Gray Archives - Page 15 of 49

10 Ways to Wear a Yellow Dress

March 13, 2019

From The Vivienne Files mailbox:

Yes, she asked our heroine to wear a yellow dress for the wedding.

It doesn't really matter what dress, just that it be yellow.

Now WHAT do you do with a yellow dress, after the wedding?

For a heroine in a position of having to purchased a dress in a real "non-neutral" color, I have a few suggestions...

If our heroine buys a dress that is a sleek "bottom layer" over which garments can be layered, virtually any neutral can be worn with this dress:

I don't feel like black and yellow together automatically scream "bumblebee!" to to the world... It might scream University of Iowa fan, or Steelers/Pirates/Penguins fan, eh?

With white, it just feels wonderfully ... View the Post

Start with Art: Grey Fireworks by Helen Frankenthaler

March 11, 2019

She's running for office... Not a big office, nothing that will require travel beyond an hour's drive from her home in order to campaign. But she's serious about it! This is what she's using to help her focus her campaign wardrobe...

She enrolled in a 3-day workshop for women running for office... And she's going to use this trip as her dress-rehearsal for some of her campaign outfits!

She's taken a close look at other women who are running for office, and she's noticed that some of them wear a very neutral "core" outfit (often black tops and pants) with accent jackets... She's going to emulate this idea, using dark grey as her neutral, and 4 accent colors taken from her favorite painting.

Since she ... View the Post

Choosing Accessories to go with a Blue and Grey Travel Wardrobe (for Ireland!)

March 4, 2019

It's all well and good to have your clothes sorted for a trip, but you really MUST pack accessories. Not necessarily all that much stuff, but some shoes are critical, as well as a few more odds and ends...

As a reminder, this is the photograph that was inspiring us, and the color scheme that we were using:

You've got to have shoes - there aren't terribly many places you can go and NOT need shoes... Even though the dress shoes aren't as important as hiking shoes, let's start here anyway!

If you're not going to do hard-core hiking, you might adjust your choice of hiking shoes to be something a little bit less rugged, but it always makes sense to have something very comfortable for lots of ... View the Post

March 2019 – 12 Months, 12 Outfits – Based on 6 Hermes Scarves

March 1, 2019

Possibly my favorite blog post every month!

You can see the January post here, and the February post here...

First up is this quite abstract scarf, in my favorite black and white with 2 shades of blue:

Normally I would look for a solid skirt for this outfit, but I couldn't resist the stripes here! And the juxtaposition of more stripes appeals to my fondness for pattern mixing:

Next is this lovely scarf with all of those shades of purple, lavender and pink. I'm not sure how it's all going to look when this is finished, but I love the colors together!

I'm on a one-woman mission to convince everyone that skirts don't have to be dressy...

The balance here between warm and cool colors is going ... View the Post

Trying to Forecast Weather – Packing for May in Ireland!

February 25, 2019

Honestly, if I could tell you with any degree of certainty what the weather is going to be in May in Ireland, I would be doing something to make a fortune, like buying penny stocks and selling them for millions of dollars. The weather requires that level of omniscient genius!

But you can be strategic, right? Let's start with a beautiful photograph of an Ireland shore, to help define a color palette:

Okay, time for strategy. First, you can't take ALL of your wardrobe with you, so you have to make some smart choices. If we accept that it's not possible to pack for every possible kind of weather, I submit that it's smarter (in the spring and summer) to carry with you clothes for cooler weather, working with the ... View the Post

Packing Accessories for a Cruise, in a Navy, Blush, Grey and White Travel Capsule Wardrobe

February 6, 2019

Monday we chose some clothes for our heroine to pack on a springtime cruise to Italy and the islands near there; we used this lovely painting as our inspiration:

We left her with these clothes:

So let's start with shoes! They're always the most difficult thing to pack - they take up a ton of space, and they make a great deal of difference in the appearance of an outfit. Dress shoes especially...

The dresses she is packing - and the navy skirt - can be worn with any of the 2nd layers. The lace jacket is quite dressy, and of course the denim jacket is quite casual. What shoes will work?

