brown Archives - Page 17 of 30

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Hermes Panthera Pardus

February 2, 2016 The minute I saw this scarf in the store, I knew I wanted to use it here on The Vivienne Files, so you all could see it too:

He's got green eyes! The colors, and the details here, are just gloriously beautiful. I always particularly admire the contrast edge on a scarf, because it's pretty, and because I can't even imagine how difficult it is to silkscreen that part, and then roll it and hand stitch it so perfectly. Artisan genius... and it comes in other colors!

The range of possible colors that can be used here was pretty impressive, and a bit unusual. Hermes can always be counted on to come up with color schemes not seen elsewhere. When I do capsule wardrobes like this, please ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: February

February 1, 2016

Although the marketing types will urge us all to dress up in lace and frills and all sorts of dainties for Valentine's Day, I think it more likely that many of us will consider it a big night out if it requires a dress of any sort! So for February, I looked for dresses - simple, classic, versatile, timeless dresses that will be as useful for you in July as they are in February...As before, I tried to keep the "parts" as consistent as possible across the six color palettes, so that the impact of the changing colors will be shown to better effect.

Remember, these are the six scarves around which I'm building these "month by month" capsule wardrobes. Any beautiful item can serve this function - ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Portrait of Madame Lisle and Madame Loubens by Degas

January 28, 2016

A long time ago, someone asked for me to work with a painting by Degas; it's taken months, but I'm finally on it! (I really do try to get to as many requests as possible, I hope you understand...)If you just glanced at this painting, it might seem somber and sort of gloomy. But give it a minute - there's a lot of warmth and beauty here. These women appear comfortably tucked up in the lap of luxury!

So I felt that the black component was impossible to avoid, but it seemed equally inevitable that the accent colors would be warm:

No Need for Accolades Now that everything is finally accomplished, and all of the celebratory events are beginning, it would only be natural that she might want a bit of the ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: The Common Shelduck

January 14, 2016 When I say there's inspiration everywhere, I'm really NOT exaggerating! My recent trip to Florida is a good example - I saw these lovely guys all over the place (although they are not, in fact, indigenous to the area I was visiting - someone imported them! Someone with good taste....)

The color scheme was so easy!

Come Sit on the Veranda... Well, the invitation was a little bit more fleshed-out than that! It went more like "we have great internet down here, so you can work during the day, and then in the evenings, we'll sit on the veranda with a bottle or two of wine, and watch the birds on the lake until it gets dark. Then after dinner, we can come back out and look at ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Rust, Gold, Burnt Orange – the Autumn Leaf collection!

January 1, 2016

This started as rust, but I saw such pretty things in colors close to there that I decided to expand my focus to include all of the "autumn" colors.

For years, because I have brown hair and brown eyes, it was assumed that I would look good in these colors. (this was back in the days before the seasonal color theory caught on...) It was a reasonable thesis, because my eyes are decidedly amber-ish, but it just never worked out. I'm glad that I stumbled onto this idea for including unflattering colors in a wardrobe; maybe now I can have a reconciliation with warm gold and cognac shades!

This first color feels like caramel to me - I would be tempted to pour the nail polish over ice cream...

(and ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Brown

As I mentioned yesterday, I want to look at the possibility of different accent colors for a few neutrals - today let's think about dark chocolate brown!

First up, the core four garments upon which we will build these outfits. Having these 4 pieces can make your life so much easier....

Ryder pants – J.Crew; cashmere turtleneck – J. Crew; jeans – Austin Reed; ribbed crewneck - Michael Kors Collection

I took the same approach, starting with two neutral colors that could serve as accents in a mainly brown wardrobe. If you were building a wardrobe with more than 1 neutral, you would have lots of options like this:

Olive vest – L.L.Bean; green earrings – GFG Jewellery; scarf – L.L.Bean; ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Black

November 26, 2015

Something that I struggle with a lot, personally, is my accent color, or colors. I'm always thinking that something other than red should be my "color", but who am I kidding? I keep coming back, over and over, to red...

So I was playing around with a variety of accent colors, using simple black garments as a core, and building around quilted vests, just for the heck of it...

When you're looking for these vests, make sure you look for "quilted," rather than "down," unless you specifically want down. Some of the vests with synthetic insulation are just as warm, and quite lovely; you'll miss them if you don't include everything quilted. The synthetic insulated vests are less puffy, too!

And yes, these would make ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Hermes Napoleon

November 18, 2015 This is the scarf of the day:

Falling in Love, Gradually...

She knew the scarf was beautiful - rare, intricate, quite fascinating just to look at, to pick out little details that weren't apparent when the scarf was being worn...

But it took her a while to realize how many different ways she could wear it!

Her love for Napoleon was long-standing - she has the "bee" jewelry to prove it. So she started carefully, gradually, wearing her gorgeous scarf with a simple brown dress (but NOT with the matching fabric belt!), and then with a white sweatshirt and her brown corduroy pants. Every time she put it on, she loved it a bit more...

Dress – River Island; brown earrings – Fornash; gold belt – MICHAEL ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Echo and Narcissus by Waterhouse Version 2

November 17, 2015 This is a painting that easily provides a second color scheme! Remember last week, when I used more pastel colors as the accents?)

Today we will see how a change of accent colors alters to whole mood of the "Whatever's Clean 13."

Start out - the same outfit as before - I'm still deeply smitten with this sweater....

I changed a couple of pieces here, just to show you a little bit of variety:

And at this point, I still feel that some accessories are handy - at least you're going to want some shoes or boots! A scarf that pulls the colors together is helpful, and a pair of earrings never goes amiss...

Here's where everything changes! Bright ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse

November 11, 2015

If I ever catch any of you pining away like this, I'll give you a very stern talking-to, and then a hug...

But it's so beautiful, in that lush, opulently colored way that the Pre-Raphaelites made so appealing. I have, in fact, another color scheme in mind for this same painting, so don't wander away in the next week or two...

Recently, I've been asked about the nuts and bolts of putting together a Whatever's Clean Wardrobe - where to start, and how to choose what to include. I'll try to explain my thought process through this one, in the hope that I can clarify how you can easily do this yourself when you're packing, or just when you want to build a small collection of clothes that will see you through your ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Music Party, East Cowes Castle by Joseph Mallord William Turner

October 26, 2015 It takes a minute or two for the images to become clear...

But it's worth the wait. These are great colors for this time of year!

Skipping the Reunion, Again Every year, their school has a reunion. And every year, they get together in their favorite pub, and decide that they don't want to go! (everybody in the world did NOT love their school years...) It's become a tradition...

The someone pulls out the National Rails Timetable, and they haggle around a bit about where they go for a weekend away. This year, Edinburgh!

A few weeks ago, they knew nothing. Now, they're ready for one of the great castles in the world, beautiful scenery, excellent architecture, buckets of ... View the Post

The Four T’s, in Brown, and in Pine Green

October 23, 2015

After I reported to you about how women were dressing in London (see here), I kept mulling over that idea of the four garments in the same color... There's certainly no reason that they have to be black! I think we can agree than many of us don't wear black, and that there's a lot of other options available.So I replicated the same idea in brown:

Something I saw only a few times in London,but that I wanted to share, is women wearing their matching turtleneck and tights with a dress over it. While this will only work with the rarest of dresses it's worth remembering. A dress that's too bare for cooler weather, too dressy for day, or just well-suited to layering will work here. And a denim shirtdress ... View the Post