The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Home » black » Page 45

black Archives - Page 45 of 54

Black, White and Pink – expanding on a core wardrobe

  May 24, 2013

 

Let's go back and visit our friend who loves black, white and pink.  She has a black suit - remember?  and I suspect that she has a simple black sweater to wear with her black cardigan.  And she wouldn't be a real lover of pink if she doesn't have a pretty pink blouse. Since she owns black pants, a pair of black loafers would certainly be included. So she has a core of items looking kind of like this:  

White cardigan - Rag & Bone, black blazer, skirt and pants - Mango, pink cardigan - J. Crew, black cardigan - J. Crew,  black sleeveless sweater - J. Crew, sunglasses - Ray-Bans, pink silk blouse - J. Crew, ring - Baccarat, black ... View the Post

One dress – Six ways, in Black, White and Pink

May 22, 2013  

Okay, let's do some imagining... Imagine a person who has truly made the choice that their wardrobe core colors are going to be black, white, and pretty pink. Over the years, she accumulates the necessary basics - cardigans in her colors,  a black suit, shoes and sandals in black, with a fun pair of pink dress shoes, just for kicks. She has a beautiful pink scarf that has been around forever, and she has been carefully, gradually accumulating pink and silver jewelry...

 

Now, one day this person is shopping, and they see a dress. A classically cut, simple, (no beads, nor sequins) dress.  In black, white and pink!

It's easy to immediately fear that a dress in a print or ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Project 333: Another week, with travel, work, and the gym

Last week I experienced another small hitch in my Project 333- my striped tee shirt is NOT going to be wearable for the summer, so I've replaced it. (Yes, with another striped tee shirt...)   Otherwise, I have been delighted with my choices, so far.My travel wardrobe, based on two pair of black pants - one silk, one cotton twill - worked out well too.  It was warm enough that I didn't need to wear my scarves, and one day I pulled off my sweater mid-day, but that was part of the plan. Layering makes it possible to pile on, or peel off, depending on what you encounter.

So Monday and Tuesday I dressed out of my suitcase - Monday, I did some gardening, and Tuesday we flew back to Chicago. (yes, on Monday I borrowed casual shoes ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Packing from the 33 for a long weekend

I'm out of town right now - actually, I've been out of town since Thursday afternoon; the magic of the internet means that I can schedule blog posts ahead of time!  I'm visiting a number of my relatives, which is the easiest packing; laundry is available, and borrowing clothes is always possible.  I'm carrying the huge suitcase because belovedest and I are sharing the bag, and his clothes and shoes take up a LOT of space...

       

  ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Project 333: FAILURE, in the second week in my uniform

Well, not anything horrendous or drastic (let's be serious, last week wasn't a great week for many of us...), but when I woke up Friday morning to the sounds of SNOW HITTING MY WINDOW, I  retreated to my jeans, which I had not included in my 33 garments.  Of course, when I picked those 33 pieces of clothing, I didn't expect to have to dress for snow.  Sigh...Monday and Tuesday were great, similar to last week, I started with a black "suit", chose a bright tee shirt, and added a scarf to tie things together and brighten things up.  Tuesday was a core of black garments, with boots, a cardigan, and a cashmere scarf to keep warm,

 

  Wednesday and Thursday were also very uncomplicated.Another core of black, ... View the Post

A Simple Black, White and Bright Blue wardrobe, with accessories

A core of black and white, with a bit of khaki, is an easy base upon which to build with almost any color.  What other colors could I use to accent these simple garments.    

Cardigan – Patagonia, sunglasses – Ray-Ban, drop earrings – 1928,  necklace – Masato Pearls, stud earrings- Gurhan, tee shirt – Miss Selfridge, bracelet –  Good Charma, silk scarf – Ayako Kanari, skirt –Boy by Band of Outsiders, scarf – Hermes, flat sandals – Alice+Olivia, glitter sneakers – Jimmy Choo, striped flats – Libby Edeman  

 

 

  ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Project 333: My first week in “my” uniform

This was NOT the best week for me to begin the Project 333 - our weather was impressively wintery, so I had to do some creative layering, and piling on of scarves.  Happily, I managed to figure things out, and I was very pleased with how I felt...Monday and Tuesday - I started with my black "suit", added a pink tee shirt and a scarf, with some socks and loafers.  I was particularly delighted with the Tuesday outfit, in which I layered a sweater over my dress (which is something I will do all summer), but then added a white cashmere scarf, opaque tights, and my boots.  Instant cold-weather outfit!

Wednesday I went all black, with flats, an Hermes scarf and pearls.  Wearing tights with flats makes everything warmer. ... View the Post

A simple black & white summer wardrobe, with accessories

Oooh, I could live in these clothes for the entire summer... This first outfit would be fine for work, and then slip on the skirt in place of the pants, ready to go out to dinner. 

A striped tee shirt isn't usually worn with a skirt - I wonder why?  And the cardigan and scarf take a simple tank top and capris, and make them perfect for all kinds of activities.

Some days, simple white and khaki, with silver accessories, is all you need.  And your sundress kicks it up quite a few notches with the jacket, a nice necklace, and dressy, but still comfortable, sandals.

With the more classic, trim, cardigan, the tank top and capris take on a more traditional look.  And amazing diamond earrings add a lot of spark, and ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Project 333 for warm weather – my search for a uniform

I won't even try to kid you - I've been under a lot of stress recently, and there's no apparent reason for it.  I have one of the easiest lives that any human being could want, but I still have been feeling pressured, inadequate, hurried to get things done, and as if much of what I do has been "weighed in the balance and found wanting."

So as the weather finally warms up, my goal is to simplify, and to try to give myself more time to accomplish things that will give me a sense of gratification and competence.  Thus, I'm stripping this summer's wardrobe back to the absolute basics - a uniform of sorts.

The late Olivia Goldsmith co-authored the above, very insightful, book (available here, finally at a reasonable price!). ... View the Post

How to wear a black v-neck sweater

March 18, 2013  

When I was ironing yesterday, I realized, again, that my black v-neck sweater is perhaps the most frequently worn item in my closet in the cold weather.  While mine is cashmere, if I had to replace it, I'd probably opt for a very "flat" merino wool, or maybe Eileen Fisher's cotton/silk blend...Mine is big enough to layer, but not so huge that it looks sloppy on it's own.  The v is low enough that a tee shirt peeks out when it's underneath, but if I wear the sweater alone I'm not risking a career-limiting move.

At it's most simple, the sweater, alone with a pair of simple jeans or khakis, is perfect:

Sweater – J. Crew, scarf – Tory Burch, jeans – Ralph Lauren, loafers – Stuart Weitzman, scarf – ... View the Post

Getting Dressed with the 33 Piece Capsule Wardrobe: week 10 experiment

March 11, 2013  

Why yes, I did miss week 9!  and I don't have any clear recollection what I wore that week, which is as it should be... Oddly enough, my life does NOT revolve around what I wear...I've long been convinced that, so long as you are appropriate and attractive, nobody really pays too much attention to what you're wearing, day in and day out. So I thought I'd test that theory by wearing head-to-toe black clothes for a week, paired with a scarf in the same design, but different colors, each day for a week.

I didn't expect ANYBODY to notice that the scarves were the same design, but I did sort of think that 5 solid days with a scarf would elicit comment. And I sort of wondered if anybody would think I'd fallen ... View the Post