Gray Archives - Page 28 of 48

Tote Bag Travel, with a Give-Away

January 11, 2016 Back to the real world....This happens a lot in large cities - when the hotels become less expensive over the weekend, people from the suburbs come into "the city." They come in by train on Saturday morning to spend the day in town, have a nice dinner, maybe see a sporting event or a show, stay over, have a lovely brunch, and get back home before darkness falls on Sunday.

When I said I was going to create the smallest possible travel capsule wardrobe, THIS is what I was thinking of! (I'm so sorry, I have a hunch that I've really disappointed some of you.)

I see these people every weekend, and it seems that they are often hauling about a lot more "stuff" than they might need. This might not be a problem if you're able ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting With Art: A Porcelain Figurine

January 9, 2016

Part of this request was rather standard - someone returning to the workforce, and wanting a 4 by 4 capsule wardrobe based on a navy suit, with grey accents. Very sensible, and something that many of us can find useful, or at least fun to admire.But the real zinger: She drew her inspiration for the colors from a figurine in her bedroom! This clearly means something very special to her, eh?

I stuck with the color scheme she suggested - a lot of navy, accents of the deep red/burgundy, and gray, shading to soft blue:

While many jobs no longer require a suit, it's worth remember that there are still places that REQUIRE them. In order to get the most mileage possible from purchases, I found (after quite a bit ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Charcoal

December 9, 2015 One of my favorite colors - easier to wear than black, and easier to pull together outfits! So long as your grays are in the same general tone, things don't have to match exactly - always a help.

I used all kinds of schemes for finding pieces this time - I started by looking at men's scarves (always a mystery to me...). The crinkled scarf here is worth taking a look - it's actually a large image of Napoleon. Wearing sunglasses. Designers are an interesting lot, aren't they? (and PLEASE admire that I found square earrings to echo the gridlike nature of the quilted jackets... these are the things that entertain me no end! and the earrings on the left combine the warmth of gold and the coolness ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Grey

December 1, 2015

I love grey, and it's rather easy to shop for, but you do want to be aware of the varying shades of grey (some very yellowish, and other quite blue). They don't always blend as well as one might prefer! The answer is generally to carry a key piece with you when shopping, to avoid any sort of "mis-remembering" of the color...Yes, I've included this really great turtleneck AGAIN. I'm smitten with it, I tell you, but I absolutely CAN'T justify buying another sweater. I will probably survive the lack, I suspect!

It is incredibly easy to pair the grey core outfit with black or navy, so I thought I would wander further afield, into some warmer neutrals. This might be an excellent way to easy yourself into a ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Hermes Napoleon

November 18, 2015 This is the scarf of the day:

Falling in Love, Gradually...

She knew the scarf was beautiful - rare, intricate, quite fascinating just to look at, to pick out little details that weren't apparent when the scarf was being worn...

But it took her a while to realize how many different ways she could wear it!

Her love for Napoleon was long-standing - she has the "bee" jewelry to prove it. So she started carefully, gradually, wearing her gorgeous scarf with a simple brown dress (but NOT with the matching fabric belt!), and then with a white sweatshirt and her brown corduroy pants. Every time she put it on, she loved it a bit more...

Dress – River Island; brown earrings – Fornash; gold belt – MICHAEL ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arrival of the Normandy Train by Claude Monet Version 2

November 10, 2015

We're back to visit our friend who made the long train trip!

This was her inspiration - the soft colors, and the strong sense of the grid patterns in the ceiling of the train station. Very beautiful!

She DID have to do some shopping when she was on the road! It was bound to rain, but it wasn't bound to stop her...

And these were the clothes that she took with her on her trip. It was a wonderful trip - well planned, and thoroughly enjoyed. If only her return to "real life" had been so pleasant...

