Black Archives - Page 55 of 82

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Silk Robe by Johanna Harmon

July 31, 2015 "Are you feeling okay? You seem to have been tired lately," her sweetheart asked her last night.

"Now that you mention it, between all of the stress at work, and the heat this summer, I do feel a little bit... wilted, I think you could say. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've been thinking that we could use a long weekend away at The Spa in The Mountains; do you think you could get a Thursday and Friday off sometime in late September?"

Can she get a couple of days off??? She would QUIT her very irritating job in order to get away to go to the spa. Does she enjoy days wearing nothing but a bathrobe (or maybe nothing), being pampered, and then spending the evening eating gourmet ... View the Post

A New Scarf from Ananda Design! or How to Wear One Item All Year

July 30, 2015

As you well know, I'm not the blogger who gets buried in gifts from designers, so when I do receive something, it's a special day chez nous! And not many days get more special than this for me - can you imagine a scarf better suited to the woman who lives in black, and who's favorite accent color is red??? This scarf, from Ananda Design; is cotton, which is unusual for me, and it has tassels on the corners, which is REALLY not something I have in my closet. But I've had it wrapped around me and played with it a lot, and it's pretty wonderful. The cotton is of course a great fabric for a scarf that you use in warm weather to ward off over-enthusiastic air conditioning, ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Coast Road by Fanny Brennan

July 21, 2015 Thanks a ton to the reader who sent this suggestion to me - I wasn't familiar with Fanny Brennan. It's particularly interesting that these paintings are tiny - the size of postcards. Her sense of humor is very appealing!

The colors in this painting are wonderfully striking and clear. I'm going to use black as the base here, but a summer wardrobe using white, with these bright colors would be lovely. And the hills in the distance are colors that suggest shades of denim.... lots of possibilities here.

Going Alone You have planned this trip for a long time. You bought athletic shoes and started walking every evening, after work. Longer and longer, faster and faster. You understand that being in ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: The White and Green Hat by Georgette Agutte

July 17, 2015

How did I make it so far into my life without knowing about Georgette Agutte? She was French, and she painted some really wonderful paintings; I encourage you to look her up. You're going to be seeing more of her on The Vivienne Files, I can promise! Someone suggested this lovely painting - she seems like she would be a kind and gentle friend, doesn't she?

As with most paintings, there are a variety of ways to approach the colors, but I've gone this direction:

"Doesn't she look like Grandma?" Your sister said, and just like that, the whole idea got started... So now, you and your older sister are going on a road trip, starting with ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti by Tamara de Lempicka

July 8, 2015 Yesterday, after I worked on Camposanto, I was thinking about the inherent utility of a wardrobe that had a khaki and white core, and how virtually any accent color would work well with those 2 neutrals. And of course, I'm thinking about tossing black into the mix... So in the comments, someone mentions this MOST elegant and compelling painting!

White would also work beautifully here:

In the interest of showing how versatile a simple, solid core of clothing can be, I kept yesterday's Core in camel, or tan, or whatever you wish to name this color.

When looking for the black Core, I tried to find pieces that had some swish to them. Tamara has always looked like ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Carnation Lily Lily Rose by John Singer Sargent

June 30, 2015 Wow! When I asked for paintings, you all came through with some beautiful suggestions... This John Singer Sargent is so lovely...

In the deepest shadows, I saw navy, although on another day, it could be deepest gray, or maybe something else - really good paintings are wonderful in the way they can have so many different aspects over time.

I'm embarking on a 4 by 4 that's particularly challenging: a casual wardrobe in soft and fluid navy and white. So VERY often, navy and white are crisp, and starched, and nicely pressed and snappy - which is pretty great. And I'm sure that at some point earlier in the fictional day, these lovely white dresses were immaculate and pristine, but NOT by this ... View the Post

One Skirt, Six Ways

June 25, 2015

Sometimes, I buy something with great enthusiasm and completely confidence that I'm going to wear it A TON, but instead it just sort of... hangs there...

This has happened with my really cool black and white dotted skirt from Uniqlo (no longer available, I'm sorry to say). There's NOBODY in the world that should be able to wear a black and white skirt like this more often than I can, but it just wasn't happening.

So I decided to apply myself to planning outfits including said skirt, and I discovered that this sweetie is, in fact, a true seasonless wonder. I paid particular attention to those core tops that I try to keep in my wardrobe all the time - the Eileen Fisher tops that can be the timeless workhorses of a ... View the Post

3 x 3 = >20; A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, White and Red

June 17, 2015

Last week, I was going out of town overnight - literally for about 18 hours, and had to pack, even though I wasn't going to be gone long at all. (this was the situation that got me started on the whole thought process of "3x3"...)

I was dressed, getting ready to leave; this is a reasonable facsimile of what I was wearing:

I knew that, since I would be home by 8 a.m. the next morning, all I really needed to pack was a clean top (as well as pajamas, and minimal toiletries), so I envisioned this:

First, I held up the top that I pulled from the closet, and took a close look at both sides of it, to make sure that it would be wearable with my white cardigan and black trousers. And then, because I'm always ... 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

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

How to Pack Light: Yellow and Black “Whatever’s Clean 13” for warm weather

June 3, 2015 You knew this was coming, didn't you? Some people really LOVE printed skirts and trousers, and they deserve to be able to pack a "Whatever's Clean 13" wardrobe too!

Figuring out what to include in this suitcase mostly requires finding a common "accent" color that's shared by a handful of your skirts and pants, and then building around that. When I was browsing things to get started, I found a few things that shared this glorious yellow, and so I chose that as my accent, and selected the black and white found in these Valentino trousers as my neutrals. First up, a travel outfit with bright, happy trousers, but a simple top and cardigan, all pulled together with yellow earrings and a yellow scarf. You ... View the Post

How to Pack Light: The ‘Whatever’s Clean 13″ in black and beige

May 27, 2015 I really love the "Whatever's Clean 13"... I love travel, and I love packing light, and I love the idea of being able to just stick your hands into your bag and pull out things that will come together in a beautiful outfit. Today, I'm looking at warm weather, but prepared for some coolness. I know that trips to the south of France, ranging into Cinque Terre and Venice, will give you some hot, lavender-scented days in Provence, but then in Venice, after dark can be positively damp and cool... You can't be prepared for every last possible need, but you can be intelligent, and beautiful... Lace is the unifying theme today, starting with this beautiful (and outrageously expensive) lace top. ... View the Post