Inspired by Frida Kahlo

Emma chose this month’s Thrifty Six theme, and it is Inspired by Frida Kahlo! Even though I don’t care much for the Mexican painter’s work, I was so excited about this styling prompt—I immediately pictured big flowers in my hair (and Frida’s infamous unibrow, ha). It took several iterations and a pile of clothes on my bedroom floor, but I finally landed on this modern interpretation of the artist’s look.

My first step was going to Pinterest and seeing the kinds of outfits Frida wore. I initially imagined white puff sleeve tops, crochet, bold patterns, and lots of color. I was surprised to see that she actually wore quite a lot of black, along with long flowy skirts and scarves draped over her shoulders.

I tried on a few different outfits that were very Frida-esque before realizing with dismay that none of the pieces were secondhand. I shifted gears and tried on a few more looks with thrifted items, but I wasn’t in love with those, either—they felt too costumey. As much as I love costumes, I didn’t want to put together an outfit that I wouldn’t wear in real life. So instead of pairing this hand-me-down crochet top with a flowy patterned skirt that I wouldn’t normally wear together, I relinquished some of the Frida-ness and opted for the much more casual denim shorts.

I love how this outfit came together and think it’s a modern—albeit subtle—interpretation of Frida Kahlo. This gorgeous crochet top with beaded flowers was a hand-me-down from my mom’s cousin. She gives me the best stuff!! The top came with a matching crochet cardigan (kind of a ridiculous concept) but I opted just for the tank this time since it was so hot.

This was the top’s maiden voyage. I wanted to wear it to karaoke a few weeks ago, but my boyfriend made a comment about that episode of “Friends” where Monica sings karaoke in a white top that turns out to be see-through under the bright stage lights, and that made me feel sheepish about this ensemble. Instead I wore this look to the movies on Friday night, but it would be cute for any summer date night.

I paired it with denim shorts from Target, a Francesca’s clutch, and black sandals from Macy’s. My lacey black bralette is from Aerie, which I purchased specifically to wear with this top (none of my other dark bras matched the neckline). I thought the sheerness of the tank was appropriate given that Frida loved to flash her boobies!

For the final Frida-like touches, I smeared my lips with red lip gloss and put my hair into, as my dad calls them, milkmaid braids. I used to wear my hair like this sometimes in college, but I got a handful of comments about how it looks dumb. So I was shocked by how much my boyfriend loved my hair and the entire outfit! For today’s purpose, I wish I had made the hairstyle a little taller and over-the-top like Frida’s huge braided crown.

I also noticed that she wore a lot of earrings and big chunky necklaces, so I layered some gold necklaces and threw on my artistic face clip-on earrings. Instead of big flowers, I opted for dainty gold hair rings as a fun addition to my braids.

What do you think of this outfit? Are you a Frida Kahlo fan? I absolutely love the outfits of the other ladies in the Thrifty Six—they nailed the theme much more than me. Be sure to check out their blogs at the links below!

Jodie of Jodie’s Touch of Style:

“I’m not very knowledgeable about artists, but I knew a little about Frida because we have one of her pieces in our Phoenix art museum. I searched high and low for some colorful embroidered clothing that was second-hand, but instead, I found this colorful flower dress. My headband was created with a scarf and a flower pin (that my mom had made years ago) and I finished off the look with 2 layered necklaces. The funny thing is we went to the museum this day and checked out the Frida Kahlo piece since I was channeling her.”

Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade:

“‘I’m the person I know best… that’s why I paint self-portraits.’ A quote from Frida Kahlo, the inspiration behind this month’s T6 post. She paints herself because she’s alone, I wholeheartedly identify with that… solitude is a drug to me; I crave it like primal desire. Frida and I are alike, creativity blossoms when solitude prevails.
I’m capturing her essence in colour and form, the unmistakable pallet of jewel and primary… dominant floral crowning glory and distant, melancholy gaze… her image in perpetual suspension…”

Emma of Style Splash:

“I was introduced to the works and life story of Frida Kahlo during my degree course and have been fascinated with her ever since. I have prints, jewellery, clothing and ornaments featuring her famous face. She often wore flowers in her hair so I upcycled one of Isobel’s old headbands with some artificial flowers and ribbon I’d saved from packaging. It was fiddly but I’m pleased with how it turned out. I bought the Mexican top on Vinted for about £8. The skirt is part of a vintage co-ord that I bought on eBay. My black stretch bracelet is from a charity shop and I made the silver and turquoise ring and bangle. This might be my thriftiest outfit yet!”

Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style:

“I must admit that I made it a bit of a costume party from this theme, inspired by Frida Kahlo. I don’t have anything in my closet that would even remotely resemble Frida Kahlo, so getting inspired was pretty hard. Of course she almost always had her iconic flowers on her head, that’s a no brainer. And in several pictures I saw that she often wore pink with red and green. Hence the color combination. She also often had a scarf draped over her shoulders. So I made a true color palette of it. While when I think of Frida Kahlo I would actually find a black outfit more inspired. Because of her hard life and traumatic events and also often the morbid paintings. But black would be too easy! And apparently she wasn’t put together that way either!”

Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge:

“I wore this same secondhand skirt for our Thrifty Six post, Inspired by Travel, back in September. The style and bold print remind me of something that Frida would have worn. I paired the skirt with this preloved teal kaftan style tunic which I tucked in and then used a gold scarf as a belt. Because Frida was well known for her large drapey scarves, I added this gorgeous thrifted green paisley pashmina. My boots were also a secondhand purchase… $7.50 with my birthday coupon in May for these amazing L’Artiste ankle boots which have very little signs of wear. I have been wanting a pair of boots by L’Artiste for a really long time but have not wanted to spend the money (they retail for about $150-200). I think they are perfect for an outfit inspired by an artist! I also added a black floral headband because any fan of Frida’s knows of her love for floral headpieces.”

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As always, thanks for stopping by the blog today.

Miles of smiles,
Grace

Black Crochet Top: Hand-me-down | Denim Shorts: Target, $18 ($0.69 per wear), last worn here | Black Sandals: Macy’s, $28 ($0.82 per wear), last worn here | Clutch: Francesca’s, $20, last worn here