Gray Archives - Page 26 of 49

One Yellow Dress in a Capsule Wardrobe: 14 Ways to Wear It

August 17, 2016

One of you recently bought a yellow dress... It wasn't this one, but it was an equally simple, beautiful dress...

Dress – Who's Who

What to do with such a nice dress, in such a statement color? Work your way through every color in the rainbow, and test them in your mind (in a PowerPoint presentation, or on Pinterest?) to see how they'll work...First up, knowing that the purchaser is a woman who wears "cool" colors and accessories, I thought I'd take a look at putting some black with it. Some people might feel that this is too much bumblebee, or University of Iowa, or Pittsburgh Pirates, but I think that it's a striking option.

In the first example, I used a bit of white (or of skin, showing ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arlequin by Pablo Picasso, Version 2

August 16, 2016 I have to admit, when I first saw this painting, I thought of colors of denim:

Can you see it, too?

Oh, So Wrong...

Cardigan – L.L.Bean; tote – Nine West; earrings – Made Sudiari; boots – Munro; scarf – Stella McCartney; watch – Fossil; jeans – L.L.Bean; tee – L.L.Bean; suitcase – Zero Halliburton

"She never wears anything but jeans..."

cardigan – Jardin des Orangers; scarf – Horo; earrings – Nyoman Rena; ring – Nyoman Rena; bag – Foley + Corinna; grey tee – Aeropostale; jeans – L.L.Bean; tie-dye sweater –Raquel Allegra; white cardigan – Vince; sunglasses – Dior; patchwork scarf – Fatface; bracelet – ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arlequin et Femme au Collier by Picasso

August 15, 2016 Ever since I saw this in the Centre Pompidou, I knew that it was going to be on The Vivienne Files. This is really just a combinations of neutrals - faded denim for the blue, and then black, white, and grey.

Note the very round details of "la femme." Some angularity, of course - it's Picasso - but the circles are key!

Always Nobody notices for months, if ever...

When she was a very small child, someone once complimented her on her necklace. That remark stuck with her forever, and wearing a necklace became her signature.

Small, large, fancy or simple, she always wore one. Even when swimming, she would wear a simple, inexpensive little ... View the Post

Packing Light – a Six-Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Grey, Peach and Light Blue

August 3, 2016 "Dress Yourself" She's been hearing this her entire life - she remember it as a small child. She interpreted it as wearing clothes that look like her! So her grey hair, blue eyes, and blushed cheeks are her color scheme:

Cashmere cardigan – L.L.Bean; sweatpants – L.L.Bean; earrings – Nyoman Rena; scarf – Zadig & Voltaire; watch – Skagen; sweater – Uniqlo; socks – Uniqlo; bag – Le Parmentier; loafers – Tod’s; suitcase – Delsey

(yes, she flies in sweatpants; she irons them, and conceals the drawstring, and nobody seems to be the wiser...)She always gets sent on the "48 hours in some remote country" kinds of trips, because she seems to always be able to get things working better than they had ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: August

August 1, 2016

In August, the stores have VERY little warm-weather apparel, so we'd better be prepared to plan ahead and pick up some things that will be useful in autumn and winter...For reference, the earlier installments of this series can be found here:

January February March April May June July

And for reference purposes, these are the 6 scarves with which we started the capsule wardrobes: (I can't wait to choose NEXT year's 6 scarves - maybe we'll vote?)

Navy– Hermes Voyage en Etoffes; brown – Hermes Tyger Tyger; beige – Hermes Le Voyage de Pytheas; olive – Hermes Cheval Mirage; grey – Hermes Cheval Surprise Remix; black – Hermes Au Pays des Oiseaux Fleurs

This ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Avenue in the Park by Gustav Klimt

July 26, 2016

Don't you want to walk down this avenue? I'm hoping that there's a lovely person with some iced coffee down there in that intriguing yellow building...

While green is the dominant color in this painting, there's no way to build even the smallest of capsule wardrobes around that shade of green, unless you make the garments yourself. So I've chosen the lovely grey of the tree trunks and branches as our neutral.

Life List She's taking just a short break, but with a very specific purpose in mind...

Earrings – Alexis Bittar; blazer – Uniqlo; watch – Skagen; tee – Uniqlo; scarf – Nordstrom; backpack – LoefflerRandall; pants – L.L.Bean; shoes – Keds; suitcase – Hartmann

She's ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: July

July 1, 2016

In the world of "fashion," summer is pretty much over! It's a good time to grab a couple of tee shirts (which you will of course continue to wear well into the colder weather), as well as another pair of shorts for your capsule wardrobes. A pair of sandals purchased now will definitely be a starter pair for NEXT summer, and a pretty pendant will be useful for years to come...Remember, these are our starting points for the 6 capsule wardrobes we're building:

I just NOW noticed that I chose TWO ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes – a Half-Way Through Bonus

June 11, 2016 I've been thinking about how these capsule wardrobes would work for additional outfits, now that we're up to a dozen pieces of clothing in each wardrobe. So I played around and came up with another six outfits for each grouping. Enjoy!

love, Janice

... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: June

June 7, 2016

These are really SUCH fun...Remember, these are our six original color scheme/inspirations for our capsule wardrobes:

Dresses this month! If you're not a dress wearer, I encourage you to reconsider; check out these... things, to wear under dresses. Your thighs will be SO much happier... They revolutionized my relationship with dresses!But if you're certain that a dress isn't for you, you could always substitute a simple top and capris or shorts, of course!

This jewelry was chosen to echo the detailed, intricate patterns in each of the garments shown on the scarf:

Earrings – Wirabhuwana; tote – Longchamp; denim dress – Dorothy Perkins; bracelet – Achara; sandals – Sam Edelman

Now ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Ted Baker’s Dreams Scope

May 17, 2016 She's so smitten with the scarf that she decided to plan her entire trip around the colors she found in it!

Every Year They go back to the little town in which their wedding took place. For the most part, it's a very casual long weekend, spent walking around the lake, browsing in used bookstores, or maybe taking in an estate sale...

But every year, on Saturday evening of their weekend together, they go back to the place where they were married. And they repeat their vows...

This year, she's going to remind him that beautiful brides come at every age...

love, Janice ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Composition by Natalia S. Gontcharova

May 26, 2016 Okay, I'm more than a little bit smitten with Ms. Gontcharova's work...

For someone who wanted to base their entire wardrobe around this work, there's also a bit of green in here:

When I Am An Old Woman... (blah, blah, blah) Yes, we know, you'll wear purple. But she's been wearing purple FOREVER...

She wears every shade of it. She buys her entire wardrobe with an eye to how well it will work with "her" color...

And she mixes multiple shades of purple without hesitation, and without apology.

Someone once told her that she had eyes like Elizabeth Taylor's; but she knows that it was only the reflection from ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe with Accessories 1 at a Time: Blues, Grey and Black

May 19, 2016 Casual, but really nice...Remember, we started with a simple black column of clothing, with a great blue cardigan; of course, we need shoes:

And I usually have earrings added pretty early in the process. For this wardrobe, I tried to stick with a feeling of linearity, to echo the subtle stripes in the cardigan:

Scarves! I love scarves...

For those who do not want to wear sandals, a simple low-heel or flat casual shoe will be just as suitable:

I love wearing an inexpensive watch sometimes - the look on someone's face when they admire your watch, and you tell them it's a Timex, is priceless. And it's an important reminder that good design can be ... View the Post