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Audrey Hepburns Wardrobe for Sale
11.21.2009

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Audrey’s Givenchy dresses (left to right): Chantilly lace gown; turquoise cocktail dress; black cloque silk dress; and pink silk crepe sheath. Photos: Kerry Taylor Auctions

Do you know every line — and wardrobe choice — Audrey Hepburn has ever delivered? Do you dream of window shopping in one of her simple, yet oh-so-elegant little black dresses? Are your measurements 32-22-34? Then it just might be time to pull out your oversized black sunglasses and don your most magnificent pearls, fashion fans because a fantastic lot of Hepburn’s clothing and accessories is going on the auction block. The London event held by Kerry Taylor Auctions in association with Sotheby’s is set to take place Dec. 8, but a touring exhibition of highlights will be on display at Sotheby’s New York this weekend (Nov. 21-22).Approximately 36 pieces of clothing, dating from 1953 to the late 1960s — including a number of chic LBDs by Valentino, Elizabeth Arden and, of course, Hubert de Givenchy — along with hats, belts and letters come courtesy of Tanja Star-Busmann, a “Darling Chum” to whom Hepburn would pass her unwanted clothes to over the years. (Are you reevaluating your best friends’ wardrobes?)Some highlights:

A Givenchy Chantilly lace cocktail gown she wore in “How to Steal a Million” (estimated sale: $25,000 to $34,000)

The ivory satin bridal gown designed for Hepburn by the Fontana Sisters for her planned marriage to James Hanson. When Hepburn later called off the wedding, she asked that the dress be given away ($13,500 to $20,000).

A Givenchy haute couture turquoise cloque silk cocktail gown Hepburn wore to promote “Two for the Road” ($13,500 to $20,000)

A Givenchy haute couture black cloque silk dress worn to promote the film “Paris When it Sizzles” ($17,000 to $35,000)

A Givenchy haute couture shocking pink silk crepe sheath ($10,000 to $13,500)

Estimates for money raised at the sale start at roughly $675,000, but it’s hoped to top $170,000. The majority of Hepburn’s wardrobe remains in private hands — held mainly by the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Foundation and the Givenchy Archive. Very few pieces of Hepburn’s clothing have ever come onto the open market. Fifty percent of the net sale proceeds from the auction will be donated go to The Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund and Unicef for their joint venture All Children in School which aims to provide 115,000,000 children worldwide, not currently in school with a basic education.
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Audrey Hepburn’s Style Evolution
Check out Audrey Hepburn’s style through the years.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Audrey Hepburn

UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1970: Photo of Audrey Hepburn Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

1961: Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993) wields a cigarette holder in her role as the charming gold-digger Holly Golightly in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, directed by Blake Edwards. (Photo by John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)

John Kobal Foundation, Getty Images

1961: Belgian-born actress Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993) in a black cocktail dress designed by French couturier Hubert de Givenchy in a promotional portrait for director Blake Edwards’s film, ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Hulton Archive, Getty Images

Belgian-born US actress Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993) in a street at Paris during the filming of ‘Funny Face’ Original Publication: Picture Post – 8540 – Audrey Dances With Astaire – pub. 1956 (Photo by Bert Hardy/Getty Images)

Bert Hardy, Getty Images

UNSPECIFIED – 1950: Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993), British actress. (Photo by Roger Viollet/Getty Images)

Roger Viollet, Getty Images

1st May 1950: Belgian born actress Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993) leaning on an ornate urn in Kew Gardens. Original Publication: Picture Post – 5035 – We Take A Girl To Look For Spring – pub. 1950 (Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Getty Images)

Bert Hardy, Getty Images

1955: Belgian-born actor Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993), barefoot and wearing a summer dress, playing golf and holding an umbrella over her head. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Hulton Archive, Getty Images

October 1953: Full-length image of Belgian-born actor Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) waiting in front of a train station with a toy poodle and luggage, on the set of director Billy Wilder’s film, ‘Sabrina’. Hepburn wears a skirt suit and hat designed by Hubert de Givenchy. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Hulton Archive, Getty Images

Actress Audrey Hepburn arrives for the opening of her latest motion picture “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” at the foyer of Plaza Cinema in Picadilly Circus, London, October 19, 1961. (AP Photo)

AP

Belgian-born actor Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993), wearing a costume designed by Hubert de Givenchy, sits in a folding chair between takes on the set of director Billy Wilder’s film ‘Sabrina’ (aka ‘Sabrina Fair’). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Hulton Archive, Getty Images

Read about another fashionable auction.

Audrey Hepburn’s Wardrobe for Sale originally appeared on StyleList on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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