Black Archives - Page 11 of 87

Do You Love a Colorful Wardrobe? Start with a Scarf – Echo 100 Scarf by Nuno Da Costa

January 26, 2024

If you love love, and bright colors, here you go!

So many possibilities, but I'm going to start with simple black and white pieces, and then add a wee rainbow of accents!

Nope, you do NOT look like a bumblebee...

Maybe you're not up to wearing ALL the green accessories, but maybe you are!

What could be cheerier on a cool day than some beautiful blue, and some bright hearts?

Ah, purple...

Red is classic for Valentine's Day, but it's also flatters many of us every day...

Romantic and pretty in pink, but with a relaxed and cool silhouette:

It would be hard to go wrong giving this scarf as a gift, or treating yourself! It's classic, but with a bright charge of colors ... View the Post

Want to Focus on Accessories? Start with a Scarf – Betty Soldi scarf by Echo

January 19, 2024

Wow. Just plain wow...

Not many colors, but who NEEDS colors when you have this?

I'm sure your not amazed to learn that matching the sepia tone of the image is impossible to find in clothing! But let's think for a moment... if this was a photograph, you wouldn't try to match the color of the frame to the photo, right? So you don't need to match the main color of a scarf - think of it as your outfit serving as the background or frame for the scarf!

This heroine is a BIG fan of accessories that channel her inner Elizabeth I.... so her clothes are simple and classic:

Wearing dress pants, and then packing a skirt and jeans, gives you a wide range of "dressiness" possibilities:

I'm pretty certain that our heroine ... View the Post

A Bold Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – The Dream by Luciano Cian

January 12, 2024

The Clients Are Nervous... She sold the initial contracts... And now that it's time to actually execute the project, the staff assigned to the work are worried about how the clients have been acting. Sigh...

So she's going to travel with them, and spend a day - maybe two - with everybody. Just to make sure that the clients are happy, and that they understand that these very technical staff are part of the same organization. Yes, they're a lot more... conventional... than she is!

The clients were maybe expecting everyone to be as colorful and unconventional as their salesperson...

So she packs up a few things and books a ticket with the rest of the crew:

She's actually not ALL that "out ... View the Post

January 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 1

January 1, 2024

Happy New Year!

Let's go! I'm going to try - for the first few months - to be logical and methodical about building these wardrobes, rather the way an adult might go about buying clothes...

Just in case you want to look back to where we started, this will take you there!

Let's start with this most elegant painting:

Last month/week, we started this heroine out with the most basic of garments - but still enough for a couple of outfits!

Since this heroine lives where it's pretty cold, she thought that dark pants might be logical - it could snow! Maybe...

And she wanted an accent cardigan...

At this very early stage, she has an almost foolproof wardrobe; getting dressed in the dark might not ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe for a Long Weekend? Start with an Echo 100 Scarf!

December 29, 2023

Only a few more days typing "2023!" Not quite ready, personally!

Let's look at three more scarves, and around each of them construct a 6-piece travel capsule wardrobe. Maybe you'd get sick of wearing the same 2 or 3 colors over a week or two, but for three days, it might just make things easier.

Isn't this lovely? And lots of possibilities...

The dark color might very well be navy in this scarf, but on my monitor it looks black, so that's what I've included. I'm sure you understand...

This weekend is a split between dressy and relaxed; I think she's ready for anything!

If you've ever wanted to own something designed by Romeo Gigli, here's your chance!

Red and orange together - without ... View the Post

Our Final 2 Capsule Wardrobes: December Six Paintings – Twelve Months

December 8, 2023

I didn't have any coffee yesterday (physicals with fasting blood tests are the worst...), and today I'm getting all weepy and sentimental about all sort of things! Not the least? Saying goodbye to these 6 paintings...

For the rest of our lives, if we happen to see an image of any of these anywhere, we will recognize them, and remember them well! What a way to learn art...

First, my very favorite. In the end, I'm true to black and white!

