Frida

Frida's life wasn't easy. Since very little she suffered from great pain and illnesses. In her whole life she underwent 35 operations in total.
It was this boredom and frustration that led her to paint. Her dad was a painter, so, naturally, he encouraged her to it (she was given by her parents a special easel so she could paint while in bed).

At that's it. Her life wasn't easy, but she always was Frida.
Not for a second she lost that intriguing expression, or her natural colorfulness. As much pain her once-shattered leg would give her, all pictures, all records will always show her as nothing else but Frida. Even the the name's become strong and resounding.

Naturally, as a mexican, I have always been a fan of her work. When I was little my mom took me to "La Casa Azul" in Mexico City, and while, I remember clearly, I was pretty shocked with here crude paintings, her way of showcasing her illnesses, seeing her huge "Las dos Fridas." ("The Two Fridas")
painting was indeed quite shocking for a seven year-old. But it's very impressive to see how her mind reeled.
Few artists have depicted such gloomy themes in a colorful way like she did.

Last sumer, in the Fine Arts Palace Museum in Mexico City as well, they held a huge exposition of her work, and her life. It was something big.
It had from her masterpieces, childhood sketches to scholar text books. But my favorite part was a room where they had letters she wrote (covered in glass/plastic/whatever of course) hanging from the ceiling, so they were all to eye-level, and you could read them all. Her hand writing was just too gorgeous to be true, delicate and feminine. And the way she expressed herself was as colorful as her paintings. You will always picture her with that enigmatic smile on her face, some witty thought across her head.

But why talk about Frida Kahlo right now?
Well, last week I rented the movie. I had never seen it, shame on me, I know. But I don't know why I had the impression it wasn't good at all. But since it's a film by Julie Taymor (who made Across the Univere, which I consider to be perfect in ever possible way) I thought it would be interesting to see Frida and that part of mexican culture through her eyes. And I must say I loved it. The storyline can be a little superflous, yes, but visually, the film is subime. It's like a postcard. Julie Taymor certainly has a knack for finding visual and concept artists.

Something else I loved about Frida, and something I realized while watching the movie (and it's absolutely true) is how she always was so colorful, so polished, such a fashionista, in her way, of course. Even in the most painful moments she was wearing gold filigree earrings, colorful necklaces, embroidered shirts, flowers in her head...She bore Mexico all over her.

And you know, she was right, sometimes we're feeling all down and tired and sick, and the last thing we feel like doing is worrying what to wear and about make-up, wa, wa ,wa...
but sometimes that's what we need to feel better. It's almost impossible to feel crappy while wearing Chanel, Christian Louboutins and an Alexis Mabille's headband, isn't it?

So in honor of one of the greatest artists ever (and please do note she's one of the few widely famous female artists) I made a couple of ensembles a la Frida Kahlo, in Polyvore...

Product Information - here

Imagine her in Paris during her exhibition walking down Champs Éysées with her colorful pashminas and flowers in her head. It is said she cause quite a fuss...Mexican embroidered dresses had to be imported. She even was in Vogue's cover. Not bad, huh?

Product information - here

This is a set of things Frida Kahlo would wear.
I absolutely loved the palm umbrella, totally her, and I went crazy searching for headbands and hair accessories for this set.
Don't forget, lots of embroidered, golden filigree, bright colors, pashminas, chunky jewelry and go big on the head: braids, flowers, headbands...

Oh and about the camera, I just thought that's a camera color she would pick.

¡Viva la Vida!

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.