Modish Matrons #21: Baroque

Hello dear friends and readers and MODISH MATRONS fans!

It is time for our new theme, and I thought that March would be perfect for BAROQUE!

I can't wait to see my dearest friends TINA und BEATE's posts and outfits to the tiniest details. They always bring joy to my heart, and I encourage you to visit their inspiring blogs. Google Translate will give you a general idea of their writing, if you, like me, don't speak German. But art is a universal language, and it's possible you won't even need translation, since personal style definitely is art!

When I began working on this month's theme, I had only a vague understanding of what the term baroque really means - it's been a while since I studied that period of art history, so I had to re-educate myself. Apparently the word comes from the Portuguese word barocco which means "a pearl of irregular shape." This style of architecture started in Europe in the early 17th century and was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church as a reaction to the simple forms of Protestant buildings. As it often happens, one form of art influences many others, so music, visual arts and fashion designs which art theorists would have categorized as baroque, soon started appearing throughout Europe.

The task of finding a baroque building to support our photo shoot here in the Pacific Northwest seems a bit insane - it would be like living inside of my favorite Russian folk tale "Go There, I Don't Know Where, Bring Back That, I Don't Know What" ...

What!? 

What I was thinking when I came up 

with this theme for MODISH MATRONS!?

I guess that tale is imprinted on my soul so much that practically my whole life became the search for I Don't Know What! Armed with nothing but adventurous spirit and love of creativity, together with my fearless Real Adventure Man, we went to one of the most beautiful places in Tacoma - the Museum District. At that point, I didn't know where exactly we would take photos, I just followed my nose. The glass sculpture by our beloved Museum of Glass was sparkling in the sun, and we both knew right away that that was that! Our improvised modern take on Baroque was made of glass, steel, water and sunshine, and it was just what we needed - highly ornate "architecture" with the sense of movement and splendor, which are some of the main characteristics of this pompous style.

To recreate this style, I used some of my most "showy", yet still classy accessories, such as pearls and gold, and rich textures: lace, silky and velvety fabrics, and beaded embroidery (my purse).

As fashion lovers, I'm sure many of you are familiar with Sicilian Baroque collection by Dolce and Gabbana (Fall Winter 2013), created with incredibly rich golden embellishments, abundance of lace, embroidery and pearls...

Reading about different "branches" of baroque as well as getting inspiration from the D&G collection, I decided to go with my own version of baroque - Siberian Baroque (you're not surprised now that I chose a white outfit, right?). Despite the fact that it sounds extravagant and rather unlikely, it is actually a real thing, though even I (being from Siberia and studying art, in one form or another, my whole life) wasn't familiar with the term until I started my little research for this post. Siberian Baroque was a style of church built in many Siberian towns by skillful masters in the 18th century. And even though I didn't know the term back then, I sure visited some of these highly ornate buildings when I lived in Krasnoyarsk!

Pokrovsky Sobor in Krasnoyarsk, the city where I lived, graduated from university and had a career 

(the church was built in 1785-1795). Photo source - Wikipedia

Uspensky Sobor in Yeniseysk, the town in Krasnoyarsk krai where my Mom went to college

(the church was built in 1793-1818). Photo source - Wikipedia

Unique details of a church in Irkutsk, the city near Baikal Lake in Siberia.

Amazing example of Siberian Baroque. Photo source - Wikipedia

Unique details of a church in Irkutsk, the city near Baikal Lake in Siberia.

Another amazing example of Siberian Baroque. Photo source - Wikipedia

Make sure to click on other languages in the Wiki article, to see more photos of amazing samples of Siberian Baroque (articles in French and Czech languages have the most photos).

I hope you enjoyed my Baroque improvisation, and I am really looking forward to seeing your interpretations of MODISH MATRONS March theme. Let's get those creative juices going!

Cape - thrifted, old

Lace blouse - Eloquii (last year)

Skirt - thrifted (but brand new)

Lace tights - Lane Bryant (on sale)

Velvet booties - via Nordstrom Rack (last year)

Faux pearl necklace - via TJ MAXX (last year)

Earrings and purse - vintage, thrifted

Linking up with Patti's Visible Monday 

Come join all the beautiful ladies from around the world!

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