Brown Archives - Page 11 of 42

Start with Art: Revisiting Portraits Theatraux by Natalia Goncharova

September 19, 2022

Remember this heroine? She was going away EVERY weekend, to visit friends who have a summer house. She was trying pretty hard not to let on to her co-workers that she was wearing the same outfit every Friday and Monday...

I've never had a co-worker who would notice such a thing! Except for Belovedest, of course...

As our heroine start to plan her autumn travel wardrobe, she realizes that she might have to be sort of... flexible... with her colors!

This is a smart thing to remember - the fashion police are NOT going to come after you because you've decided that moss green is easier to find in the autumn than mint!

So every Friday, our heroine will be wearing this; eventually she might have gloves, or ... View the Post

Part 2 September 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

September 5, 2022

Has anyone else read Ruskin's "Stones of Venice?" I own a gorgeous antique set of the FULL THREE VOLUME painfully thorough books... They're beautifully bound in green leather, with gold tooling, and they're sized to be packed when going on the Grand Tour of Europe.

I confess that I took 1 volume with me a couple of times I traveled to Venice; it was amazing how little has changed there since Ruskin's time...

So, odd as he was, I'm a fan!

This heroine saw her friend's new blue garments, and was inspired to go back to her "source scarf" and take another look. Sure enough, she could easily incorporate more blue into her wardrobe, too!

And she found earrings that included "her" blue and olive green - those ... View the Post

Part 1 September 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

September 2, 2022

I've realized that I really like doing these six wardrobes in 3 separate blog posts; I can spend a lot more time looking for things that strike my fancy!

Let's start with Chrysanthemums!

As our heroine looked at her existing wardrobe, and began to think of what she might want for autumn, she began to feel that the soft, dusty, smoky blue in her wardrobe palette is underrepresented in her wardrobe.

So she set out to find some pretty things!

She's not fanatic that all of these things match - she will be happy to wear the blue with all of the charcoal grey that she already owns...

I'd say she did pretty well!

Her new clothes blend in well with her existing wardrobe; if someone is really ... View the Post

Start with Art: A Mother’s Love: The Polar Bear Family by Jason Carter

August 22, 2022

She loved his art the first minute she saw it! The clarity, simplicity, beautiful colors - all of it!

And she knew that this painting would be useful in helping her focus her ever-shrinking wardrobe:

She knows that the core of her wardrobe will be black, white and denim - this painting seems just right!

She start her autumn wardrobe planning with A Common Wardrobe. It's not called "common" because the clothes are cheap or run of the mill - it's called common because these are clothes that a LOT of people have in common!

That's a good thing - you can easily find them, they fit in easily when you're not sure what to wear, but best of all, the serve as a neutral background for whatever accents you wish to ... View the Post

Part 2 August 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

August 3, 2022

Have any of you done enough shopping that you can see the trends for this autumn?

I've seen tons of clogs. Literally tons. I know that they're very comfortable for people who work in hospitals, so I would assume that everybody might find them comfortable... Maybe if you need shoes, they are worth trying?

And someone, somewhere, put together a million miles of smocked fabric! Not the traditional smocking, like we used to do on gingham fabrics, where you would join together certain squares in the print with stitching to create beautiful patterns...

Nope - this smocking is machine stitched fabric that is gathered with elastic thread. There's nothing inherently wrong with this fabric, except that you can't swing a ... View the Post

July 2022 Start with a Bracelet: The Heritage Lynx Bracelets

July 29, 2022 Her Great-Grandmother... gardened, and harvested edible wild plants and flowers. Our heroine has all of the notebooks that she kept from her garden and from the forests on her property...

Now, she travels to teach any group of people who want to learn what she learned from her great-grandmother! This long weekend, she's headed up into the far north to a small school that specializes in traditional crafts and folklore...

The weather will probably be cool...

Generally speaking, these events are VERY casual, but she's learned that it is wise to have a skirt with her, just in case!

