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| Greetings!
Au milieu de l'hiver, j'ai découvert en moi un invincible été.
In the depths of winter I found within me an invincible summer.
Albert Camus
If you were among
those who experienced the record snowstorms that have blanketed the East coast during this past week, I hope you were able to stay at home feeling warm, safe, and chic! And what better way to do so than to cuddle up with a good book enveloped in a large, cozy shawl? Few things work better for me in inclement weather, and I suggest you give it a try if you haven't already. And, if you have some favorite ways to dispel the winter blues, please do share them with us and send us an e-mail. We love hearing from you!
This issue profiles Audrey Hepburn, who defines for so many women the essence of style and grace. Ever since I saw her in Roman Holiday when I was a little girl growing up in Argentina, I was smitten! Her irresistible charm playing the runaway Princess Anne, who has a fleeting adventure in Rome with Gregory Peck and captivates his heart, earned Hepburn millions of fans and an Oscar for best actress when she was only 24. But it was above all her "elegant spirit," in the words of Sean Ferrer's loving tribute to his mother Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit, that makes her so special and unforgettable.
Hepburn had impeccable poise and sense of style, and her impact on fashion resonates to this day. She perfected a very simple and feminine look that was unmistakably hers, although she claimed, with characteristic modesty, that any woman could achieve it. The key to her look is a few clothing staples - plus that perfect Swan Ways' accessory -that belong in every chic woman's closet and are disclosed in our bonus Valentine's Day article.
Our hopes to have our internet boutique up and running last month were again disappointed, but we are not giving up! We will work hard to iron out some last wrinkles and will let you know as soon as we have. In the meantime, we would appreciate your thoughts, especially about your experience with Swan Ways that we might use in our web site or newsletter.
Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Alix
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 Audrey Hepburn
An Elegant Spirit
Audrey Kathleen Hepburn-Ruston was born in Brussels, Belgium on May 24, 1929, the daughter of a Dutch baroness and an Anglo-Irish banker who deserted the family when Audrey was only six years old. Living under Nazi occupation in Holland during World War II, the young Hepburn and her mother had to struggle to survive, and at times had nothing to eat except flour made from tulip bulbs. Her memories of fear, deprivation, and Nazi soldiers herding Jewish men, women and children into cattle cars to be sent to death camps haunted her for the rest of her life. Offered the role of Anne Frank many years later, she turned it down as she said it would bring back too painful memories, but she made use of her war experiences in her later work on behalf of children for UNICEF, the role of which she was most proud.
After the war, Hepburn and her mother moved to England and she pursued her ballet training, taking modeling assignments and bit parts on stage and screen to earn extra cash. And then good fortune struck, not just once, but twice! She was shooting a small part in a film at the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo, where Colette was scouting for a new face to play Gigi. Colette saw Hepburn and insisted she be cast in the role, which took her to Broadway and earned her a Theatre World Award in 1952. A year later, Roman Holiday and an Academy Award followed. One of the brightest stars that ever lit up the silver screen had been born.
In 1954, director Billy Wilder picked Hepburn to play Sabrina, a naïve chauffeur's daughter who returns from cooking school in Paris as a sophisticated and elegant young woman and seduces both William Holden and Humphrey Bogart! Throughout her career, she co-starred with Hollywood's top leading men: Fred Astaire (Funny Face, 1957), Gary Cooper (Love in the Afternoon, 1957), George Peppard (Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961), Cary Grant (Charade, 1963), Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady, 1964), Peter O'Toole (How to Steal a Million, 1966), Albert Finney (Two for the Road, 1967). In 1954, she wed Mel Ferrer, with whom she shared the screen in the 1956 epic War and Peace, portraying an incandescent and memorable Natasha. In 1959, she played her first dramatic role in The Nun's Story, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. After another award-nominated performance in the l967 thriller Wait Until Dark, in which she plays a blind woman terrorized by a psychotic killer, Hepburn took an extended leave of absence from the screen. Divorced from Ferrer in 1968, she married Italian physician Andrea Dotti in 1969 and announced her intention to end her career to become an "Italian housewife." In 1970, when she was 40, she had a son, named Luca. During their 13-year marriage Hepburn made made only four more movies, none of them particularly memorable. The last, Always, released in 1989, featured her in a cameo as an angel. Hepburn lived the last twelve years of her life in Switzerland with Robert Wolders, the widower of actress Merle Oberon, and called them the happiest years of her life. "Took me long enough," she said.
In 1988, Hepburn was named the goodwill ambassador for the international children's relief organization UNICEF, and worked tirelessly on behalf of children in crisis areas until her death. Her last plea to the United Nations, after a trip to Somalia in the fall of 1992, galvanized the world's response to the tragedy of millions of children in need. Even close to her death and in great pain from a rare form of colorectal cancer, she continued to build the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund and to work with UNICEF. She died January 20, 1993 at the age of 63.
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The Key Elements of Audrey's Style
"My look is attainable. Women can look like Audrey Hepburn by flipping out their hair, buying the large sunglasses, and the little sleeveless dresses."
Audrey Hepburn had a simple elegance that most women, whatever their stage in life, can easily adopt - if not with the same success! Audrey Hepburn had a signature look to which she remained faithful for 40 years; this is the key to her iconic style - she found what looked best on her and adopted it for life. Hubert de Givenchy, her close friend and designer of most of her clothes, for films and personal use, said that: "Audrey had a big personality. In the choice of her dresses, in wearing them with such elegance, chic, and simplicity. In a very personal way, she created her own look."
Audrey's signature pieces provide the foundation for a chic and versatile wardrobe and a look that will never go out of fashion and flatter almost any figure.
Essential items of Audrey Hepburn's style include:
The Little Black Dress is the epitome of Audrey Hepburn's style and a must in every chic woman's wardrobe. Best if it is a simple sleeveless sheath with little or no ornamentation. With a sleek hairstyle and the right accessory, nothing could look more elegant and glamorous.
Crisp White Shirt, plain, button-down man-tailored style, tucked in and belted for a professional look or tied at the waist for casual occasions.
Black Capri Pants or Skinny Jeans looked perfect on the tall, slender Audrey Hepburn, but will look good on almost any figure with some modifications on cut and length.
Black Turtleneck. In cashmere for winter and cotton for spring and fall, this is one of Audrey's signature pieces and an indispensable item in an elegant woman's wardrobe.
Ballet Flats. Audrey loved these comfortable shoes that looked marvelous with everything she wore. Of course, at 5'7," there was no need to look taller. Chanel-style pumps will do just as well for the shorties among us.
Scarves and Shawls. Most people think of Audrey Hepburn's look as minimalist, when she wasn't playing roles requiring period costumes. But in fact Audrey did wear accessories, only sparingly and well chosen to make a statement, and was particularly fond of head scarves and shawls.
Few today think of scarves as a beautiful way to frame one's face, but Audrey had a special flair for tying a scarf under her chin, and even wore one for her wedding to Andrea Dotti.
 
We might not wear hats like we used to, but there is no need to reserve them for special occasions. You can make your wedding hat or any other in your closet get a whole new look by adding a scarf anytime!
Audrey appreciated the warmth, style and versatility of shawls and wore them often on the set or at home. These are a few favorites, particularly the last two which seem especially apt for Valentine's Day.
As Natasha in War and Peace
Funny Girl
Happy Valentine's Day! | |
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 Invitation to contribute to the newsletter
We look forward to hearing from you!
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