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Ball Gown from Sabrina
Audrey Hepburn wears this heavenly creation for the Larrabees' garden party in the 1954 film Sabrina. It was Hepburn's second Hollywood film, for which she received an Oscar nomination. The costumes received the Academy Award - it was given to Edith Head who was the main designer in the Paramount's costume department at that time and automatically assigned to all first-class productions at the studio. Hepburn's memorable costumes weren't, however, designed by Edith Head but by a French couturier Hubert de Givenchy. It is told the actress chose the costumes herself from Givenchy's spring/summer 1953 collection, a collaboration that would be the start of a lifelong friendship. The gown is a strapless column dress with a detachable train/overskirt. According to Audrey Style by Pamela Clarke Keogh, the topmost layer is silk organdy "embroidered with black silk thread and jet beads". Reference images - some of these come from L'ange des Enfants:
Embroidery The fabric for this dress is hand-embroidered which must have taken countless hours. One embroidered sequence is about 30 cm wide and the same pattern is repeated along the fabric selvage. The pattern pieces are cut on the crossgrain.
The embroidered sequence consists of 6 different flower designs linked by dotted
vines. The width of each design is given (in centimetres) for size reference in
case you're printing them out. The areas outlined in light gray should be filled with
satin stitches clearly apart form each other. Beading Analysis coming up. Dress The dress has a fitted, boned bodice and a straight column skirt, shaped with several darts at the waist. The dress closes at the back with hooks and eyes. It has at least 2 layers of fabric: the embroidered organdy is laid over white silk (probably satin). There may be a third interlining layer of organdy/orzanza. The topmost organdy layer of the bodice may be cut in one piece as there are only two darts visible in the photos. The other vertical lines are either boning showing through the fabric layers or seams in the satin under the organdy. There could be darts at the back for additional shaping.
This shows two ways how the bodice could have been cut from the ready-embroidered fabric.
Haute couture dresses of this era frequently had a built-in corselette made of cotton tulle. The inside of this gown may look very much like this 1950's Dior evening dress, complete with a grosgrain waistband.
The skirt has 3 embroidered sequences. The organdy for the skirt is cut in one piece with a seam at the centre back and darts at the waist. The white satin layer under it may have side seams. The organdy and the satin are hemmed together. It is not clear if the waistline darts are sewn through both layers - I'd say probably not. The skirt has a white silk lining that is visible in this picture:
Train The oval shaped train is made of the same materials as the dress and edged with a black organdy frill. The embroidered sequence is repeated 16 times, which makes the hemline nearly 5 metres wide. When the train is put on, the embroidery seems continue uninterrupted from the train to the skirt thanks to careful matching of the fabric.
The organdy fabric is 100-120 cm wide, enough for the length of the skirt. The train, however, is pieced and you can see a vertical seamline running across it.
Here's a pattern shape to illustrate (not to scale):
The ends of the pattern are sewn together forming the centre back that goes inside the train. The centre line drawn in the pattern is the outside centre back. The top edge is gathered and attached to the waistband which closes at the left side with hooks and eyes. Here's a 3D analysis of the train:
Under the organdy there's a layer of white silk (satin), gored
to reduce bulk at the waist. I don't think the waistline of the satin pieces has
any gathers at all - though it may have darts. Here's a possible pattern shape
(not to scale): The satin train is probably lined to make hemming easier and providing a base to attach the black frills. It is also possible the train has a stiff interlining or tulle crinoline inside to add to the pouffiness. When the train is attached to the waistband, its seam allowances can't be sewn into the band because of excessive organdy bulk. There may be some kind of extention sewn to the lower edge of the waistband serving as a base to attach the train. Ruches The ruches are made of black silk organdy. They seem to be at least 25 cm deep with a very narrow hem. Note in the image below that the frills inside the train hang free and on the outer edge they lay flat against the ground - thus making it easier to walk and dance and also protecting the white fabrics from dirt. They are gathered c. 15 cm above the hem and most likely sewn to the lining inside the train. The ungathered frill would be about twice as long as the hemline which makes is nearly 10 metres long.
Replica dresses
The replica seems to differ from the original in some ways. The embroidery is slightly different and plastic beads were used instead of jet beads. The biggest difference is that the pieces of the overskirt satin and organdy layers seem to have been cut using the same pattern. The organdy is gored, too, instead to have been gathered to the waistband. The result lacks the princess-like pouffiness of the original. Another replica was made for Jennifer Love Hewitt for the made-for-TV "Audrey Hepburn Story" (2000). Her version looks like it's made of chiffon as the train hangs rather limp and flat.
It is rather ironical that in the 1995 remake of the movie, starring Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond, poor Sabrina ends up wearing really ugly 90's fashions. For what is supposed to be her ultimate cinderella moment she wears a lame long black dress with a glitzy bolero top that makes her look 10 years older.
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A replica of the dress was made by the Givenchy atelier in 1992 for the designer's
retrospective. The replica was also displayed in the Audrey Hepburn: A woman, the
style exhibition in Museo Salvatore Ferragamo of Florence in 1999. The exhibition
catalogue has got (a very small) picture of the dress. The description reads:
Two-piece dress in silk organdie with black silk-thread applications of floral
patterns in eighteenth-century style with white plastic beads. Sleeveless whalebone
bodice, with neckline lower at the back. Straight skirt with overskirt open in front,
oval train, edged with black organdie ruches. Silk lining. Fastened with
hooks-and-eyes.
