You might not think it when you look at her slender figure, but Audrey was a fervent potato eater. Her favorite dish to cook was hutspot. After the birth of her son Luca, Audrey became a full-time mother and wanted to cook every day, but that was not allowed by the cook who then became jealous. Everyone has their problems...

5. Bob Dylan wrote a song for her

Audrey appeared with a pillbox hat in leopard print and that intrigued Bob Dylan so much that he rewarded it with a song. An ode to Audrey.

6. She rocked all of this

Look at Audrey's look and everything can so integrally go into your closet. The ballerinas, the gladiator sandals, the two-strap shoe, the three-quarter pants (preferably in a check or stripe), the little black dress, the oversized borrowed-from-the-boys blouse, the eyebrows; everything is still so incredibly current. Just the pillbox and the headscarf left and we are all Audrey.

7. She could sing a little

I don't think that the Voice jury quartet would turn around if Audrey were to audition, but just listen to the opening tune of ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ (where the score is adjusted to the range of her voice), listen to her hoarse voice and look at her incredible ‘Jane Birkin avant la lettre’ style and you would also immediately fall in love with her if you were her upstairs neighbor.