Under the Sea with Style: The Starfish House

Style inspired by the Starfish House! From top left: Blown Glass Tumbler Barneys, Sue Devitt Hydrating Marine Minerals Eye Palette, Quadrille for Jack Rogers, Alexander Wang Aida pumps, The Starfish House by Jacques Coasteau on Above Live, Princesse Tam Tam Gaia Bikini, Hair by Mountain Ocean – A MUST!!!!!, Cobalt Baggu Bag by J.Crew, TopShop Metallic Crochet Shorts, Carven Crunchy T Band Strap Sandals, Yellow Dress with Mao Collar from Zara (that reminds me of the Yellow Tang fish!),

If there’s one thing that never ceases to inspire me, it’s the ocean.  Ever since learning about it from Genevieve Bahrenburg during her recent visit to Dallas, I’ve been reading Above Live daily. It’s a website devoted to the environment, the planet, sustainability, and simply- the beauty of nature.  The articles are thought-provoking, intelligent, and often alarming.  Although I do follow fashion and design and so many other visually inspiring subjects on a daily basis, when given the choice and looking for influence, it can be discouraging to survey the articles discussing pollution, rainforest destruction, and the damage we are inflicting upon our planet on a daily basis over the fun decor or style website.  However, with its community feel, Above Live ties it all together and doesn’t allow you to feel helpless during the process- which is so refreshing!  And, I’ve certainly learned something new on each and every visit.

I loved this picture I discovered today on Above Live of Jacques Cousteau’s Starfish House. Xerxes Cook stated in his article, “In 1963 Jacques Yves Cousteau pioneered an astonishing experiment to explore the possibilities for human life underwater. Just off the coast of Port Sudan, in the Red Sea, the celebrated aquatic explorer installed Starfish House, a submerged structure 10 meters tall and 15 meters in diameter, and inside it his wife and three other collaborators filmed themselves cooking, eating, smoking, listening to music and playing chess.” The result turned into the short documentary World Without Sun (which I now must see) and won an Academy Award. And now, “Forty-five years later, Italian artists Hilario Isola and Matteo Norzi revisited the now coral-, seaweed- and anemone-covered structure to film themselves repeating Cousteau’s experiment.”  How amazing is that?

It’s ideas like this that make me want to obtain my underwater diving certification pronto and take a trip to the Starfish House myself!  But, in the meantime, I suppose I will find a way to watch the film and dream about it with this sea-inspired attire.

My favorites from today’s inspiration board?

1.) The Zara Dress - the color reminds me of my favorite saltwater fish, the Yellow Tang

2.) The Hair Shampoo from Mountain Ocean: I bought this in Marfa the other week at El Cosmico.  It’s biodegradable and made with apple cider vinegar and panthenol – it SMELLS AMAZING! I sometimes use it as body wash as well – it kind of reminds me of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo in a grown-up way.

3.) The Princesse Tam Tam swimsuit - it’s my goal this year to purchase a swimsuit from Princesse Tam Tam, I’ve heard such great things and this one is adorable!

honorable mentions: the Quadrille for Jack Rogers sandals… gorgeous!

Read the full article on Above Live here.