What Is Artsy Fashion and How Do You Pull It Off?

Many people are curious about an artsy fashion style but aren't sure how to achieve it. There's some trial and error involved. Almost every fashionista starts by buying something like a fabulous hot pink fur coat, only to wonder how to style it with a subdued closet.

How do you pull off an artsy look? The answer is simple, in theory: Stop worrying about whether you're pulling it off. Instead, think about what you want your fashion to convey about yourself. Reflect on your strongest style influences, especially the ones that aren't the most trendy or conventional. Then, you can blend elements of an artsy style into something that makes your personal aesthetic shine.

What Are the Elements of an Artsy Fashion Style?

An "artsy" style can mean many different things. It can help to break this type of fashion down into smaller components, analyzing it in a similar way to visual art or interior design.

Texture

Physical texture is a great starting point for branching out with your clothes. Most everyday pieces and business basics stick to a smooth and even texture, making them blend in with the crowd. Stand out with a chunky knit, fringe elements, pleating, fur and other loud fabric choices.

Rhythm

Visual rhythm is an underrated part of outfit building, especially if you reach outside the box with artsy elements. Rhythm refers to how and when certain visual elements repeat throughout a piece of art.

Wearing an all-over bold print is an easy way to add visual rhythm to an outfit. You can further develop the rhythm by matching accessories like shoes, belts and earrings to a single theme or color in the print.

Color

A solid color palette makes your wardrobe more artistic and positively affects your mood at the same time. Putting neutrals aside for a few outfits and playing with bold color schemes can help you find your personal artsy fashion style. Here are just a few artsy and creative color schemes you can try:

'70s-inspired reds, oranges, yellows and browns
Royal blues, purples and fuschia
Bold hot pink and red
Leopard print and a neon accent color

If you're wondering why a color doesn't pop on you like it does on a model, it's probably a mismatch in undertone. Those who prefer silver jewelry tend to have cool undertones, while those who wear a lot of gold have warmer ones. These are just rough guidelines, however. Try different shades until you find a perfect color match.

Silhouette

The fastest way to shift your look from the ordinary to a runway-worthy artsy fashion style is to lean hard into unconventional silhouettes. To determine the silhouette of an outfit, mentally fill in all of the space the clothes take up with black and picture a plain white background. That's the clothes' silhouette — the most basic lines and shapes.

Pair oversized items with smaller items to invite contrast in your silhouettes. Wide-leg, high-waisted pants are an accessible entry point into the dramatic lines lifestyle. From there, voluminous fabrics such as tulle really turn up the visual volume. A huge puff sleeve or a ruffle skirt are two more fun ways to play with exaggerated silhouettes.

Theme

The last consideration when making your outfits artsy isn't strictly visual. Have you ever aimed for an artsy fashion style but ended up looking a little random instead? Prevent this by choosing one theme or two artfully contrasting themes.

Each print, cut and color has a built-in set of connotations. Pinstripes, suspenders and structured jackets scream masculine businesswear. Ruffles, a corset and soft pink give off a very different vibe. Distressed and bedazzled speak to different periods and even different politics. Fashion emerges from the spaces around and between an outfit's distinct cultural influences.

4 Examples of Artsy Fashion Style You Can Wear Every Day

All of those elements can be a lot to chew on, so here are some concrete examples of wearable artsy fashion.

Colorful Print Outfit

Bold prints are an entry point into a more artistic fashion style and are surprisingly versatile in styling. You can either coordinate the colors in the print or contrast a busy print with a plain black top. A printed midi skirt with additional pleating checks the boxes of both color and texture.

Artsy Monochromatic Moment

Dressing in all one color is a current celebrity artsy fashion style that's not hard to pull off. You can either stick to a single shade or combine different shades and textures of the same color.

Sydney Sweeney did both on a recent trip to NYC. One monochromatic look was head-to-toe lilac, while another played with different textures and tones of brown. In the lilac dress, Sweeney blended a modern turtleneck and open-toe go-go boots with an old-fashioned corset belt and floor-length flouncy skirt. The brown outfit was all about texture, contrasting buttery chocolate brown leather with brown pantyhose and rough tweed shorts.

Batwing Silhouette Dress

The batwing sleeve is a dramatic silhouette that evokes the 1930s Art Deco era of fashion, which literally has "art" in the name. Style the dress with other art deco nods, such as large jewelry, to further evoke this place and time. A pair of boldly printed tights or thigh-high boots can put a modern spin on the aesthetic.

Gender-Bent Wear

One of the most potent themes in fashion has always been gender. Blending 'men's clothes' and 'women's clothes' is such a potent source of inspiration that high fashion houses have been doing it for decades on end. Whether you go the Madonna route of pairing suit jackets with lacy lingerie or move towards a contemporary, gender-fluid approach to casual, artsy fashion style, working with this theme can give you plenty of outfit ideas.

Explore Artsy Fashion Style With Creative and Unconventional Pieces

You don't have to break the bank to discover your own artsy fashion style. At Kate Hewko, we have all the latest pieces at affordable prices and in an accessible range of sizes because fashion is for everyone. Browse our best-selling pieces to see what flavor of artsy fashion speaks to you.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a46988555/sydney-sweeney-two-waist-cinching-outfits-new-york/

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-rhythm-in-art-definition/

https://www.fashiondive.com/news/gender-norms-change-in-fashion/654035/