Summer in the city - style inspiration from Roman Holiday

I know it's a bit of a cliche to name Audrey Hepburn as a style inspiration but she does make it look so effortless and so many of her roles really demonstrate the transformative potential of clothing.

So it was a complete pleasure to stumble across this video on Youtube of Hollywood costumier and fashion legend Edith Head talking about her designs and work with Hepburn on her breakout movie Roman Holiday (which you can currently watch for free on Youtube here - get it while you can!).

Head was the most honoured costume designer in the history of the Oscars and I heartily recommend watching any film she was involved with - she knew how to pick them! And her sketches and illustrations are almost as glorious to look at as watching the actresses move around the screen in the real thing.

Costume design for Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina by Edith Head via Indie Fixx

Costume design for Bettee Davis in All About Eve by Edith Head via Indie Fixx

Costume design for Grace Kelly in Rear Window by Edith Head via Indie Fixx

She was also the inspiration for the character of Edna Mode in The Incredibles. Head had her signature look down pat from a fairly early stage in her own career - the round glasses, blunt fringe, pulled back hair and perfectly cut two-piece suits or jackets slung over crisp shirts.

Edith Head at work via Moviestarmakeover

She was also, by all accounts, a completely fascinating woman to talk to. She'd be on the list for my fantasy fashion dinner party alongside Mrs Shilling.

Rather good illustrated Edith Head quote by Indie Fixx

For solid, no nonsense advice on style, your first port of call should be Head's How to Dress for Success. (There's some great extracts on the Daily Mail website of all places though I think you should buy the book rather than visit the Mail).

It is her vision for the runaway Princess in Rome that's my style inspiration for the hot sticky summer we've been having in London.

Don't feel like you have to cut all your hair off - a quick and simple ponytail should have a similar effect. Or leave it long if the weather is cool enough to not bother you.

A full skirt with a belt at the waist and a light cotton shirt or t-shirt is hard to beat. Hepburn's shirt goes through a number of iterations in the movie: buttoned up all the way and full sleeved, sleeves rolled up and collar open with a neck scarf, and my favourite - collar popped and bare necked. She also changes shoes - from smart pumps to roman sandals.

Prim and proper early on in the movie

With the original necktie from above plus rolled sleeves

From an early screen test with popped collar and striped neck scarf

Open collar

The skirt does need to be a decent length if you, like me, enjoy cycling around the city in the summer as it helps to preserve one's modesty while still letting in a bit of a cooling breeze - a bit of cool air up your skirt on a hot day is the kind of innocently illicit pleasure that makes life worth living and trousers can never really compete on that front.

It's an almost universally flattering combination. You don't need Hepburn's teen tiny waist to pull it off, I promise - just go for a narrower belt.

If you don't feel like you're tall enough for a longer skirt a/ you're probably wrong and b/ this combo still works if you adjust the proportions so shorten the shirtsleeves for a shorter skirt. Be aware that long shirt sleeves + short full skirt can err a bit too far towards schoolgirl which is fine if you're going for a Harajuku feel, but not very Hepburn-ish.

You can dress the whole thing down with a denim jacket or up with a tailored one and soften it with a cardigan. It's really very versatile. Skirts like this, with the all important hip pockets that I think are really essential, aren't all that easy to find at the moment sadly especially at a reasonable price. Ideally, they need to be lined and made of a non-synthetic fabric - cotton is best in summer. My favourite was from a Margaret Howell sample sale and I'd buy another one if I'd ever been able to find it again.

Right now I quite like these even though most don't have the pockets:

Stripe Lucia skirt by Tara Starlet - £68

Roksanda Ilincic Tilton wool-cleb crepe skirt - £775

Asos full midi skirt in scuba - £38

50s circle skirt by Vivien of Holloway in a huge variety of colour options - £45 (would be my favourite if it had hidden pockets)

Organza insert calf skirt by Topshop - £48

Things I have learnt since my return

I'm back! Did you miss me? I have returned from my spontaneous and rather glorious two week holiday in South Africa where I visited the lovely EDF and her supremely warm and welcoming, and occasionally a little scary, family. I'm not going to bore you too terribly with the details of my trip, just give you a few edited highlights;

1/ I stroked a BABY LION. I wanted to bring one home with me, but having been involved in a nasty dog/car interface the day before I thought I'd better not do anything further to invoke too much bad animal karma.

2/ Cape Town has the most beautiful pub crawl I have ever seen. I am not usually a big drinker, but that doesn't seem to be an acceptable thing in South Africa and EDF's uncle George is extremely persuasive when it comes to drink. In LA, almost every South African I met would be considered an alcoholic. In London they'd just be those people who you think are really cool because they can hold their drink and be funny while all you can do is try and stop the room from spinning and grin.
George took us on something he calls 'the deep south tour' around the southern coast. I went green and threw up before we finished, but it was tremendous fun and drinking mini bottles of jack daniels as shots while looking at views like these is an unforgettable experience in the best kind of way.

3/ There's nothing like a bit of attention from a good looking younger man to make you feel a bit better about yourself. Of course I would never actually do anything, I am a one man woman, but it's still nice to feel attractive.

4/ My closest friends are some of the best people you will ever meet in your whole life. EDF is one of them. If you ever meet her know that you are in the presence of good stuff. She also makes an awesome mix CD.

5/ If your beloved camera dies, an HTC Desire phone is not a bad alternative. All the photos above were taken on my phone after my Canon G9 died in the first couple of days of my trip.

Things I have learned since returning to London;

1/ Being able to walk around the city is really very wonderful. I don't want to live for too long in a place where you can't amble around aimlessly and have to drive everywhere.

2/ Cheap maxi-tube skirts from Topshop might be fun, but they do tend to go baggy at the knees after half a days wear. It's my own fault for attempting to channel Daisy Lowe in the Vogue supplement I suppose - I'm old enough to know better, but I have decided I need to just dress the way I want to as much as possible while I'm still young enough to wear stupid things.

3/ Topshop makeup is ace. Kind of makes up for the skirt thing. I'm in love with the lipsticks - Narsesque crayons that glide on super easily and don't dry your lips out.

4/ Navy blue suede vintage Celine waistcoats are awesome and surprisingly versatile. Mine was discovered in a vintage shop on Long Street in Cape Town - a place highly recommended for vintage shopping - but has really come into its own with the maxi skirt and the warmer London weather.

5/ The perfect pair of sandals doesn't exist.

6/ Hot weather can be extremely disturbing for someone sensitive to bad clothing choices.

7/ It can also reveal some pretty awful things, like the woman on the tube who saw it as an opportunity to flaunt her toenails which she had grown long and pointy and had painted in a burgundy colour with an intiricate cream pattern to match her fingernails. This is the kind of sight that can scar you for life.