Style Icon: Katharine Hepburn

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Today is Katharine Hepburn's birthday, so I am taking this moment to appreciate her for the Style Icon that she was. Her tomboy aesthetic wasn't just a fashion statement, but a step on the road to feminism. This bright, eccentric and strong willed woman was ahead of her time and a feisty rule breaker. In her own words:

If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/k/katharine_hepburn.html#hLDBgqbT6i3GJD7V.99

If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/k/katharine_hepburn.html#hLDBgqbT6i3GJD7V.99

"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun."

Hepburn's mother was originally a suffragette, so perhaps this where here innovative thinking came from on how women should be and what they should wear.

Her style can be described as a uniform of khaki or black, wide leg trousers and men's tailored shirts. She chose comfort over glamour, yet always looked effortlessly elegant. A true champion of masculine chic, she turned the term "Tomboy" on it's head.

“I wore pants when they weren’t fashionable; I sat down on the curb if I was tired; I did what I wanted and what I thought was reasonable so long as I didn’t hurt anyone. But is that so unusual?”

While the other actresses of her time followed a pattern of being blonde, busty and submissive to their witty male co-stars, both on screen and in real life, Hepburn was out-spoken, witty and more often than not she out witted the males around her. She once told Calvin Klein:

“I realised long ago that skirts are hopeless. Anytime I hear a man say he prefers a woman in a skirt, I say, ‘Try one. Try a skirt.’”

About two years ago I read a book called, How to Hepburn, by Karen Karbo. It is a funny and interesting read on how to manage life as a modern woman, according to Hepburn.

What do you think of Hepburn's style?

Love Dani xx