Outfit Details:

Banana Republic dress (similar here, faux leather one here, snake print one here), Ralph Lauren sweater, Candies heels (which I also wore with white skinny jeans while touring the beautiful Church Landing Inn, similar here. Love this floral-embellished pair, and low-heeled version here), Vintage silk scarf (try this one and this one), Urban Expressions clutch

How could anyone have said, “Blue and green should never be seen.” Was this person colorblind and not able to see fresh grass meet the sky? These two colors together have always been one of my favorite combinations. The key is to concentrate on the shades and keep the silhouette simple.

I love this Banana Republic dress. During the cooler months, it is a perfect layering piece with the addition of tights and boots and when it warms up it pairs equally well with bare legs. The leather is buttery soft and does not feel too heavy for this time of year. Actually, the leather is so lightweight that I could probably stretch it even further into the warmer weather with just a tee underneath.

My great aunt, Mary Helen, was a registrar of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in the 1960’s before becoming director of the Fine Arts Museum of the South in Alabama. When I was little, she would come over and give my brother and I art lessons. She always asked me which artist I wanted to emulate with my drawing for that day, and I always answered, “Matisse!” From my earliest remembrance, I have been absorbed with the colors he used. Henri Matisse was a French artist who was well known for his use of daring color. His paintings seemed a mash of all of these different shades together, and yet the inharmonious combinations are what drew me to his work. Perhaps growing up with these pictures in my head formulated some of my color sensibilities, since I unashamedly LOVE color.

I was so excited to see that the Boston Museum of Fine Arts just opened a Matisse show. This is the first major Henri Matisse exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in 50 years. The exhibit, entitled Matisse in the Studio, contains a range of works from different points in Matisse’s career, including some that have never been publicly exhibited outside of France. Boston is the only U.S. venue for the show.