Audrey Hepburn dress.

I’m so very grateful I have daughters. When my youngest recently requested an Audrey Hepburn dress for a research assignment, I did a little happy dance. Audrey was known for her simple, stylish glamour and this was reflected in her most famous dress worn in the film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s.’

So, this past week we’ve been having a little fun in the studio. As part of her project called ‘Images of Greatness’ we whipped up a very special version of the famous dress. And yes, we’ve been having a ‘Audreyfest’ of all the old movies. A huge amount of work went into this Year 6 assignment – students were required to create a large information board with all their research beautifully presented. These boards were then shown at a special exhibition for parents and students, and everyone got to dress up as their chosen idol of greatness.

We chose a black lightweight cotton material for the dress. The pattern was fairly easy and only 2 fittings required to make sure the back yoke and the wide neckline were just right. The skirt was softly gathered onto a lined bodice and a side invisible zip used. Mademoiselle wanted the hem slightly higher at the front and dipping at the back, which gave it a more dressy look.

The necklace consisted of a sparkly brooch and 4 strands of pearls, both purchased from my favourite place in Hong Kong, Sham Shui Po. The necklace actually took longer to construct than the dress – a bit fiddly, but we got it right in the end. Long black gloves, a diamond bracelet and hair comb and black ballet flats completed the glamorous look. Breakfast at Tiffany’s – anyone?