economy Archives - Page 2 of 3

A Hot Pink Handbag: Integrating a New Accent Color

May 1, 2015 Before we all indulge ourselves in beauty, let's talk about something important - Nepal. I'm sure many of you have already donated to the relief funds for Nepal's recovery from the recent devastating earthquake, but if you're in the mood to do a bit of shopping AND benefit Nepal, Novica (one of our favorite sites for jewelry and other gorgeous crafts) is donating 10% of all of their sales from India to Nepal relief.

Someone in India has work, you have something beautiful, and more money goes to help the people of Nepal - a pretty excellent equation, I'd say! Now let's revisit the idea of introducing a new color into a simple navy wardrobe. Today, the requested color was PINK! This bag could ... View the Post

A Leaf Green Handbag: Integrating a New Accent Color

April 30, 2015 I've been thinking a lot about my friend's inclination to buy a bright green handbag. This time of year, when it feels like we haven't seen ANYTHING green since the Christmas tree came down, bright green can be really tempting. And if the bag in question is beautifully well made, in a classic design, the urge makes even more sense! This was the bag in question - you might be able to see the allure:

But I, for some reason, just can't quite see an ensemble in which you're wearing other colors (in this case, navy), and the only green thing in your outfit is the bag. Other people are okay with this, but for balance and a sense of intentionality, I like to see another green something included. ... View the Post

Integrating a New Accent Color: A Smoky Blue Coat

April 25, 2015 Another interesting email: One of your is seriously considering the coat shown below, but you have some concerns about how this color will integrate into your primarily black and white wardrobe. Well!!! It's a lovely coat - I particularly like the way that the buttons are placed close enough together that the double-breasted effect is actually vertical rather than horizontal (a rare bit of design intelligence, I'd say). The pockets help with the vertical feeling too, and this shade of smoky blue is beyond lovely - subtle and rich. BUT! It's a substantial (gulp) investment. This isn't a purchase that you make on a whim... The writer also indicated that, if she chose this coat, that she wants ... View the Post

It’s Time to Quit Lying to Myself about What I Wear…

I know that I've mentioned in the past that I'm a little bit of a gym rat, but I don't think that I've ever mentioned that there are days (maybe 3 times a week) when I get out of bed and put my gym clothes on immediately. Many of those days, I don't change OUT of my gym clothes until at least mid-afternoon...

Now, back when I was a swingin' advertising chick, I used to get dressed up pretty nicely five days a week, and if i was travelling for business, that would be seven days a week. That life, however, ended almost TEN YEARS AGO...

So let's look at my current life, honestly:

There's nothing wrong with sitting at my desk in nice, well-fitting gym clothes, working on The Vivienne Files, while I'm either waiting to start a ... View the Post

What Cost per Wear Really Tells Us…

April 10, 2015

If you do a lot of reading about wardrobe planning, you'll run into the concept of cost per wear. It's a pretty simple idea - you just remember what you paid for something, and then you figure out how many times you've worn something, and you divide.

If you get something expensive and don't wear it very often (like a $200 sweater that you wear 4 times - a CPW of $50), your cost per wear is pretty poor. Conversely, if you get a great tee shirt for $30, and wear it every week for two years your CPW in 30/104, or teeny little pennies... So it's only logical that if you've got something that has a great, low cost per wear, you can say that you got your money's worth, much more than the expensive ... View the Post

Handling Temptation

February 4, 201 Saturday, one of my friends too me to the most AMAZING store... It's completely unassuming name is Juju's Vintage Resale Shop, and it's in a strip mall in Chicago, but very near Niles, Illinois. You could drive past it every day for a decade and never imagine the amazing wonders to be found inside... This is just one of dozens of displays. It's almost all vintage costume jewelry, it's gorgeous, and the abundance makes your head spin!

Maybe an entire ETAGERE of black and white holds some appeal?

