The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Accessorizing Archives - Page 14 of 23

How to Tie An Hermes Scarf (or any other square scarf!)

December 7, 2015  

This is the time of year when I'm supposed to be BURYING you in links to expensive gifts, so I get lots of commissions. But NOOOOOO, I'm a knucklehead, and I'm going to talk about scarf tying today. Sometimes, I do the most un-businesslike things....First off, let's be clear - you don't EVER, in your life, need to own an Hermes scarf. You will be just fine, trust me. But they are beautiful works of art, so if the opportunity presents itself, and you find that you do indeed love wearing scarves, it's something to consider.

But you should make sure that you wear scarves a lot, and in order to do that, you want to start with much more reasonably priced scarves from places like Talbots, Nordstrom, Brooks ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Taupe

December 3, 2015  

Taupe is SO elusive, and can be interpreted in so many ways! But to me, taupe means a greyish beige, that's sophisticated and subtle.I found all four garments today at L.L.Bean. It's great to be able to find multiple pieces in a difficult color in 1 place - it improves the chances that the garments will match or at least blend nicely.

Some of you have made it very clear that you think Bean is terribly unsophisticated and boring, but I find some of the nicest, best-made, most classically styled clothes there, at prices that don't require missing a mortgage payment! We can't all wear runway designer clothes... You are free to replicate these looks at much higher prices if that's what you prefer.

trail ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Camel

December 2, 2015   Camel - sometimes, nothing looking more elegant.  

There are a lot of neutrals that work here - I could easily have used black and grey, olive and brown etc etc.

 

Camel is also very versatile with bright colors; I chose these mostly because they're rather uncommon, and I like to give you ideas that you might not have otherwise considered!

 

Muted colors are also pretty easy with camel, because it has an inherently soft quality. And I'm still showing how very useful that white vest can be for most of us!

 

As with muted colors, pastels are also well-suited to wear with camel. I still haven't found a pair of mint green shoes that I consider ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Grey

December 1, 2015  

I love grey, and it's rather easy to shop for, but you do want to be aware of the varying shades of grey (some very yellowish, and other quite blue). They don't always blend as well as one might prefer! The answer is generally to carry a key piece with you when shopping, to avoid any sort of "mis-remembering" of the color...

Yes, I've included this really great turtleneck AGAIN. I'm smitten with it, I tell you, but I absolutely CAN'T justify buying another sweater. I will probably survive the lack, I suspect!

It is incredibly easy to pair the grey core outfit with black or navy, so I thought I would wander further afield, into some warmer neutrals. This might be an excellent way to easy yourself into ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Olive Green

November 30, 2015   Oooh, olive is a difficult color to find, and when something turns up that's called olive, it could be anything from a nasty yellowish green pond-scum color, to this lovely deep and dusty green:  

  You will, I'm sure, note that these colors don't match absolutely exactly perfectly. I don't have too much trouble with that, so long as they're lighter and darker versions of the same shade of green. It's a difficult color to find and to match, but well worth the effort. By virtue of being so uncommon, you will never blend into a crowd when you wear it! And it can be madly flattering...

First up, what neutrals look good with olive? I'm quickly learning that marsala/wine/burgundy goes with ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Navy

November 28, 2015   Navy is always so elegant... These four pieces have so much potential!  

The olive accent keeps re-appearing! I really like using it as a secondary neutral with navy - it warms it up and gives it a rich glow. And of course, grey and navy were born to go together...

And I must share something sort of inexplicable that I keep running into: there are MEN'S scarves, and WOMEN'S scarves. Why, in all the worlds, would this be? But please be advised - if you're looking for a scarf in a plaid, paisley, or timeless menswear pattern, look in the men's department. They are usually less expensive too, which REALLY hacks me off.... sigh...

You knew there would, eventually, be a red vest in here ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Brown

As I mentioned yesterday, I want to look at the possibility of different accent colors for a few neutrals - today let's think about dark chocolate brown!

 

First up, the core four garments upon which we will build these outfits. Having these 4 pieces can make your life so much easier....

Ryder pants – J.Crew; cashmere turtleneck – J. Crew;  jeans – Austin Reed; ribbed crewneck - Michael Kors Collection  

I took the same approach, starting with two neutral colors that could serve as accents in a mainly brown wardrobe. If you were building a wardrobe with more than 1 neutral, you would have lots of options like this:

Olive vest – L.L.Bean; green earrings – GFG Jewellery; scarf – L.L.Bean; ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Black

November 26, 2015

Something that I struggle with a lot, personally, is my accent color, or colors. I'm always thinking that something other than red should be my "color", but who am I kidding? I keep coming back, over and over, to red...

So I was playing around with a variety of accent colors, using simple black garments as a core, and building around quilted vests, just for the heck of it...

When you're looking for these vests, make sure you look for "quilted," rather than "down," unless you specifically want down. Some of the vests with synthetic insulation are just as warm, and quite lovely; you'll miss them if you don't include everything quilted. The synthetic insulated vests are less puffy, too!

And yes, these would make ... View the Post

Preparing for the “Festive Season”

November 16, 2015  

Guess where I'm going to be next Thursday night!  Okay, don't guess - I'm going to this: 

Woo hoo! A little Beaujolais Nouveau, some tasty morsels, and TISH, from "A Femme d'un Certain Age." Sounds like a great evening to me...

But, of course, what to wear? The dress code is "Elegant Business Attire", which for me means no gym clothes, and in Belovedest's office might mean that you wear socks. Or maybe that you showered within the past 2 weeks. Elegant is NOT something that's much associated with business attire, in my limited experience!

So I'm starting with a black dress - easy peasy. I have the dress on the right. I debated between the two - I admit that I adore the idea of a dress with ... View the Post

My Favorite Posts: Accessory Families

October 17, 2015

 

I love accessory families - I think that a really productive way to analyze a potential purchase (of accessories OR clothing) is to think of your possessions as a family, and try to envision the candidate for inclusion playing nicely with what you currently have...There were a bunch of these posts at the beginning of 2015 which remain favorites of mine!  

White Outfits with Grey, Turquoise or Celadon Green Accessories  

Brown Outfits with Accessories in Light Blue, Brights, and Brown    

Denim Blue Outfits with Floral, Bright and Silver/White Accessories    

Beige Outfits with Accessories in Celadon Green, Brown and Light Blue     love, Janice ... View the Post

Accent Colors for Fall 2015

August 10, 2015  

You remember these guys, right? They're the colors that Pantone assured us would be the BIG colors for this fall and winter.Well, I've seen a lot of Marsala in the windows at Ferragamo. Other than that, I can't say that, in my hours and hours spent each day looking at clothing and accessories, I have seen any of these in large quantities. And for what it's worth, I had to do some serious hard-core digging to find some of the goodies shown below.

I think we can conclude that Pantone's either not as accurate as they would like to be, or that the market is much less dependent upon their advice than they once were. This is a real annoyance if you fell madly in love with one of the colors that was supposed to be ... View the Post