To prepare for my first trip to New York in 2014, I rewatched the essential Breakfast at Tiffany’s. When I got here, Tiffany’s was one of the first locations I visited. I remember asking a clerk to see the rubies. I learned that there were no rubies at Tiffany’s due to trade sanctions on Burma (Myanmar) for serious human rights violations and abuses. Burma was the source of the most visually stunning, rare, valuable—and hence Tiffany-quality—rubies, so they simply didn’t have any.

This was an eye-opener for me, introducing me to the sophisticated, complex world of New York City, where fashion, glamor, politics, and ethics intersect. I learned anew that the world is globally interconnected, and that when bad things happen in a faraway place, the American people care and try to make a difference.

I later discovered that the ban on importing Burmese rubies started in 2013. In case you are interested, the US State Department has extended many subsequent sanctions against Burma, including additional sanctions earlier this year.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is quite a melancholy film, with its haunting Moon River score by Henry Mancini, though it’s billed as a romantic comedy and it has a happy ending introduced by the director and screenwriter to please the movie-going public. I recently started re-reading my battered copy of Truman Capote’s original novella. His Breakfast at Tiffany’s world is hardboiled and bleak. The two main characters in the movie are both, in a manner of speaking, selling their beauty to wealthy older patrons to fund their aspirations. It’s sordid and depressing, looking at it again ten years after my pre-New York naïve viewing!

Audrey Hepburn’s character memorably said that nothing bad ever happens at Tiffany’s. I agree that we need to visit these touchstone places. The beauty within the ten exquisite stories of marvels never disappoints. On the sixth floor, you can now dine in luxury at the Blue Box Café by Daniel Boulud, which opened in May 2023. I’ll definitely check this out on a future visit.

When I visited Tiffany’s with my crew on SantaCon Saturday, during the height of Christmas mayhem on Fifth Avenue, we weren’t able to go inside. There was a line around the block of visitors waiting to be enfolded in luxurious splendor. With the temperature at 34°F, the allure must be strong indeed!

I climbed on a concrete protective barrier swathed in Tiffany’s robin’s-egg blue, and Phil risked his life dodging traffic on Fifth Avenue to get a shot with the window from the movie’s opening scene in the background. Then we went around the corner, mirroring Ms. Hepburn’s steps down East 57th Street, to gaze in the enchanting side window display of an animated bird family. Across the street, we could see the fabulous Louis Vuitton building, enrobed in scaffolding that was designed to look like a gigantic, sixteen-story tall stack of luggage!

I asked a friendly pedi-cab driver dressed as Santa for a light, and next thing I knew, he offered me a seat in his splendid holiday carriage. We were part of the scene—the Christmas magic of New York City.

This article first appeared in Chelsea News and other papers in the Straus News group.

Style Notes

According to Christopher Laverty in Fashion in Film, although Hubert de Givenchy is credited with designing Audrey Hepburn’s iconic dress, worn in the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany’s—and Hepburn and Givenchy enjoyed a four-decade muse-designer collaboration—the dress was actually created by famed Hollywood costume designer Edith Head. Givenchy designed a dress with a lengthy leg slit, which was considered too racy for the film, although it was used in the movie’s poster art.

Edith Head redesigned the skirt and added small weights in the hem so it hung perfectly straight. She accessorized with Tiffany diamonds and pearls, and long black gloves. Head also designed two other black dresses that Hepburn wore in the film. However, Givenchy was given credit as the designer. (What a surprise, a man taking credit for a woman’s work.) The film—and dress—made such an impression on the collective consciousness the Givenchy leg-slit dress sold at a Christie’s auction for almost a million dollars in 2006! Even though it was never worn in the film!

What I Wore

• Replica of iconic Givenchy/Edith Head gown that Audrey Hepburn wore in the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Licensed by Paramount Pictures to Fun.com.
• Nine West 1950s-style black leather pumps. The Bay, Vancouver BC.
• Pearls and hair ornament. Horolam Accessories.
• Enigma beehive wig. Max Wigs with styling by Andrea T. New York.
• Black satin bicep-length gloves. Loan from a friend.