It was pretty clear that we were going to be in this store for at LEAST an hour, just admiring all of the amazing items, and the creative and appealing ways ... View the Post

In Praise of “Not Quite Perfect”

December 29, 2014

It comes as a surprise to nobody that I am not a spring chicken; Dwight D. Eisenhower was President of the United States when I was born... so it also won't surprise you to hear that I have a few... marks of experience and character about my person. And frankly, it doesn't bother me a bit. I'm not going to dye my hair, nor shoot dubious chemicals into my face in order to try to look younger. After everything I've done in my life, I look pretty fabulous! (your preferences may vary - do you own thing!)

I'm coming around, more and more, to feeling that way about inanimate objects too - particularly scarves and jewelry. Small spots on silk, or tiny scratches on metal, don't bother me much - most people around ... View the Post

How to Wear Black and Brown Together, or How to Incorporate an Expensive Garment into The Common Capsule Wardrobe

November 18, 2014 It could happen to anyone of us - you're minding your own business, and then... you see it. The garment that makes your heart sing. Something that you admire aesthetically, that looks perfect on you, that is beautifully made, from gorgeous materials, and that will last the rest of your life... But OWWWW... it's expensive. The biggest question to answer: can I wear this wondrous garment frequently enough to make it worth the purchase price? I'm NOT going to say it's an investment, because only in a few cases will you be able to sell something for more than the purchase price, which is the technical definition of an investment. But in a way, if you get more joy from something, and it enhances your ... View the Post

A Little Bit of Travel Math

June 13, 2014

So this morning when I woke up (late...) I decided, for no apparent reason, to check prices on plane tickets to Paris... (my next trip, in September, is already booked, but I like to see what's available!)Then, just for the sake of comparison, I looked for one amazing personal style purchase that cost almost exactly the same amount:

This is a bag that would last the rest of your life, even if you're a newborn infant...

But Paris... sigh...

These are the kinds of decisions that define our lives.

Love, Janice ... View the Post

Do you actually WEAR your favorite clothes?

May 10, 2013

Yesterday, when I was getting dressed, I reached out for my favorite silk jacket. It's from Eileen Fisher, it's a color she calls cobblestone, which is sort of bronze/grey/green, and when I wear it I look tall and thin and young, and AMAZINGLY stylish.

I reached. And then I pulled back. WHAT?????

Somewhere in the back of my mind lurks this voice that says "oh, save that for a special occasion..."

Really? At my age? It's not like I'm going to get dirty on the playground, nor spill chocolate milk on myself at lunch. (mmmmm....chocolate milk....)

What's the worst thing that can happen?

I might be the best-dressed person at work. (Oh bother) Or I might eventually wear the jacket out; fabric fatigue, ... View the Post

“It’s Not in My Plan”

My best friend, whom I refer to as Slim, is possibly the best-dressed woman I've ever known. What makes this fact even MORE fun is the knowledge that she buys over half of her clothes from ebay or from consignment shops and thrift stores. Her taste is exquisite, and her ability to find a high-quality item in a sea of ordinary is almost supernatural.

She told us a story Saturday about a recent shopping excursion to one of her favorite consignment shops. She was looking for black pants, and found a pair of Jil Sander pants for $50. (easily less than 10% of the original retail price)

But the extraordinary part of her tale: she also saw a sea foam green cabled cashmere sweater, in her size, on sale for $28. ... View the Post

Futility, time-wasting, and fraying the edges of your self-esteem

Indulge me while I do some math:

10 minutes/day messing with my hair = 1 hour per week (I'm taking Sundays off)

1 hour/week = 6 1/2 work days per year

6 1/2 work days per year X 40 years (adult working life) = over ONE WORKING YEAR...

And what am I trying to do during these boring, and futile, 10 minutes per day?

I'm trying to have hair like Louise Brooks. Or maybe even Juliette Greco. But it's a waste of time, electricity, hair-care products, and ultimately, I'm spending a little bit of time every day telling myself that I'm JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH the way I am naturally.

Which is this:

There are dozens of ways in which we engage in futile battles. We could easily just surrender, and be happier, more productive, ... View the Post