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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Edwardian Beauties and Rose-Tinted Visions of the Past

What is more beautiful, ethereal and delicate than a photo of an Edwardian lady in her flimsy dress of lace and silk, with a large hat and roses in her hand, her smile captured for eternity?

Studio Portrait by Henri Manuel of Paris, 1900s

Lately, I’ve been admiring these hand-tinted photos from the early twentieth century and I spent many moments being lost in the all the dreamy details; their dresses, their faces, their flowers. Some feature a more daring, oriental-inspired fashions with long veils, jewellery and more skin exposed because in the early 1910s with Ballets Russes and the ballet “Scheherazade” there was a craze for all things exotic. I don’t have much to say today – I’ll let the beauty of the pictures speak for themselves.

Still, I would like to take a moment to say something I rarely do. My dear readers, old and new, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my musings! I am amazed to see the growing number of people who read my blog, but at the same time, without superficial modesty, I am surprised that someone actually enjoys it. I never thought that my sharing of beauty and fragments of my inner world would attract so many readers. Here is a quote by Anais Nin which perfectly explains the point of writing:

Why one writes is a question I can answer easily, having so often asked it of myself. I believe one writes because one has to create a world in which one can live. I could not live in any of the worlds offered to me — the world of my parents, the world of war, the world of politics. I had to create a world of my own, like a climate, a country, an atmosphere in which I could breathe, reign, and recreate myself when destroyed by living. That, I believe, is the reason for every work of art.

I wholeheartedly agree with Anais Nin: I can’t live in the world offered to me, the 21st century world with its shallowness and stupidity, and I write; this blog, my poetry and my stories, my daydreams and my journal, to wrap myself in a cocoon of beauty and dreams; I hope writing protects me from the sharp arrows of reality. I strive to be perpetually dreamy even when everything around me is grey, to turn sadness to beauty, and then, share some of it with the world. I write, as Anais Nin continues in the same quote, to “lure and enchant and console others”, and I hope I’ve achieved that. I hope you are enchanted, lured and consoled!

In dreariness of November, one has to find a shelter in the world of beauty, and I can tell you that next post will be very special and dreamy.

The gorgeous Lillian Gish above!

 

Photos found here.

Edwardian Daydreams of the 1970s – Lace, Pastel Colours, Countryside Idyll

Today we’ll take a look at the Edwardian influence on the fashion of the 1970s and the dreamy world it created where white lace, straw hats, floral prints and pastel colours rule.

Photo by David Hamilton, 1970s

Fashion-wise, the 1970s were an eclectic decade, a trend-driven one, especially compared to the previous ones, like the 1950s which were homogeneous. Fashions ranged from Hollywood-inspired Biba glamour, Glam rock, Yves Saint Lauren’s gypsy exoticism to disco, Studio 54 extravagances, Punk and New wave. There was also one trend that I absolutely adore at the moment – the Edwardian revival which brought a gentle, girly and romantic touch to one’s wardrobe. It is in stark contrast to the bold patterns and bright colours of sixties mini dresses.

I already wrote about the influence of the late Victorian and Edwardian era along with Art Nouveau on sixties psychedelia, both in visual art and in fashion here, but this influence is a tad different. Forget the vibrant colours and shapes of Mucha’s paintings that go perfectly with groovy sixties posters. Open your mind for something whiter, gentler, dreamier….

Jane Birkin (1970) and Edwardian lady (1900)

Photo by David Hamilton, 1970s

Left: Bette Davis, Right: Jerry Hall by David Hamilton

Wearing certain clothes can transport you to a different place in imagination, don’t you agree? Well, the mood of this Edwardian revival fantasy is that of an idealised countryside haven where a maiden in white spends her days in romantic pursuits such as pressing flowers, strolling in the meadows, picking apples, lounging on dozens of soft cushions with floral patterns and daydreaming while the gold rays of sun and gentle breeze peek through the flimsy white curtains, reading long nineteenth century novels by Turgenev or Flaubert in forest glades, Beatrix Potter’s witty innocent world of animals, illustrations by Sarah Key, all the while being dressed in beautiful pastel colours that evoke the softness of Edwardian lace, Lilian Gish and Mary Pickford’s flouncy girlish dresses, long flowing dresses with floral prints and delicate embroidery, straw hats decorated with flowers and ribbons, lace gloves, pretty stockings, and hair in a soft bun with a few locks elegantly framing the face, or all in big rag curls with a large white or blue bow, resembling a hairstyle of a Victorian little schoolgirl.

