“Do you ever wear a skirt, by the way?” the intrepid young reporter Barbara Walters asked Katharine Hepburn in a 1981 interview. “I have one. I’ll wear it to your funeral,” came the quip back.
Yes, Hepburn wore trousers, and not just because they looked great on her and she felt comfortable in them.
Katharine Hepburn was born into a family of progressives. Her mother, Kit Houghton Hepburn, worked tirelessly for women’s rights. The family was devoted and loving, and both parents saw to it that their three sons and three daughters were given equal opportunity, education and independence.
The eldest daughter, Katharine, was strong in mind and body, a tomboy and an excellent athlete. She attended Bryn Mawr, graduating with a degree in history and philosophy. While in school, she decided to become an actress, and her talent, intelligence, focus and energy created for her a remarkable 60-year-long career. Hepburn “wore the pants” in her life not only in reality but metaphorically, in every matter that required her authority. Like her mother, she was a pioneering modern woman of the 20th century.
In private life, Katharine Hepburn chose comfort and quality for her wardrobe. Her signature outfit was a pair of tailored beige trousers and a linen jacket, often paired with a white shirt. She portrayed an effortless elegance as well as a down-to-business attitude.
In the 1930s and 40s, seeing a beautiful A-list Hollywood star frequently wearing trousers was quite unusual. In her early career, many considered Katharine Hepburn an anti-style icon. Her studio once tried to hide her slacks from her, and she threatened to walk around the studio lot naked. ...She got the slacks back!
What makes a style icon, besides fame, along with an original sense of style? Hepburn certainly had both in spades. As her fame increased and her persona became better appreciated, Hepburn influenced American sportswear design and attitudes about dress.
For her movies, Katharine Hepburn engaged with costume designers to get the right feel for the women she would portray. You can see the influence of her personality and attitudes on the costumes that she wore: effortlessly glamorous as Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story, costumed by Adrian; ready to forsake the constraints of high society as Linda Seton in Holiday, costumed by Kalloch; sporting as Pat Pemberton in Pat & Mike, costumed by Orry-Kelly; chicly eggheaded as Bunny Watson in Desk Set, costumed by Charles Le Maire—and so many more.
She had copies made for herself when she particularly liked a costume. A Norman Hartnell silk dress and coat from Suddenly, Last Summer were among the pieces that she had copied.
Upon her death in 2003, 700 pieces of Hepburn’s clothing, including iconic stage and screen costumes, were given to the Kent State University Museum. In 2012, a collection of this clothing was displayed at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts... and a unique style icon finally got her due.
What might be considered the essential Katharine Hepburn wardrobe?
1. Trousers most of all, of course, especially if they are well-tailored and wide-legged, in good-quality fabrics
2. Button-downs
3. Tailored suits
4. Jackets, from simple linen to dressier tuxedo styles
5. When considering prints, make them clean and graphic, like stripes and checks
6. Actual sportswear that you could actually play sports in
7. By all means, a drop-dead stunning evening gown, preferably in black—feminine but not frou-frou
And when the evening is over, make sure you are the one wearing the trousers!
