The Little Black Dress That Helps India

Natalie Portman in the famous frock.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one my favorite movies of all-time. Total chic, fantastic parties, a little romance, mayhem involving five-and-dimes, getting the weather report at Sing Sing and the pleasure of watching Audrey Hepburn as Holly GoLightly. The little Givenchy black dress she wore while enjoying her croissant and coffee and peering into the windows of the Tiffany & Co. flagship will go on sale at Christie’s in London on December 5th. The dress is expected to go for around $130,000 and the proceeds from the sale will go to the City of Joy Aid charity to benefit the under-privileged in India.

Audrey Hepburn dedicated her life after her final film role to helping impoverished children in countries like Somalia, Venezuela, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Known for her dedication and involvement with UNICEF, Hepburn helped raise awareness of poverty in far-reaching areas of the world.

To continue Hepburn’s work, Hubert de Givenchy has raised money since her death in 1993 by auctioning various pieces from his collection to help benefit underprivileged children around the world. Three identical copies of the iconic black dress were made for the filming of Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Givenchy. One is on display in the Museum of Costume in Madrid, one other is in Givenchy’s archive. According to Harper’s Bazaar, it was a recent meeting with the director of City of Joy Aid that made Givenchy decide to do this auction of the last black dress.

So fitting. Such a fantastic cause.

Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places…

Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator nabbed a number of South Asian Silicon Valley IT professionals in the act of soliciting 13-year-old girls for sex. Little did they know that the teenage object of their affection was a decoy for a covert sting operation. The lame excuses that they offer upon realizing they’ve been caught would be funny if it wasn’t so sick.

The perverts’ last meal.

Check out Dateline Videos #3 and #4 to see these loser lotharios in action. #4 even features two South Asian men who come prepared for their pedophile playdate with sandwiches—because God forbid a good desi goes to anyone’s home empty-handed.

And if that’s not enough for you, check out this bit from a radio station in which a desi woman asks the DJ to help her catch her cheating husband: Buddha Call. Some people think the call is a fake…what about you?

And what are your thoughts on the disgraced IT guys from the Dateline expose?

Pink is the New Black

October might previously have been known as a time for ill-fitting polyester Halloween costumes and Columbus Day furniture sales, but now there’s something you can really look forward to.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

That’s right—’tis the season for fab pledge drives, spirited 5Ks and an endless stock of pink ribbon pins–all for a terrific cause.

So lace up your sneakers and start spreading the message: annual mammograms for the over-40 crowd are an absolute must and monthly self-examinations are critical for women of all ages.

Remember that breast cancer can hit anybody—and South Asian women are certainly not exempt (according to a recent public health study conducted by a team at UCLA, breast and cervical cancer rank as a top cause of death amongst Asian American women).

For information about events near you, check out the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer site (http://makingstrides.acsevents.org/ ) or the Susan B. Komen Foundation’s Race for the Cure (www.komen.org).

A note from Ismat: Thanks for bringing this up, Hilal! Nirali actually did a story on breast cancer in South Asian women back in October 2004 (oh, how the time flies!). Read “Breast Left Unsaid” in our old (and soon-to-be-converted) archives.

Treehugger’s Simran Sethi on Martha Stewart

Simran Sethi of TreehuggerTV, appeared on Martha Stewart’s show on October 4th, offering tips on design products which are sustainable and eco-friendly. Martha was duly impressed by the knowledgeable Sethi, who completed an MBA focused on sustainable management from Presidio.

I especially loved the furniture from Q Collection. Sustainable style is tres chic!

Related: In Living Green