Adding Fall Jewelry to a Summer Outfit for SIA Earth and Sky

Shelbee at Shelbee on the Edge is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the circa 1930s painting "Earth and Sky" by American painter Paul Meltsner. She chose this artist in honor of Labor Day because the he is well-known for his paintings from the WPA (Works Progress Administration) era. The limited color palette in this particular painting was appealing as the basis for a style challenge because it isn't as overwhelming as some of his more colorful works (e.g., "American Landscape" and "Man Machine").

Source: https://shelbeeontheedge.com/

The rusty reddish-orange soil that dominates the painting called out for inclusion in my outfit, but this particular color is not one that exists in my wardrobe; the aggressively warm tone of this color does not look good with my pink-ish skin. So I decided to substitute a similar but cooler toned version that is a workhorse in my closet (see what I did there?): the "sandstone coral" color from Christopher & Banks' summer 2020 line. I consider this color a great one for outfits year-round, and I have amassed a collection of 9 pieces that span the seasons. The two starred pieces are not truly the "sandstone coral" color - the long-sleeved T is the very similar but brighter "cozy coral" and the dusky heathered long pants are "coral yarn dye" - but all the pieces work well to mix and match. (I also use the long-sleeved T to layer under a Loft open weave pullover sweater in a neon coral color to bring the color family into winter.)

This collection may seem like sartorial overkill, but I really like having this range of pieces in the same/similar color. It allows the implementation of a variety of color formulas (e.g., column of color, "suit," modern twin set) and gives me the ability to create similar outfits across multiple seasons (i.e., "thinking in threes"). This collection could have been pricy to put together, but remember that stores were practically giving normal clothes away during the early covid period of summer 2020. That was the point where everyone was staying home and seeking comfort over all other considerations - giving up "hard pants" and luxuriating in the novelty of wearing pajamas/loungewear all day. And because these items are very basic/standard/classic styles rather than trendy pieces, they are still in my wardrobe 5 years later. (When it comes to clothes, I play a long game!)

While the the watery blue sky was the feature called out in the painting's title, I was drawn more to the denim-y blue color of the worker's shirt for my interpretation. I put together a quick base outfit in pieces befitting September's continued warm weather: my new medium denim skimmer shorts (that I also wore in the last SIA), a tank top, and a 3/4-sleeve shirt worn as a very lightweight jacket.

So far, so summery. But how can I bring some of the richer fall hues from the artwork into my outfit? That's right: accessories.

OOTD 9/3/25

Instead of a summery nude-to-me or metallic shoe, I chose classic flats in dark brown leather that have a fall vibe and bring an earthy tone into the look that is appropriate to the painting.

Continuing the brown theme, next I added a DIY three-piece layered necklace set that I made to coordinate with my "fall foliage blouse" in tones of brown, rust, aqua, olive, gold, and brass. I used the October 2024 Bargain Bead Box as my main bead source, though I supplemented with a variety of beads from my stash, including DIY upcycled magazine paper beads in the shortest necklace (left). I call this set my Picasso Jasper necklace after the stone pendant in the long beaded chain necklace (right).

While it's still too warm to wear the fall foliage blouse itself, the coordinating layered necklaces can bring that fall feeling into my summery outfit. Note that the sandstone coral color of my modern twin set does not exist in the necklace, but they still look great together. The brown and rust tones of the stone and wood beads relate to the coral color of the clothing - like a deeper, warmer, more earthy version of it - while providing enough contrast to stand out. The pops of aqua in the necklace, which are a similar color to the blue sky of the painting, create a complementary color scheme of Blue-Green & Red-Orange with the coral clothing.