Utter Chaos Reigns... She returned to a madhouse. Drinking at lunch, crying in the bathrooms, shouting in the halls - it had all of the elements of a bad soap opera, without the ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arrival of the Normandy Train, by Claude Monet

November 6, 2015

She loves Paris, and she loves Monet, and she loves these colors...

Just three colors here, but WHAT colors...

Softly shaded colors, blended shades, and a few touches of a grid pattern to do homage to the glass roof of the train station. These subtle shades aren't easy to find. Happily, they can be blended, rather than having to be perfectly matched! The Trains are Essential She has a list of destinations. She's planned VERY carefully, studying train maps at length. While she understand that schedules might change, she's confident that she will make it from city to city with no problems. Taking trains is truly the only way she can make it work!

A little bit dressy, a little bit ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Black Dahlia by Yuh Okano

November 5, 2015

When this scarf arrived Chez Vivienne Files, I thought "there's no way on planet Janice that I'm giving this scarf away!"But of course, I managed to rein in my enthusiasm and genuine admiration for this beauty, and I'm going to give it to one of you. Leave a comment... and yes, no matter where you are in the world, you may certainly comment and be entered to win! I'll ship anywhere...

It's a crispy but sheer silk organza (?), and it's primarily black, white and shades of grey, but there's this elusive hint of pink that makes it just... riveting. You can get truly mesmerized looking at it! The size is about 6' by 1' - a nice manageable size for a big fluffy bow...Colors were so ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Pigs on the Wing by wrq.e.d.

October 21, 2015 Such a great scarf... Do we all remember the Pink Floyd song?

I am going to work with this scarf twice - I have a warm color scheme in mind for this, too. But for now, I'm concentrating on shades of grey, and that glorious blue.

The Thinnest Veneer of Conformity You have to visit the client. You developed the billing fee plan, so you've got to explain it to them. (those sales persons are such sissies...) You've been briefed at exhausting length about how to dress. Like you haven't been dressing yourself for decades. But you're usually... somewhat... nonconformist, so I guess they might have reason to be concerned. No worries, you are going to board the plane is ... View the Post

GREY: With 8 Color Accents

September 29, 2015 So many of us own this kind of small neutral core - I love taking these pieces and adding accent colors, to see what happens. Today, it's grey, or gray, depending on.... I have no idea!

These dresses might be one of the easiest ways to wear this bright, strong color. You wouldn't necessarily pull the cardigan on, but tossed over one's shoulders with an insouciant flair (think Italian actress), it will be perfect.

Sleeveless – Lanvin; peplum – Alberta Ferretti; embroidered – Jane Norman

Sandals – Jimmy Choo; peridot earrings – Kohl’s; clutch - Nina

These jackets were surprisingly difficult to find, but well worth it. If you're looking for leather, this color is a ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art – Festival in Montmartre – Version 2

September 28, 2015 So when we last visited our heroine, former family caregiver become corporate Public Relations executive, she was thriving in her new position. And it didn't go unnoticed by her employer's competition!

Headhunters began to emerge from the shrubbery...

And one day, she was called into the Director's office.

10 minutes later, she's holding a VERY large retention bonus in her hand, in exchange for her signature on a two-year contract.

VERY LARGE retention bonus.

She went back to her office. She closed the door, burst out laughing. With a bit of silly, breathless squeaking mixed in.

And she cried, just for a second.

Then she called her husband. And then the travel agent...

She ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Cvetaeva, Version 2

September 24, 2015

And, as promised, another look at this scarf, with a completely different color scheme!

Doesn't this look completely different when folded and worn this way?

I'm eschewing all accents this time, and going strictly for some interesting neutrals:

She Doesn't Mean to be Difficult... But the prototypes were entirely wrong. Wrong color. Wrong sizes. Wrong details. You have to wonder if the had the specifications upside down...

So she's off to Milan, to have a serious chat with the knitting mill management!

It's not that she doesn't like Milan - she loves it - but this isn't a good time to have to make this trip. She won't have time for more than one really amazing ... View the Post