Perfecting the Modern Day Holly Golightly Inspired Look

On a styling project last month I was asked to create modern day looks for various vintage film characters. You can only imagine how thoroughly exciting that task was! Of course, on the list of characters was none other than Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffany's character - Holly Golightly. Today I am going to be showing you how to wear a modern day Holly Golightly inspired look. Plus, I am going to be giving you a behind the scenes insight into how I created this style and why I chose these particular garments.
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Perfecting the Modern Day Holly Golightly Inspired Look - Online Personal Stylist

Perfecting the Modern Day Holly Golightly Inspired Look - Online Personal Stylist

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How I Created this Modern Version of the ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ Holly Golightly Inspired Look

Before a stylist is able to dive head first into the wardrobe department to find suitable outfit pieces, they must first plan. Curating the perfect style of real people and for characters requires a lot of character research. The stylist must be able to complete an accurate character evaluation before they rush into buying clothes and styling them. Here is my personal evaluation of Holly Golightly and how I'd imagine the character to develop after all these years.

Holly Golightly is very feminine but with a touch of tom boy. She is involved with gangsters and is very street wise. Although her appearance is very feminine and chic, I can’t help but think that there is something more to Holly’s character. Something a little more Miss Congeniality. When thinking about how her modern day costume should look, I didn’t want to transform her image too much because I didn’t want to lose the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s glamour. Instead, I wanted to create a costume that was both highly practical and elegant! This is why I chose the black jumpsuit, nude flats, trench coat, handy cross-body bag, stud earrings and delicate necklace. Perfect for long days strolling around New York, but glamorous enough for her never to be underdressed!
Personally, I feel that Holly’s original look from the film and book focused on Holly making the most from what she had available to her. She wasn’t the richest girl but thanks to her classic sense of style and fashion ideals, she knew how to look very presentable at any given moment, using the limited fashion items she owned. I believe that the new, updated Holly Golightly costume should be an upmarket and improved version of her original costume.

Curating the Style: The Modern Day Holly Golightly Inspired Look

Mastering the Colour Palette for this Breakfast at Tiffany's Inspired Look

I decided to stick to the colour palette she sported in the original film, which included cool tones in black, white, cool beige, Tiffany’s blue, and silver grey.

Would Holly Golightly Still Wear her Famous Little Black Dress?

Holly’s outfit choices in the original film included the famous little black dress. Her look was very feminine but I feel that today, she could be portrayed equally as glamorous in a trouser suit as she was when she wore dresses back then.
I thought it would be fun to swap her little black dress for today’s hot trend – a black jumpsuit. I love how modern day fashion icons of today, such as Emma Watson wear classic items such as trench coats and black jumpsuits without sacrificing any femininity.

Sunglasses: to keep the sun and the 'mean blues' at bay

Cat eye lenses are a more subtle version of the oversize dark shades that are often teamed with a black dress, heels a Burberry coat (think Bond girl), so I have made sure that the sunglasses are in a flattering cat eye shape.

Did Holly Golightly Ever Own A 'Little Blue Box' from Tiffany & Co Jewellery?

In the original film and story, we see Holly lusting after Tiffany’s jewellery. I have added a couple of small, tasteful pieces to Holly’s updated look because I think that after all these years Holly should finally get her ‘little blue box’ from Tiffany’s, which should be incorporated into her outfit because I think that she’d wear these items with pride for her everyday look.

The Perfect Footwear for Breakfast at Tiffany's

I’d imagine that Holly’s original costume was inspired by brands such as Chanel and Burberry, as well as Tiffany’s (jewellery). While these are both very popular brands, I felt that choosing Louboutin footwear would reinforce the new, modern image that I am trying to create. I think that a fashion-forward female like Holly would be a fan of stylish, cutting edge footwear such as Christian Louboutin.
I didn’t want to change the colour palette too much because I think this is a key part of Holly’s overall look. In the original film, Holly wore black pumps with a low heel, but I have decided to swap these for 2 varieties of nude Louboutins. Nude shoes are modern and classic. On my board you will see that I have chosen a flat pair of nude Louboutin pumps for Holly to wear during the day time, and a pair of nude heels for evening wear.

Which Type of Bag Would Holly Golightly Wear Now?

Cross-body bags are very versatile, easy to carry and are on-trend at the moment but are not a fad trend. For these reasons I have chosen to swap Holly’s typical 60’s arm bag for a modern, fuss-free cross-body bag.