For my daily bracelet stack, I boosted the fall tones by selecting a paper bead bracelet set that I made to coordinate with the same fall foliage blouse (see page to bead images here), which means it coordinates with my necklace too. I added some richly colored bracelets to complete the stack: dark rose gold (from an Amazon set; it looks like it's been through it but I don't mind the distressed vibe) and navy lapis lazuli, rust stone, and warm brown striped glass (all DIY). {stretch bracelet tutorial} {bicone paper bead tutorial} {tube paper bead tutorial}

I did a bit of bookending in my outfit by repeating the dark leather of my shoes in my earrings (purchased from Amazon); that touch of leather just says fall to me. I slicked down my hair and braided it, which deepens the color to a richer blonde. This felt more in keeping with the colors of the painting and the practical "person at work" feeling of it than my usual untamed beachy waves golden blonde hair.

Now for the main event: revealing our Rabbit Imitating Art selection! What says rich, deep, earthy tones better than the Tan breed of rabbit? This particular bunny is the black color variety with a solid black body and lighter rufous coloration edging the belly, nose, ears, eyes, and feet. In rabbit world, "tan" refers both to this specific breed of rabbit as well as the general coloration of solid-with-contrasting-edges that can occur in many different rabbit breeds. When referring to the coloration pattern and its associated genes, it can be called either "tan" or "otter"; the allele that produces the pattern is the -at allele at the A gene locus.

The A locus is interesting gene because it has 3 possibilities rather than the more usual 2:

-A (agouti) is dominant; with even one A allele, a rabbit will show the common "wild rabbit" coloration in which individual hairs are banded with multiple colors.

-at (tan) is in the middle; if a rabbit has even one at allele and no A allele, it shows this solid-with-lighter-edges coloration pattern of the Tan breed.

-a (self) is the most recessive; if a rabbit has two a alleles, it shows an overall single solid color in its coat.

(For a somewhat more technical description, see this).

In honor of Labor Day, today's history lesson is about the worker revolution and its consequences. For a long time, people had tried to improve the position of workers through incremental social change, but eventually, they got tired of that (What do we want? Change! When do we want it? Now!). The workers united with two goals: primarily (1) to destroy the capitalist system and end the practices by which owners were enriched; and secondarily (2) to come up with something else than didn't lead to widespread starvation. After getting nowhere with either goal, the workers sent a committee of representatives to make a deal with the magical imp Rumplestiltskin. After some discussion and negotiation, the deal was struck: in exchange for the soul of Hatguy (who was, by complete coincidence, not a member of this committee), Rumplestiltskin would bring down The Man.

Alas, the workers had not considered the fact that Rumplestiltskin is a classic trickster figure who uses cunning and deception to advance his own interests at the expense of others. The terminology "The Man" was taken much more literally than the committee had intended.

When the workers returned to the work site, things seemed better right away; none of the managers were there to oversee the work. But very soon, a Rabbit of Unusual Size and Tan Coloration appeared, announcing himself as the new boss. Oh no, instead of a complete magical transformation of the economy, Rumplestiltskin simply replaced The Man with The Rabbit!

But not all hope was lost. At the entry to the worksite was a huge sign announcing that all workers would be celebrating Labor Day that very day. The committee members congratulated themselves for this victory and started to walk away, several of them composing triumphant social media posts about this accomplishment.

"And where do you think you're going?" asked The Rabbit. "It's called Labor Day so logically, it's a day for you to do more labor, not less!" Thus the workers found themselves back out in the field, laboring to farm vegetables while The Rabbit supervised them. Everyone was quite upset at this turn of events! Well, everyone except Hatguy, who in his newly soul-less state no longer cared about anything and toiled without feeling.

Later...

Worker Committee post:

Artwork "improved" with rabbit

Worker made much less unhappy on the job through Committee's successful negotiation! #committee #workersunite #activism #laborday #stoptheman #makinghistory #winning #lifegoals #blessed #kickboxing

Thanks for joining me today for this Style Imitating Art + Rabbit Imitating (and Improving) Art post!

To see other outfit interpretations of this artwork, check out the review on Shelbee on the Edge.

Do you have any color collections in your wardrobe? Do you like to wear warm colors like the soil in the painting? Do you ever add seasonal jewelry (in colors or motifs) to basic outfits? How would you interpret this painting in an outfit?

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