burgundy Archives - Page 2 of 5

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

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 dye-lot matched, but they should look as if they all woke up in the ... View the Post

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

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 weather takes a decided turn, and some warm snuggly ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting with Art: a Buddhist Kesa

This was a little bit more challenging than I expected it to be! Finding these colors was surprisingly difficult...

It's just a small exhibit - maybe 28 items? - but if you have a chance to come to Chicago, to the Art Institute, before February 14th, you won't be disappointed. The exhibit displays only a few of their collection of Buddhist kesa, but they're beautiful. And because this is a "minor" exhibit, in the basement area of the museum, it's usually quiet, and uncrowded (bordering on empty). Very restful, very inspiring, very wonderful way to spend an hour!

I considered using the burgundy as the first neutral, but I think that this olive/sage green is more readily available through more of the year. This kind of color is a ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting With Art: A Porcelain Figurine

Part of this request was rather standard - someone returning to the workforce, and wanting a 4 by 4 capsule wardrobe based on a navy suit, with grey accents. Very sensible, and something that many of us can find useful, or at least fun to admire. But the real zinger: She drew her inspiration for the colors from a figurine in her bedroom! This clearly means something very special to her, eh?

I stuck with the color scheme she suggested - a lot of navy, accents of the deep red/burgundy, and gray, shading to soft blue:

While many jobs no longer require a suit, it's worth remember that there are still places that REQUIRE them. In order to get the most mileage possible from purchases, I found (after quite a bit of searching) a suit that ... View the Post

Choosing an Hermes Scarf, using handbags, shoes, Chanel brooches…

Yes, I'm absolutely going to write more about Paris, probably later today, but this was sort of a rush, emergency request...

A chance to choose a scarf for a holiday gift... and you wanted to see how they paired with Chanel brooches??!?!?!??!?! Chanel brooches aren't in my usual repertoire, but why not take a look?

She's narrowed it down to these:

This looks a lot like my friend: smoothly coiffed hair, always in immaculate taste. Plus I like the oval pearls that echo the tiny faces in the scarf!

Sometimes, there's nothing more fun than the juxtaposition of a Chico's necklace with a Chanel brooch. Coco would flip...

Although I could easily see her in this also, the sheer tastefulness of everything here is perfect for her. ... 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....

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:

I loves these bright colors - you would certainly stand out in a sea of black winter coats if you wore one of these vests! And for many people, these are much more flattering colors...

Orange vest – Hunky ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Black

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...

Yes, these would make nifty little templates for buying gifts, too. But if you go shopping on ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Cvetaeva, Version 2

The winner of the extremely gorgeous Cvetaeva scarf, from my kind and generous friends at wrq.e.d., is Anne C.! Please send your mailing information to me at theviviennefiles@gmail.com, and I'll get this delightful object out of my house, and into yours. Don't hesitate, because I'm going to keep this one if it doesn't get out of here soon....

And, as promised, another look at this scarf, with a completely different color scheme!

Doesn't this look completely different when folded and worn this way?

I'm eschewing all accents this time, and going strictly for some interesting neutrals:

She Doesn't Mean to be Difficult...

But the prototypes were entirely wrong. Wrong color. Wrong sizes. Wrong details. You have to wonder if the had ... View the Post

Whatever’s Clean 13 FOR MEN – cool colors, cool weather

You asked for it, you get it: a Whatever's Clean 13 for men - the first of at least a couple...

Menswear is SO EASY; pick a color scheme and stick to it like glue! I've sold menswear two different times, as well as selling men's shoes, so I can safely admit that I have some experience in this area...

First up, the finished product, designed to carry you through a vacation that will range from rather nice dinners and other events (a concert or opera?) through to a cool weather morning walk in the park.

I started with a navy blazer, just as I would start with one for almost any man building a wardrobe from scratch. While a lot of men can get through life without a suit, in this day and age, a blazer is still pretty important. It can ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Nature Morte by Georgette Agutte

The wealth of colors in this painting lead me in all sorts of directions, so I thought I'd share with you my thought process as I finalized a color scheme for us to work with here.

My very first instinct was drawn to the fabrics in the background of the painting - the vivid blue was the first thing that I envisioned as a lead neutral for a color scheme, with accents of the white fabric, all of the red flowers, and the oranges.

But where this would make a great scarf, or piece of jewelry, I realized that there wasn't going to be any easy way to find enough garments in that shade of blue to put together even the smallest capsule wardrobe. (this is a BIG advantage to being able to sew - you could make your core garments ... View the Post

Accent Colors for Fall 2015

You remember these guys, right? They're the colors that Pantone assured us would be the BIG colors for this fall and winter.

Well, I've seen a lot of Marsala in the windows at Ferragamo. Other than that, I can't say that, in my hours and hours spent each day looking at clothing and accessories, I have seen any of these in large quantities. And for what it's worth, I had to do some serious hard-core digging to find some of the goodies shown below.

I think we can conclude that Pantone's either not as accurate as they would like to be, or that the market is much less dependent upon their advice than they once were. This is a real annoyance if you fell madly in love with one of the colors that was supposed to be "hot", but it's a great relief ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with A WALL?? Pulling out all the stops, in Grey, Burgundy and Gold

Seriously. I was waiting for a friend at his gym yesterday, and I noticed that the walls in the entrance areas were painted in a mottled (maybe sponged?) pattern of shades of grey and burgundy - mostly dark - accented with metallic gold. Unexpected. Eye-catching. And it got my mind wandering...

"I view marriage as a merger of financial statements..."

Two weeks before graduation, he drops this little bombshell on you, and breaks your heart. He's always made it clear that he doesn't think your chosen work is going to be lucrative, but you didn't realize quite how much the money mattered to him. I guess that's a bullet dodged, but it still hurts.

...

25 years later, you get the email about the Alumni Committee meeting ... View the Post