accessories Archives

Accent Colors to Wear With Beige/Taupe or Olive Green – Pantone New York Autumn/Winter 2023

March 10, 2023

One last visit with these 10 colors - this time with both beige/taupe and olive green!

The first neutral grouping is mostly described as Cobblestone; Eileen Fisher regularly carries this color, and it's a consistent, excellent taupe. Other cobblestones may fall short, and look more beige... Sigh...

Conversely, olive green was simple to find; I'm assuming that this heroine isn't quite ready for warm weather!

From here to the end of this post, I'm just going to show you each of the 10 "Accessory Families," and then a couple of outfits using each of the 2 neutrals as base. I don't need to editorialize about what combinations I do and don't ... View the Post

HOW CAN YOU WEAR A NEW ACCENT COLOR? PANTONE AUTUMN/WINTER 2023/24

February 24, 2023

While the rest of us are just barely getting ready for Spring 2023, the crafty people at Pantone have already found colors that they're predicting will be BIG for Autumn/Winter 2023/24!

The first thing I noticed about these colors? Fully half of them were some variation of red! I wonder if this is really going to be popular, of it is just their assessment of the future...

Nonetheless! These colors suggest to us possibilities for a fresh accent in our wardrobes, and that is always interesting. Let's see:

What a wonderful color! But it's hard to really evaluate an entire page of things that are all the same color, so I'm going to toss in a simple navy core wardrobe, for mixing purposes...

Yes, the ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a 20-piece Navy and White Spring Wardrobe

February 20, 2023

Let's revisit the friend who has lost her wardrobe; she wants to start to rebuild with this scarf as her inspiration:

For reference - this was the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe 13 garments that she is wearing for Spring:

And these are the bonus garments that will round out her wardrobe:

But accessories! She still has a pair of sandals, and her sunglasses, as well as the earrings she was wearing when they were away and their house was destroyed...

I don't have a clear plan - I'm going to assemble 10 typical outfits from this wardrobe and make certain that she can wear those outfits with appropriate extras. Most important are certainly shoes and a bag or two, in my thinking...

First up, a spring bag, ... View the Post

Accessories! Project 333 based on Morris Graves/Rain by Kay Russell

January 30, 2023

Just to refresh our memories after the weekend, our current heroine is working on a Project 333 wardrobe based upon this painting and color palette:

Her plan is to include 16 garments and 17 accessories in her 3 month plan; the clothing that she's chosen is here:

She's going to be logical about this, and work her way through an assortment of outfits, making certain that she includes the appropriate accessories for each...

Finding both earrings AND a scarf in her favorite dusty green is a small victory, I'd say!

She's going to slightly dress up with her vest - a stunning pearl brooch, and some pretty loafers will do the trick:

Something warm and casual is always useful!

Her favorite ... View the Post

Accessories! Project 333 based on Composition by Ernest Mancoba

January 20, 2023

It's the 20th already? Holy chocolate-coated Buddha on a stick... So Far, So Good... Our heroine has her color scheme all sorted:

And she has all of her clothing (except for 1 piece - that's the bonus #33 item!) chosen, too:

At a minimum, I'm thinking that this heroine needs 3 pairs of shoes, a couple of bags, and some jewelry. Maybe a scarf or two...

The best way I've found to make sure that you have what you need - packing, or planning a Project 333 Wardrobe - is to work your way through a number of outfits and think about what you want to wear with the clothing.

She can't easily resist gold loafers, and a matching handbag...

A backpack is always handy - many of us have started carrying ... View the Post

Pantone: Colors they Love, Colors that Endure

December 9, 2022

I was browsing the Pantone website a few days ago, after their announcement of the 2023 color of the year. Viva Magenta!

Of course, that doesn't mean that we will EVER walk into any store and see a decent assortment of magenta clothes and accessories. Pantone doesn't seem to have the influence over retailers that they once did...

But I DID run across an article about "Colors We Love, Colors That Endure."

I'm not sure what they mean by endure - all colors endure, don't they?

Still - I had to see what these colors might look like, if we were considering a new wardrobe accent!

