A wardrobe inspired by art

The Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art executive director's palette of black, white and gray clothing — with punches of orange and red — originates from the style of American minimalist sculptor Donald Judd.

Before he died in the mid-'90s, Judd wrote an essay about how those colors work as neutrals. Russell does her small part to keep his style alive by styling her wardrobe around that philosophy. Her favorite pairings include gun-metal gray with a light cadmium red or an orange that's not too neon, but not too red, either.

Her jewelry collection from young local artist Emily Yetman also reflects Judd's aesthetic.

Yetman's silver pieces play with light the same way Judd's installation of polished aluminum boxes do in their display at the Chinati Foundation complex in Marfa, Texas. "It's the way the light hits the object, sometimes making it appear heavy and substantial and sometimes white, or light and not really there," Russell said.

The silver disc earrings and necklaces from Yetman do the same — some appearing so bright that onlookers feel as if they're staring into the sun, and other times just evanescing into nothingness.

"The disc is light as air, yet it has a huge graphic impact," Russell said. The jewelry line is available at Mocashop, the gift shop for the Museum of Contemporary Art. The shop is currently closed, but will reopen across the street from the museum in January.

Although Russell spends her days in a museum, her style is sophisticated and casual. She's a new mother and brings her 6-month-old daughter, Ursula, to the office, so her clothes have to be comfortable and baby-friendly.

Her fallback ensemble is a pair of Wrangler jeans, a French-looking black-and white-striped T-shirt and T-strap sandals.

"I've been wearing that same outfit for 30 years, and sometimes it's in style, sometimes out and sometimes in between," she said.

None of her clothes are ever dry-cleaned — not even the linen — because "it's the single worst thing you can do for the environment." Instead, she chooses to have things washed and pressed by a dry cleaner.

Whenever she can, she rides her English "retro-chic-geek" Humber touring bike to save gas.

In its very essence, her personal style is like the art she carefully selects for the museum: It speaks to her penchant for simple, well-made designs and gives context to her position, personality and values.

Instead of heading to the malls with the masses, she plucks secondhand designer pieces by Gucci and Prada off racks at Buffalo Exchange and buys black crushed velvet pants by New York designer Alice Roi at Off 5th, the Tucson outlet for the upscale Saks Fifth Avenue department store.

"I like well-made things with great integrity," she said, adding that she cherishes the vintage leather Gucci suitcase collection she bought at an estate sale in San Francisco and leather goods from Il Bisonte. Her first Italian bag came from the actual Il Bisonte store in Florence when she was visiting in college. It was before the leather goods were available stateside.

These precious pieces sit in blue gym lockers that double as closet space in her home among vintage Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dresses and a couple of raw silk wrap dresses from Tibet that she has worn over and over for years.

She revels in the craftsmanship, history and timeless look of vintage pieces.

"The key to great art is that it's something fresh and new, but it also has some relationship to what's been done before, and what's happening now."

The same goes for Russell's style.

● Fashion advice from Anne-Marie Russell, executive director of Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art:

• Make sure to put everything out of season away, so your daily closet is tightly edited. Having too many choices leads to wardrobe disaster.

• If it doesn't look good on the supermodel, it's not going to look good on anybody.

• If real estate is all about location, location, location, then clothing is all about cut, cut, cut. Tailoring is the most important thing.

• If you are at all uncomfortable before you leave the house, change. Your discomfort will be amplified significantly out in the world.

● Anne-Marie Russell's style is a mix of vintage, discount and staple clothing. Here are a few places on her radar.

• Off 5th, 7401 N. La Cholla Blvd.

• Buffalo Exchange's East Side location, 6170 E. Speedway.

• Wrangler jeans at wrangler.com

• White vintage tuxedo shirts from Desert Vintage & Costume, 636 N. Fourth Ave.

• Apache Reclamation & Electronics, 313 W. Apache St., Phoenix. A surplus store with electronics, lockers, equipment and any surplus from industry retailers.