brown Archives - Page 16 of 31

Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette – A Drop of Wine, with 6 Neutral Colors

September 12, 2016

Many of you have asked me how to integrate an accent color into a neutral wardrobe; this is my attempt to give you some suggestions, and a gentle bit of guidance.Let's assume, for the sake of conversation, that you have your core ensemble for cooler weather, in your favorite neutral:

Some of these are easier to assemble than others; if olive green is your favorite neutral, you're not going to see yourself coming and going on the streets...

I've put together a few ensembles in more "business-y" looks, and others that are more casual. You can alter your personal neutral outfit to suit your preferences and your lifestyle!

All colors don't have to be absolutely ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Spirit of Autumn by Albert Pinkham Ryder

September 8, 2016

Thanks for suggesting this painting to me! I love the art ideas I receive from you...

Class Reunion/Homecoming

"She was always so GLAMOROUS - I was afraid to even speak to her..."

"Well, I know that she got a veterinary degree; she probably takes care of little teacup designer dogs for movie stars..."

"She's about the size of a teacup - that would be a perfect job for her!"

Actually, she's working with her partner on a big ranch in the mountains of the western United States; glamorous, it is not...

love, Janice

... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Portrait of Pablo Picasso by Juan Gris

September 6, 2016 I see this painting frequently, and am always riveted by the impact that two colors can provide:

Class Reunion/Homecoming Weekend

"I don't know if she'll make it - knowing her, she's probably living in an ashram somewhere..."

"Maybe... but I think she became a writer. You know all of those murder mystery novels that just became a television series? I think she's the author..."

"Are you sure? I thought I read on LinkedIn that she was running an art gallery in Berlin..."

Doesn't it occur to these guys that all of these facts might have been true, at one time or another? love, Janice

... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Wing of a European Roller by Albrecht Durer

August 29, 10`6 Durer was, unquestionably, a genius:

There are only about a TON of colors here (yes, ton is not a number, but you know what I mean...). I actually went back to the Internet to look at photographs of the actual bird in order to get a sense of what they really look like!

Uncompromising She knew that she had some... difficult... preferences.

shirt – Lands’ End; earrings – Aurélie Bidermann; boots – Frye; scarf – Etro; jeans – L.L.Bean; cardigan – J.Crew; watch – Nixon; tote – Allsaints; suitcase – Bric’s

Even though her wardrobe is largely black and white, she prefers brown leather. She doesn't care if anyone else thinks it's a good idea...

Shirt – Lands’ End; loafers ... View the Post

Building a Wardrobe of Bags – Accessories for the Capsule Wardrobe

August 19, 2016

A couple of weeks ago, Belovedest and I were wandering around Chicago when we happened upon a store called The Shudio. Yes, it's a "hybrid of a retail shop full of eco conscious goods... combined with a metalsmith jewelry studio."

I could have purchased a lot of things, but I'm trying very hard to avoid that kind of reckless madness (especially with THREE big vacations coming up in the next year!), but I did buy a lovely little black leather wristlet, from a company called CHC. They donate 10% of their revenue to a local organization for homeless women, and all of their materials are local. Pretty nice; I was happy.

But when I got home and dug out my bag for our upcoming trip to Italy, I realized that my ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe in Brown, Khaki and Pink – Additions for Fall and Winter

July 27, 2016 You asked; you get! What does the woman with the "chocolate box" wardrobe buy for cooler weather in fall and winter? First off, let's remember that we left her (here) with this capsule wardrobe:

By the time August rolls around, even if you don't NEED warmer clothing, you're certainly thinking about it! A long-sleeved shirt can layer under anything, warm socks in pink are just plain fun, and a sweater that combines all of the chocolate, caramel and cream colors can be worn A TON...

For illustrative purposes, here are a few new outfits that result from the modest shopping excursion show above; there are certainly more combinations than these:

Next up, the ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories 1 at a Time: Brown, Khaki and Pink

July 25, 2016

Let's revisit our heroine, who is retiring from a VERY conservative position. She's already assembled a pretty nice, relaxed wardrobe!

