black Archives - Page 39 of 54

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 4: Jeans and a Shirt

June 21, 2014

From the very beginning of this capsule wardrobe project, some of you have been clamoring for a pair of jeans. (actually, someone sent me a shockingly rude email when I didn't start with jeans; nobody should care so very much about what a blogger suggests...)

So now we're going to find a wonderful pair of jeans in our first neutral - yes, this gives us a core of four, which I consider to be a great starting point for a wardrobe.

When you're looking for jeans, try on lots and lots of them. And don't worry about price - more expensive jeans aren't automatically anything special, and inexpensive jeans might fit you beautifully. Just don't compromise on the quality of the denim, nor on the construction. After ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 3: A cardigan and tee

June 20, 2014

After much consideration, I decided NOT to start our capsule wardrobes with a suit, but I'm going to now pull in a second layer garment that can give you "suit-like" utility if you want it to. These two pieces could certainly be purchased as a true twinset (I personally adore twinsets), or you can find pieces that are closely related in color but not matchy-matchy.

You can buy a cardigan without any buttons - a waterfall style - but make sure that it's nice quality, and doesn't look like "the cardigan that I keep on my desk chair all the time in case it gets cold in the office". And do bear in mind that a cardigan that buttons can be worn without anything under it - as a sweater in its own right. A handy ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 2: Shoes

June 19, 2014

Now that you're in the process of having your new and wonderful trousers altered to fit perfectly, it's the ideal time to make sure that you have the right shoes in our capsule wardrobe.

Let me vent. If you're one of those people who has a stack of shoes under their desk at work, or piled into a file cabinet drawer, it's about time to stop that. Trust me, the CEO does NOT keep a wardrobe of cheap shoes in their office. In fact, I'm willing to wager that absolutely nobody on the executive committee keeps an assortment of footwear under their desk. If we're in an office environment, let's measure up to the highest standards we can manage.

Whew! thanks for letting me get that off my chest...

Now, choosing excellent ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step One: A Nice Pair of Pants

June 18, 2014 Many people would tell you that you should start building your capsule wardrobe with a black suit. And there's an undoubted crowd who would vote in favor of a little black dress. (for me, personally, that's where I would start...) But after wrestling with this question for weeks, I've finally decided that most of us might find the most utility, and the most immediate transformation of our wardrobe, could come from investing in a really NICE pair of pants. Trousers. Even (very unpopular word) slacks... If you've changed sizes, a new pair of trousers that fit you perfectly will immediately elevate all of your old blouses and shirts. If you want to improve the overall quality of your ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch: Choosing Color Schemes

June 17, 2014

It's a question that's as old as The Vivienne Files - if you're starting a capsule wardrobe from scratch, how do you start?

What an ambitious question! But after thinking about it for three years, I'm going to give it a try - a step by step approach to rebuilding your wardrobe from the ground up.

Before you buy any garments at all, you've got to make a couple of decisions. One thing you'll have to work out for yourself - which silhouettes suit you best. I'm really not qualified to answer this question for every woman, but I encourage you to address this question on your own; you know better than anybody else in the world what shapes and sizes of garments suit you best...

But the next question - truly critical - is ... View the Post

Start with Flowers: Daffodils

June 10, 2014

Once the "flower-based" color scheme idea is set, there are lots of variations possible. Rather than the purple shades that I used with the delphiniums the other day, I am going to look at daffodils today, and include a couple of shades of yellow. One has to be careful when mixing yellow and black - there's always a danger of looking like a bumblebee, or a Pittsburgh Pirates fan! (not that there's anything wrong with that...)

I always like to start with the core of black clothes - if you look carefully, you can see my favorite "Core of Four" showing up here. While a solid black outfit seems boring in the midst of all of this color, it might be needed for evenings or a serious business ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Flowers: Delphiniums

June 7, 2014

I think these are delphiniums, but of course I live in the middle of a city, so my floral knowledge isn't exactly top-drawer! If you can give me a better identification on these flowers (photo taken in the Duke Gardens in Durham, North Carolina) send me a note or leave a comment and I'll update things...For this photograph, I imagined that someone has to go on a business trip, but they're going to be able to arrive early, and maybe stay a few days extra, so this is a dual-purpose travel capsule wardrobe.

These are the high-contrast colors that I chose:

For a couple of days of sight-seeing before the meetings have to begin.

Peplum top – Alexander McQueen, black ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Black and White Hermes

June 5, 2014

It was a great question - thanks for sending it on - "I want an Hermes scarf in black and white, but there are SO MANY of them - how do I choose?"

Note that she also let me know that she's pretty committed to a strict black and white wardrobe...

I've chosen these six scarves to use as our possible purchases. I strongly encourage you to click through and admire the details on these scarves if you have the time. There's a reason that these scarves are so terribly expensive - they are exquisite.

For illustrative purposes, I'm going to use a couple of simple outfits - a very neutral black dress, and a white silk blouse and black silk pants.

The first scarf, Fleurs et Papillons de Tissus, ... View the Post

What I Packed for Florida

May 30, 2014 I completely missed the backpacking around Europe experience - I never took a year off of school, and I never even WENT to Europe until I was 35... But I'm still fascinated by the whole experience of being THAT light on your feet - that self-contained. So when a really nice Patagonia backpack made it into our home, I decided that I was going to give it a try. At least once, just to know what it's like, I'm going to be a backpacker...

I loved it. The incredible lightness of putting all of your luggage under the seat in front of you, and being able to walk for miles without wheels, was memorable. I don't know that I'll ever do it again, but it was wonderful.

There were a few factors that made this ... View the Post

My Version of Une Annee de Style – A Common Capsule Wardrobe

May 20, 2014

After thinking a while about last week's book (Une Annee de Style), I realized that this book was basically just a variation of my old standard Common Capsule Wardrobe - a small collection of neutral, simple garments upon which one can build all kinds of personalized styles and outfits.Let's say that you get a wild inclination to buy a fantastic tee shirt... You find some pretty outrageous sandals that go with your tee shirt, and also a beautiful, solid scarf...

If you start with that simple core of garments that we all should own (in some variation or another)...

You have all of these ways to wear the fabulous new tee shirt, as well as the cool green sandals and the beautiful ... View the Post

Neutral Accessories: Shoes Part 1

May 15, 2014

One of the keys to putting together a truly effortless wardrobe is to assemble the minimum necessary clothes and accessories, so that getting dressed is a nearly foolproof exercise.Once you've made it through the most difficult step - deciding what your basic neutral is going to be - you just gradually stock up on basics and move forward...

The most important accessory?

Neutral Shoes

You've got to have shoes. Not a ton of them, and not with insane stupid heels, but a few good timeless styles that can take you almost anywhere.

For my world, I narrowed down all of the world's available footwear to six pairs: a pair of flats, a pair of pumps, some loafers, a pair of sandals, some ... View the Post

How to get “stress dressed”…

May 14 2014 I am asked this question often - is there anything I can do to be prepared when I have one of those mornings and I just can't get dressed? Today's a particularly appropriate day for me to write this, because I'm wearing my version of this today - head to toe black with accessories... For me, the best way to be prepared for this is to have ten items - six garments and four accessories - specifically assigned (in my mind, at least) for these days when everything feels like it's falling apart. You can work this in any color scheme, and the garments in question are an excellent base for both a travel wardrobe or a new simpler closet. You have to accept that you're going to wear a very simple ... View the Post