Styling a Blue and Pink Summer Outfit for SIA: Dr. Seuss

Shelbee at Shelbee on the Edge is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the 1961 painting "Gosh! Do I Look as Old as All That!" by Dr. Seuss. She chose this artwork--one of 11 paintings in the La Jolla Birdwomen series that he based on the society women of La Jolla, California--in celebration of her upcoming 50th birthday. Certainly a decked-out woman looking in a mirror (even if she is a bird) feels appropriate to a style challenge, but hopefully we will be happier about our appearance than she is!

Source: shelbeeontheedge.com

I took my inspiration from two elements of the painting:

1. The dark blue and pink color palette

2. The idea of "old"
   

Rather than looking old or feeling old, I interpreted old to mean "items in my wardrobe that have been around for a while." So I took this opportunity to pull out some old favorites and put them together in a way I haven't worn them before. When something is old but timeless and awesome, we often call it "a classic," so I decided to include some classic pieces to my look.

My starting point for the outfit was the knit top with a navy background and pink flowers (Kohls, 8/2019, $17.33, 23 wears, $0.75 CPW). I continued the blue and pink theme with the navy pencil skirt (Walmart, 2/2018, $10.50, 19 wears, $0.55 CPW) and lightweight open weave cardigan vest in a vibrant punch pink (Kohls, 11/2015, $11.04, 16 wears, $0.69 CPW). This created a nice base outfit for a warm spring/summer work day.

OOTD 5/14/24

Of course I wanted to layer necklaces for this outfit, but I kept it simple and neat (no #neckmess this time). I wore a classic strand of pearls (Macy's, 12/2013, $19.50, 26 wears, $0.75 CPW--I purchased it for myself for Christmas during one of their mega-sales and presented it to my husband as an "oh, that's exactly what I wanted!" gift) and a silver tassel necklace (CJ Banks, 7/2020, $4.98, 12 wears, $0.42 CPW). I wouldn't consider a necklace from 2020 old, really, but I liked it best of my long chain necklaces to pair with the pearls.

I continue to wear my versatile nude wedges, bringing the cost per wear down almost to my under $1 CPW target (Cole Haan, 11/2013, $119.90, 116 wears, $1.03 CPW). These are my second most worn footwear in my closet; my brown flats are just ahead at 127 wears.

Outfit total cost per wear (not including earrings and bracelets, which I don't track): $4.22. My outfit CPW target is under $5, so I met that with a bit of room to spare!

My daily bracelet stack is based on the paper bead bracelet set I made from Coldwater Creek catalog pages specifically to coordinate with this floral top in a navy, bright pink, and silver color scheme. I rounded out the stack with 4 DIY bracelets using glass pearls, glass beads, wood beads, and stone beads. The navy/silver bracelet was purchased from CJ Banks in a set. That was the first set of bracelets I bought to test whether bracelets on stretch cord would sit closely enough to my wrist that I would be comfortable wearing them while on the computer. I found that the answer was YES, and thus began my stretch bracelet making obsession. {page to bead photos here with Outfit 4} {stretch bracelet tutorial} {bicone paper bead tutorial} {tube paper bead tutorial}

My earrings are another DIY bead soup pair in the classic "3 beads [plus spacers] on a stick" style. It's funny, I made these earrings to go with the pink/magenta/grey/navy knit scarf I was wearing in Outfit 4 in the previously referenced post in which I was also wearing these paper bead bracelets. Pink, dark blue/navy, and grey/silver is a favorite color combination of mine, so I'm not surprised that I have multiple items that use these colors, but it's interesting to see how these coordinating pieces come together. I could probably put together a pretty neat beauty bundle/accessory set/module in that color palette.

Now for the main event: our Rabbit Imitating Art selection! The photograph organization gods were working in my favor because I knew exactly the kind of bunny I wanted to feature and before I could even contemplate how long it might take me to find one in my archives, there it was...the very first rabbit in the folder! Introducing the extremely luxuriously-furred English Angora rabbit with the typical distinctive ear tufts. You can see in this photo (taken at the Minnesota State Fair at the end of the summer) that our rabbit has shedded fur down the center of the back, leaving a visible line where the very furry side and the less furry back meets. And yes, Angora rabbit fur is harvested to make wool (just like in the Beatrix Potter stories).

While the birdwoman looks with despair at her aging face, our Angora rabbit rests peacefully at her feet. Rabbits rightly consider getting older a cause of celebration! Another day lived is a mark of success, and to be able to relax in peace and safety is a wondrous thing. Let us eschew the birdwoman's self-criticism and embrace the wisdom of the rabbit!

Artwork "improved" with rabbit

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 struggle with looking and/or feeling older? Do you continue to celebrate your birthdays? Are you styling any older pieces in your closet this summer? What do you think of the blue and pink color combo?

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