There’s something about slipping on a little black dress that changes a woman. The way she carries herself. The way she smiles. The way she becomes a little classier and a little sassier just by sliding it on. It’s not something you can explain, teach, bottle, or learn. It’s a phenomenon experienced by single women, married women, young women, old women, and women of all shapes, sizes and races - The Power of the Little Black Dress.
I personally own about five LBD’s of my own, in varying styles, materials, and lengths. The LBD is as versatile as the woman herself; you can dress it up, dress it down, wear flip-flops or your fabulous hot pink stilettos, garnish yourself with pearls or go with costume jewelry - but whatever the occasion and whatever the image you hope to portray - you can do it all with the LBD.
Perhaps the most famous and trail-blazing LBD Diva was the impeccable Ms. Audrey Hepburn. With a tiara, with hair or up hair down, with red lips or nude lips, the lady knew how to WORK IT. With a grace and a beauty and a charm uniquely her own, Audrey Hepburn did not attempt to be anyone other than herself in anything that she did. She admitted to having an unusual look; an unconventional beauty...and she walked it out with confidence, sophistication, and grace. I have found that no matter what life throws at me, there’s a nugget of wisdom for every occasion wrapped up in the honest, vulnerable simplicity of an Audrey Hepburn quote. Audrey’s words can make even the most introverted of women walk a little taller, feel a little bolder, and love a little harder. So much so that when I’m needing to feel my most audacious and fabulous, I often ask myself: “What Would Audrey Do?” (or WWAD?)
1) When I’m feeling a little unsure of myself, and need to be reminded that my beauty is cultivated on the inside before it shows up on my face:
“For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.”
2) When I have forgotten that there’s nothing I can’t do:
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!"
3) When I need to take a walk on the sexy side:
"There is more to sex appeal than just measurements. I don't need a bedroom to prove my womanliness. I can convey just as much sex appeal picking apples off a tree or standing in the rain."
4) When I need to remember to live in the now and let the Future take care the how:
"Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come...The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present, and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.”
5) When I need a reminder that my outer beauty ain’t got nothing on my inner beauty!
"The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows.”
6) And finally, when my heart is heavy and needs to be reminded that some of life’s simplest pleasures hold its greatest gifts:
"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”
Whatever I’m facing in my life - a broken heart, a fight with a friend, a bad hair day, a stressful deadline - it always helps to know that once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl in a little black dress who experienced the same struggles and heartaches and insecurities as me…and overcame her greatest obstacles with style and a smile.
