French 5-Piece Archives - Page 4 of 6

A Ted Baker Scarf-Based French 5-Piece Wardrobe

May 7, 2018 You don't have to follow the Pantone colors - make your own very personal "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" by starting with something that has some real "whappage" in your life! For me, that might often be a lovely Ted Baker London scarf. (No, I have absolutely no business relationship with them... sigh...) You go shopping - see the scarf - and the path is clear! A couple of simple, timeless garments, classic earrings, and a summery tote, and your spring is ready to start.

Imagine if you were devoted to wearing black and white - you had this lovely 10-piece Common Wardrobe available for spring. (Yes, you've seen this wardrobe before...)

You would already have a wealth of lovely ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Palace Blue (with grey and white)

March 6, 2018

Maybe she has grey hair and bright blue eyes?

(Yes, white linen pants require "granny panties" in YOUR nude...)

She likes subtle, understated, and relaxed looks that flatter her hair...

But this spring, she decides that she's going to be ALL ABOUT her blue eyes... Just for a bit of a change - why not?

Now when she wants something bright, she has an abundance of choices! And she can still wear her subtle greys and whites when that's the mood...

I'm going to revisit each of these Common Wardrobes, but I'm going to go rogue and abandon the Pantone colors (trust me, I can't find the colors available to buy in any form I'd happy recommend to you!).

Instead of Pantone, I'm just going to show you ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Ash Rose (with Camel and Ivory!)

It's not easy to find camel, nor ivory, but I did my very best! And I included this print shirt (although I know I've used it before) because I like it a lot.... Sometimes that all that's required!So before we go off in search of a pretty French 5-Piece Wardrobe for spring, let's assemble a very practical, but lovely, Common Wardrobe:

As should always be the case with a well-chosen Common Wardrobe, plenty of combinations are clearly available, for a wide range of weather and dressiness:

Here's where the fun/work starts! Even though Pantone tells us that this is one of the colors of the year, not a lot of clothing companies have jumped onto this particular bandwagon. That said, a big of persistence turned up some really lovely ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Ultra Violet

March 2, 2018

I can't explain it, but I'm really fascinated by (bordering on obsessed with) navy and ultra violet together... I don't own a STITCH of navy clothing - I haven't since the late 80s - and I'm not about to start buying it now! But I just find it beautiful and... gratifying... in a way that I can't explain.

How about another 90% Eileen Fisher dream wardrobe, this time in navy? I could NOT find a good photo of a skirt in her navy - which she calls midnight - so I grabbed one from Lands' End. Remember that different fabrics don't have to be "dye-lot" matched to be worn together. They should look like they're from the same family, but not necessarily like they're identical twins!

As should always be the case with a ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Blooming Dahlia

February 28, 2018

Maybe black and white isn't your thing... maybe now that warm weather is approaching, you're in the mood for LIGHT...

And maybe you're very casual. Not a scarf person. Really, VERY casual, relaxed, leisurely...

Maybe start with this:

You've got every kind of white top from sleeveless to long-sleeved, and everything to cover your legs a little, a bit more, or all the way! Layer on a sweater or a sweatshirt and you're good to go.

This is NOT boring.... this is subtle!

You're ready for an update, and a bit of an accent color for the upcoming warm weather. But nothing overly dressy - why buy things you won't wear? You can update just as easily with canvas shoes, tee shirts, and a fresh ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Tomato Red

February 27, 2018 When the weather gets warm, many of us get the urge to shop! And so let's think about limiting our purchases to whatever essential, core items we need, and then a French 5-Piece Wardrobe to freshen and update our classics...First, every change of season has me dreaming of tossing out all of my clothes and buying an entirely new wardrobe from Eileen Fisher. (NOT going to happen, but a woman can fantasize, and then use that fantasy to create a better reality, right?)This is what I'd be buying, if I was going to do such a madcap thing:

Of course, when you look at this wardrobe for a few minutes, you realize that you don't need to buy ALL 10 pieces to get the desired effect - maybe just 2 or 3 of the real signature ... View the Post

Start with a GORGEOUS Scarf – The Hope Scarf by KathKath

November 2, 2017

Remember an absolutely amazingly beautiful rose scarf that I used here back in November of 2015 from a company called Kathkath? Well... I'm delighted to be able to tell you that the scarf is now available in a modal and cashmere blend, as well as in a rectangular shape!

