ARTFULLY AWEAR + PANTONE: Champagne Beige.

For my latest Artfully Awear + Pantone post, I'm featuring the shimmery color Champagne Beige.

My inspiration for this look has been on my mind for years, as I've always loved the sinewy Art Nouveau elegance of Alphonse Mucha's ladies.

Mucha (1860-1939) was a Czech painter and decorative artist who created the Art Nouveau style, originally known as Mucha Style.

He began his career as a theatrical designer in Moravia, and eventually relocated to Paris, where he met the acclaimed actress Sarah Bernhardt, one of my style icons.

In 1895, Mucha began a six-year contract with Bernhardt, creating lithographs for her performances.  This solidified his position as an important commercial artist.

Throughout his career, Mucha struggled to separate himself from the Art Nouveau style he essentially created, and found art's importance through its spiritual connotations alone.

The women depicted in Mucha's Art Nouveau paintings and prints hearken back to an even earlier age, referenced in their Neoclassical garments.

Mucha's view on Art History is summed up by the following quote, and beautifully represented by his work: "Nothing has changed in these past two thousand years.  Only the names are slightly different."

Dress: Nicole Miller Artelier

Headpiece: Vintage necklace

Shoes: B Brian Atwood (buy here in nude and black)

All photos by Kathy Paciello at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

[Mucha images from gelaskins.com, wikipaintings.org, graduate-extraordinaire.blogspot.com, bohemia-apartments.com, and commons.wikimedia.org.]