accent colors Archives - Page 2 of 3

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 42: An Accent Color Sleeveless Top

May 18, 2020

Oh, if ONLY it was warm enough to wear summer clothes! I know, I'll be griping that I have to run the air conditioner too often... But these colors appeal to me right now...

The nice thing about these tops is that you can pretty much always find something in a color that you like, and then you have an easy, inexpensive accent for almost any outfit!

It wasn't tough at all to find tops that look good with our favorite (current favorite?) 6 scarves:

As you probably can assume, by now - I have some ideas, suggestions, thoughts, observations...:

I love navy with bright green; in cooler weather I might turn the green "down a notch" into forest green, but I could still see navy, green and white ... View the Post

Start with Art: Resting by Paul Klee, and a Beige Weekly Timeless Wardrobe for Spring

April 27 2020

Finally, she's getting a break... And she's going to take advantage of being able to stay home.

Her plan is to sleep, read, go for walks in the park behind her home, bake excellent stuff, have a cocktail or two, and then sleep some more!

She's starting here - the colors of calmness, for her...

She starts with her favorite beige (there's some advantage to being blonde) and then adds in some denim-y blue, and some shades of rose:

For warm weather, she could probably live in shades of beige and ivory. From these 13 items, it might be possible to dress for weeks.

After what she's been through in the last few months, she doesn't care if her clothes get dirty or spotted; she knows that there are more ... View the Post

Adding Pastel Wardrobe Accents! Expanding a Beige & Olive Weekly Timeless Wardrobe

April 22, 2020

She, too, has a wardrobe core of olive and beige, just like that of her friend from Monday's post. But her inspirations for accent colors of quite different!

She saw this painting in Paris, years ago, and took a photograph of it. She has, since then, found a poster of the painting, and hung it in her bathroom! Why not... It reminds her, and keeps her focused.

While there are quite a few possible accent colors hidden in this wonderful work of art, our heroine made her choices:

Of course, she's going to start with her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe 13 core garments, in her 2 neutrals:

She knew in her heart that she was craving light, and softness, and prettiness. She decided to listen to her heart, and ... View the Post

Adding Wardrobe Accents! Expanding a Beige & Olive Weekly Timeless Wardrobe

April 20, 2020

After being indoors for AGES (I'm in my 6th week...), I find that paintings full of "nature" colors really appeal...

Today's heroine realizes that she's going to need to move toward some navy, maybe by the time summer rolls in... Her current Weekly Timeless Wardrobe for Spring is lovely beige and green, but she understands that the green is just too difficult to find.

This is her inspiration:

She's going to indulge in some accent colors, before she starts gradually working on her 3rd neutral...

Here's where she's starting:

For so long, she's been comfortable with muted colors. But now that she's free to be out and about, she is really in the mood for something bolder and brighter!

After much ... View the Post

Adding Wardrobe Accents! Expanding a Navy & White Weekly Timeless Wardrobe

April 13, 2020

It's time for more brightness! And a bit of practicality...

Let's go back to the idea of the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe. Say you've got your 13 items for spring all set in your closet - navy and white are classic!

It's a great year for some cheery, bright colors, and so our heroine has been thinking that red and yellow might be a nice addition for the upcoming season(s):

You don't have to buy dozens of garments in order to bring something new into your wardrobe - our heroine had considered at some length adding a red cardigan too, but realized that it wasn't necessary. She was much happier taking care of her wardrobe basics with white shorts and capris, and then indulging in some floral prints...

Her new ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 30: An Accent or Print Short-sleeved Tee

January 27, 2020

I don't know how your winter is going, but I suspect that many of us are ready for a wardrobe accent!

I love me a good floral print, and I'm not a particularly "girly" kind of woman. But I think that flowers are always pretty, and always a welcome sight. For a woman with a wardrobe with a grey core, who's looking for warm accent colors, this first tee shirt is spot on!

This hardest, but most important, thing to remember when looking at print tee shirts is to hold fast to your core wardrobe colors. So many tee shirts are pretty and appealing, but won't go with anything you own. Unless you plan to frame your new tee shirt and hang it on the wall, avoid incompatible colors...

This first outfit is pretty ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 27: An Accent Tee shirt

January 6, 2020

It's time for some brightness!

Especially if you have a scarf that you want to wear more often, this is a good time of year to start looking for tee shirts in a variety of colors; they seem to have arrived in a lot of places the first week of the year!

For example...

A fast way to inject some new possibilities into your core wardrobe of neutrals in an accent tee shirt along with 1 or 2 other accessories in that same color. Earrings are obvious, scarves are my favorite, and don't forget the possibilities of accent socks!

Speaking of socks - be alert when you're buying them; there are all SORTS of weird things out there right now:

mesh socks, which in my day would have been considered "knee-high ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 24: A Neutral or Accent 2nd Layer

December 9, 2019

Great heavens, it seems like it's Monday every 7 days...

This week I feel like looking at the wonderful versatility of a lovely cashmere cardigan. If you keep your eyes peeled, these are often on sale. It is well worth the wait!

How to choose a color? If you don't already have an obvious favorite accent color in mind, you could look at a scarf from which you'd like to get a bit more mileage (or a colored necklace?) and pick something happily compatible.

And no, it's not wrong to hint for a sweater for a gift! Nor to hint for a scarf... (insert big cheesy smile emoji here, in your mind!)

Yes, warm accents look lovely with cool colors. Look to nature, where warm and cool combinations are ... View the Post

Start with a Jacket: Travel Six-Pack

June 5, 2019

I saw her in O'Hare last week, wearing a deeply amazing and eye-catching jacket...

I've chosen NOT to use that jacket as the core of this wardrobe, because of both the price and limited availability. But it wasn't difficult to find another beautiful jacket in a bright and joyous mix of prints!

Destination: To Be Determined! She's going to Europe, but beyond that, nothing is definite. Maybe cool, maybe warm...

So she's dressing for the unexpected...

Since she's not sure where she's going to go (probably where the train tickets are least expensive!) she's packing small, and very versatile:

She's erring a bit on the dressy side, because she plans to sleep quite a bit, and do some very lovely ... View the Post

April Showers Bring May Flowers…

May 8, 2019

And sometimes, flowers are what inspire you to update your warm-weather wardrobe...

Many of us have a pretty decent core wardrobe to carry us into the warm weather...

Many people could get through quite a bit of the summer with just these 9 garments - especially if you have to dress for work every day, and this is your leisure wardrobe.

But maybe you want to brighten up your core wardrobe with some pretty colors?

Even just one "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" in an accent color can give you quite a few new outfit options:

Maybe you're in the mood for orange?

Lace is fun for summer - not insanely dressy, just a pretty way to update a tee shirt...

The nice thing about getting a ... View the Post

Ready for a Warm-Weather Wardrobe Update? How about a French 5-Piece Wardrobe?

April 3, 2019

Of course these aren't an entire wardrobe - I hope that's clear. But, to me, the idea of a "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" is the 5 pieces that you plan, and carefully choose, and use to update your normal seasonal wardrobe of classic, neutral clothes.

Let's start here - these are about as basic as you can get!

While this isn't a really exciting wardrobe, it's versatile; you can get two dozen combinations from these 9 garments. That's a working wardrobe, I'd say!

When I thought about doing some French 5-Piece Wardrobes, I was thinking specifically about that Hedge Green color that is so uncommon, and really delightful. But I figured that I might as well work my way through the rainbow... Red, Orange, Yellow, ... View the Post

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