~Little Black Dress,sings Moon River @ Tiffany's,5 A.M._Audrey of course!!~

Talk about a page turner...that is if you're an "All things Audrey Hepburn Fan"! I've been working on completing my Summer/Winter Reading List 2012.

This little gem of a book called_"Fifth Avenue,5 A.M." by Sam Wasson was awesome.It was almost like being privy to 204 pages of nitty,gritty,gossip about what went on behind the scenes before and during the making of _Breakfast at Tiffany's.Sam Wasson presents the woman behind the little black dress (Audrey Hepburn) and a cast of characters;(Writer)Truman Capote,(Director)Blake Edwards,(Designer)Givenchy,(Composer) Henry Mancini and the powerful heads behind Hollywood Studios.

This is America of the early Sixties_before "Woodstock(1969) and Birth Control Pills"..the FDA approved the first oral contraceptive in 1960, contraceptives were not available to married women in all states until 1965 and were not available to unmarried women in all states until 1972. Holly Golightly, a High-Class Call Girl  raised eyebrows across America,changing  the way Fashion,Film and Sex would play out for decades to come! Wow! if only the puritan,"Production Coders" could see us now.Yes,this very small group of men were there to protect Americans from exposure to immoral behaviour on the Big Screen. Right...Remember this was the "Era of BIG Bosoms", Marilyn Monroe,Jayne Mansfield,Tempest Storm..,etc..!

I shiver to think that "Breakfast at Tiffany's" may not have been a film....because Capote didn't want Audrey to play Holly_he wanted Marilyn Monroe, Audrey didn't want to play Holly because she had a dainty,immaculate image to uphold,Screenwriters were terrified that the Production Code Men would not like the Call Girl status of Holly, Audrey's contract stipulated that she would "only" wear Hubert de Givenchy,Studio Executives did NOT want Blake Edwards to be the Director nor did Audrey, no one liked egotistical George Peppard, no one wanted Mickey Rooney to play the part of Mr.Yunioshi...Yo!..he was "NOT Japanese" & everyone hated the HOAX  he played on the public...very offensive,indeed  and they really did not want Henry Mancini composing a song for Audrey who could not sing....among other things..there's much more! But it was made...and it's still talked about today.

Especially,"The Little Black Dress".Here's a little trivia_two identical (kinda) dresses of the same LBD_one for standing gazing in the window at Tiffany's.One for walking down 5th Avenue.Seems the standing one would have made Audrey walk like a Geisha_to tight..so Givenchy made a looser one for walking!Now about that LBD...Prior to the 1920's black was reserved for women in mourning,during Victorian and Edwardian times a mourning period was up to two years in black(only);WWI deaths plus Spanish Flu Epidemic fatalities made the wearing of black more common for women in public. I came across this Pictorial History of the LBD...enjoy..

                                                1925

                                               1927

1928

                                 1930 Josephine Baker (peacock feathers)

                                                1935

                                                1936

                                            1939 Wallis Simpson

                                                1943

                                   1948 Dior,wasp waist,full skirt

                              1949 Velvet & Satin Cocktail Dress(my favorite.)

                                     1951 Plunging Neckline,Pencil Skirt

                                         This shape dominated 1950's

                                          1955 Graceful(LOVE IT)

                           1956 Galanos wool crepe w/bare chiffon midriff

                                           1957 Paris Pouf

                                1959 Coco Chanel_finishing touches on dress

                             1961 "THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS" Givenchy

                                      1962_Chanel influenced rows of Pearls

                                             1965_Sophia's Classic Look

                                             1960's MINI-Dress!!!

                                      1970 Jackie O's La Cote Basque Dress

                                          1970's Liza in slinky DISCO!

                                 1977_Blondie's Deborah Harry in Rock Style

                                          1985 House of Chanel,Lagerfield

                                       1988_Iman updates TLBD

                                1994 Lagerfield's brief Mini,Coco disliked the Mini!

                                          1994_Princess Diana's,Revenge LBD
                                          

                                          1994 Versace's very open LBD!

                                       1999_Calista's Step Back in Time Look 

                                   2002 Kate Moss_minimum,barely there LBD

                                              2008 Dior

                        2009 Mrs.Obama_Graceful,"First Lady" in Azzendine Alaia

                                     2010_Heidi Klum's Little Bitty Tiny LBD!

                                   2012 The New Generation of The "LBD"

                                                                 ..and the LBD lives on for future generations!

And to think we almost didn't get to hear Audrey voice :

or realize Henry Mancini's greatness.Nominated for an unprecedented 72 Grammy's,winning 20,nominated for 18 Academy Awards,won 4,won a Golden Globe,nominated for 2 Emmy's_won 2 Oscar's in 1962 for Moon River along with Johnny Mercer(words).BUT.....my favorite tune from Henry Mancini comes from the Peter Gunn Series...:

So ,Ladies when's the last time you wore a reallllllllllllllly nice "LBD"???????Well,that's tooooo long....