Style Imitating Art: “Puppeufee

Style Imitating Art…

Welcome to Style Imitating Art which comes from Salazar, Shelbee, and me. You can think of this series as fashion meets art museum! SIA challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. Shelbee is this week’s curator with this colorful piece of art. I hope you enjoy this post, the information, and my interpretation.

How it works…

Every other Monday one of us selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. We then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, we share our outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. Shelbee chose this week’s art work for this round of Style Imitating Art. If you’d like, you can read why she chose it here. Please send your photo to Shelbee by Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025 by 10 pm EST. Style Imitating Art is an interesting way to inspire your outfits. You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.

The artist…

Buckle up, grab a beverage, this is a long one, my friends! Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald was born on July 24, 1900 in Montgomery, Alabama.  Her father, Anthony Dickinson Sayre, was a politician, and her mother was Minerva Buckner Machen.  She was the youngest of six children so you can imagine how spoiled she was…by her mother. Her father was distant and very strict.  He was the author of the 1893 Sayre Act which disenfranchised Black Alabamians and led the way for the racially segregated Jim Crow era in the state.  In fact, Zelda came from a very influential Southern clan who had owned slaves prior to the Civil War.  Her father’s uncle was a Confederate general as well as the second Grand Dragon of Ku Klux Klan in Alabama.  Her family built the home in which Jefferson Davis once lived as the First White House of the Confederacy.  Biographer Sally Cline wrote that Zelda “claimed that she drew her strength from Montgomery’s Confederate past.”  Her family employed about six domestic servants, many of whom were Black.  Zelda, privileged child of wealthy parents, knew nothing about domestic duties.  She took dance and ballet lessons, enjoyed the outdoors, spent summers in North Carolina, drank gin, smoked cigarettes and flirted with boys.  One of her childhood friends was the future movie star, Tallulah Bankhead.  There is no doubt that Montgomery society marked Zelda as a wild child. 

A bit more…

In 1918, Zelda met her future husband, F Scott Fitzgerald.  He was a penniless author, already involved with Chicago socialite, Ginevra King, and had volunteered for the US Army during World War I.  He just happened to be stationed at Camp Sheridan, outside Montgomery.  He would continue to write to Ginevra even as he began courting Zelda, begging her to take him back.  It was during this time Scott began to infuse his novels with characteristics and even quotes from Zelda.  In her eyes, he would probably never amount to much, and she needed a lot to keep living in the style to which she had been born!  Eventually, Scott would sell The Romantic Egotist renamed to This Side of Paradise.  While wooing Zelda, he received a letter from Ginevra letting him know of her impending marriage.  Within days of that letter, Scott professed his love for Zelda.  As the publishing of his book faltered, Zelda declined to marry Scott.  In the end, Zelda fell for him, and the two married on April 3, 1920 in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.  By that time, Scott’s feelings for Zelda weren’t exactly the best for marriage.  He told a friend, “I wouldn’t care if she died, but I couldn’t stand to have anybody else marry her.”  Can you even imagine?  I really hope she never knew about that.  But, it appears the feeling may have been mutual. 

Still more…

The two hit New York City society with a bang!  The newly wed Fitzgeralds were kicked out of the Biltmore Hotel as well as the Commodore Hotel due to disturbing the other guests.  They threw outrageous pranks usually fueled by alcohol.  After hiring a taxi, they would ride on the hoods.  Their drunken escapades usually meant they fell asleep at social gatherings, but in private, they fought.  And, everyone noticed, including the newspapers.  They were dubbed the enfants terribles of the Jazz Age.  After a month of being evicted from hotels, the pair rented a cottage in Westport, Connecticut so Scott could work on his second novel.  Remember how Zelda had no domestic abilities?  Scott’s clothing began disappearing.  He discovered his dirty laundry in a closet…piled all the way to the ceiling.  Zelda had no idea what to do with them, so she pitched them into the closet.  Scott then employed two maids and a laundress.  Zelda’s domestic failures became fodder for humorous magazine articles.  Harper & Brothers asked for a recipe.  Here’s what she wrote:

“See if there is any bacon, and if there is, ask the cook which pan to fry it in. Then ask if there are any eggs, and if so try and persuade the cook to poach two of them. It is better not to attempt toast, as it burns very easily. Also, in the case of bacon, do not turn the fire too high, or you will have to get out of the house for a week. Serve preferably on china plates, though gold or wood will do if handy (source).”

