Styling a Celestial Jewelry Set for SIA: Joseph Fratrel's Allegory of Astronomy

Salazar at 14 Shades of Grey is the curator for this round of Style Imitating Art (SIA), and she selected the painting "Allegory of Astronomy" by 18th century French artist Joseph Fratrel. She chose this artwork because she was in the mood for a more classical piece after our recent modern artworks, and her love of anything astronomical/celestial plus Star Wars Day on May 4 ("May the Fourth be with you") made it the perfect option.

source: https://14shadesofgrey.wordpress.com/

Although I own nothing like the clothing worn by the Muse of astronomy Urania in the painting, I immediately thought of a textured white top and a DIY celestial-themed necklace that I could use as the basis for my interpretation.

Because the necklace was made using dark blue matte lapis lazuli beads, I decided to wear navy ("midnight blue"?) instead of black in my look. For the changeable spring weather, full length pants and a lightweight linen vest made sense to me as my column with the white top. I chose skinny pants to create the slim pants + top + long vest/cardigan long-over-lean outfit formula that I like a lot in the transition seasons. (If I'd worn a shorter utility vest, I would have been more clearly channeling the Han Solo energy for Star Wars Day, but skinny pants are spot on for Han's look.)

OOTD 5/1/26

My celestial necklace has a partner piece I made to wear with it as a layered necklace; I made them both using the September 2024 Bargain Bead Box and companion bundle ("Mystic Moonrise"). I liked how well these dark necklaces stand out against the white background.

My navy suede loafers with the multi-tone blue tassel is a go-to way for me to finish off outfits with navy pants, particularly when a lighter shade of blue pops up elsewhere in the look. (You'll see how this ties in momentarily.)

My all-DIY daily bracelet stack is atypical for me because it doesn't start with a paper bead bracelet set! But it did start with a stand-alone paper bead bracelet I made using beads from an image of a dark blue starry sky (5th from the top). I then added beaded bracelets in shades of blue, white, and metallics to complete the stack. {stretch bracelet tutorial} {bicone paper bead tutorial} {tube paper bead tutorial}

I was excited to wear a pair of cha-cha earrings that I had made from the same bead box to coordinate with the layered necklace. I made little dangles from the small crystals in various shades of blue as well as star charms and attached them to a short length of chain to create a fun and dangly pair of earrings with some fireworks energy. I used small dangles on both of the necklaces as well so the whole set shares that element.

Now for my favorite part of the SIA post: introducing our Rabbit Imitating Art selection!

Given the high contrast, two-tone nature of my outfit and the inspiration artwork, I decided to choose a bunny with a broken pattern of dark fur against a white background. This female mini rex rabbit with a beautiful dewlap is sitting in a very neat and controlled bunny loaf position that vibes with the idea of using precise measurement to gain mastery of the universe. The black "spot" markings around her eyes have a very star-shaped look to me as well.

Having achieved profound expertise in astronomy, proficiency in mathematical calculation, prowess in technical measurement, and virtuosity in instrumentation, Urania turned to a much more challenging arena of mastery: the study of rabbits...aka lagomorphology! After working in the hard sciences since time immemorial, she was ready to take a turn to the softer side. While eternity might be sufficient for her to gain great knowledge of rabbits, command and control was another issue altogether (i.e., never gonna happen). Her first research project in her new field brings her celestial expertise to bear on a great mystery: what's the deal with wearing your hare in space buns?!

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 14 Shades of Grey.

Do you have any celestial themed items in your wardrobe: clothing, accessories, or jewelry? How would you have interpreted this painting? Which Star Wars character would you most like to resemble for a Star Wars Day outfit?

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