a la Seasider--how to dress like an artist? Do you dress like an artist? Help! Help!

[38carrots]

Seasider wants to dress like an artist:

I'd like to dress like an artist, but I can't think of a character I know that would be a good example. Pretty, feminine, comfortable. Colorful but earthy.

 

 

This is how I'd like to dress too. I don't know how to start. On a budget. I usually shopt at thrift stores, but I'm willing to pay to pull of an artist look. How to start this wardrobe? Examples? I live in jeans and t-shirts. I'm 40, but I never dressed in anything but jeans and t-shirts. I need serious help. Or is it already too late?

[zoobie]

My artist friend dresses in paint-covered jeans and t-shirts. :P

[Guest]

Scarves say artist and can add personality to an otherwise ordinary top. I wear a lot of simple shirts, but have recently gotten into scarves. I also found an amazingly beautiful turquois, silk scarf at Goodwill. It was all crumpled up and looked like hell, but I washed it by hand, let it dry, and ironed it. Wow, is it lovely!

 

I think jeans can say artist, but the shirt, shoes or accessories should not be so pedestrian.

[Spryte]

Are you an artist?  ...If so, then you dress like one.

 

My mother is an artist - a well-known metal sculptor - and she dresses in a sort of bohemian chic style at shows, or lots of black when not at shows, and mostly in paint splattered, faded studio clothes.

 

I was a self-supporting artist for many years.  My "look" differed when at a show vs at home.  So, are you looking for the artist look while at a show, with work on display?  At an exhibit?  That, for me, tended to loose, flowy dresses - sort of a cross between the bohemian chic style and some april cornell (not the flowery old-fashioned stuff though).  At home - jeans or flowy skirts plus flowy tops.  And comfy sandals, I prefer berks.

 

But, really, since I grew up in the art scene - my mom started exhibiting when I was 3, and has been everywhere from street art shows to the Smithsonian... Artists come in all sorts of styles.  :)

[Happy]

A couple of writers I know wear flowing southwestern flavored skirts, a top with a belt of some kind, maybe a cool vest or a scarf or a great bold necklace...maybe boots. In both cases, they have long, gray hair. Terrific earrings.

 

When I dress artsy, I put a little unexpected in the mix. For example, I love my jeans. If I pair those with a purple blazer (love!) and bold floral heels, I look interesting and different, but still polished. It's not a look I can pull off too often, but I try to shake things up from time to time.

 

 

[redsquirrel]

I know quite a few people who are making a living as an artist, they generally are wearing paint, or plaster, or clay covered clothes and smell of turpentine, lol, And lots of salvation army jeans and sweatshirts. 

 

The dancers are wearing the same, but no paint splatters.  The writers/poets wear whatever.  The female opera singer always looks ah-maze-balls, but she's a born glamazon.  She could wear a paper bag and it would look like haute couture.  She always has her nails and toes done, spends a fortune on her hair...and it always looks totally natural. How does she do it?  I would look like a barbie doll if I tried to pull that off. 

 

But, I think what you are referring to is what I think of as the upper middle class, Elieen Fisher look.  Maybe with a bit more colour?  My sister is friends with a designer for Eileen Fisher and gets cast offs.  My sister looks floaty and comfortable and amazing.  If only I was 6 inches taller and 20 pounds lighter...

 

http://www.eileenfisher.com/EileenFisher/looks/Features/fall_winter_lookbook.jsp?bmLocale=en_US

[Onceuponatime]

The clothes at Soft Surroundings tend to have a kind of bohemian chic look. I love to look at them but am too petite to look good in that style.

[Mimm]

http://yuumei.deviantart.com/art/LIKE-AN-ARTIST-190756435

[Desert Strawberry]

I think I dress the way you are describing? 
 

I wear long dresses with flowy skirts, strappy tanks, maxi skirts, short dresses with black leggings, bold colors and prints or solid black. Simple lines.
 

No pants. 

Nothing tailored or fitted. Clingy is fine, but always soft and comfy. 

Hand knit shawls and capes or snug cardigans. 
 

Lots of layers. Colors generally work together, but I don't put a lot of thought into it. 

Today I wore a strappy navy maxi dress with a kelly green color blocked bottom edge, red tank under, pink and blue intentionally mismatched socks (this trend is played out, though, and so are the cheap socks, so I'll go back to plain black), bright pink lace slippers, my waist-length, very big, red hair up in a complicated bun, and a slim black cardi. 

When I came home, I changed into black leggings and stripped off the dress, leaving the red tank on, and added my Navy bootcamp sweat shirt and a baby carrier covered in handmade, sparkly, blue lace ruffles. 
 

Is that what you are looking for?  :tongue_smilie:

[Guest]

There is ONLY ONE WAY to dres like an artist. This goes without saying obviously.

[Slache]

There is ONLY ONE WAY to dres like an artist. This goes without saying obviously.

I guess that's about all one can afford when they're working part time at a five and dime.