Even more…

In February 1921, Zelda found herself pregnant.  Scott was working on his second novel, The Beautiful and the Damned.  Zelda wanted the baby born in the South: Scott refused.  In fact, Frances “Scottie” Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on October 26, 1921.  As she awakened, Scott recorded her words:  “Oh, God, goofo I’m drunk. Mark Twain. Isn’t she smart—she has the hiccups. I hope it’s beautiful and a fool – a beautiful little fool.”  Those words are very similar to Daisy Buchanan’s as she speaks of her daughter in The Great Gatsby.  In The Beautiful and the Damned, Scott used parts of Zelda’s diary and letters.  Anthony Patch is modeled after himself and Gloria is “the chill-mindedness and selfishness of Zelda.”  Zelda was fully aware of this as she proofread the drafts.  The literary editor of the New York Tribune, Burton Rascoe, asked Zelda to write a satirical review of The Beautiful and the Damned as a publicity stunt!  She pretended, for the sake of the review, to read the novel for the first time.  She wrote, “”on one page I recognized a portion of an old diary of mine… and, also, scraps of letters which, though considerably edited, sound to me vaguely familiar. In fact, Mr. Fitzgerald—I believe that is how he spells his name—seems to believe that plagiarism begins at home.”  This led to Zelda getting offers form other magazines to write stories and articles which Scott edited.  One essay was about the Flapper.  Zelda was considered the First Flapper so one would assume she knew quite a bit about the topic!  In June 1922, Metropolitan Magazine published her essay, titled “Eulogy on the Flapper.”  She wrote,

“The Flapper awoke from her lethargy of sub-deb-ism, bobbed her hair, put on her choicest pair of earrings and a great deal of audacity and rouge and went into the battle. She flirted because it was fun to flirt and wore a one-piece bathing suit because she had a good figure … she was conscious that the things she did were the things she had always wanted to do. Mothers disapproved of their sons taking the Flapper to dances, to teas, to swim and most of all to heart (source).”

Still more…

In March 1922, Zelda had the first of three abortions.  Her sister, Rosalind, ascribed Zelda’s later mental deterioration to the side-effects of the less than safe abortions.  It was also during this time, the Fitzgeralds began dealing with their mounting debt.  They left for Paris in April 1924, believing it would be more frugal in Europe than New York City.  They settled in Antibes on the French Riviera.  Scott worked on edits of The Great Gatsby; Zelda fell for a French naval aviator, Edouard Jozan.  Zelda soon asked for a divorce, and Scott challenged Jozan to a duel after locking Zelda in their villa.  Jozan, who vehemently denied any affair, left the Riviera, and Zelda may have tried suicide with sleeping pills.  Of course, this found its way into The Great Gatsby which was finished in October 1924.  The Fitzgeralds celebrated by traveling to Rome and Capri.  It was during this time that Zelda began painting.