And they have new scarves available - oh, do they have some gorgeous things!

The first scarf that caught my eye (but not the only one!) was this - the Hope Scarf. One of my dearest friends loves pansies, and this reminds me of her... and these colors are so ideal as a change of accent color for black; many of us would like a change from using red as our accent color.

Looking for these colors in clothing can drive you mad (there's a ... View the Post

Updating a Navy Wardrobe for Autumn – Start with Art: Shattered Tree by Otto Dix

October 31, 2017

I thought that this painting might be good for Halloween - it's sort of dark without being macabre or outright spooky...

I see this painting all of the time - it's in the Art Institute of Chicago - and I swear that I see navy blue in the areas near the horizon! At any rate, I think that these colors make amazing accents... One could easily include some gold, some medium blues and a bit of grey and live with the color-scheme forever.

This is my starting point today. This version of The Common Wardrobe is a hair dressier than usual - no jeans, and a pair of navy wool pants in their place. A pair of high-quality trousers can be worn almost anywhere... The navy ribbed tee shirt is a notch more elegant ... View the Post

Does the “French 5-Piece Wardrobe” Work with Warmer Colors? Start with Art! Composition by Lee Ungno

It's always a question - there are LOTS of good wardrobe ideas that work beautifully with black (and usually with navy and grey), but what if your favorite colors are warmer, and softer?

Let's start here, just for the sake of art. We saw 2 exhibits of this artist when we were in Paris - there was 1 small room in the Centre Pompidou, and then a much larger exhibit in the Musee Cernuschi (which is just outside of the Parc de Monceau, and is well worth the search!).

This just screamed to me across the room - I saw khaki right away, with amazing accents...

So let's think of a starting point that is lovely for a moderate winter - not a place where you get snow, necessarily, but where you see cooler temperatures. You don't worry ... View the Post

Start with Art: A “French 5-Piece Wardrobe” Based on Nature Morte sur une Chaise by Juan Gris

October 24, 2017

She is feeling a little bit... subdued. She was strangely drawn to this painting:

She decided to embrace her feelings of reserve and quiet, and thus decided that this was how she was going to plan her upcoming wardrobe purchases for autumn and winter.

It wasn't that she really needs new clothes - she's got a good base of her favorite neutrals. But she felt that it was time for a good snuggle, and a scarf of two to hold her tight... She could give lots of reasons for feeling the way she does right now - the weather? the change of seasons? At any rate, she's going to do a bit of shopping...

After much watching, and some almost ENDLESS searching for scarves, these are here choices. She's (quietly) very ... View the Post

How do you Choose a “French 5-Piece Wardrobe?” Start with Art: Portrait de Greta Prozor by Henri Matisse

October 20, 2017

A short and sweet post today, because I've lost ALL track of time...

Let's say that you've got a well-established core wardrobe of the essentials, in mostly black. So you decide, this fall, you're going to use this amazing painting as the inspiration for your purchases - your "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" for this season:

You think for a few days, and decide that this is going to be your guideline:

This is your starting point - more than enough essentials to keep you reasonably well-dressed for most casual to medium-dressy events through the season:

And after some careful, deliberate shopping, this is what you add to your wardrobe for the upcoming cooler weather:

In addition to the myriad ... View the Post

Are You in the Mood for a New Sweater?

August 18, 2017

As soon as I saw these sweaters on the Uniqlo website, I knew that I wanted to share them with you. My only purchase for autumn is going to be a black cashmere crewneck - I feel like it occupies a really different place in a wardrobe than a v-neck sweater, because to me it's like the world's most luxurious tee shirt. It's dressy enough to stand up to the most lavish skirt or pants, but it's still simple and acts as a great background for a scarf or necklace. Plus, some of these colors are lovely...

These aren't the kind of cashmere sweaters that will make you gasp with astonishment - nobody will mistake this for Loro Piana! But they're very good value for money, and you don't have to become hysterical if something ... View the Post