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From The Library Of 'Life'

'Breakfast At Tiffany's' Turns 50

by Claire O'Neill

Actors, including Audrey Hepburn, take a break during location filming for Breakfast At Tiffany's in 1961. Enlarge image i

Actors, including Audrey Hepburn, take a break during location filming for Breakfast At Tiffany's in 1961.

Keystone Features/Getty Images
Actors, including Audrey Hepburn, take a break during location filming for Breakfast At Tiffany's in 1961.

Actors, including Audrey Hepburn, take a break during location filming for Breakfast At Tiffany's in 1961.

Keystone Features/Getty Images

Exactly 50 years ago, Breakfast At Tiffany's, the romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn, was released. Since then, Hepburn has passed away, as has Truman Capote, who wrote the original novella on which the movie was based. And Hepburn's little black dress sold in 2006 for the not-so-little price just shy of $1 million.

Audrey Hepburn stops for lunch on Fifth Avenue in New York during filming.

Audrey Hepburn stops for lunch on Fifth Avenue in New York during filming.

Keystone Features/Getty Images

The dress was designed by Hubert de Givenchy, whose name eventually became a fashion house and a brand. In a sense, the Audrey Hepburn brand can in many ways be attributed to the Givenchy touch: He's the reason we think of Audrey in little black clothes.

Today, on Breakfast At Tiffany's 50th, Life has a gallery of Givenchy through the years, culminating with a photo of Hepburn and the designer as he receives a lifetime achievement award.

  • Audrey Hepburn wears the iconic Givenchy dress in "Breakfast At Tiffany's."
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    Audrey Hepburn wears the iconic Givenchy dress in "Breakfast At Tiffany's."
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    Paramount Pictures/Getty Images/Courtesy of Life
  • Hubert de Givenchy before the showing of that debut line, 1952.
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    Hubert de Givenchy before the showing of that debut line, 1952.
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    Nat Farbman/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images/Courtesy of Life
  • Hepburn (left) sits with her then-husband Mel Ferrer at a 1955 Givenchy show in Paris.
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    Hepburn (left) sits with her then-husband Mel Ferrer at a 1955 Givenchy show in Paris.
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    RDA/Getty Images/Courtesy of Life
  • Givenchy's great-great-grandfather was a set designer for the Paris Opera, and other relatives designed luxurious tapestries. Pictured here are some of his 1952 designs.
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    Givenchy's great-great-grandfather was a set designer for the Paris Opera, and other relatives designed luxurious tapestries. Pictured here are some of his 1952 designs.
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    Nat Farbman/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images/Courtesy of Life
  • Givenchy and Hepburn met in 1953, during the making of Sabrina, and became close friends and collaborators. Pictured here is Hepburn in Givenchy on movie set.
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    Givenchy and Hepburn met in 1953, during the making of Sabrina, and became close friends and collaborators. Pictured here is Hepburn in Givenchy on movie set.
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    Hulton Archive/Getty Images/Courtesy of Life
  • Givenchy and Hepburn arrive at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, in which Givenchy was honored with a lifetime achievement award.
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    Givenchy and Hepburn arrive at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, in which Givenchy was honored with a lifetime achievement award.
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    Darlene Hammond/Getty Images/Courtesy of Life

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