[justasque]

Jewelry that has been hand-made by a local artisan, or jewelry that looks like it has, can help the look.  

A necklace with an interesting pendant or funky earrings, perhaps with a couple of bracelets.

 

Anything that looks the opposite of mass-market and mall-purchased.

 

Pieces that have a little artsy touch - an interesting buckle, a luxurious fabric, a cut or drape that is unusual.

 

Texture, pattern, color, natural materials, ethnic references.

 

All carried off with an air of, "Oh, this old thing!?  I've had it for years!"

[Anne in CA]

Go to Alisa Burke's blog and look at her fashion posts. She is the sort of artist I would look like if I had the time. Also, she doesn't spend a bunch of money on clothes. Lots of her stuff comes from Target.

[MercyA]

I guess that's about all one can afford when they're working part time at a five and dime.

 

and their boss is Mr. McGee.

 

:D

[Seasider]

It is so funny to read all the replies above before getting to chime in this thread. Couple of things...

 

I have a full wardrobe of paint-splattered clothing. Tshirts, sweatshirts, button downs, jeans, shorts, cutoffs, hats, bandannas, shoes.... paint clothes for every season due to constructing, painting and embellishing theater sets in an indoor/outdoor warehouse. I am comfy in those clothes, but I do have to go other places sometimes. 😄

 

 

And I do like Soft Surroundings! Things like some of the items on these pages:

 

https://m.softsurroundings.com/Clothing/Tops/Tunics/

 

https://m.softsurroundings.com/Clothing/Skirts/

 

The challenge is more how to dress this way economically. I look at these garments and can't help but think "that top = 6 piano lessons!" I should do like I did when I was a single young adult - tear out magazine pics and go to thrift stores to recreate the ensembles. That takes time, though.

 

Sigh, I'm just felling sorry for myself that there's not an easy button! I remember someone a while back posted about a personal shopper/monthly clothing delivery service. One day maybe I will try that.

[Seasider]

Go to Alisa Burke's blog and look at her fashion posts. She is the sort of artist I would look like if I had the time. Also, she doesn't spend a bunch of money on clothes. Lots of her stuff comes from Target.

Thanks for this suggestion, I checked out her blog, and her Instagram has some enchanting pictures. I can picture one of my daughters in that darling green coat and splashy scarf.

 

Some if the things she is wearing in ig pics remind me of some items I've found at World Market.

[ErinE]

• Search for looks you like.
• Build a pinterest board.
• Create those looks from secondhand stores
• Wear those looks

Now you look like an artist.

 

Every creative person I've known had their own sense of style. One woman, a fantastic abstract painter, always wore colorful dresses with fun pieces of jewelry. Another portrait painter wore black with simple lines. Another who threw pots had a bohemian look. Decide what style you are drawn to and build it.

[marbel]

 

• Search for looks you like.
• Build a pinterest board.
• Create those looks from secondhand stores
• Wear those looks

Now you look like an artist.

 

Every creative person I known had their own sense of style. One women, a fantastic abstract painter, always wore colorful dresses with fun pieces of jewelry. Another portrait painter wore black with simple lines. Another who threw pots had a bohemian look. Decide what style you are drawn to and build it.

 

 

This.  There is no "artist look."   The artists I know all have different looks.  What they share is the ability to pull it together so it looks good (not fake or forced) and the confidence to wear it.   I think someone deciding "this is what an artist wears" is not going to look like an artist, but someone trying to look like an artist, kwim?

 

[MBM]

It is so funny to read all the replies above before getting to chime in this thread. Couple of things...

 

I have a full wardrobe of paint-splattered clothing. Tshirts, sweatshirts, button downs, jeans, shorts, cutoffs, hats, bandannas, shoes.... paint clothes for every season due to constructing, painting and embellishing theater sets in an indoor/outdoor warehouse. I am comfy in those clothes, but I do have to go other places sometimes. 😄

 

 

And I do like Soft Surroundings! Things like some of the items on these pages:

 

https://m.softsurroundings.com/Clothing/Tops/Tunics/

 

https://m.softsurroundings.com/Clothing/Skirts/

 

The challenge is more how to dress this way economically. I look at these garments and can't help but think "that top = 6 piano lessons!" I should do like I did when I was a single young adult - tear out magazine pics and go to thrift stores to recreate the ensembles. That takes time, though.

 

Sigh, I'm just felling sorry for myself that there's not an easy button! I remember someone a while back posted about a personal shopper/monthly clothing delivery service. One day maybe I will try that.

 

Goodwill/thrift stores are the haunts of many an artist. I have a BFA in graphic design and many of my friends and I could only afford thrift store finds (or even stuff found in the garbage) back in college and during our lean years. I am still a thrifter at heart.

 

My daily outfit used to be jeans, long johns, pj pants, cut up t-shirts, sweatshirts and flannel shirts. For one formal I wore a Mr Bubble t-shirt that I sequinned and a long silk skirt. Those were fun days!