MUCHA, REVISITED

Now that it is becoming a bit more like spring in New York, I'm revisiting one of my favorite posts from last spring.  Inspired by Pantone's Champagne Beige, I evoked the image of Alphonse Mucha's muses at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.  View the full post here.

RECAP: Favorite Colors of 2013

What a year it's been for Artfully Awear!  In a mood of reflection, I've decided to recap some of my favorite moments of the year.  In April, I launched a project with Pantone, in which I created artwork-inspired outfits centered around their forecasted palette of fashion colors.  My favorites were as follows:

1.  Green Glow

I used the work of Tauba Auerbach and a gorgeous Oscar de la Renta dress to draw correlations with the bright, springy green hue.  Coincidentally, my favorite dress of the year is my favorite color of the year!  View my original post here.

2.  Grenadine

With this hot, bright color, I was inspired by Jason Martin's paintings.  See the post here.

3.  Emerald

Pantone's Color of the Year was also one of my favorites, and it is found in the work of Helen Frankenthaler.  View more photos here.

4.  Magenta Purple

A rich, warm purple is showcased by a Nicole Miller gown and Morris Louis Color Field paintings.  See my post here.

Thank you for a great year!  

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.]

ARTFULLY AWEAR + PANTONE: Emerald.

After a brief hiatus, I'm back with my latest Artfully Awear + Pantone post, featuring the Color of the Year: Emerald.

Emerald has always been one of my personal favorite colors, and is surprisingly flattering with almost any skin tone. The hue is also well represented in the work of Helen Frankenthaler.

Her oversized canvases, though seemingly abstract, were often inspired by landscapes, such as her most famous work, Mountains and Sea, which measures 7 feet by 10 feet.

One of the few female artists recognized alongside the group of second generation Abstract Expressionists, Frankenthaler (1928-2011) was a Color Field painter.

The thin veils of paint that make up her paintings are reminiscent of watercolors, even though they are actually oils. Her "soak stain" method of thinning oil paint and applying to unprimed canvas was adopted by other artists including Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland.

Two of my favorite posts of all time are inspired by Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland.

Color Field painting was different from Abstract Expressionism in its denial of emotional or mythical themes.

"You have to know how to use the accident, how to recognise it, how to control it, and ways to eliminate it so that the whole surface looks felt and born all at once". --Helen Frankenthaler

Dress: Nicole Miller Artelier (full length version here for $100!)

Shoes: Calvin Klein

Necklace: Anthropologie Chasca

[Photos by @kay_elle_pea; images from stylesight.com, newcriterion.com, justalittlegreen.tumblr.com, and accidental-brilliance.com.]

ARTFULLY AWEAR + PANTONE: Magenta Purple.

I'd like to present Magenta Purple, the first color in my Artfully Awear + Pantone series.

When I discovered this gown, featuring Magenta Purple at the yoke and gradually changing gradient, I could not overlook its relationship to the Color Field paintings of Morris Louis.

Louis (1912-1962) lived and worked for most of his career in Washington, DC, becoming central to the Washington Color Movement along with Kenneth Noland and others.

Louis is best known for his gorgeous unprimed canvases featuring specially formulated Magna Paint.

Two important series make up his artistic oeuvre, the Unfurleds and the Veil paintings, pictured here.  View my previous Morris Louis post here, from 2011.

In addition to the beautiful tissue-like quality of the layers of paint on Louis' umprimed surfaces, I've always been drawn to his use of color, and the way they interact on the canvas by overlapping and becoming more or less sheer.

Dress: Nicole Miller Evening Ombre Strapless Gown (on sale!)

Shoes: Badgley Mischka Ginnie

Beaded handbag: Vintage, thrifted

Necklace: So Good Jewelry in SoHo

Thank you to Pantone for sponsoring this post!

Photos by @kay_elle_pea

Images from phillipscollection.org, dfwarts2010.files.wordpress.com, faculty.etsu.edu, and guggenheim.org