Jewelry Archives - Page 8 of 9

How to Wear Emeralds – the May Birthstone

April 27, 2017

Emeralds were TOUGH to work with here on The Vivienne Files - they're very rare, I suppose, because they're quite expensive and not available in the mad range of designs that you can find with most other precious stones. Nevertheless, we're more than able to find a lot of lovely ideas...

Given their price, you might not be wearing "authentic" emeralds (that's fine...) and you might just use emeralds as an accent with a larger, less-expensive semi-precious stone. It's your birthstone - wear it the way you want! Finding a beautiful scarf with a bit of bright green in it will draw attention to your beautiful jewelry, and make it all look wonderfully intentional and well-planned.

Don't ... View the Post

How to Wear Diamonds – the April Birthstone; Some New Ideas!

March 27, 2017

Everyone already knows how to wear diamonds - there's a big business consortium that's been telling us exactly what to buy, and how to wear it, for decades...

So I'm looking at something a little bit different - unpolished diamonds, or diamonds as an accent with other stones, or diamonds in unusual colors. So if your birthday's in April (or the birthday of a special someone...) and you don't want to go full-on solid diamonds, I have some suggestions:

(yes, you've seen some of these dresses before! A nice dress can stand up to a lot of scrutiny, and works well with a variety of accessories...)

And this black pleated dress? I'm just saying - it's a REALLY good thing that I'm not shopping for a dress (or anything ... View the Post

How to Wear Garnets – the January Birthstone? I ALWAYS have some ideas…

February 21, 2017

Yes, we're playing catch-up here; the idea of writing about birthstones wasn't sent to me until late in January, so I missed writing about garnets during "their" month. And going forward, I'm going to write about each stone a few weeks before it is "in season," so that if you're inclined to get something in anticipation of a birthday, you'll have a chance to plan ahead some.

Since this posts follows so quickly on the heels of the post about the February amethysts, I stuck with the same garments (for the most part) and just found new and lovely accessories!

One of the fun things about garnets is the range of shades of red available - everything from a pretty bright "true" red through to a deep maroon or burgundy ... View the Post

How to Wear Amethyst – the February Birthstone? I Have Some Ideas…

February 6, 2017

It's a question that comes up surprisingly often - I'm an adult woman, and I sometimes feel like I'm too old to wear my birthstone...

Well, if you don't tell anybody that you were born in February, or that amethysts are your birthstone, they won't know the difference; they'll just think that you like amethysts, or the color purple.

And if they do know that it's your birthstone, and for some reason they think that it's odd that you wear them... ignore them. Well, ignore this particular judgment, for a judgment is what it is. And not a kind one...

I was born in June. I wear pearls a LOT. Clearly, I don't care if someone thinks I'm channeling my inner 3rd grader!

But frankly, it's nobody's business but ... View the Post

Mixing Metallics: She-Beads Holiday 2015 “Peace”

December 19, 2015

For this season, the lovely Alexandra worked with white, gold, copper and a little touch of black, to give us a collection with some gleam and a touch of sparkle - I think she's really talented...The range of ways that you can wear this jewelry is nearly infinite - there's nary a color that won't look cool with these. I like the way they bring an unexpected warmth to colors that don't usually get warmth...

If you're going to wear snazzy jewelry, you might as well have a stand-out manicure. While I have really conflicting feelings about nail polish, there are some times when it's very difficult to resist!

I love all of the textures and patterns in the first outfit, and I think the jewelry gives ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Brooch: Boucheron Lotus Brooch

November 20, 2015

Oh. My. Goodness....If this somehow became mine, I would wonder WHAT in the world was going on, and then I would indeed build my entire wardrobe (and that of my bodyguards!) around it. What a beautiful piece of jewelry...

But even if one is not destined to own this, it can still certainly be used as a style focal point, or inspiration. The colors are straightforward enough:

Yes, I included the black of the background; I think it serves well as a foil for the diamonds, sapphires and emeralds.

