As Los Angeles is both a fashion and art capital, we at Neon Tommy thought it would be fun to play around and gain new inspiration for this summer season. And where better to gain inspiration than from art pieces located at our very own museums? Neon Tommy traveled to LACMA,  the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and MoCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, to peruse their current exhibitions.

RETNA's Para Mi Gente mural (MoCa)

An eye-catching exhibition was that of Los Angeles native Retna, whose real name is Marquis Lewis and who chose his artist's name based off of a Wu-Tang Clan song. He began as a street artist and then slowly gaining the attention of other artists and eventually MoCA director, Jeffrey Deitch, who featured his art in the "Art in the Streets" exhibit.

Retna is of African American, El Salvadorean and Cherokee descent, and he evokes a number of those influences in his art. In addition, he has an obsession with ancient hieroglyphics as well as Asian, Arabic and Hebrew calligraphy.

The vision for our first ensemble came from Retna's Para Mi Gente mural. Taking his use of monochrome patterns as inspiration, we chose a black and white tribal print crop top from River Island. This was paired with high-waisted black jeans from Asos, black ankle boots from 'My Mum Made It', and a studded, bleach-washed jean jacket. Accessories included a black beanie, black faux leather backpack, studded cross ring, 50s black rhinestone glasses and OPI 'My Paprika is Hotter Than Yours!' nail polish. 

Tit Among Cherry Blossoms (LACMA)

LACMA hosts two particularly breathtaking exhibitions: that of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai and Stanley Kubrick, an exceptional director, screenwriter and cinematographer and regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. 

Lured by Hokusai's most famous print, 'The Great Wave of Kanagawa', Neon Tommy had the opportunity to view more of his work and other works that he gained inspiration from.

Our favorite was 'Tit Among Cherry Blossoms', which we translated through cherry blossom leggings from Motel Rocks paired with an off-white crochet top from Victoria's Secret and black leather motorcycle boots from Rag & Bone. Although the boots are pretty pricey, any leather boots will do. A black studded bucket bag from Forever 21 and vintage inspired round circle cat eye sunglasses complete the look. 

(The Shining)

After browsing through the last of the Japanese exhibition, we came upon that of Stanley Kubrick's. According to LACMA's website, "the exhibition covers the breadth of Kubrick's practice, beginning with his early photographs for 'Look Magazine', taken in the 1940s, and continuing with his directorial achievements of the 1950s through 1990s."

The piece that inspired look #3 was a still of two deceased little girls, daughters of Grady, from the 1980's psycholigical thriller, 'The Shining'. The focal point of the outfit is a light blue dress with a white polka dot print and bow back detail from UsTrendy.com. This was accessorized with white wooster wedge sandles by Jean-Michel Cazabat, a 'Love Moschino' heart clutch bag from Asos, a white bow from Etsy (you can  make one yourself for an inexpensive alternative), and 'Vans' heart sunglasses (also from Asos).  The lighthearted accessories draw references away from the darkness of the film.

So there you have it! Three outfits inspired from pieces from Los Angeles museums.  Be sure to keep in mind that you can gain inspiration from any source.  The greatest thing about fashion is that you can make it your own! 

You can reach Staff Reporter Nikole Guzman here.