Accessorizing Archives

Looking for a Bright, Cheerful Accent Color? Pantone New York Fashion Week Colors, Spring/Summer 2027

September 23, 2026

Always a favorite post for me! It takes HOURS and HOURS to find things that even come close to the "new" colors, but it's always weirdly fun...

I'm a weirdly fun woman!

First, a painting that I've seen a few times in the last few weeks, which reminded me of these colors:

Just a random art gift, from me to you!

What's the point of an accent color, anyway?

For me, when you have all of the core colors of your wardrobe chosen, and you own sufficient neutral things to be able to get dressed every day without effort, it's time for accent!

Maybe you already own a single item or two in a color that you've always liked, but never really made a focal point.

Maybe it's a color that you loved as a ... View the Post

Chinos? Khakis? Whatever You Call Them, They’re the Surprise Star of My Wardrobe

August 28, 2026

I keep track of what I wear - I actually have an Excel spreadsheet that I've been keep for years...

But I don't often actually USE this data for analysis... Until just a few days ago, I decided to see what I could learn about myself and my wardrobe from this diligent record-keeping.

Most frequently worn garment? Blue jeans

Second most frequently worn garment? Black jeans (I sense a theme...)

THIRD most frequently worn garment? Khakis! Or chinos! Or whatever they're called in your neck of the woods... We call 'em khakis around here....

These aren't exactly like mine, but these are really nice! All-cotton too...

I resisted buying chinos for decades. Literally decades. But I found a pair - used - very ... View the Post

Three Ideas for Two Dresses

March 18, 2026

I'm sitting here right now in a dress and a velvet jacket, with black "sneakerinas." For no good reason - I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not going to see anybody outside of my building. (which is not to say that my doormen aren't tremendously important to me!)

So I'm in a rebelliously "wear whatever you blinkin' well please" mood. And I think that almost every woman should have a fun dress..

How about something like this?

(I know, it's sleeveless. Your arms aren't perfect. YOU HAVE LIVED YOUR LIFE, AND YOUR ARMS REFLECT THIS. IT'S OKAY!)

I'm really on a rant...

First, it's easy to wear this dress with a classic cardigan and the normal accessories. This is the kind of outfit you ... View the Post

Fresh Colors – with LOTS of Green! Pantone New York Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2026-27

February 25, 2026

So New York Fashion Week is behind us, and I saw ABSOLUTELY NONE of it... We're not about fashion, we're about personal style! But it's always fun to see what colors Pantone chooses to highlight from the rainbow of things that are shown on the runway...

This year, if you like brown or green, you're going to be happy!

With no further ado (because this post takes quite long enough as it is!) I share with you the anointed colors for next fall, with some suggestions for an accessory splurge. If you already have something in one or more of these colors in your stash, it might be time to build yourself a wee "accessory family" to liven up your neutrals..

If I were adding ... View the Post

An Inexpensive Way to Try an Accent Color

January 23, 2026

One last - for now - sampling of colors!

Many of us aren't comfortable plunking down a lot of money on a piece of clothing that may not work out. So I thought that inexpensive tee shirts might be the best way to approach this...

Normally, I'm NOT going to suggest that you buy a garment that's essentially "fast fashion," but in this case it might be excusable. If you buy one of these tee shirts right now, and wear it every week or ten days until the end of the summer, you very well might wear it out! And that would be fine - you would either get the color out of your system, or have discovered a new accent that you want to wear long term.

If you're not sure about choosing a color, let me suggest that you look at ... View the Post

Maybe It’s Time for an Accent Color That Will Last Into Spring…

January 21, 2026

This post started with a BUNCH of emails in which I tried to encourage some of you to at least try a button-front shirt from Lands' End. For literally decades, I avoided button-fronts like the plague, because I'm short, short-armed, short waisted, and generous endowed...

You know how this works out - buttons that gape, sleeves that hang down to your knees. That feeling that your body is not built for this world!

These shirts might work. They do for me. I wear Petite Large, and everything is just right...

Seecond, the temperature is punishingly cold right now. A bright color or two might be nice, eh?

