March 13, 2018 – Givenchy

         Just the name says it all – style, glamour.  His obituary was in today’s small town paper; a wonderful write-up of his life by The Associated Press.  Thank goodness, our little paper decided to include it.  It is my kind of news, real news – a fashion giant passing.

         I had my own love affair with Givenchy – not in the sense you are thinking - but when Vogue patterns started to carry his designs, I fell in love with him.

         Those designer patterns were more expensive, but I always found a Vogue pattern had a wonderful fit.  Sometimes you needed to pay attention to the yardage and lay out the pattern on inexpensive cloth before you bought your expensive fabric to make sure you didn’t buy too much or too little fabric.  After I went through that process, I would buy top shelf fabric, the gorgeous stuff I seldom worked with.  I would end up with a gorgeous outfit that fit me perfectly.

         My favorite dress was a dolman sleeved two-tone dress I made out of taupe wool jersey and black wool jersey. I purchased an expensive black leather belt to cinch the waist and always wore it with my black onyx necklace to highlight the taupe bodice.  Trust me, that full-length back zipper I sewed in was flawless.  I took such time and care with the sewing process of that dress.  It instantly became the backbone of my wardrobe that winter and many winters thereafter.  That little Givenchy knockoff dress dined in Paris.  Around me in the restaurant were probably real Givenchy’s, but no one assaulted me to look at my label.

         I always felt like a movie star in that dress.  Later I made it in a summer version, white bodice and navy skirt in cotton double knit, and a navy leather belt and spectator pumps to complete the WOW of that outfit.

         Always a fan of his I look for his name among the credits of the costume designer when I watch old movies on TCM. 

         I believe every movie Audrey Hepburn starred in she wore Givenchy: Sabrina, Charade, Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and How to Steal a Million with that black lace cocktail dress with matching lace mask. I probably missed a few of her movies, but you get the idea.  They were all delightfully full of Givenchy fashions. I’ve seen those movies dozens of times and will continue to watch them just for the fashion show. Even if a woman never had a chance to wear one or wear a copy of a Givenchy, I believe we all admired his work over many decades.

         I will steal a line from press coverage that sort of sums up what I liked the most about his couturier style, “tasteful clothes that looked timeless”.

         A British reporter once said, “These dresses remind you of the first, best, glass of champagne.”  That is another perfect way to describe his life’s work.

         More wonderful quotes from the master designer:

All a woman needs to be chic is a raincoat, two suits, a pair of trousers and a cashmere sweater.

The dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress.

There is not a woman alive who does not dream of looking like Audrey Hepburn.

Luxury is in each detail.

         I am thankful that Hubert de Givenchy did dress Audrey Hepburn in her movie Sabrina, which developed into a lifelong friendship.  He will never be far from our minds, we only need to look to a Audrey Hepburn movie and we will be reminded of his fabulous couturier style.

         I will leave you with a quote from Hubert de Givenchy:

“Life is like a book; one has to know when to turn the page.”

Me, I will always have his page turned down in my book so that I can easily flip back to it and remember him.