And she likes to pack shorts, no matter how cool the weather will be. There's just nothing like hiking in the forest, wearing ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Dark Tops and Print Skirts

July 25, 2022

Michigan Avenue was packed yesterday! I was out among them, checking out how many women were wearing dark colors...

I was wearing a black dress, which is normal for me on even the hottest days. I migrate to the shady side of the street as often as possible, and I DID notice that a lot of people were doing the same!

And while I didn't see all that many dark dresses, I saw TONS of dark tee shirts and tank tops. Often, they were wearing their simple top with a glorious printed skirt:

I saw all colors of sandals:

A few women had managed to find PERFECT handbags...

Some women were doing beautiful things with traditional color combinations, like navy and turquoise:

One doesn't see a lot of brown ... View the Post

July 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

July 4, 2022

My emails tend to come in waves, topic-wise. Recently, it seems that a great many people are concerned about having to return to "real life," be that an office, or lunch dates that used to be regularly scheduled, or other social gatherings that have been cancelled for the last 2 years.

So this month I think that our heroines are going to all look for a dressy-ish outfit that resembles either a suit or includes a skirt... Good for work, good for social events, good for worship services...

First up, if you have to go to an office, you can pretend that you're wearing a suit, if your pants and shirt-jacket are made of the same fabric!

Our heroine now has a 25-piece wardrobe, which makes getting dressed pretty ... View the Post

June 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

June 1, 2022

Was May the longest month ever?

Finally - the weather got warm! So I think that our heroines are going to need a couple of light tops, and a pair of shorts or cropped pants. Sandals, a bracelet, and a good tote bag will equip them for farmers' market shopping or other errands...

This wardrobe remains coherent and versatile - which is our goal!

And I love these accessories!

Any time you buy ANY piece of clothing, your first project - before you take off any tags! - is to see how many different ways you can wear your new garment. If you can't do at least 2 or 3 different things with a new purchase, you need to think VERY seriously about keeping it...

I still love this next scarf, ... View the Post

May 2022 Start with a Bracelet: The Liberated Lynx Bracelets

May 27, 2022 Every Other Friday...

She packs up her travel wardrobe - the SAME wardrobe - and heads to the train station...

She always has a different destination - she's becoming QUITE the expert on all of the interesting attractions of her area!

When she arrives, she always gets herself a lovely lunch, somewhere that lets her people-watch and get a feel for the town or city. After that - there are all KINDS of possibilities!

Sometimes she goes to a sporting event; you can't get to know a small town better than to sit in the stands with people and help them cheer for the home team...

Or she goes to a museum or other similar place; if the weather is bad, that's the place to be!

Saturday might be the day that ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Slav Epic by Alfons Mucha

May 4, 2022

Wear Your Colors She always took it to heart - auburn hair, ivory skin, lots of golden freckles...

So when she was invited to her friend's country home for the weekend, packing was easy! These weekends are basically a lot of eating, a lot of laughing, and a LOT of napping...

After dropping by her office for a few hours, she catches the bus; she will have to walk a bit when she arrives, but she will be nice and hungry when she gets there... Dinner is always late on Friday nights!

Many of the friends assembled there will sleep late - although there are always a couple of ambitious people who get up before dawn to go hiking!

Brunch will last for HOURS... followed by naps for most of them. If you're not ... View the Post

May 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

May 2, 2022

Let's visit our gradually growing wardrobes, based on beautiful scarves from PJ Studio Accessories!

This month, it was SO easy to shop for this wardrobe! I can't imagine how I personally would get through the summer without a shirtdress in a light fabric...

Each of these wardrobes now includes 19 garments - pretty much enough to get through the summer! If you're inclined to participate in the "21 Garments, 21 Days" challenges, any of these wardrobe plus a couple of tops would get you through the next 21 days pretty easily. Yes, some of these garments are skewed a bit toward cooler weather; some substitutions might be needed...

All the shoes you might need - from boots to sandals!

How might ... View the Post