Finally, I realized that the clothes that stay in my closet all 12 months are my button-front shirts, which I ... View the Post

Ready for a Fresh Accent Color?

January 19, 2026

Please note, some things are selling really quickly! I do my best, but you might miss things here if you hesitate at all...

Now that we're all hunkered down with our wardrobes for the rest of this season (winter for us in the north, summer in the southern hemisphere), some of us will soon be ready for just a bit of something fresh and different...

The easiest way to do this is to find a versatile piece of clothing in a color that appeals, and then add one or two accessories (or maybe a layering piece for your new addition) to bring some brightness to your days.

For some reason I don't understand, these kinds of quarter-zip tops are a BIG THING right now. I know that a lot of the hype has been around sweaters in ... View the Post

With the Change of Seasons…

October 27, 2025

it's time to revisit the contents of our emergency backpacks or bags. Once every six months or so, these need to be updated and all of the things that are becoming dated need to be replaced!

At a minimum, you're going to need to have different clothing. If you live somewhere that gets truly cold, consider packing a set of long underwear, and some warm socks. A hat and gloves are never wrong...

Take a good look at all of your prescription medications, and your OTC medicines too. They should be at least six months from their expiration date; if this is the bag that you would grab any time between now and the arrival of spring, assume at least six months.

Back-up batteries for your phone are essential! Power ... View the Post

More Beautiful Accent Colors! Pantone London Fashion Week Spring Summer 2026

October 10, 2025

Quick question before I throw a ton of beautiful colors at you: do you wear gym shoes/athletic shoes a lot? More and more, as I search for shoes, I'm finding about half of my results are something sporty. This is particularly true if I'm trying to find a pretty color! But is this the way YOU dress? I don't want to include tons of shoes more suited to sweaty, if you're more interested in sophisticated, or sexy, or simply simple...

Ten more colors! Well, a couple of these are repeats from the New York Fashion Week. Still, a lot of appealing colors:

It comes as a complete surprise to me to realize that Shale Green is my favorite color here!

What's ... View the Post

Need a Fresh Accent Color? Pantone’s New York Fashion Week 2026 Colors

September 29, 2025

One of my favorite posts! Although it takes HOURS to find these things - but if you're going to test-drive a new accent color, it's worth it to get things that work together.

This year's colors are very interesting - I've never seen so many shades of red and pink...

But let's start with this color that looks almost yellow on the Pantone website, but if you follow their digital guidelines, it's actually this moss green. Hmm...

Finding this color was easiest if I searched for moss or lime. Acacia did NOT register, and I'm not surprised.

I quite like Alexandrite, although I can't help but feel that half of the things should be this teal green, and the other half the purple color that Alexandrite turns when ... View the Post

Want to Pack In Two Moods? Start With Two Scarves: Frances Valentine and Kurt Geiger

June 13, 2025

Happy Friday the 13th to all of us intelligent people who are NOT superstitious!

Today's question is a pretty normal one: our heroine wants to pack a wardrobe that's mostly navy, but wants a couple of different options for accents. She'd love a pretty pastel, but she's also thinking that a bright-colored option might be nice too.

Okay! let's grab a couple of scarves that appealed to me, and that will work as a perfect springboard for our heroine:

Our heroine's only going to be gone for 4 nights, and she's not going anyplace horrendously dressy. She will have to attend a meeting or two, but for at least one day she will be able to wear shorts! This is a normal trip for her, and so she's assembled a navy travel ... View the Post

Five Final Colors from Autumn/Winter 2025/26

April 18, 2025

The last five colors, until the next batch of colors appears!

I'm thinking of assembling all of the Pantone images that I've ever done - well, all the ones that I can find - and putting them into a big file that you could download. My ideas it that being able to see a LOT of these colors all together would give us all a broad base for figuring out favorites...

Let's (very carefully!) jump in:

Who doesn't look good in teal? I remember that it was always one of the four accent colors that were suggested when you needed a color that was at least neutral on most people. (the other three were coral, true royal purple, and a clear pink)

I'm becoming a big fan of Chili Oil - I could break down and buy ALL of ... View the Post