Black Archives - Page 82 of 82

Wardrobe: for Carrie H.

August 19, 2011

Jacket – The Row, Cardigan – Inhabit, blouse – Topshop, Tee shirt – Maison Martin Margiela, Pants – J. Crew, skirt – Oasis, Jeans – Current/Elliott, Scarf - Hermès

Gray tee shirt – Donna Karan, cardigan – Lela Rose, white tee – T by Alexander Wang, cardigan – Paul Smith, Winter coat – Jill Sander, sweater - Valentino, corduroy pants - Gucci, Jacket – Reiss Online

Tunic dress – Emilio Pucci, Colorblocked tee – Oasis, Tee shirt – Saint James, tee shirt – Debenhams, Sweater – Organic by John Patrick, black with blue pinstripe pants – Clement en August, Sweater – Acne, Silk blouse – Diane von Furstenberg

Fringed scarf – Modcloth.com, lapis beads – ... View the Post

Maximize your ROI: A cashmere sweater

Sweater – Ralph Lauren

Beige jeans – SuperTrash, , Scarf – Liberty of London, Beige wool trousers – Chloe, Ring – Kenneth Jay Lane, Black trousers – Chloe, Laced back ankle boots – Les Prairies, Bone loafers – Church’s, Black Loafers - Prada

Khakis – Ralph Lauren, Sequined tennies - Converse, Scarf - Pucci, Plaid pants – A.L.C., Grey suede Mary Janes – Marc Jacobs, Bracelet – Kenneth Jay Lane, Print pants – Lala Berlin, Black penny loafers - Naturalizers

3-stone earrings – Oscar de la Renta , Bracelet – Carole Wood, Striped mini – Gryphon, Bone slingbacks - Aldo, Printed leather skirt – Christopher ... View the Post

Not so crazy eights: Casual winter wardrobe in Black

Jacket – Barbour, Cardigan – Sonia Rykiel, Turtleneck – John Smedley, Tee shirt – Proenza Schouler, Jeans - Wranglers, Sweater – Bottega Veneta, Pants – Calvin Klein, Skirt – Ralph Lauren

Lest anybody assume that the eight-piece core wardrobe is only for a dressy office environment, I offer up a core wardrobe that is pretty much my standard uniform through the winter. To this mix you can toss in an argyle cardigan, a couple of white tee shirts, and a black and white striped sweater, and that covers me (literally) for anything outside of work except the most extraordinarily dressy dinners. Enjoy!

1. Boots - Nordstrom, Scarf – Pucci, tote bag - Missoni

2. Brogues – ... View the Post

Wardrobe: ORANGE!!!!

Jacket – Missoni , Cardigan – Acne, White tee – Vince, Silk blouse – Marlo, Black pants – Missoni. Skirt – Piperlime, White jeans - Levis, Scarf - Hermès

I really love you all. Seriously. You take time every day to read my writing, look at my work, and give me feedback and challenges. What else could I ask from total strangers?

I particularly enjoy the wardrobe requests I get. This one was AMAZINGLY difficult: "I'm a gold jewellry wearer and love to wear orange which I think always goes well with black or white depending on the season. I would love your suggestions for a core wardrobe for a femme d'un certain age."

This is my best effort - I threw some ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe with two suits

Gray blazer – Chloé, Striped cardigan – Aubin & Wills, Pink sweater – Ralph Lauren, Henley top – Dolce & Gabbana, Black sleeveless dress – The Row, Gray crewneck – The Row, Black & gray tweedy crewneck – The Row, Cream long-sleeved tee – The Row, Tweedy skirt – Markus Lupfer, Gray flannel skirt – Vionnet, Gray pants – Donna Karan, Black lace-trimmed tee shirt – Jason Wu, Black blazer – The Row, Black pants - Gucci

Square scarves - Hermes, Sequined muffler – John Lewis, Bracelet – Blu Bijoux, Black and silver balls necklace – Kenneth Jay Lane, Silver hammered disc earrings – Dorothy ... View the Post

