We are walking around Balboa Park in the heart of San Diego, California, when we come upon a bevy of beautiful women modeling marvelous habiliments. Art of Fashion (not to be confused with Arts of Fashion) has enlisted designers to examine the displays in the Timken Museum of Art and find inspiration to fashion art-worthy fashion.
Pretty maids all in a row.
The models pose, and we are fortunate to snap a few photographs.
To our delight, the models find interesting places to pose and we are encouraged to photograph them. We are happy to oblige. 🙂
Joseph would have approved.
This model sports a coat of many colors.
A regal pose by a regal model.
We can imagine this woman starring in a Cleopatra biopic.
We think that’s real gold embroidery.
There are probably fifty uses for a dress like this. Imagine all the pockets you could have! Plus, you don’t need to wear shoes.
Your sword is useless against her.
This young lady looks concerned. Probably because she forgot to open her book before writing. Modern technology can be challenging, I suppose.
All that glitters is gold.
The sunlight illuminates her outfit as the iconic California Tower is reflected in the museum window.
Red-dy to go!
A stunning dress, but we have to wonder…how does she use the ladies room? Or…maybe, in a dress like this, you just need to….no, let’s not go there. 🙄
That’s a lot of fabric!
It appears this model needs a strong grip to move about. The price of beauty, I suppose.
Classic, elegant, and charming.
This Elizabethan outfit is both flattering and practical. We imagine she can hold her own at swordplay.
She is a charmer, that’s for sure.
A come-hither smile beckons us, but then we see the ring. <sigh>
We have so many questions….
A lovely dress, but can she even move? Perhaps she is on a wheeled cart? We are too shy to lift up her dress to see.
Diamonds adorn her locks.
If you like spiky-haired girls, then this is the girl for you. We wonder what her hair mousse bill is each week.
The neck of a ballerina.
Despite the apparent weight of the clothing, this model retains a most elegant demeanor.
A mask hides her true identity.
Who is this beautiful woman? And why has she never been photographed with Barbara Gordon?
The “Hand On the Back of the Head” look.
Apparently, something about this costume requires this particular pose. Still, she does it well.
Okay, even she thinks it’s a goofy pose.
The models try to be serious, but sometimes their natural humor bubbles up.
Models modelling.
A huge amount of fabric is used in some of these dresses.
A gem of an outfit.
Notice the shoes on this model, apparently made of gold lace and rubies. Beautiful.
Come, my love.
We can better see the ornate bodice, splendidly embellished with diamonds.
Black and white, with a splash of gold.
This model appears to be wearing a dress made of tattered cloth, but on closer inspection, it is carefully folded fabric.
Every dress tells a story.
The gold side is even more interesting. When we look closely, we can see that there are hundreds of panels depicting art.
The model poses with her designer.
The designer of the dress wears a stylish headband that matches his creation. No “hot chick with douchbag” here!
Pretty!
Even the other photographers are dressed to impress at this event.
No, those aren’t beauty marks.
This model’s veil has a number of insets that cast strange shadows on her face in the sunlight.
Can you spot her?
When we look closely, we can see that the entire outfit has dots on it, including the red top where the spots seem to be in the shape of tree branches.
A flower child.
This mode’s bodice resembles a Chinese finger trap. Perhaps she can take it off only by putting it on…..
“Would you like to smell my petals?”
Here we can see the delicate floral arrangement that is the highlight of her outfit.
A wizardly outfit.
This appears to be a variation of the only known garments worn by the Wicked Witch of the East, reminding us that there is no place like home.
Afterwards, we visit the museum to see if we can discover the inspiration. Some of the outfits were easily associated with the artwork, and others were more obscure. Here is the link to the Timken Museum collection: http://www.timkenmuseum.org/collection/ See how many you can discover!