French 5-Piece Wardrobe Archives - Page 4 of 6

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Blooming Dahlia

February 28, 2018

Maybe black and white isn't your thing... maybe now that warm weather is approaching, you're in the mood for LIGHT...

And maybe you're very casual. Not a scarf person. Really, VERY casual, relaxed, leisurely...

Maybe start with this:

You've got every kind of white top from sleeveless to long-sleeved, and everything to cover your legs a little, a bit more, or all the way! Layer on a sweater or a sweatshirt and you're good to go.

This is NOT boring.... this is subtle!

You're ready for an update, and a bit of an accent color for the upcoming warm weather. But nothing overly dressy - why buy things you won't wear? You can update just as easily with canvas shoes, tee shirts, and a fresh ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Tomato Red

February 27, 2018 When the weather gets warm, many of us get the urge to shop! And so let's think about limiting our purchases to whatever essential, core items we need, and then a French 5-Piece Wardrobe to freshen and update our classics...First, every change of season has me dreaming of tossing out all of my clothes and buying an entirely new wardrobe from Eileen Fisher. (NOT going to happen, but a woman can fantasize, and then use that fantasy to create a better reality, right?)This is what I'd be buying, if I was going to do such a madcap thing:

Of course, when you look at this wardrobe for a few minutes, you realize that you don't need to buy ALL 10 pieces to get the desired effect - maybe just 2 or 3 of the real signature ... View the Post

Another Wardrobe Disaster…

February 20, 2018

This is almost the same wardrobe that we saw back on February 7th; I've made a couple of changes so that our new "dilemma" is clear...

This is her starting wardrobe; there's nothing really WRONG here - they're all perfectly nice clothes, but she struggles, and often feels that she doesn't look... pretty...

So she goes through the same exercise that we've seen before - does she have the right general assortment of pieces? Yes, this seems fine...

Is it the colors? She feels in her gut that she's got a color "issue..." She's always been told that she was an Autumn, but the colors feel muddy and heavy to her... She's got blue eyes, and freckles, and she feels more... light? than the colors that are ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: The Topographic Scarf from KathKath

We might as well take advantage of the 30% discount that the lovely women at KathKath have offered us, right? The code is vivkath30... their site is kathkath.com.

If you browse about at all on their site, you will find this gorgeous scarf, which is available in both square and rectangle, AND in both silk and modal/cashmere:

There are so many colors available here, but I settled on these, for now. What a rich wealth of beauty...

It was specifically requested that I work with this scarf and a grey base, so I'm going to use these pieces. Just to amp up the dressiness a bit, I've included a pretty blouse and a tweed skirt...

If someone were to really commit to this palette, jewelry in sea glass and mother of pearl would ... View the Post

Start with a GORGEOUS Scarf – The Hope Scarf by KathKath

November 2, 2017

Remember an absolutely amazingly beautiful rose scarf that I used here back in November of 2015 from a company called Kathkath? Well... I'm delighted to be able to tell you that the scarf is now available in a modal and cashmere blend, as well as in a rectangular shape!

And they have new scarves available - oh, do they have some gorgeous things!

The first scarf that caught my eye (but not the only one!) was this - the Hope Scarf. One of my dearest friends loves pansies, and this reminds me of her... and these colors are so ideal as a change of accent color for black; many of us would like a change from using red as our accent color.

Looking for these colors in clothing can drive you mad (there's a ... View the Post

Updating a Navy Wardrobe for Autumn – Start with Art: Shattered Tree by Otto Dix

October 31, 2017

I thought that this painting might be good for Halloween - it's sort of dark without being macabre or outright spooky...

I see this painting all of the time - it's in the Art Institute of Chicago - and I swear that I see navy blue in the areas near the horizon! At any rate, I think that these colors make amazing accents... One could easily include some gold, some medium blues and a bit of grey and live with the color-scheme forever.

This is my starting point today. This version of The Common Wardrobe is a hair dressier than usual - no jeans, and a pair of navy wool pants in their place. A pair of high-quality trousers can be worn almost anywhere... The navy ribbed tee shirt is a notch more elegant ... View the Post

Can I Wear Warm Accent Colors with my Cool Favorites? Start with a Scarf! Berlin Graffiti 2 from ImageDiary

October 27, 2017

The questions around color combinations can go in all sorts of directions... She Fell in Love with the Scarf...

