20 June 2013

The Muse: Mesa Verde


 I have never been a fan of the Southwest, I'm a New England girl and I like my seasons. I also like rain, snow, and lots of lush green trees. I have often heard people talk about the "stark beauty", but even when I've gone there I really don't see it. Santa Fe was a nice town, lots of history and a great vibrant artistic culture, but I couldn't help but find all the red and brown hills and stucco buildings hopelessly ugly. Yet people flock there, some of the fastest growing urban areas are there. Its just not for me.
 I will admit that there is something about the pattern on this skirt, which definitely has echoes of Southwester style to it. I tried to bring out the olive green in the skirt rather than the reddish-orange, still like by greenery. Even though attractions like the Grand Canyon held not interest for me...like, ever. I confess I wouldn't mind seeing the Anasazi ruins at Mesa Verde. Its a UNESCO world heritage site and has some of the best preserved cliff dwellings in the world. As an anthropologist, the Anasazi are fascinating, being marvels in both their engineering and civilization long before any other culture of their kind had even come close. There are also one of history's great mysteries, because it seems like they literally dried up in the desert sun and blew away. No one knows if tribal warfare, famine, disease, or some other cataclysmic event lead to their abandonment of their cliff dwellings. Either way it seems like a place definitely worth a look, and the name, which literally means "green table" gives my poor New England heart hope. That and Mulder and Scully spent a lot of time there on the X-Files, which really was all I needed to sell me.


 Top(cut from a dress): vintage, Chetta B, thrifted via Goodwill
Skirt (shortened): vintage, Sante, thrifted via The Bargain Box
Belt: Francesca's Collection
Necklace: vintage, Monet, via Wrentham Antiques Market (now closed)
Bracelet: Anthropologie
Hair clip: Damascene workshop, Toledo, Spain
Purse: vintage, Whiting and Davis, via Whiting and Davis Factory Store
Shoes: Naughty Monkey via Nordstrom







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