Happy Birthday Audrey Hepburn: 11 pics to show millennials how it is done

Ten minutes of my morning was spent in deciding whether I should or I should not wear pearls to work. I should, I decided. And the terribly millennial part of me even thought of an apt hashtag for Instagram.

Then 'Happy Birthday Audrey Hepburn' happened, and I realised that none of it mattered more than happily staring at one of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen.

At the risk of sounding 'too privileged', I should say that I grew up watching TNT post 9PM, when Cartoon Network stopped to make way for the roaring Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion and Looney Tunes said 'that's all folks!' and switched to the classics.

I ended up watching My Fair Lady, Roman Holiday, and then a few years later – Breakfast at Tiffany's. It is safe to say that my to-see list of Audrey Hepburn's movies are not as replete as the list of her most iconic photos that I have stuck in my head.

Golden ages away from what we consider 'fashion' or 'beauty' now, Hepburn's aura is tinged with grit and reality. And that's what makes her all the more astounding.

We cannot just look at the perfect face without remembering that she survived World War II eating tulip bulbs to survive the famine in Netherlands. She also danced to raise money for the underground movement in Arnhem at that time.

I had once asked my grandmom who she would dress like if she lived in Europe. “Audrey Hepburn, of course!” she had replied in a tone that meant – “How do you even need to ask?”

Happy Birthday Audrey Hepburn, thank you for being Eliza Doolittle, thank you for the pearls, the sunglasses and the LBD, thank you for riding that Vespa like a boss. And thank you for being the right inspiration to looking perfect.