Collage Me

A collage is an assemblage of pieces that, when combined, become art. It also describes the way we like to dress. We put it all together as the mood strikes us. Color, pattern, texture all contribute. Sometimes things just demand to be included, such as our prettiest and newest. Or, perhaps, we are inspired by a memory. Jane’s Vanity knows that the secret to great compositions is to choose what we love. 

As French fashion designer Christian Lacroix once wrote,  we need “the strange, powerful, and touching charm…” of special pieces with a story to tell.* JV travels the world to bring them to us. Which ones are calling to us today?

Our entire look might be informed by what lies beneath. For example, the black and gold floral silk of Camille Roucher’s Gold Pearl Lingerie Set may not show, but it whispers. Silk-lined and smoothly shaped, it begs to flirt under the sheer silk charmeuse of Klements’s Cloud Rainforest Mildred Blouse with its dark jungle print. Perfect with that great black skirt we bought last year in San Diego.

Perhaps, like Lacroix, we like to mix opposites, “city and country, elaborate and rough, refined and wild…” In that case, we might wear the new Olivia Von Halle Athena Silk Blouse with vintage rolled-up jeans. A study in contrasts. The blouse, available In black or white silk organza,  features embroidered dots, covered buttons, removable camisole, and a dishy shape that stops just above the hip. 

For fall, we collage textures. We might balance the Gilda & Pearl Silk Slip Skirt in shiny Midnight Jade or Cognac with a nubbly knit from Dana Pisarra: the ribbed Vienna Smoke Silk Turtleneck or the Sens Smoke Cardigan with a panel of shear lace down the back.

Let’s keep going and complete the mix with patterned stockings, a favorite belt, an heirloom bracelet, a Klements Ivie Tassel Scarf (in green Gothic or Chihuahuan peach).

We create a beautiful world with artistry from Jane’s Vanity.  

*From Lacroix: Pieces of a Pattern by Christian Lacroix. Thames and Hudson, 1992.