Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 120 of 153

The Kindness of KathKath…

Just a quick update to let you know that my lovely partners at KathKath have EXTENDED their discount offer to readers of The Vivienne Files! Through July 26th, you can get 40% off of any regular-priced scarf using the discount code VIV40.

AND... you can get an additional 10% off of any sale scarf, using the discount code VIV10.

I know that many of you have looked at these scarves repeatedly - now's your time to grab your favorite!

When I'm feeling better, I see a wardrobe based on that elephant scarf (far right, above) colors. Black, beige, dusty mauve, jade and bone.... hmmm....

Yours, recuperating slowly, with lots of love, Janice ... View the Post

Small Changes, Big Improvements

June 20, 2015

Sometimes, you have items of clothing that are perfectly fine, but lacking a certain... something...

Example, the following. I have FIVE of these white shirts (from Lands' End - highly recommended), from when I worked at the bakery. They're really wonderful shirts, but 5 is a bit over the top. And this black velvet tunic is lovely, but it falls into this difficult gap of being not really dressy enough to be dressy, but still seeming a bit over the top with jeans.

Easy, fast, relatively inexpensive update? Buttons!

These are Murano glass - it's virtually impossible to get a good photograph, but you have to trust me that they're pretty gorgeous...

And these are very simple plastic - black with white ... View the Post

One Sweater, Six Ways

June 16, 2015 Sometimes I get the best surprises! The lovely people at House of Fraser send me the nicest sweater/top... a layered look, with a subtle white and grey underlayer - a great weight to wear on cool summer days, but something that will carry through beautifully into cooler weather. Thanks, House of Fraser people! This is the lovely goodie:

I'm an avowed believer that you should KNOW how you're going to wear something before you buy it, although in this case, since it was a gift, I let myself off the hook. But, of course, as soon as I opened my package, I was scheming... These were a few of my thoughts - everything from the dressiest silk pants or skirt, to grey jeans on weekends, or ... View the Post

Choosing Accessory Colors; More Accessory Clusters

June 6, 2015

I was thinking a lot about yesterday's winning color scheme, and so I thought it might be productive to put all of that thinking into action! The first thing I did was start browsing around looking at scarves that might be harmonious with the color scheme in question; it's important to bear in mind that things don't always have to be dye-lot matched. If someone gets a big thrill out of noticing that something you're wearing isn't EXACTLY PRECISELY the same color as something else... well, they're easily amused, and you've done the good deed of keeping them entertained. Some people will complain that their ice cream is cold...

So I found this beautiful Hermes scarf:

And I thought I'd monkey around with the ... View the Post

A Winner!!! And WHAT a color scheme…

We have a winner in the "choose your color scheme for a bracelet", which was so very generously offered to us by She-Beads. Dearest Anonymous, who choose "persimmon, heliotrope and emerald", please get in touch with me at [email protected], so I can put you directly in touch with my friends who are going to make your bracelet!

Also, please let me know what your preferred wardrobe neutral is, so that I can start working on the wardrobe possibilities. I can easily see these colors looking smashing against navy, black, beige...

I want to share with you an update to my vow to buy only second-hand this year. After doing laundry this weekend, I realized that my white jeans were... execrable... which is a great word, and an apt ... View the Post

Choosing Accessory Colors, or Accessories in Clusters

June 4, 2015 Woo hoo!!! The absolutely wonderful ladies at Kathkath send me a scarf! (fwiw, I am NOT one of those bloggers who are constantly being sent things to review - I can now count on 2 fingers the number of gifts I've received from designers...) They sent me this beautiful wonder:

It is, in fact, more beautiful in person than it is in the photographs! The size is the same as Hermes scarves - 90cm square (just about a square yard). And the fabric is soft and light without being flimsy; for those of you who find Hermes to be too "crispy" and heavy, definitely look at these. I'm so happy... And so, of course, I'm immediately figuring out what to wear it with. Black clothes - piece of cake. ... View the Post

The Bracelet Giveaway just got MUCH more interesting…

May 28, 2015

You might have noticed that, when I asked what color palette everyone preferred for a custom bracelet, there was a wide divergence of choice. Which is great - I love diversity!But when I tallied up the votes, there was no clear winner...

So I got in touch with our friends at She-Beads, and we came up with an even BETTER idea...

Leave me a comment here, tell me what 2, 3 or 4 colors you would use to make your dream bracelet. Next Thursday morning, I'll draw a winner, and that winner will have that bracelet MADE FOR THEM by She-Beads...

That's a pretty spiffy offer, I'd say!

If you're struggling for color names, check out this site, which has color names that you've never even heard of, or look at my earlier post ... View the Post

A Winner!!! And my new plan…

Remember that delectable scarf from Kathkath that they offered to us last week?

Well, Lorrie, send me your contact information so that I can forward it to Kathkath - because IT'S YOURS!

Congratulations to Lorrie, and thanks, as always, to all of you who hang around here with me and share my day...

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but Belovedest and I are moving, at the end of June. Just down the hall, but we've been given an irresistible offer on a REALLY irresistible apartment with a spectacular lake view, and so we're going to accept...

The new apartment is a 1 bedroom, which is a big step up for those of us who have always lived in studio apartments! But so far we've been very lucky - someone gave us an absolutely ... View the Post

Your Opinions, please

The extremely lovely people at She-Beads have made us an offer we can't refuse - they will make a one-of-a-kind bracelet for me to give away to one of you!

So, they asked me what color scheme I would prefer...

I have a preference - the colors of The Vivienne Files - greys, white and soft pink.

But in order to give us all a choice, I culled back through Pinterest to find the most frequently repinned images and color schemes, and the last four of these options came from there.

So which do you love the most? Which would make a gorgeous bracelet?

have a glorious holiday weekend, love, Janice ... View the Post

RED Cowboy Boots – Integrating a Wild Splurge into your Wardrobe

May 21, 2015

We've all done it. Something just CALLS OUT YOUR NAME... and the next thing you know, you get home, and you have a pair of red cowboy boots in your hands. Maybe not cowboy boots, but something that's outside of your normal wardrobe confines...

There's nothing wrong with this, if the item in question has true "whappage" - if it really strikes you, appeals to you, speaks to you on some deep level. Let's just figure out how to incorporate this newly exposed facet of your persona into your existing wardrobe.

These are the culprits in question:

And your normal wardrobe (I know, because you told me...) is grey and camel. Let's grab a couple of simple outfits with which we can work - jeans and sweaters are ... View the Post

A Dusty Pink Jacket: Integrating an Accent Color

May 20, 2015 Ahh, sometimes you receive a gift that's lovely, but... A dusty, soft pink jacket is a wonderful gift - there are few of us who can't wear this color successfully, but what if you've never before owned ANYTHING else in this color? Happily, a coat's a great thing to integrate into the rest of your wardrobe, because you can wear whatever you want under the jacket, add one well-chosen accessory, and everything will look pulled-together and thought out. Here's an example of the coat:

From here, your options are wide open! A beautiful scarf?

A beautiful bag is a great idea!

Lots of other possibilities...

And don't ... 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