Even more…

A recurring theme throughout their marriage was infidelity and bitter fights.  This continued when Zelda accused Scott of having an affair with Ernest Hemingway.  He realized Zelda’s mental health was shaky when she claimed Al Jolson was greater than Jesus Christ (that seems a strange metric, though).  Zelda again attempted suicide by throwing herself down a marble staircase because Scott was talking to Isadora Duncan.  In December 1926, the two returned to the States even as their marriage further devolved.  After several incidents (including setting fire to her clothing in a bathtub), Zelda was diagnosed as schizophrenic.  After Scott commented that all great women use their talents constructively, Zelda set about finding a talent that was hers and hers alone.  She settled on becoming a prima ballerina at the age of 28.  Despite her age, Zelda began practicing under Catherine Littlefield, director of the Philadelphia Opera Ballet.  When the couple returned to Europe in 1928, Scott paid Russian ballerina, Lubov Egorova, to tutor Zelda in Paris.  In September 1929, the San Carlo Opera Ballet Company in Naples invited Zelda to join their ballet school.  To prepare for this, she practiced for up to eight hours a day.  Eventually, that would become a 24 hour a day preoccupation.  Ultimately, she collapsed from both physical and mental exhaustion. 

Mental health…

As her mental health deteriorated, Zelda attempted suicide again.  During a car ride to Paris along the mountainous roads of the Grande Corniche, Zelda grabbed the steering wheel and tried to kill herself, Scott, and their nine-year-old daughter, Scottie by driving off a cliff.  Zelda was admitted to the Malmaison Clinic near Paris on April 23, 1930, for observation.  On May 20, 1930, she moved to Valmont sanatorium in Montreux, Switzerland.  But, that facility didn’t treat mental illness, so she moved to a psychiatric facility in Prangins on June 5, 1930.  Dr. Oscar Forel tentatively diagnosed her has schizophrenic, but he thought her mental state was even worse than that.  He wrote:

“The more I saw Zelda, the more I thought at the time {that} she is neither {suffering from} a pure neurosis nor a real psychosis – I consider her a constitutional, emotionally unbalanced psychopath – she may improve, {but} never completely recover.”

A diagnosis…

On November 22, 1930, Dr. Eugen Bleuler, one of the leading European psychiatrists, validated Dr. Forel’s diagnosis.  These days, psychiatrists believe Zelda had bipolar disorder rather than schizophrenia.  She was released from Prangins in September 1931.  Scott hired nurses and attendants to watch over her all the time.  Sometimes, her behavior was just odd, but more and more, Zelda became a danger to herself and others.  She tried to throw herself in front of a train and attacked a guest at their home for no reason.  The Fitzgeralds traveled to Montgomery to visit Zelda’s father who was dying.  Following his death, her mental health deteriorated once again.  In February 1932, Zelda insisted on readmission to a mental hospital.  She was admitted to The Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.  Dr. Adolf Meyer, an expert on schizophrenia, oversaw her treatment.  As part of her routine, Zelda had to write for at least two hours.  This manuscript became Save Me the Waltz which she sent off to Scott’s editor, Maxwell Perkins.  His words?  “A slightly deranged quality which gave him the impression that the author had difficulty in separating fiction from reality.”  It also greatly resembled Scott’s 1922 work, The Beautiful and the Damned. Of course, Scott was called in for editing.  He recognized certain plot points from his current novel, Tender is the Night.  At first, Scott was annoyed, but then he realized Zelda’s book could earn them some cash as the Fitzgeralds were always teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.  Some of that was due, in fact, to Zelda’s medical costs.  The book was published and widely panned by the critics, which definitely did nothing for Zelda’s mental well-being.  Some of the royalties were used to pay off Scott’s debts to his publishing house.  After being discharged from the Phipps Clinic in March 1932, Zelda joined Scott and Scottie in Baltimore.  Her mental illness was readily apparent as H.L. Mencken, literary editor of The American Mercury, wrote in his diary that Zelda “went insane in Paris a year or so ago, and is still plainly more or less off her base.”  A year later, Mencken would again see that her mental illness was extremely evident, and her mind was “only half sane.”  He also realized Scott couldn’t write novels as he had to write magazine stories to pay for Zelda’s psychiatric treatments.

