An original costume design by Edith Head for Kay Thompson as Maggie Prescott in Funny Face (Paramount Pictures, 1957), which also starred Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. The mixed media illustration by Grace Sprague has been initialed and approved by director Stanley Donen and producer Roger Edens, and signed and dated 3/15/56 on the verso by production manager Fred Caffey. The verso also includes studio "Approvals" stamps and annotations, including "Prod. #11520" and "Miss Thompson."

The khaki suit, matching hat, and bold orange blouse with scarf suggest that this may be the initial design for Thompson's costume in the musical number "Bonjour Paris," which she craftily managed to cover with a Givenchy raincoat. Thompson hated Paramount designer Edith Head's designs for her, finding them unflattering and old-fashioned compared to Audrey Hepburn's costumes by Givenchy (whose style was much more aligned with Thompson's own personal taste). However, Head insisted on designing for Thompson. A fierce battle of impressive egos ensued. With approval of producer Roger Edens, Thompson's close friend, she all but took over the design of her costumes. All of Head's original designs, like the one illustrated here, were radically revised or jettisoned.

Thompson craftily managed to get her wish to wear a Givenchy design in the film by seizing an opportunity when the crew arrived in Paris for the shoot and found it raining every day. Irvin writes:

"She convinced Stanley and Roger that it would be prudent to add rain gear to her ensemble for the 'Bonjour, Paris!' montage. They agreed but pointed out that it was far too late for Edith Head to create something at Paramount and ship it to France...Thompson jumped in a taxi and burned rubber all the way to the House of Givenchy, where Audrey was busy with last-minute fittings supervised by Hubert himself. Explaining the predicament, Kay persuaded the coutourier to come to her rescue, resulting in the elegant camel-colored raincoat that she gladly wore over her clothes, concealing every last stitch of Head's dud throughout 'Bonjour, Paris!' Thompson could barely contain her glee."

It is possible that she replaced the handbag, which matches her blouse, with the umbrella seen in the film.

In Sam Irvin's book Kay Thompson: From Funny Face to Eloise (Simon & Schuster, 2010), he quotes an interview with Head, who says: "In Funny Face Kay had a code: two-piece costume with a short, short skirt and a long, long jacket, a tiny sailor collar at the top. She wore this from tweeds to chiffon. It became a long skirt for evening wear. The point of the uniform was that here was the editor who told every woman what to wear--'Everybody must wear pink!'--but for herself, 'I wouldn't be caught dead in it.' She announces that every woman must wear different clothes for different moods, and then proceeds to wear her two-piece suit."