Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a time for celebrating our family and friends who have passed away.  This time of year, what better way to do that than spending time outside in nature?  Go on a picnic. Immerse your senses in the elements, take a moment to feel the grass under your toes, the sun on your face, hear the birds singing, smell the lilies blooming.

One of the Midwest’s most renowned painters and muralists, Thomas Hart Benton captures the spirit of the picnic in his painting Persephone.  In an Arcadian Kansas landscape, a farm girl has a picnic and takes off her clothes unaware that Hades, disguised as an old farmer, is peering in on her from around the river bank.  This goddess farm girl, Persephone, is so consumed in nature she gets abducted by Hades the god of the underworld and is forced to spend her life there, only to come forth in spring with the seeds of the fruits of the fields.

 

Thomas Hart Benton’s, Persephone at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. 

Our inspirations for a picnic…

This dress by ZuZu Apparel is textured linen with neutral plaids that are reminiscent of a picnic blanket.  

 Wear it with OTBT’s light leather Peirz Sandals.

To store your picnic goodies we have fabulous woven baskets from Madagascar

If it’s a rainy Memorial Day weekend cozy up in ZuZu Apparels Cloudy Sky collection.  This painterly grained linen is evocative of Thomas Hart Benton’s cloud scenes.

                        

  
Cloudy Sky Dress, Cloudy Sky Vest worn with our Palazzo Pants and Cloudy Sky Skirt.

One of my dearest memories of my Grandfather is on a picnic.  We went to Loose Park in Kansas City, which has one of the prettiest rose gardens. We laid out a blanket took our shoes off and put our feet in the freshly cut grass.  It was a beautiful day.  This Memorial Day I will celebrate with fond memories of my Grandfather.

May Day

May Day

We must prepare in our finest florals and hats for May Day.  This ancient Pagan holiday celebrates the festival of Flora (Floralia) the roman goddess of Spring.  The festival symbolizes renewal of the cycle of life and the abundance of vegetation and flowers.  It is officially time to put on your garden hats and start planting those seeds for the celebration of Spring.

Primavera  by Botticelli, c. 1482.  One of my favorite paintings can be seen in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

In Botticelli’s Primavera (also known as the Allegory of Spring), Flora is to the right of Venus, wearing a dress patterned with flowers.  What could be better for celebrating May Day than this contemporary version? The Pleat and Rose dress by Covet.

To wear with your dress the Stockton wedges by OTBT in Peach and UPF 50+ Wallaroo Hat

More outfits inspired by Flora…

Covet’s Rose Quartz Dress and Girl About Town Heels with Rose Tie Detailing.

Lily Garden Tank by Covet

Wear your Lily Garden Tank with OTBT’s Delhi Heels and UPF 50+ Wallaroo Hat

One of my favorite gardens in the world is the Boboli Gardens behind the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy.  This 16^th century garden is home to hundreds of statues, fountains, temples, grottos, and nympheums.  

 My husband Suleyman in the Boboli Gardens

My favorite statue at the gardens is Adam and Eve.  Who knows gardens better than these two, they got to spend some quality time in the Garden of Eden before getting kicked out for conspiring with the serpent.

Come let’s celebrate May Day, Flora, Adam and Eve, Spring and the renewal of life. 

Zuzu Style

For my first style post I wanted to start out with my most ancient of inspirations, Cleopatra Queen of Egypt. Throughout history there has been few female icons more represented in art and writing. She has inspired artist for centuries with her mysterious lore and enchantment of two of the most powerful men of her time, Caesar and Marc Anthony. During the 18th and 19th century Orientalism became romanticized and Cleopatra’s form became a popular theme to paint. Most often she is gently wrapped in sheer linen, partially exposed with her gigantic jewelry only appropriate for a queen, or a girl caught in a dream from Kansas.

Maxfield Parrish’s Cleopatra

A recurring fashion staple of Cleopatra’s time is the use of linen. Linen is one of the oldest fabrics ever produced dating back to 8000 BC. Made of flaxseeds, linen was highly praised in ancient Egypt for its coolness on the Nile and desert heat.
While there is nothing left of Cleopatra’s Alexandria, I was able to draw upon inspiration from other travels.

Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s Anthony and Cleopatra

Among the many countries I‘ve had a chance to visit, I am never more inspired by fashion then when I am in Italy. A couple of summers ago while shopping in Florence I kept coming across the most amazing linen pieces; long dusters, palazzo pants and dresses. I had always wanted to embrace linen but had only come across pieces that were boxy and covered the body; linen can be layering and cascading without being shapeless. This was my goal when designing the ZuZu Apparel Spring 2012 collection, Cleopatra Queen of Egypt combined with contemporary Italian linen.

Pisa, Italy, wearing s large hat.

I have several clothing pieces I want to feature for the season. One of my favorites is the Cinque Terre dress, this white linen dress is a must have for the summer. I already have plans to wear it while vacationing on the Mediterranean, but a fabulous garment to wear on any hot summer day.

Cinque Terra Dress by ZuZu Apparel

The second piece is ZuZu Apparel’s Coastal Pant. 

These linen palazzos are high waisted with a full wide leg that’s airy and cool. They are fabulous paired with our Nicole Snake Skin Platforms.

The animal print trend is something I’ve never fully embraced but I love a little snake skin, it goes with everything and adds a great dimension of texture. Last but not least are our dusters. Our Firenze Jacket and our Bohemia Jacket (seen with our Rome Pants) are amazing summer layers. I love them as swim suite cover ups, but pair them with either of our ZuZu pants and some jewelry and they make a refreshing business day out.

Firenze Jacket by ZuZu Apparel

Bohemia Jacket & Rome Pant by ZuZu Apparel

Now for accessories, I’ve already mentioned our Snake Skin Platforms by Nicole; another Egyptian inspired shoe is the Desert sandal by OTBT.

One of my favorite excursions while in Egypt was to Hurghada on the Red Sea. From there I took a quad bike into the desert, then a camel farther in to reach a village of nomadic people, the Bedouins. The Bedouins like many nomadic people make amazing textiles and jewelry; these sandals remind me of those textiles, the desert sand and Red Sea coral.

Now for jewels, I was fortunate to find a collection of Egyptian Noir inspired jewelry by Scarlet Garnett. My favorite in the collection is the Desert Falcon necklace and earrings.

Last but not least the snake skin inlay necklace is a fabulous everyday piece.

I will continue to post my style inspirations from random thoughts and travels, but please visit our website to see the entire collection of ZuZu Apparel and other clothing lines as well as an assortment of accessories at
zuzuapparel.com