Start with Art Archives - Page 18 of 44

Start with Art: Coastal Image by Theo van Rysselberghe

May 19, 2020 We're Working from Home Indefinitely The work environment at her office is usually super-dangerous, from a virus perspective - people in each other's faces all day, sitting too close, yelling back and forth, passing food...

So when they announced that she would be working from home for at LEAST the rest of the summer, she was delighted!

She's working towards calmness; this is her inspiration:

Her color palette is light, and soft. She's working at home, so she won't sit on something disgusting on a bus or train. She doesn't eat at her desk, so she's not worried about spills...

She's not on screen that often, but she knows that she needs to be prepared every day to pull on a cardigan or ... View the Post

Start with Art: Dans la Forêt: Portrait de L. Massine by Natalia Gontcharova

May 14 2020

Remember the accountant? With a man's first name? Well, she's been doing quite well; the last big engagement in which she was immersed resulted in 3 people being charged with financial fraud, and a handful of other officers resigning in the dead of night and vanishing...

She was made partner...

Her color palette for her wardrobe is unusual - just when someone thinks that all she wears is black and shades of beige and brown, she trots out some cobalt blue!

She's got to go back. Yes, during the pandemic. She's assured that nobody is there, and that this is the very best time to take a team in and go through some of the really old "on paper" records that seem to have been... forged? Expense ... View the Post

Accessories! Start with Art – The Visit by Marie Laurencin

May 8 2020

I couldn't resist coming back to this painting, and to the wardrobe based on these colors!

First, let's look back at the spring wardrobe with a core of grey and white garments, and then a few accents in blue and pink (including that blue cardigan that keeps catching my eye!):

I'm looking for accessories that are somewhat "soft" in feel, to compliment the softness of the colors here, and also for things that will look good with more than one outfit...

For our blue dress, I wanted a scarf that our heroine could wear around her shoulders (although of course she has her white cardigan that will be perfect for that!), and some earrings that also were organic in theme. Silver sandals will be useful with pretty much ... View the Post

Start with Art: My favorite puppy’s Life by Fiona Rae

May 7, 2020

The capitalization of the painting is the artist's; artists see things in ways we hope to learn, some day...

While there are quite a few really fun colors in this painting, any heroine worth her salt knows that you've got to limit yourself a bit, at least at the start of a wardrobe "build."

First up, our wise heroine decides to make certain that she has a solid base for her wardrobe in navy and white:

Her heart was SET on hot pink and purple... but the marketplace of clothing didn't really help her out much!

This is one of the hardest parts of putting together any wardrobe - deciding that you KNOW what you want, but then finding that your lovely dreams are not readily available in the retail ... View the Post

Start with Art: Yellow Calla by Georgia O’Keeffe

May 6, 2020 The Need for Zest... She's doing fine, really. But she does acknowledge that only being able to go outdoors every few days, in a mask, hurrying to get errands completely and back to the safety of her home, has caused her to feel... muted.

Not that she doesn't love her grey and white core wardrobe! But the need for a bit of zing, a touch of excitement, or the jolt of an unexpected color, is beginning to be felt in her heart.

So when she saw this, she was smitten!

It wasn't too difficult to distill her spring and summer color palette from this gorgeous painting:

She's going to indulge for warm weather, this year. She still has to be on a camera conference call at least once a week, and she often has to stand ... View the Post

Accessories! Start with Art: Resting by Paul Klee

April 30, 2020

This heroine knows full well the degree to which the right accessories can make a TON of difference in an outfit! First up, she's starting with this compelling painting, and lovely color palette:

Our heroine is starting with this most wonderful wardrobe in soft colors and timeless styles:

She knows that she's going to want to wear very simple monochromatic outfits sometimes, and that on other occasions she's going to break out her accent colors. Her plan, then, is to pull together some representative outfits, and accessorize each of them...

All accessories do NOT have to be neutral - blue suede shoes tell you what you're going to be humming all day!