Our heroine ended November with a tidy 35-piece wardrobe, well-suited to most of life:

Before you buy ANYTHING, you should be able to state clearly to yourself why you either need or want the item in question. If you neither need nor want it (beyond the simple lust for ... View the Post

Need an Accent Inspiration? Start With a Scarf – Shepard Fairey by Echo

December 1, 2023

OH dear! I'm supposed to be working on the "Six Paintings, Six Wardrobes" posts today! But once I saw that Shepard Fairey had done a scarf for Echo, I was thoroughly distracted... You know his art; remember the Obama posters from way back when...

This nice thing about scarves (well, one of the many nice things about scarves!) is that even if you don't much love the image when the scarf is flat, nobody but you will probably EVER see the scarf spread out and fully visible...

Our heroine today is one of us who mostly loves to wear neutrals - especially black and beige! But she's going to be attending a couple of "medium dressy" events this winter (some including children), and she needs to maybe brighten up ... View the Post

Ready for the Week? Start with a Scarf – 3 “Echo 100” Scarves

November 27, 2023

This is supposed to be the time of year when our schedules are busiest, and when we have the most challenges taking care of everything that we want to do...

I'm not sure; I suspect that some of us run into these kinds of pressure at any time of year!

My suggestion? Every Thursday evening, and Sunday evening (your choices may vary), assemble a Wardrobe Cluster of 4, 5 or 6 garments that all go nicely together. Make sure you've chosen accessories, and that the appropriate shoes are clean and in good repair, too!

This might make weekends, and early days of the work week, a bit easier...

I see this color palette as being perfect if you're not expecting bitter cold weather, or if you just look lovely in ... View the Post

Festive Attire in Untraditional Colors? Start with a Scarf – 3 Limited Edition Echo Scarves

November 24, 2023

Today's heroines are all going to be doing something for the upcoming winter holidays - nothing overwhelmingly dressy, just events for which they wish to look nice...

And they don't want to wear the traditional colors that everyone else will be wearing! Blending in with the crowd just doesn't suit these heroines that well!

So let's start with more lovely scarves:

Our first heroine is particularly smitten with this scarf for lots of reasons, but especially because it includes brown, which is her #1 favorite neutral!

So these are the colors that she isolates from this scarf - she could have chosen at least 3 more that I can see...

This little cluster delights her - she's got Christmas red and ... View the Post

Business Travel Packing Made Easy? Start with a Scarf: Tré Seals Scarf By Echo

November 15, 2023

I've been planning to buy one (well, at least one!) of the Echo 100 Scarves, from their amazing anniversary project; I knew that something would have whappage, and be irresistible to me...

You're shocked, I know:

Okay, this might be unnecessary, but it's what we do here on The Vivienne Files!

This heroine isn't me - although it certainly could have been me in my advertising days!

Our intrepid friend today is heading to one of those cities that starts with an N - New York, Newark, Northampton, Nantes? She will only be there 3 nights, and during the day she will be training employees of her company in cool and fascinating research techniques...

The weather will be moderate - not that ... View the Post

Two Capsule Wardrobes: November Six Paintings – Twelve Months

November 1, 2023

As I sit here at the dining table typing, it has just quit snowing in Chicago. Bear in mind that nothing has stuck to the ground, and for all I can tell, it didn't even SNOW down there! We live on the 24th floor; we see snow that never hits the ground...

I don't care. I love snow!

Let's visit our heroines and see what they're doing to prepare for the upcoming holiday season. It might seem terribly early to begin to look at festive attire, but remember that the really good stuff ALWAYS sells out early...

First up - my favorite painting of the six. I think. Subject to change!

You don't have to choose, really! I know people who walk into a room in a museum and immediately pick their favorite painting ... View the Post

Tote Bag Travel that Starts with a Bracelet: Dazzling Lynx Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

October 23, 2023

Yes, she's starting early. She knows full well that her friends will start planning holiday events, and she wants to be prepared. She's particularly eager to be able to pack just a few garments in a tote bag, for those overnight, 2-party weekends...

She's not crazy - there are lovely holiday things available right now that are selling out quickly. Nobody seems to be keeping deep inventories these days!

She's starting here!

She's one of those women - we all know one - who seems to carry her own illumination system with her! She walks in the door and people start to smile...

For years, she's kept her color palette VERY limited; it gives her lots of opportunity to find things that are amusing, ... View the Post