Breakfast At Tiffany’s, or the woman & the city

Audrey Hepburn wearing a simple black dress, with a huge hat and the inevitable gloves, is an iconic image, part of popular culture. Of course, we are talking about the film Breakfast At Tiffany’s, in which Audrey Hepburn plays Holly Golightly, an extraordinary girl who lives in an elegant district of New York with a nameless cat. She spends her days having endless fun at the expense of her wealthy admirers, until the day she meets her new neighbor. The modernity and singularity of her black Givenchy dress is visible when we compare it to the colorful trends from the 50s, usually highlighting feminine shapes. A juxtaposition that shows how little the character of the girl fits the then dominant image of women in Western culture.

Givenchy's models

Holly does not belong to the home space. She is an autonomous part of the city, the real home of the flâneur, as Walter Benjamin points out. The interior of her Manhattan apartment resembles more a waiting room than a home – suitcases and unopened boxes are almost the only furniture, a mailbox on the staircase becomes her dressing table, where she keeps her lipstick and perfume while constantly losing her keys.

Whereas, the streets of the metropolis are the place where she feels most comfortable. Instead of being frightened by such a big city, she establishes some kind of intimate bond with it. Holly is one of the first women in literature (the film is based on the book by Truman Capote) and cinema to experience the modern city, which used to be reserved to men only. Wandering in the maze of streets, she becomes flâneuse, constantly watching the city life, hidden behind her dark glasses.

George Peppard, Audrey Hepburn, Patricia Neal ©1961 Paramount

The movie carries on an interesting game with the cultural representation of gender roles by introducing the main male character. Paul(George Peppard) is an unfulfilled writer and a kept man of an older, married woman. Meeting Holly is a turning point in his life. They set together on a urban trek, during which she shows him the city from a flâneuse perspective. Soon he begins to write a new story whose protagonist deceptively resembles Holly... Director: Blake Edwards Writer: George Axelrod Stars: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen Year: 1961

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