Brooke Shields in “Pretty Baby” (1978)

Left: Lillian Gish, Right: Mary Pickford, c. 1910s

As you know, films have an influence over fashion. I myself often watch a film and caught myself mentally going through my wardrobe and looking for similar outfits that a heroine is wearing. It’s beyond me. Many films from the seventies have the same romantic Edwardian revival aesthetic, such as Pretty Baby (1978) set in a New Orleans brothel at the turn of the century, women are lounging around in white undergarments and black stockings which is so typically fin de siecle, and Shield Brooks in a white dress holding a doll, adorable.

In Australian drama mystery film Picnic at the Hanging Rock (1975) set in 1900 girls from a boarding school go out in nature for an excursion and are dressed in long white gowns, have straw hats or parasols and white ribbons in their hair, Polanski’s Tess (1979) brought an emphasis on the delicate beauty of floral prints on cotton and that also inspired the designer Laura Ashley, even the film Virgin Suicides (1999) which is set in the seventies has a wardrobe of pastels and florals and all the girls wear such dresses to a school dance.

Left: Brigitte Bardot and Right: Nastassja Kinski

ELLE France, 1978, Gilles Bensimon

Left: dreamy hairstyle, Valentino Haute Couture Spring 2015, Right: photo from 1910

Virgin Suicides (1999)

Left: Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Right: two Edwardian ladies, 1900s

Models of the era are also seen wearing the fashion, such as Twiggy with her straw hat with cherries and Jerry Hall in white dress. Many photos by David Hamilton also capture the mood of this Edwardian revival; there’s something dreamy and ethereal about them, a frozen moment with girls in a reverie, either lounging on bed half-naked or surrounded by trees and flower fields wearing long floral dresses and hats, looking so serene as if they belong to another world. The first picture in this post is my favourite at the moment, a girl with a straw hat with ribbons, and stocking, and those warm Pre-Raphaelite colours… mmm…

Edna May photographed by Alexander Bassano, 1907

Jane Birkin looking so Edwardian and adorable!

Even Brigitte Bardot couldn’t resist elegance in white.

Tess (1979)

Seventeen magazine, February 1974

Twiggy in Valentino by Justin de Villeneuve for Vogue Italy, June 1969

Brigitte Bardot

Wedding dress ‘Faye Dunaway’ by Thea Porter, 1970, England – All that lace!!!

Left: Abbey Lee Kershaw by Marcin Tyszka, Vogue Portugal (2008), Right: Alexis Bledel in Tuck Everlasting (2002)

As you can see in the pictures above, the Edwardian revival has found its place in contemporary fashion and cinematography as well. If you like this style, look for things that capture the mood, regardless of the decade.So, do you want to be a pretty and dreamy Edwardian lady too? Well, it is simple, you can wear a white dress, have a cup of tea, read Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary” or Forster’s “A Room With a View”, stroll around wearing a straw hat, pick flowers, press flowers, chase butterflies, surround yourself with white lace and indulge in reveries!

Inspiration: Straw Hats, White Lace and Promises

The is my “aesthetic” at the moment, and the inspiration for the title comes from the verse of the song “We’ve only just begun” by The Carpenters:

“We’ve only just begun to live
White lace and promises
A kiss for luck and we’re on our way
We’ve only begun”

 

Inspiration: 1920s Dresses, Butterflies and Belle Epoque Beauties

As Autumn slowly crawls under my skin, I feel more and more cheerful, full of energy and creativity, which I hope will result in interesting posts. I’ve had great weekend, doing nothing special, and yet feeling overwhelmingly happy, and I gathered lots of inspirational pictures. And here they are: