Orchid Grey

guestblogging

I asked each blogger to pick a piece of artwork that spoke to them in some way. It could be famous, not famous, new, old. whatever piece of artwork they wanted and then to create an outfit inspired by the piece. I will be back to regular blogging on Oct. 4th.

Today I would like to introduce my dear friend Julie from Orchid Grey

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4944932039/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4944932139/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4945511996/

“Frida Kahlo has long been a favorite artist of mine, in the boy’s club of the early-to-mid-century art scene she stood out as a pre-feminist hell raiser. A force to be reckoned with. I could not say when I first laid eyes on one of her paintings, but Kahlo’s highly charged self portraiture left a lasting impression both artistically and stylistically. She seemed to layer clothing like paint, color over color, necklace over necklace, building up an organized chaos of clothing.

One of the most meaningful gifts my fiance has given me in our six years together is the book I Will Never Forget You: Frida Kahlo and Nickolas Muray. The book explores the relationship between Kahlo and photographer Nickolas Muray through letters and portraits taken by the two artists, their complex relationship winds through their correspondence and intimate photographs like a twisted thread. I decided to use these photographs of the artist (Kahlo) by an artist (Muray)- rather than one of her own paintings- because Muray captures not just Frida’s personality but also her style. Her layers, colors, and textures are documented so well even in black and white.

To emulate Muray’s photographs and Kahlo’s style I concentrated on texture and tone. I layered a long vintage dress with a patterned scarf- one that is remeniscent of the wildlife that appears in Kahlo’s paintings- and lots of silver and turquoise jewelry. I used my hair as a texture as well, instead of pinning it up in the signature braids I let it hang loose.”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4944931419/
Julie_Frida1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4944929949/

Dress: Vintage
Scarf: Vintage
Belt: Vintage
Jewelry: F21 & Vintage

  1. Those photos are gorgeous!

  2. I love this concept you’ve created and I’ve been following along with it from the beginning… Julie’s is my favorite so far (as well as little Everly’s)!

  3. This is an interesting series and I love Frida Kahlo so of course I like this. I was reading recently how it was the more upper class and arty types like Kahlo who embraced dressing up in traditional indigenous clothing at that time, when it was generally considered to indicate poverty.
    One thing though: with your hair down like that, for some reason it looks more like gypsy style to me, rather than Mexican. A lovely outfit either way though.

  4. This is my favorite in the series so far!! Great choice, Julie!!

  5. Beautiful photos! Frida is one of my favorite artists too!

  6. I am a huge admirer of Frida Kahlo and her work so I loved to see Julie draw inspiration from her. I also liked the fact that she did not try to simply recreate her style, but rather got inspired by it and kept her own essence. To be honest, I’ve always thought that the strongest character of Kahlo’s style were her eyes and her deep, penetrating look and I feel like Julie’s pictures really captured that. Amazing post!

  7. Oh Julie, you NAILED IT!!!

  8. fabulous layering job– i love how you thought to use your hair as a texture– so resourceful-
    i bet ms. kahlo would be proud!

    xx
    sami

  9. Coucou les amis quel est votre avis de mon nouveau blog sur l’ immobilier ?

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Hi, I'm Jen!

Welcome to my personal lifestyle blog. It features topics such as motherhood, family life, fashion, cooking, and all sorts of adventures. I hope you enjoy what you find!

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