The Story Behind An Iconic Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffany’s Dress

You may remember Doris Raymond from the Smithsonian Channel show, L.A. Frock Stars, in which we got behind-the-scenes looks at how she runs her world-famous vintage clothing shop (The Way We Wore) in Los Angeles. Even if you don’t remember her, you’re sure to remember the tweed/bouclé dress that Audrey Hepburn wore during the five and dime scene in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This slim creation was, of course, made by Givenchy as he was one of Hepburn’s most favorite designers. Hiding in the back of Raymond’s office was this dress, which she later realized through lots of research was the very same dress Hepburn wore for the award-winning film.

It’s not actually a dress, but is a 2-piece outfit that looks like a dress, especially when worn under an oversized coat as Hepburn does in the movie. She also later wore the dress for promotional photos taken in Rome after the filming was finished.

You may wonder how such iconic pieces of film history can get shuffled around so much, but in many cases studios in the old days would recycle, store, or sell costumes from past productions as they were seen to have little value unless they could be worn again by another actor.

Raymond has partnered with Julien’s Auctions, a leader in the industry of celebrity and film history auctions, to ensure this stunning creation (hopefully) ends up in the collection of an institution where it will be seen by the public and be recognized as a valuable part of Hollywood history.

The outfit was sold as part of the Hollywood Legends auction which wrapped on July 18, 2022. The dress sold for $156,250, more than double the highest estimated pre-sale auction price. You can learn more about the history of this wonderful outfit -and the authentication process- in the video below.