She wants to be able to look pretty in a dress ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Visit by Marie Laurencin – grey and white and relaxing…

April 29, 2020

When she saw this painting, the first thing she thought was that the poor woman on the horse will NOT be invited in, because she's got to stay 6 feet away from the other women...

But she also thought that the colors would be idea for her wardrobe!

Now that her employer has become the last company in the world to start doing video meetings, she realizes that she needs to look a bit pulled together, and calm, and in control. At least from the waist up!

So she isolates her colors for Spring...

And then she pulls together her core Weekly Timeless Wardrobe in grey and white. She loves grey, but finding grey clothes in warmer weather isn't always easy!

She realizes immediately that she has a lot of ... View the Post

Expanding a Start with Art: Light of Iris by Georgia O’Keeffe

April 24, 2020

Last week, they went to the farmhouse to see if they would like to stay there for the long-term. They realized pretty much as soon as they pulled into the drive that they did, indeed, want to stay out of town!

When they thought that they were only going to stay for a few days, she chose her travel capsule wardrobe based on her favorite painting:

She was still wearing her travel outfit when they decided to go back into town and pack up all of their food, their computers, and more clothes. It's only 5 miles, so it won't be a long trip!

Before they drove back, she dashed upstairs and dumped out her tote bag onto the bed. This was she had initially packed:

They talked about packing, on the way back into ... View the Post

Start with Art: Portrait de Greta Prozor by Henri Matisse

April 23, 2020

She's been sitting for a REALLY long time...

She's taking her favorite painting, distilling it down to the essential colors, and then PACKING!

Black, denim, olive, and BRIGHT golden yellow! She doesn't want to work very hard getting dressed, but she's okay with people noticing her...

It's just for a long weekend... She's going to plan outfits for each day, although she won't necessarily wear every outfit. She just doesn't want to have to work; she's done quite enough work, spending so much time indoors...

Her travel wardrobe is dark, and a bit intense. That's just exactly what she wants - no worry about spilling things, no worry about putting together outfits "on the fly," and no having to shop ... View the Post

Start with Art: Light of Iris by Georgia O’Keeffe Inspires a Travel Capsule Wardrobe

April 15, 2020 In Search of Flowers... They might go stay at the farmhouse indefinitely. At first, they thought that staying in town would be better - less "cut off" from civilization and other human life.

But now they realize that they're not seeing anybody anyway, so being closer to nature might be the better option!

She's longing for flowers; she's been thumbing through art books for weeks...

THIS is what she wants in her life - the colors, and the freshness...

So they pull on their boots, and their rain coats, and toss a few garments into a bag; if they decide to move up for a long while, they will return home and pack a LOT of things...

Warning - if you're looking at rubber boots, be absolutely CERTAIN that ... View the Post

Start with Art: Choosing a Travel Capsule Wardrobe based on Petit Matin by Joan Mitchell

April 10, 2010

I promised pretty colors...

Our heroine is looking for flowers... She's packing for a long weekend, basing her choices on this palette that she's chosen:

Thinking about flowers, and admiring photographs of flowers, were a part of what kept her happy and content during the quarantine. But now, they're going to walk a ton, outdoors, and admire nature.

Now that they're free to travel again, they've found the perfect destination - a mansion house with extensive gardens! Miles and miles of gardens...

She's less conservative than she has been in the past. Once upon a time, she would have a solid navy suitcase, and wear solid navy shoes for the drive. But now, she's more relaxed, and understands that ... View the Post

Start with Art: Building a Travel Capsule Wardrobe from Rising Green by Lee Krasner

April 7, 2020

She's feeling... exuberant...

Now that she's free to travel again, she's going to do things differently. She's had so much time to plan, and she's going to be so much more organized!

This is her color palette:

She's not going to be reckless - she's still wearing her compression socks, and waterproof loafers. But she's finally going to start wearing the scarves that have been living in a dresser drawer for ages...

Before, she would NEVER have considered packing pants that were lighter than dark navy. She wouldn't have consigned lovely scarves to a suitcase, nor would she have traveled with cashmere sweaters.

Now, she realizes that life is for living, and the things that we own are for using ... View the Post