(of course, lots of tops can be worn with the navy skirt - I'm just using the navy top for illustrative ... View the Post

Packing for a Spring Cruise, with some Inspiration from Caillebotte

February 4, 2019

Lots of you go on cruises! And right now, my mail box reflects that; anticipation is running wild in at least a few minds right now...

So how about a spring cruise in Italy and the near islands? The temperatures might reach into the 70s Fahrenheit, and evenings will be in the 60s. Right now, that sounds SO appealing!

I picked this painting to inspire us, although it is from a French artist, and has nothing to do with cruises... but it's lovely, and I find this woman getting dressed feels very... hmmm... romantic and evocative to me.

And yes, I suspect that her skirt is indeed black, but this wardrobe is built around navy, so I'm fudging that a bit. You could certainly use black here, or a wide range of shades of ... View the Post

February 2019 -12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

February 1, 2019

First things first: after much consideration, I'm going to continue to use the Appaloosa des Steppes scarf, even though the design elements in the scarf are indeed from Kyrgyz rugs. I contacted the Kyrgyzstan embassy to ask if they were concerned or offended by this, and never received a response. After I read the Hermes website description of the design, I felt that they were using the images respectfully. I can't swear to this, but unless I get better information, I'm going to carry on. (to catch up on this conversation, check the comments on last month's installment of this series)

But don't ever hesitate to contact me about things like this; I will always take your concerns very seriously, and try to respond ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Verre et Paquet de Tabac by Juan Gris

January 29, 2019

She teaches creative people to work with data. It's not easy...

What it all comes down to is not bothering to look outside the box - as they love to say in business circles. She's convinced that the box is far from empty, and you just need to keep looking. There are possibilities that nobody has imagined!

She thinks that her affection for cubist art is somehow related to this; those artists looked at their subjects in a new way, and saw things nobody else saw... "Keep rearranging what you have, and eventually a new picture will emerge!"

This is her kind of painting:

She knew that she would struggle to find clothes in that "yellowed newsprint" color, so she substitutes her favorite gold! She's not obliged ... View the Post

Traveling with a Group – Keeping Your Luggage Small when Your Gang is Large!

January 23, 2019

I heard from her last week - she and TWELVE of her friends are traveling to England and Scotland in September! Twelve... oh my...

They share an interest - somewhat of a hobby, a little bit of an obsession. It doesn't matter if it's growing a particular flower, or baking a specific delicacy, or delving into the history of a certain historic figure. They've all decided that they want to travel together! I admire and respect this in so many ways...

But everybody is going to have to come to an agreement about not packing stacks of luggage. It's a sure way to slow things down appallingly, run the risk of losing things, and over-crowding hotel rooms.

Thus, there has to be an understanding among these women, which (in ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Rhythmisches by Paul Klee

January 11, 2019

She quilted for years - ever since she was a teenager. So when they offered her the position managing the quilt museum (THE best quilt museum in the country, in many opinions...) she jumped at the chance.

The position involves travel... So she's going to try to be organized about this!

It might not be her favorite painting, but this is what she's chosen as her core inspiration:

She wants to dress in neutrals, but she's really reluctant to be pinned down to just cool (or warm) colors; she's going to mix it up! Her palette is this:

She likes to be comfortable and sort of... low key? when she travels - she's visiting women who've made quilts, or other smaller museums, so she doesn't want to show up ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Briqueterie a Tortosa by Pablo Picasso

January 9, 2019

Solar panels. She designs installations for solar panels - big installations, small ones - whatever is ordered, she will optimize both the appearance and the productivity. She's very proud of what she does...

So when she saw this painting, it spoke to her - the angles, the bright sunny feel, the combination of grey (like metal frames) with orange and green - the colors of things that grow and bloom:

She decided to choose a color palette that she could use for all of her travel wardrobes (and maybe all of her clothing, eventually):

One challenge she always faces is that she travels to place where it is inevitably warmer than where she lives! So she dresses warmly for her departure, and ... View the Post