Wardrobe: Hermès Ferronnerie in burgundy

Blazer – Maison Martin Margiela , Cardigan – Ralph Lauren Black Label, Silk blouse with merlot cuffs – Stella McCartney, Tee Shirt – J. Crew, Pants – Maison Martin Margiela, Skirt – A.L.C., Jeans - Levis, Scarf - Hermès

Silk blouse - Aces, Trench coat – Derek Lam, Winter coat – Vanessa Bruno, Dress – Balenciaga, Corduroy jeans – J. Brand, Skirt – Diane von Furstenberg, Sweater – Stylebop, Black wool jacket – Alexander McQueen

Dress – J. Crew, Cardigan - Crumpet, Purple tee shirt - Debenhams, Tee shirt – J. Crew, Cashmere v-neck – Ralph Lauren, Pants – John Lewis, Sweater – See by Chloe, Sleeveless ... View the Post

Wardrobes mantra: Carefully Curated and Deliberately Distilled

So far, all of the wardrobes I've built have been posted under the heading French Chic, and I'm frankly becoming a bit uncomfortable with that. We've wandered quite a distance from what the original guidelines of Susan Sommers' iconic book, and I'm not sure that I should continue to exploit the title which is so indelibly hers.

Thus, I'm just going to call them wardrobes. And with that decision, I thought I should share with you the mantra I use for the building of these little gems.

First: Carefully Curated. Each garment has to make the cut. I've heard some fairly harsh criticism recently that "good enough" is really okay for one's wardrobe, and I have to disagree. Yes, in some circumstances we do have ... View the Post

French Chic: if you’re really exotic and work in advertising!

Blazer – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Cardigan – Acne, Blouse – Yves Saint Laurent, Tee Shirt – Topshop, Pants – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Bermuda Short – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Jeans – Alexander McQueen, Scarf - Hermès

One of my friends has long black hair, an outrageous personality, and works in advertising. This is for her!

White blouse – Marc by Marc Jacobs , Trench coat – Dolce & Gabbana, Winter coat – Maxmara Studio, Dress – Alexander McQueen, Pants – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Leather Skirt – Helmut Lang, Sweater – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Leather jacket – Helmut Lang

Dress – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Jacket – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Tank – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Tee ... View the Post

Back to the roots of the Vivienne Files – part 8: Vivienne’s Valise, continued

I've been asked how I managed for almost 6 weeks with the very limited amount of clothing that I took with me on that trip that will live in infamy. I had a plan, believe me!

Just for reference, remember that these are the clothes that I had with me.

For flying, I pretty much always wore jeans, with the black v-neck sweater. Usually I would put either the white tee shirt or the striped tee shirt under the sweater, depending on how warm it was where I was leaving, what the weather would be where I was arriving, and what was clean!

First thing I did in the door of every new hotel in every new city/country was to give some clothing to the in-house laundry. This is always risky, because you never know when someone's going to ... View the Post

What my French friend wears to work: The roots of the Vivienne Files

Vivienne and I first got to be friends because of packing - she works in a hotel in Paris and was helping me pull together a training session I was running - and after the first or second day, she said something like "you got dressed in my closet this morning" and then we wound up having drinks, and THEN she came up to my room to eat room service (Gratis, since she works for the hotel) and hanging out with me while I did my ironing.

Bottom line, I know the girl's packing philosophy cold, since she and I have the same approach.

Start with a base of 5 garments, no matter how long or how short the trip:

Jacket or cardigan Pants that match Skirt that matches Top that goes with the above Another top that ... View the Post

One French woman’s Small, Simple wardrobe: Back to the roots of the Vivienne Files

June 9, 2011 This is from a posting in a discussion group in which I listed the entirety of Vivienne's work wardrobe. I imagine that it has changed very little in the intervening years. Note that I've assigned "days of the week" to these little vignettes, but I don't know that this necessarily corresponds to how and when Vivienne actually wears things.

Here's the inventory... (1) Charcoal gray flannel pants, gray and black striped sweater (1b) red and gray twinset

(2) Black short knit skirt, black merino twinset (2b) black and white striped turtleneck longer (tunic length?) sweater

(3) Black pants and blazer, black and white ... View the Post