black Archives - Page 38 of 60

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Silk Robe by Johanna Harmon

July 31, 2015 "Are you feeling okay? You seem to have been tired lately," her sweetheart asked her last night.

"Now that you mention it, between all of the stress at work, and the heat this summer, I do feel a little bit... wilted, I think you could say. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've been thinking that we could use a long weekend away at The Spa in The Mountains; do you think you could get a Thursday and Friday off sometime in late September?"

Can she get a couple of days off??? She would QUIT her very irritating job in order to get away to go to the spa. Does she enjoy days wearing nothing but a bathrobe (or maybe nothing), being pampered, and then spending the evening eating gourmet ... View the Post

A New Scarf from Ananda Design! or How to Wear One Item All Year

July 30, 2015

As you well know, I'm not the blogger who gets buried in gifts from designers, so when I do receive something, it's a special day chez nous! And not many days get more special than this for me - can you imagine a scarf better suited to the woman who lives in black, and who's favorite accent color is red??? This scarf, from Ananda Design; is cotton, which is unusual for me, and it has tassels on the corners, which is REALLY not something I have in my closet. But I've had it wrapped around me and played with it a lot, and it's pretty wonderful. The cotton is of course a great fabric for a scarf that you use in warm weather to ward off over-enthusiastic air conditioning, and ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Coast Road by Fanny Brennan

July 21, 2015 Thanks a ton to the reader who sent this suggestion to me - I wasn't familiar with Fanny Brennan. It's particularly interesting that these paintings are tiny - the size of postcards. Her sense of humor is very appealing!

The colors in this painting are wonderfully striking and clear. I'm going to use black as the base here, but a summer wardrobe using white, with these bright colors would be lovely. And the hills in the distance are colors that suggest shades of denim.... lots of possibilities here.

Going Alone You have planned this trip for a long time. You bought athletic shoes and started walking every evening, after work. Longer and longer, faster and faster. You understand that being in ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti by Tamara de Lempicka

July 8, 2015 Yesterday, after I worked on Camposanto, I was thinking about the inherent utility of a wardrobe that had a khaki and white core, and how virtually any accent color would work well with those 2 neutrals. And of course, I'm thinking about tossing black into the mix... So in the comments, someone mentions this MOST elegant and compelling painting!

White would also work beautifully here:

In the interest of showing how versatile a simple, solid core of clothing can be, I kept yesterday's Core in camel, or tan, or whatever you wish to name this color.

When looking for the black Core, I tried to find pieces that had some swish to them. Tamara has always looked like ... View the Post

One Skirt, Six Ways

June 25, 2015

Sometimes, I buy something with great enthusiasm and completely confidence that I'm going to wear it A TON, but instead it just sort of... hangs there...

This has happened with my really cool black and white dotted skirt from Uniqlo (no longer available, I'm sorry to say). There's NOBODY in the world that should be able to wear a black and white skirt like this more often than I can, but it just wasn't happening.

So I decided to apply myself to planning outfits including said skirt, and I discovered that this sweetie is, in fact, a true seasonless wonder. I paid particular attention to those core tops that I try to keep in my wardrobe all the time - the Eileen Fisher tops that can be the timeless workhorses of a ... View the Post

3 x 3 = >20; A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, White and Red

June 17, 2015

Last week, I was going out of town overnight - literally for about 18 hours, and had to pack, even though I wasn't going to be gone long at all. (this was the situation that got me started on the whole thought process of "3x3"...)

I was dressed, getting ready to leave; this is a reasonable facsimile of what I was wearing:

I knew that, since I would be home by 8 a.m. the next morning, all I really needed to pack was a clean top (as well as pajamas, and minimal toiletries), so I envisioned this:

First, I held up the top that I pulled from the closet, and took a close look at both sides of it, to make sure that it would be wearable with my white cardigan and black trousers. And then, because I'm always ... View the Post

Choosing Accessory Colors; More Accessory Clusters

June 6, 2015

I was thinking a lot about yesterday's winning color scheme, and so I thought it might be productive to put all of that thinking into action! The first thing I did was start browsing around looking at scarves that might be harmonious with the color scheme in question; it's important to bear in mind that things don't always have to be dye-lot matched. If someone gets a big thrill out of noticing that something you're wearing isn't EXACTLY PRECISELY the same color as something else... well, they're easily amused, and you've done the good deed of keeping them entertained. Some people will complain that their ice cream is cold...

So I found this beautiful Hermes scarf:

And I thought I'd monkey around with the ... View the Post

How to Pack Light: Yellow and Black “Whatever’s Clean 13” for warm weather

June 3, 2015 You knew this was coming, didn't you? Some people really LOVE printed skirts and trousers, and they deserve to be able to pack a "Whatever's Clean 13" wardrobe too!

Figuring out what to include in this suitcase mostly requires finding a common "accent" color that's shared by a handful of your skirts and pants, and then building around that. When I was browsing things to get started, I found a few things that shared this glorious yellow, and so I chose that as my accent, and selected the black and white found in these Valentino trousers as my neutrals. First up, a travel outfit with bright, happy trousers, but a simple top and cardigan, all pulled together with yellow earrings and a yellow scarf. You ... View the Post

How to Pack Light: The ‘Whatever’s Clean 13″ in black and beige

May 27, 2015 I really love the "Whatever's Clean 13"... I love travel, and I love packing light, and I love the idea of being able to just stick your hands into your bag and pull out things that will come together in a beautiful outfit. Today, I'm looking at warm weather, but prepared for some coolness. I know that trips to the south of France, ranging into Cinque Terre and Venice, will give you some hot, lavender-scented days in Provence, but then in Venice, after dark can be positively damp and cool... You can't be prepared for every last possible need, but you can be intelligent, and beautiful... Lace is the unifying theme today, starting with this beautiful (and outrageously expensive) lace top. ... View the Post

How to Pack Light: The “Whatever’s Clean” 13 Capsule Wardrobe

May 22, 2015

One of the interesting things about writing The Vivienne Files is that I can see what posts are continually revisited, and what images get Pinned (and re-Pinned) on Pinterest. And without fail, every week, the "Whatever's Clean" wardrobes are at the top of the list.

That makes sense to me - there's really nothing in the world easier than being able to reach into your closet without looking and know that you can grab a coherent ensemble.

So I've been thinking a lot about how "Whatever's Clean" can transfer to travel - it's an obvious fit. Especially for all of you who have to travel through a variety of climates, knowing that all of your clothes will work together makes it possible to relax about at least one ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Stone: Unakite Jewelry

May 19, 2015 This was an intriguing request - one of you has fallen for jewelry with the stone unakite, and wanted to build their summer work capsule wardrobe (relaxed environment) around their jewelry! This was some of the jewelry I found:

One of the first things that I noted was that the accent color in the stone ranges from dark red and terra cotta to a much lighter and more delicate peach or apricot. While we could certainly go either direction, I opted for the lighter shade, to serve as a background for the design of the jewelry.

We wanted really simple clothes, so I found three "Cores of Four" in the three non-accent colors.

Here's where things got ... View the Post

A Clothing Diary Week 10

April 29, 2015 Why yes, it IS April, but we aren't seeing any weather that feels warm! I wore gloves, without exception, every time I was out - most of our highest temperatures were just around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. While I love cold weather more than most people, I have to admit to being ready to move into something just a tad warmer... My week was filled with preparations for moving (down the hall, but it involved two different landlords for each of the apartments, a renovation about to start in the new apartment, and plans for renovations the second we're out of our current digs), visits to my doctor, and accompanying a friend to her appointments too! If there's ever a market for guided tours of Northwestern Hospital ... View the Post