So she's heading home for a long winter holiday weekend. She doesn't wear lavish, or amazing clothes - mostly things that are readily available. But in her mind, she remembers the brooch, and ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Stone: Unakite Jewelry

May 19, 2015 This was an intriguing request - one of you has fallen for jewelry with the stone unakite, and wanted to build their summer work capsule wardrobe (relaxed environment) around their jewelry! This was some of the jewelry I found:

One of the first things that I noted was that the accent color in the stone ranges from dark red and terra cotta to a much lighter and more delicate peach or apricot. While we could certainly go either direction, I opted for the lighter shade, to serve as a background for the design of the jewelry.

We wanted really simple clothes, so I found three "Cores of Four" in the three non-accent colors.

Here's where things got ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Bracelets: Effortless Memorial Day Travel

May 16, 2015

Chicago, and the Chicago area, has some of the greatest companies making beautiful clothes and accessories. Last Saturday, at that absolutely wonderful Fashion Expo in Millennium Park (aka my front yard!), I also had the pleasure of stumbling across She-Beads. Don't be fooled by cheap imitations! (I love that sentence...) These designs and patterns are FORMED IN THE CLAY, and will not rub off, scratch off, or otherwise be diminished in the way that painted or decaled jeweled can be. Their site has a video of them making beads - it's amazing that these crafts can exist and we don't know anything about them. There are creative and skilled people everywhere...

I was thinking about what sorts ... View the Post

Solid Clothes with Patterned Jewelry in a Capsule Wardrobe

March 12, 2015

I'm often asked about the possibility of wearing only solid-colored clothing - nothing patterned. Because I show stripes and flowers (and every other kind of print) so often, some people seem to be concerned that wearing only solid colors is somehow prohibited.

First off, let me make it perfectly clear that, in my opinion, you can wear anything that makes you happy. So long as you don't get arrested, or fired from your job, go for it. Let your preferences shine through. Express your personal preferences, your inner nuttiness, or your freak flag - it's only clothing, and as long as you are truly, deeply happy with what you wear, the rest of us can just accept it. Ultimately, it's up to you!

Another request I recently ... View the Post

I Love It But Will I Wear it? Ruby and Amethyst Jewelry

December 13, 2014

It can happen to any of us - you wake up in the maturity of your life to find that you own a piece or two of really REAL jewelry - the kind of stuff that requires a special mention on your home owner's insurance. The kind of stuff that could be flogged in an auction, or pawned in a moment of spite. But instead, you decide that this stuff is really quite beautiful, and you'd like to wear it more often. Much the wisest course, I'd say. Before you get carried away, however, let's address a couple of serious (and frivolous) essentials:

Make ABSOLUTELY sure that your goodies are insured. Ask a lot of questions about deductibles, conditions of when and where you were when the item might ... View the Post

Signature: Hermes Clous de Trompe L’Oeil enamel bracelets

July 3, 2013 If you have the good fortune to own a pair of Hermes enamel bracelets, you may want to use them as the basis of some outfits...

Cardigan –Closed, Earrings- Georg Jensen, V-neck – Closed, Silk blouse – Steffen Schraut, Blue cardigan – Massimo Alba, Wine jeans – Closed, Bag – Dolce & Gabbana, Grey tee shirt – Organic by John Patrick, Wine tee shirt – Organic by John Patrick, Slate blue pants – Massimo Alba, Tweed skirt – Dolce & Gabbana, Suede loafers = Patricia Green, Flats – French Connection

love, Janice

... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a necklace: Wood

Not just what to wear WITH the necklace, but also things inspired by the warmth, the texture, and the mix of colors...This excellent necklace is from the shop "3 dots" on etsy.com. Go here: http://www.3dots.etsy.com/ and see what beauties Lucie has to offer!

Necklace – 3dots.etsy.com, sweatshirt – Topshop, pants – Wood Wood, shoes – Converse,

sweater – J. Crew, leather skirt – Alice & Olivia, ballet flats – Banana Republic

Necklace – 3dots.etsy.com, cardigan – J. Crew, loafers – Coach,

cabled pullover – Marc by Marc Jacobs, tweed skirt – Mulberry, riding boots - Burberry

Necklace – 3dots.etsy.com, dress – Orla Kiely, pumps – Salvatore ... View the Post