Mayfair Lady: An Icon's Clearance Sale

① On Wednesday fashionistas will have a rare chance to shop from Audrey Hepburn's wardrobe at Christie's, an auction-house, in London.

② The 300-plus items for sale include a hand-annotated script for "Breakfast at Tiffany's", marked up in turquoise ink, some surprisingly large Ferragamo loafers (the actress was notoriously self-conscious about her size-ten feet) and a letter from Gregory Peck signed "I'm always available for my dear chum".

③ Also up for grabs are many of the clothes designed for her by Hubert de Givenchy, the Parisian couturier who once described their relationship as "a kind of marriage".

④ Celebrity provenance tends to render estimates redundant: in 2006 the black evening gown Givenchy designed for her character Holly Golightly, which had been expected to sell for £70,000 (then $126,000), fetched £456,200.

⑤ Still, bargain-hunters may find themselves lured by her powder-blue sleep mask, whose starting price is a fairly reasonable £150.

生词好句

Mayfair /ˈmeɪfɛ:/: 伦敦上流住宅区

icon: n. 偶像

clearance /ˈklɪər(ə)ns/ sale: 清仓大卖

hand-annotated /ˈanəteɪt/: adj. 手写批注的

turquoise /ˈtə:kwɔɪz/: adj. 蓝绿色的

loafer /ˈləʊfə/: n. 休闲鞋

notoriously /nəʊˈtɔ:rɪəsli/: adv. 众所周知地

be self-conscious (about sth.): (为某事而) 难为情

chum /tʃʌm/: n. 密友

up for grabs: 供人争夺的

Parisian /pəˈrɪzɪən/: adj. 巴黎的

couturier /ku:ˈtjʊərɪeɪ/: n. 女装设计师

provenance /ˈprɒv(ə)nəns/: n. 出处

render sth. redundant: 让某事变得无用 (等同于 render sth. useless)

bargain-hunter: 专买便宜货的人

be lured /l(j)ʊə/ by: 被某事所吸引 (诱惑)

powder-blue: 粉蓝色

starting price: 起拍价

fairly /ˈfɛ:li/: adv. 相当地

"For beautiful eyes, look for the

good in others; for beautiful lips,

speak only words of kindness; and

for poise, walk with the knowledge

that you are never alone."

Audrey Hepburn