Black Archives - Page 64 of 87

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

Chic Sightings: RED, in the cold weather

December 9, 2014

We spent a lot of time running around the city this past weekend, finalizing the purchase of gifts for a host of interesting small people! And one of the best parts of being outside on a crisp winter day in Chicago is the people-watching... The first outfit was pretty conventional, albeit beautifully pulled together; what made it really stand out were her bright red shoes! It was a perfect day for a statement shoe, as there was no precipitation, and nothing slushy on the pavement. She was young, with long dark hair and a brilliant smile. No red lipstick, although that certainly would have been an option! And the 2nd ensemble was notable for a few reasons. First off, a white coat is a brave ... View the Post

What IS my signature accent color? Capsule Wardrobe Project 333

Despite the fact that I don't report in regularly on my progress, I do keep track of what I wear, and what's getting appropriate usage, and what's wasting closet space. As much as I always get compliments when I wear blue, I never really feel quite myself when I'm wearing it... except denim... And, as I always have, I'm drawn to red. Always... So when I did my readjustments for Project 333 starting Monday, I added in both a red tee shirt and a red sweater. They're from L.L.Bean (those people NEVER give me any credit for promoting their clothes, the silly louts), they're festive, and I love them. Also, I'm replacing the non-existent blue jeans with my beloved black velvet skirt! My paisley pants are too cropped, and too ... View the Post

Jewelry: How to Dress Up a Starting From Scratch Capsule Wardrobe

November 28, 2014

Jewelry is the most obvious, and the easiest, way to dress up basic garments. If you look around at some of the less "expected" stores, you can find things that you've never before seen - nobody at your event will be wearing an identical item! These items can easily be worn with a number of different Starting From Scratch Capsule Wardrobes, and many of these pieces could be used during the day, as well. And don't forget that the Starting From Scratch Wardrobes already had quite a few pieces of jewelry in them - many of those pieces are well-suited for evening wear, just as many of the pieces shown below could be worn during the day. I've opted to include brooches instead of necklaces, just because ... View the Post

How to Wear a Red Coat in a Capsule Wardrobe

November 26, 2014

Nothing seems like a better idea this time of year than a red coat - it's bright, on these darkest of days, it stands out in a forest of black, and it throws a flattering rosiness onto any complexion. But how do you make a red coat work well with your chosen neutral color? As always, I have suggestion!

Grey Neutrals

I believe that any of us who deal with long winters deserve at least a couple of pairs of gloves, a couple of scarves, and more than one hat, so I'm showing multiples which can be worn in a variety of combinations. For gloves or mittens, it makes sense to me to have one pair that matches your coat as closely as possible, and another pair that are your neutral. I think ... View the Post

Metallic Shoes and a Small Bag: How to Dress Up a Starting From Scratch Capsule Wardrobe

November 25, 2014 The first thing I noticed when I was looking for beautiful shoes and bags for your capsule wardrobes: there are absolutely RIDICULOUS, and sometimes positively dangerous, dress shoes out there. Heels that would only be suitable for walking from the limo into the nightclub, where you will be sitting for the entire evening...

But worse than that are the spikes and other lethal implements that now adorn shoes. If you're attracted to shoes with spikes, or even just with buckles or large jewels, make ABSOLUTELY sure that you've checked out how sharp all such things are, and be aware that crossing your legs, or even having your foot brush against your leg, could bruise you, tear your clothing, or even cut your flesh. ... View the Post

An Embellished Cardigan: How to Dress Up a Starting From Scratch Capsule Wardrobe

November 20, 2014

A frequent concern for many of us this time of year is how to take our normal, everyday clothes, and make them "party-worthy". I don't like to buy a whole new outfit for a party - I'd much rather figure out a way to elevate the things I already own through the purchase of one strategic item.

There are a couple of different ways to do this; today I'm going to explore the possibilities inherent in a cardigan with some sort of beaded, embroidered or metallic detailing.

If you don't want to buy a new sweater, this is a great opportunity to do something crafty - I've seen some amazing sweaters dressed up with ribbon embroidery, or hand beading, done by the sweater owner. In one case, the initial embroidery ... View the Post

How to Choose a Winter Coat to Wear With Black

November 19, 2014

This is a project I'm working on in my own wardrobe right now, and I understand from comments and emails that I'm not alone! I personally have decided that I'd like to get a longer, straight, NOT double-breasted, possibly concealed button wool coat. For our entertainment here, I pretend that I've either completely lost my mind, or won the lottery (which I have NEVER played), and I've indulged in some absolutely exquisite coats. Even if you'd never consider buying a coat this expensive, they're always worth looking at in stores in order to be better educated about quality fabrics and construction. That way, when you get around to buying your own more moderately priced coat, you can try to come as close as ... View the Post

#2 How to Choose an Hermes Scarf: Sous l’Egide de Mars

November 12, 2014 Yesterday's post was so much fun that I thought I'd take another pass through this idea: building little outfit vignettes in order to facilitate making an expensive and/or important personal style purchase. These ensembles here don't necessarily have to be about buying a scarf - I'm thinking of undertaking this exercise for the purchase of winter coats too... This scarf is called "Sous l'Egide de Mars", which means (more or less) under the aegis of Mars. It's lots of pieces of armor, as near as I can tell, and thus is all about war. Still a madly pretty piece of work, as their scarves always are.

As always with me, I'm starting with a simple outfit in a solid ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe – Packing with Scarves: Missoni #2

November 5, 2014 After Friday's post about a Missoni scarf, I received an email with this picture - another really lovely combination of colors...

There are a lot of possibilities here, of course. One could concentrate on the beige, ivory, and periwinkle, but I chose to work with the brighter shades apparent in the scarf.

In my vivid and bottomless imagination, I pictured this protagonist as someone who had to travel for work, but who's work is something rather creative; she's one who likes to wear things a little bit bold...

While many of the garments are relatively simple and classic, the accessories are anything but! And the dress... I personally love ... View the Post

Start With Art: Flowers from Rosablue – a Four Pack for Business

Turns out that this beautiful thing is from Rosablue, who prints her own fabrics...

Beyond the very obvious black background, there are quite a few colors in here that could come to the fore in a color scheme. How about black, white, and the orange and green? Or black, pale green, pale blue, and soft pink? But for today, I've chosen these colors:

As a woman in search of a red duffle coat, I'm drawn to all red coats right now, so that seemed a reasonable place to start. In my mind, the person in this vignette is heading out of town for a day of two of business meetings in which the people being visited have to do the impressing - her job is just to sit quietly and evaluate ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe Packing with Scarves: Les Ailes de la Soie, or difficult colors

November 1, 2014 What to do? You have a wonderful wardrobe of cool neutral colors of charcoal, slate, silvery blue and ivory. But you fall irrevocably in love with a scarf that has some really pronounced warm colors in it; how can it be worn?

Happily, this scarf includes lots of cool tones too - this is the color scheme I pulled together from this beautiful thing...

So the lacy wings of the butterflies in the scarf put me in a lacy sort of mood - this coat, scarf and bag all echo the lace motif without being overwhelmingly girly. I balanced them with a really simple ivory sweater and grey trousers, as well as simple black boots.

In the bag are some soft garments, in ... View the Post