Further deterioration…

From then on, Zelda would be hospitalized periodically for the rest of her life at sanatoriums in Baltimore, New York, and Asheville.  Once, Scott and some friends took Zelda out for a bit in North Carolina.  As they ate, she became more and more remote and quit talking.  One the way back, she pulled open the car door and threw herself out in yet another attempt at suicide.  During this time, she continued to paint and wrote a farce called Scandelabra in 1932.  Of course, Broadway producers said no, but Scott arranged for it to be staged by a Little Theater group in Baltimore.  He also sat through the rehearsals.  Sounds like a good guy, right?  Well, a year later, in a therapy session with Scott and a psychiatrist, he said she was a “third-rate writer and a third-rate ballet dancer.”  This was when Zelda began painting watercolors.  Scott, who must have had his own demons, arranged an exhibition of her work…13 paintings and 15 drawings in New York City.  Again, the rejection was heavy.  The New Yorker said they were “paintings by the almost mythical Zelda Fitzgerald; with whatever emotional overtones or associations may remain from the so-called Jazz Age.”  But there were no descriptions of the actual art in the review!  Zelda, following this harsh criticism, went missing.  Ultimately, she was found in Central Park…digging a grave.  As she became more and more reclusive and violent, Scott placed her in the Highland Hospital in Asheville.  He returned to Hollywood for a $1000-a-week job with MGM in 1937.  He would continue to live on the West Coast, screenwriting as well as philandering and visiting Zelda on the East Coast.  In April 1939, Zelda was supposed to go to Cuba with a group from the mental hospital, but she missed the trip.  So, the two went together.  It was a mess as Scott tried to stop a cockfight because of animal cruelty.  He was beaten for his attempt.  When he returned to the States, he tested positive for tuberculosis and was hospitalized.  Zelda returned to Highland Hospital.  Scott wrote to Zelda in May: “You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, most beautiful person I have ever known.”  The two would never see each other again.

Deaths…

On December 21, 1940, F. Scott Fitzgerald died of occlusive coronary arteriosclerosis.  He was 44 years old.  Zelda did not attend his funeral in Rockville, Maryland.  Zelda read Scott’s unfinished manuscript, The Love of the Last Tycoon, and asked Edmund Wilson to edit the book and eulogize Scott’s legacy.  She began working on a new novel, Caesar’s Things.  She would work on it during her intermittent stays in the hospital.  Unfortunately, she never got better, and the book didn’t get written.  By September 1946, Zelda had undergone over ten years of electroshock therapy and insulin shock treatments.  These resulted in severe losses of memory and apathy.  She returned to Highland Hospital in November 1947.  She was no better and maybe even worse.  On the night of March 10, 1948, the hospital kitchen caught fire.  Zelda was sedated and locked in her room on the fifth floor.  She may have been awaiting shock therapy.  The fire, moving through the dumbwaiter shaft, spread to every floor.  Nine women, including Zelda, died that night.  She was identified by dental records. 

A little vindication…

Nancy Milford wrote a biography of Zelda in 1970.  After its success…it was a finalist for the National Book Award…scholars began looking at Zelda’s artistic output in a different light.  Save Me the Waltz began being studied, comparing and contrasting it with Scott’s Tender Is the Night.  Her paintings were exhibited in both the United States and Europe.  In 1992, Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame.  You can read even more about Zelda here. It’s interesting to note the Fitzgerald’s daughter, Scottie claimed neither Scott’s alcoholism nor Zelda’s mental illness were as bad as is written. In fact, she always said she had a wonderful childhood.

The artwork…

Although I couldn’t find where the original painting is, Google tells me it’s probably in a private collection.  If you’d like your own copy of the painting, you can buy the book, Zelda: An Illustrated Life:  The Private World of Zelda Fitzgerald by Eleanor Lanahan, her granddaughter.  You can see some of the paintings included in the book here.  The original painting is a gouache on paper, measuring 11.5 x 18.75 in (29.2 x 47.6 cm). 

“Something may be a sort of fulfillment of yourself, and it may not be great to other people, but it is just as essential to yourself as if it is a great masterpiece (source).”

