Memento Mori

This outfit was originally supposed to include tights and short boots, but since my new tattoo was still pretty sore this morning I decided to leave my legs bare. The new design looks really good so far; it still needs color and shading, but the artist I go to is booked out for the next several months, so I will have to live with it in its unfinished state for awhile. In the outfit picture to the left you can see the placement of it and get an idea of the size. I had originally conceived this as a very small, simple design -- you can see how well that idea worked out.

Memento mori translates roughly to, "Remember that you will die." It sounds a little morbid at first, but really it has to do with living life to the fullest because our time here is limited. I came across a lot of examples of memento mori when I traveled in eastern Europe the last couple of vacations, and it sort of struck a chord with me. Curious Expeditions has an interesting article on the concept of memento mori as applied in the Sedlec Ossuary, one of the places I visited, here. The look of the design is based on the art nouveau style of Alphonse Mucha, some of whose work I was fortunate enough to see when I was in Prague. As the idea for this tattoo developed, the complexity of all the concepts I was trying to incorporate ended up necessitating a larger image.

Okay, on to the outfit. I got this little ecru dress from Lady Language for $20 on sale. The knit fabric is very soft, swingy, and comfortable. The button-down shirt is from Old Navy, short-sleeve jacket by BCBG Max Azria, and shoes by Cole Haan. I love the ruching and button details on the bodice of this dress, and am looking forward to trying out other ways to wear it that will show off those details more.

Tonight I'm heading to Minneapolis for an extended weekend, so there won't be a post on Monday. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, and I'll be back with more work outfits on Tuesday.