Of course, she had to start with shoes. There are women in the world who don't need shoes, but that's not the general rule. So she started with something in her favorite dark chocolate brown:

She couldn't WAIT to get some earrings - she'd been wearing demure, tiny studs for years, and she wanted something more fun. And something PINK!

And a scarf, too! While she had been able to wear smaller, more traditionally patterned scarves for her job, she had never been able to just bust out with some big swishy piece of gorgeousness. And MORE ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe 1 Piece at a Time: Brown, Khaki and Pink

July 22, 2016 No More "Dress For Success" Every day, every year, the same....

Navy suit, white shirt. Grey suit, white shirt. Navy grey white navy grey white....

It served her well - she was very successful. She worked 7 days a week; she really didn't have a leisure life - her idea of being dressed down was to wear an old work shirt with old pants from a pantsuit. Jeans? Not in her vocabulary. A cardigan? Would get you a visit from the chairman of the firm...

But now that she was leaving the office world, her heart cried out for brown. The color of dirt. The color of chocolate. And khaki - sand, and stones, and natural things....

And PINK. Because she would never have dared to wear pink in her old, very conservative, work ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Girl on a Sofa by Philip Wilson Steer

May 28, 2016

Doesn't this look comfortable?

And this painting could single-handed provide someone with plenty of colors to have a wardrobe with great variety, and a lot of options:

I've been thinking a lot about packing (big surprise, eh?) and about the wisdom of packing your favorite outfits and letting the chips fall where they may. So let's explore that idea a bit!

In keeping with the relaxed feeling of the painting, I've tried to keep everything soft, rounded, flowered or flower-like, and just a touch slouchy.

First up, a simple column in a muted navy blue, with a soft white blazer, gold jewelry, and some brown leather accessories. This could be the outfit for the meeting, or the presentation, or ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: 2nd of the Portraits Theatraux by Natalia S. Gontcharova

May 25, 2016 I don't know how many of these Ms. Gontcharova did, but I'm going to try to find them all:

Not a color scheme we see every day! I opted to use pure white, rather than try to match that "faded paper" color. My assumption is that the original might have been on white paper - can anybody confirm or deny?

She Yins, She Yangs "Do you think she's completely... normal? I mean, sometimes she looks so aggressive, and other days she's just so calm and quiet..."

"I don't know if she's normal or not, but she must have a GIGANTIC wardrobe..."

"And EVERY Friday, she's got that tote bag with her... Who's she kidding - she goes away EVERY ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories 1 at a Time: Shades of Beige and Brown

May 23, 2016

These subtle colors in this capsule wardrobe really appeal to me...Remember, this was our first outfit, to which one MUST add some shoes. Unless you live somewhere that doesn't require shoes?

Tee – Uniqlo; pants – Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L. Bean; top shoes – Tamaris; middle shoes – Seychelles; bottom shoes – Robert Zur

And simple earrings! I particularly like that bottom pair because they're simple, but they aren't...

Tank - Uniqlo; pants – Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L. Bean; top earrings – Uno de 50; middle earrings – Lauren Ralph Lauren; bottom earrings –Alexis Bittar

There weren't hundreds of scarves in this very subtle color scheme, ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe 1 Piece at a Time: Beige and Brown, for Leisure

May 21, 2016

You wanted to see a leisure capsule wardrobe in warm colors? Here it is....I found that I could stick exclusively to shades of brown, tan, and cream and put together a really nice, workable capsule wardrobe. The accessories (which will be here on Monday!) are going to have a big impact on this very subtle collection.

I started with a simple beige column (although the tee shirt has a bit of a stripe) and found a cardigan that contained all of the shades that I wanted to consider:

The gold is included here as a very clear hint about accessories:

With warm weather coming (theoretically, where I live!), I thought that a light-colored top would be a good starting point. This top ... View the Post