While she didn’t necessarily have much success in writing or painting while she was alive, her work is being examined through a different lens these days: “A product of her time, Fitzgerald’s paintings demonstrate her extensive knowledge of Cubism and Surrealism. Most of her works are often described as cityscapes—cities such as New York City and Paris, the metropolitan incubators for artistic experimentation. She also painted lampshades that narrate animated circus scenes, psychedelic biblical allegories, and the most fantastical paper dolls for her daughter. Fitzgerald exhibited her work only once during her lifetime; one reason why she remained largely unknown as an artist until the late 20th century (source).”  Some of her work can be found in Asheville, NC, where she once lived, in the Collection of the Asheville Art Museum. 

Zelda Fitzgerald was a resident of Asheville during the latter years of her life, and one of her masterpieces is a permanent resident in the Collection of the Asheville Art Museum.  I searched through their database, however, and couldn’t find anything.  After her death in 1948, the Sayre family cleaned out her studio and held a yard sale.  One person, Louise Brooks, an art dealer, found a three-foot stack of Fitzgerald’s work.  She purchased several sketchbooks and one piece of art.  She went back the next day only to find the family had burned them.  Her sister even said, “I want the yardman to burn them.  I don’t want them to be seen (source).”

My interpretation…

I think I’ve mentioned before that I sometimes misremember the art. In this case, I was sure there were lots of black lines! Alas and alack…I was wrong! But, there is black, and there are lines so I think my fun new Snag tights fit the artwork just fine! I think I have worn this particular Rhiannon kimono from Kantha Bae for at least two other Style Imitating Art challenges. But, when it works, it works! This is from a couple of years ago, and they haven’t made any Rhiannons for a bit now. As you know, Kantha Bae clothing is unique and pretty much one of a kind so I wouldn’t have been able to link to my exact kimono anyway. If you love it, you might try Poshmark, though I’ve never found any there.

The Lewk!

These mules are so old, but, gosh, are they comfortable! They are by Josef Seibel and were purchased in 2010 when I was on the hunt for shoes that wouldn’t make my Frankenfoot ache! Even though they’re not shoes that tie, they have this wonderful arch support. The buckle on one of them broke a few years ago, and Nigel was able to fix it for me. They were a little slippery with these tights, though! I kept the jewelry minimal though with large clear quartz (or topaz) earrings from my eBay days. The necklace is from Katia designs and is the Rainbow Crystal Choker with a quartz “stone.” Did you notice I mixed my metals between my buckles, my earrings, and my necklace?

Wrap it up, Marsha!

I think the Fitzgeralds, for all their wealth and notoriety, were just tragic. Would Scott have been an alcoholic? Would Zelda have suffered so with mental illness if they hadn’t met? I have always found them to be so fascinating, but I had no idea what their lives were truly like. So, can we talk?  Were you as shocked as I was to discover Zelda’s connection to the KKK? What do you think of Scott’s profession of love after discovering his “true” love was getting married? Which books of either have you read?  Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.

Don’t forget…

If you want to be included in the Style Imitating Art round up, send Shelbee your photo by 10:00 pm EST, Tuesday, December 2nd. Photos of everyone participating will appear on her blog on Wednesday, December 3rd! If you’re interested in joining us, consider all of your options…the colors, the textures, the feelings they evoke! Come on, give it a try! I think you’ll love it!

Thank you!

I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

Affiliate links, discount codes, and such:

Just a reminder that Marsha in the Middle may use an affiliate link. Those links are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link I provide, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.  My April Cornell code, MARSHA15, now works, but it’s good for only one use. You can get $15 off $100. I’d wait and use it during a really good sale! Use Marsha12 for 12% off any order of $65 or more at Buykud. I have also become a Halftee Partner. Use the code, MARSHA2098, for 20% off any purchase. I am also an affiliate with Clara Sunwoo. You can use my code, MARSHA10, for 10% off your entire order. Use MARSHA15 at Katia Designs for 15% off your order. In case you didn’t know, bloggers must disclose the use of affiliate links. That’s why I include this in each post.

Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

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