“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”
Katherine Hepburn
With a win of 4 Academy Awards, a record set by her, 12 Oscar Nominations for Best Actress under her belt, a record broken by Meryl Streep only and a record for longest time span between first and last Oscar nominations, at 48 years, Hepburn was one of the most accoladed and celebrated actors of the 20th century.
An extremely private person with her unconventional fashion style for back then, Katherine Hepburn was well known for her simple adherence to glamour. She is iconic in ways more than one and we wonder why?
THE OG PANT-SUIT
Katherine Hepburn was one of the first women to adorn trousers unapologetically and since then, the clothing piece has come across as one of the most popularised items for women to wear due to the ease with which one can wear it. The actress enjoyed living a laid-back lifestyle and was one of the first women to wear trousers; she favoured loose-fitting, wide-legged styles. She was the anti-feminine dresser of the day, opting instead for male pieces like blazers and collared shirts when she went about her day. One of the pioneers of comfortable and chic, it is safe to say that pant-suits are a big thing for women due to her.
MIDI-DRESSES
What is popularly referred to as the girlhood core of comfort and femininity was started by Katherine Hepburn. With midi-dresses that were also a part of the 1960s Ready-to-Wear, Hepburn played a major part in normalising both feminine and masculine style for the ladies. Her impeccable taste exuded an air of understated femininity even in its most manly looks. Women who are seeking a sophisticated fashion icon still find inspiration in her. A True Fashion icon with all respect!
SPORTY-CHIC
An avid tennis player as mentioned before, Hepburn sported her tennis looks w as much confidence as her regular outfits, making them some of her best looks. In the 1940s and beyond, Katharine Hepburn’s fashion sense paved the way for women to wear clothing that fit well. She defied the norm of Hollywood glitz of the time by dressing casually. The iconoclastic style was popularised by Hepburn, who transformed the fashion industry. She revolutionised Hollywood and the way celebrities wore red carpet gowns.
What has also now been labelled as the “boss-lady” look is Katherine Hepburn’s child. With wide-leg trousers, stripes, polka dots, masculine loafers/oxfords, tailored button-down shirts, non-fussy fabrics, Katherine is definitely the more understated Hepburn when it comes to influencing a whole generation about what is fashionable and not. She was daring and brazen when it came to dressing up and challenged all the socially conformed norms for how a respectable woman should dress. A legendary actor, she ensured the way she dresses went hand in hand to her professional career’s legacy. With killer pant-suits and queen aura, Hepburn’s looks are still to this day one for the books.
Here’s a view into Katherine Hepburn’s outfits that diversified from “old money rich” to “coquette” to the “model off-duty” aesthetic. We present to you a lookbook into Katherine Hepburn’s top 10 most iconic fits till date that acted as a source of inspo for liberating girls across the world:
