The Mysterious Garden by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh

Next up for our dress up games with Style Imitating Art…

Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, and Marsha of Marsha in the Middle, and Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw fashion inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as presenter, selects an inspiration image that will be shared by all three of us on our blogs. The following Monday, each host will share her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the presenter by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the presenter will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join either! In fact, you don’t even have to join but you can still use the art to inspire an outfit just for the sake of trying something different. If you want to share your inspired outfit, we invite you do so on Instagram or any other social media platform that you prefer. Just be sure to tag Salazar, Shelbee, or Marsha or use #StyleImitatingArt so the hosts know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

This Week’s Presenter

It was my turn to choose our next art inspiration. As the time approached to announce my choice, I had absolutely nothing in mind. So I did a quick search for the best underrated masterpieces and found an article titled Overlooked Masterpieces, Lesser-Known Artworks That Changed Art History, which discusses 10 obscure works by famous artists and their significance in art history. I chose this 1911 watercolor and ink on vellum by British/Scottish artist Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh because the colors, the ethereal symbolism, and the delicate femininity of the work really spoke to me.

The Artwork

The Mysterious Garden by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh

I’m not entirely certain what I will wear for this challenge, but my new linen LeMuse dress is the absolute perfect shade of purple so I will probably restyle it before it gets way too wintery for linen.

If you want to join us with your own outfit inspired by this intriguing painting, go get creative in your closet, snap a photo of your outfit, and send it to me at shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com by 10:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, and I will feature your photo in my gallery post on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. We would love to see more creative friends join our artsy challenges so please feel free to share the inspiration and an invitation with your friends. 

Happy styling!

Keeping it on the edge, 

Shelbee