She loved the story, the print, the colors... but her core wardrobe was grey and white! Is this going to work? She's going to honor her impulses and make it work...

She's starting here - comfortable and very versatile, but very grey, too... Not to worry, she has an idea!

The scarf will of course tie outfits together, but so will warm stones or faux stones like tortoise or amber, set in silver. And then she found another scarf that mixed some warm and cool...(yes, "5-Piece" is an approximation, not a law!)

The blue sweater is simple - blue and grey are both ... View the Post

Does the “French 5-Piece Wardrobe” Work with Warmer Colors? Start with Art! Composition by Lee Ungno

It's always a question - there are LOTS of good wardrobe ideas that work beautifully with black (and usually with navy and grey), but what if your favorite colors are warmer, and softer?

Let's start here, just for the sake of art. We saw 2 exhibits of this artist when we were in Paris - there was 1 small room in the Centre Pompidou, and then a much larger exhibit in the Musee Cernuschi (which is just outside of the Parc de Monceau, and is well worth the search!).

This just screamed to me across the room - I saw khaki right away, with amazing accents...

So let's think of a starting point that is lovely for a moderate winter - not a place where you get snow, necessarily, but where you see cooler temperatures. You don't worry ... View the Post

Start with Art: A “French 5-Piece Wardrobe” Based on Nature Morte sur une Chaise by Juan Gris

October 24, 2017

She is feeling a little bit... subdued. She was strangely drawn to this painting:

She decided to embrace her feelings of reserve and quiet, and thus decided that this was how she was going to plan her upcoming wardrobe purchases for autumn and winter.

It wasn't that she really needs new clothes - she's got a good base of her favorite neutrals. But she felt that it was time for a good snuggle, and a scarf of two to hold her tight... She could give lots of reasons for feeling the way she does right now - the weather? the change of seasons? At any rate, she's going to do a bit of shopping...

After much watching, and some almost ENDLESS searching for scarves, these are here choices. She's (quietly) very ... View the Post

How do you Choose a “French 5-Piece Wardrobe?” Start with Art: Portrait de Greta Prozor by Henri Matisse

October 20, 2017

A short and sweet post today, because I've lost ALL track of time...

Let's say that you've got a well-established core wardrobe of the essentials, in mostly black. So you decide, this fall, you're going to use this amazing painting as the inspiration for your purchases - your "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" for this season:

You think for a few days, and decide that this is going to be your guideline:

This is your starting point - more than enough essentials to keep you reasonably well-dressed for most casual to medium-dressy events through the season:

And after some careful, deliberate shopping, this is what you add to your wardrobe for the upcoming cooler weather:

In addition to the myriad ... View the Post

3 FINAL French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring: Lavender, Coral, and Labradorite (?)

April 11, 2017

It's apparent that I could do these for a while - I'm going to have to remember to tackle this idea again the the autumn! But for now, I decided to venture into the idea of lavender, confront the controversy surrounding just exactly what color IS coral (well, in many places in the world, coral is turning white...) and then throw in a complete wild-card multi-colored accent based on one of my favorites stones!

And while I'm at it, I thought I would see if I could provide some ideas for those among us who don't want accent-colored shoes, and those who aren't in need of a cardigan!

(Where do you stand on accent shoes? I have very average-sized feet, and wear monochromatic outfits most of the time, but I can NEVER bring ... View the Post

Three MORE French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring: Blush, Red and French Blue

April 10, 2017

More accent colors! If greenery, from yesterday's French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring, is the "color of the year," then blush must be running a close second...

First up, let's see how blush works with these very classic neutral pieces:

I'd say this looks great!

Will blush look lovely with these very organic-feeling neutrals:

I admit that I'm always surprised by how very versatile olive green can be...

I'm pretty confident that black and white will work well...

It's not an expected color combination, but I think it's all the more effective and interesting for that!

Red is such a classic accent color, but it really never gets boring. Not many women wear it, frankly, because I ... View the Post