Whether or not women should “lean in” or close the “confidence gap” are debates of the moment, but this fretting should have been settled decades ago.
Do you or someone you know need help figuring out how to be a tough dame? Turn to Katharine Hepburn. She was:
- Sent home from school for wearing pants. Went back the next day wearing pants. How did she get the confidence for this? Mom (Katharine Houghton Hepburn) telling the school, basically, you leave the parenting to me, could not have hurt.
- Later, when the RKO studio tried to get her to stop wearing slacks, she made a point by walking out in her underwear.
- Did her own stunts, including when she was in her later years. Grew up in a house (133 Hawthorn Street) where the family had a zip line installed. Coincidence?
- Got busted in college for smoking in her dorm. Drove around Hartford without a license.
- Had a reputation for being prickly and defiant. . .
- Earned twelve Oscar nominations and won four of those times.
If you are curious about what one might wear while leaving her indelible mark on the world, the answer is sometimes, but not always, trousers.
When Ms. Hepburn liked a costume she wore at work, she had replicas made for her personal wear. Or, she would just wear those costumes. What is on exhibit at CHS shows the glamor of a star, but it also reveals a person who would think nothing of going out in a shirt with mismatched buttons or in slacks with some of its threads attempting to flee the garment.
The clothes tell a story, really. Chronological, for the most part, her costumes, props, and cosmetics show her rise to fame, her setbacks, and her comebacks.
A map in the exhibit shows where Hepburn spent time when she lived in Hartford. There is a photograph of the Hawthorn Street house, since demolished. There is no site marker. The Laurel Street house the family lived in previously was not especially beloved, but remains standing today. While growing up in the Nook Farm area, the family was not always treated pleasantly by prominent neighbors, as the urologist father and feminist mother were too edgy.
Most of the exhibit is not about her life in Hartford, since that is not the whole story.
Don’t expect the exhibit organized by the Kent State University Museum to be full of only praise for Hepburn’s films. Several productions are described as “dull.” If you missed Dorothy Parker’s criticism of Hepburn’s performance in The Lake the first time around, the gallery guide will school you. From that to getting labeled “box office poison,” Hepburn had her own circle of haters.
Part of being a tough dame, after all, is getting criticism and learning how to deal with it. Hepburn is quoted as saying,”I remember as a child going around with ‘Votes For Women’ balloons. I learnt early what it is to be snubbed for a good cause.”
Lean in? Try push your way in. Now that’s the way to do it.
Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen will be on view at the Connecticut Historical Society (One Elizabeth Street) through September 13, 2014.
The museum will be hosting events tied into the exhibit, with Kate Couture: A Hepburn-Inspired Fashion Show on May 10th and Katharine Hepburn’s Hollywood Career: An Overview with Jeanine Basinger on May 28th. In June, CHS will be partnering with the University of Hartford’s President’s College to bring the lecture series: Katharine Hepburn: From Hartford to Hollywood. Also in June, there will be a Katharine Hepburn Film Festival with University of Hartford’s President’s College, to take place on the UH campus. See the Connecticut Historical Society website for details on times and prices.