How to Dress Like a Modern Venus – Fashion Inspiration

Laetitia Casta, Yves Saint Laurent – Spring 1999 Couture

When I think of a modern Venus I instantly think of the French-Italian model Laetitia Casta wearing this gorgeous rose-ensamble made for the Spring 1999 Yves Saint Laurent couture. She looks absolutely stunning and I absolutely want that outfit for myself! The roses, her soft hair, the neutral makeup; rosy cheeks and rosy lips; perfection! And then I thought further, or started imagining rather, what would a modern Venus or a modern Aphrodite wear today?

Aphrodite was the Ancient Greek goddess of love and beauty, and the most beautiful of all the goddesses. According to Homer she was the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of rain Dione, but according to Hesiod she was born out of seafoam and came out of the sea on the island of Cythera. Since love was important in the lives of both people and Gods, Venus was especially respected and appreciated. She was also the most popular goddess in art representations; from the sculpture of Venus by Praxiteles to Botticelli’s famous painting “The Birth of Venus”, to Tizian and Giorgione, to Rubens and Boucher. Venus was the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite and although she was originally a goddess of spring, under the influence of the Greek cult of Aphrodite in the south of Italy and Sicily, Venus developed into a Goddess of love and beauty. I am very much into feminine, Venusian aesthetic these past days and weeks so this has been a fun topic of think about. So, how do I envision a modern Venus? What would she be wearing? First of all, since she was born out of the seafoam and the image of her on a seashell as painted by Botticcelli is engraved in my mind and I cannot erase it now, I do connect the sea and shell motifs with Venus. In my mind, she would be wearing soft colours; pink, salmon, white and creamy shades… Colours found on seashells and roses. The softness of the seawaves translates in my mind to masses of soft tulle. Definitely fancier fabrics; I think of tulle, chiffon, silk, georgette. Hair long and wavy or softly curled. Dainty details of lace. Pearl necklace or earrings. Rose gold jewellery. Shimmery eyeshadow in champagne, silver, taupe, dusty pink, or rose gold. Irridescent fabrics. Rosy cheeks and lips. Lipstick not red lips but more pink. Pink lipgloss with gold shimmer. Glowing highlighter. Sensuality meets elegance. Feminine but not girly. Quietly confident not aggresively erotic. Long flowing dresses with tiny floral prints or many flounces. Long tulle skirts, flowing effortlessly like her hair. Tiny flowers in the hair or a flower crown but a subtle version. Hair pins with little shells on them or even a hair clip with a shell. A purse shaped like a shell with little sequins. There, these are some of my associations for a modern Venus and bellow are some collages I made to illustrate my ideas visually. Of course this post is fanciful and fun, so no need to take your dagger out if you disagree.

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