It’s the ultimate form of window-shopping: You go to a museum and make a mental note of the clothing you wish you could wear. Maybe you’re drawn to Flaming June’s sheer marigold dress, or Nike of Samothrace’s draped, wind-swept tunic, or Madame X’s sumptuous velvet gown held up by a delicate chain strap.
This year, the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, “Costume Art,” concerns itself with how bodies interact with fashion, and how fashion interacts with art—so we asked Vogue staffers and friends to share their favorite piece of clothing from a painting, sculpture, or fine-art photograph. Where some were transfixed by figures from the past (just take stylist Bailey Moon, who has long been obsessed with Anne Boleyn, or Chloe Malle, who admires the Comtesse d’Haussonville’s styling chops), others, like Vogue’s Nicole Phelps, were drawn to more abstract representations of clothing, such as the gleaming gold robes in Klimt’s The Kiss.
But that’s not all. See the rest of our favorite fashion moments from art below.
Primavera by Sandro Botticelli, ca. 1480
Primavera by Sandro Botticelli, ca. 1480Photo; DEA / G. NIMATALLAH/Getty Images
My dad passed down his love of Greek mythology and my mom her love of Botticelli, so Primavera is particularly exalted in my book. I’ve always been especially drawn to Botticelli’s ability to depict diaphaneity—particularly with the Three Graces. While they’re linked by their breezy, sheer white dresses, each has her own distinct look: Pleasure in a gathered number with a brooch at her sternum, Chastity in a drapey one-shoulder, and Beauty in romantic puffed sleeves, a gold necklace, and a pearl headpiece. —Hannah Jackson, fashion writer
Portrait of Anne Boleyn, artist unknown, late 16th century
Portrait of Anne Boleyn, artist unknown, ca. late 16th centuryPhoto: Robert Alexander/Getty Images