White Asparagus is a color that I would consider adding as a wardrobe neutral; to me it's really just a variation of beige or ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Black Tee Shirt and Blue Jeans

November 14, 2022

When I'm out and about, I'm always looking at other people! (mostly, I'm looking to see if there's anything with which I can help them...)

In Chicago, and I suspect in a fair number of cities, a black tee shirt with blue jeans is the base for all kinds of outfits, from casual to dress, and in any color you can imagine!

Their starting point is pretty simple:

I've seen some people bundled up:

I really admired a simple black cashmere cardigan with an amazing scarf that picked up the blue in this heroine's jeans:

The scarf will take the place of a mortgage payment... but it is perfect with her coat and shoes!

This heroine was getting lots of smiles from everyone:

I ... View the Post

Some Pretty Things aka Have You Written Your Holiday Wish-List?

October 14, 2022

Let's just look at some pretty things, eh?

I ended up arranging things by color/mood, because they seemed to look good on the page like that!

Something like this, assembled with appropriate links or information, might make gift shopping easier for those who want to get you something that you really love this winter...

My first love here was the scarf. Or maybe the bracelet. It could have been the ring, too...

I have one of these little rectangle necklaces from Carved. They're lovely - very well made, and VERY affordable. And they come in dozens of colors... Take a look!

This scarf delights me - I could imagine folding and tying it in a couple of different ways to show the purple/pink ... View the Post

Five Accent Colors with Five Neutrals

October 12, 2022

Ah, the last 5 Pantone colors from New York Fashion Week! Just to make things interesting, I brought along five different neutral color "clusters" to test-drive with these VERY varied colors...

To me, this peachy color cried out for some camel...

And I think these are perfect together!

For about the ten thousandth time, if you look good in yellow - WEAR IT! It's not easy to wear for some of us, and it's such a great accent...

I'm picturing this heroine living somewhere that's warm most of the year, so her favorite neutral is white:

I think this is lovely - the top outfit, on a rainy day, with the right coat and umbrella, would cheer up everyone you saw!

I'm tempted to wear ... View the Post

Five Accent Colors with Winter White and with Beige

September 30, 2022

Why yes, Pantone found additional colors at New York Fashion Week...

Which is fine with me, because I could look at accessories 'til the cows come home! And since I live in the city, that would be forever, right?

Let's start with this classic red; yes, this scarf is an investment. But you could wear it at least once a week during cool weather, for the rest of your life. I'm finding that I have some scarves that 20+ years old, and that I still adore.

I've chosen ivory (Winter White?) and beige as our wardrobe core colors to "test drive" this batch of accent colors. While I wouldn't wear white pumps in this lifetime, I know a LOT of women who wear them through the year and look just lovely.

And ... View the Post

Four Accent Colors with Charcoal Grey, and 1 with Navy Blue

September 26, 2022

Let's take a look at the second five "London Fashion Week" colors, as shared with us by Pantone...

You probably remember from last week that I showed the first 5 colors as accents to navy blue; I'm going to hold onto that navy for this bright green. It just seems to be the right thing to do!

This is the minimal, core navy wardrobe that I was using:

At least in my eyes, these colors are made for each other. While these outfits feel a lot like spring, let's bear in mind that we dress to flatter ourselves, NOT to match the calendar!

For the last 4 accent colors, I decided to see how they look with charcoal grey. This wee core wardrobe is more casual than the first; what you choose will depend on ... View the Post

1 Dress, 14 Ways to Wear It

August 31, 2022

Tomorrow, I'm going to start the "1 Dress, 100 Days" project, sponsored by Wool&, and completed by hundreds of other women. I'm very excited...

My dress will be the Sierra Tank Dress - 100% wool and softer than you can imagine. Mine, of course, is black!

I plan to Instagram what I wear every day and put it here on The Vivienne Files. That means there will be posts here EVERY DAY for the next 100 days - although many of them will be pretty brief. On my normal "off days," I will show you what I'm wearing and make any observations or comments about what I think about the whole process.

But what can one do with the same dress for 100 days?

Wear it alone, with accessories, or wear it with something under ... View the Post