jewelry Archives

A Cool Weather Wardrobe Accent – 10 Sweaters, with Accessories

August 28, 2023

Let's assume, for the sake of fun, that we know what our core neutral wardrobe color will be for upcoming cool weather (in the Northern Hemisphere, of course!).

But most of us are going to want to add something to accent our wardrobes for the upcoming 6+ months of sweater weather...

I've already found mine - I bought the Lands' End Velvet Plum Heather cashmere cardigan THE MINUTE it was available. I didn't wait for it to go on sale, because it had real, serious whappage, and that means grab it now!

I could have purchased the crewneck, but I already have a purple crewneck sweater - in a different purple! - so this filled a wardrobe gap, and also sang sweet songs of cashmere to my heart...

But there are ... View the Post

Accenting Navy with Bright or Deep Colors

This is called: "I have NO IDEA what the day, or date, is this month!" Please understand that I will NOT have another post tomorrow morning!

August 13, 2023

Hi! Someone made a great point in Friday's comments, that I want to address. They pointed out that there are a LOT more ways to mix a neutral and an accent color than just "column of neutral + accent cardigan + accent scarf and shoes."

Of COURSE there are! But I've tried to keep these outfits as similar as possible, with the only variable in the accent color, so we can focus on the effect of the color and not be distracted by things like necklines and drapes and lengths and all of the other dozens of variables in clothing.

I'm always more than happy to approach these ... View the Post

Accenting Navy with Pastels

August 11, 2023

Okay, we're going to have THREE posts about navy, because I want to look into the pretty potential of pastels (death by alliteration!), as well as what might be interesting and useful in the world of bright accent colors...

Let's go!

I might have found a softer/lighter pink cardigan, but I really love the sleeves on this one! And it's just right with the scarf...

If you prefer a warmer kind of pink... Well, this is technically called Peachskin. Yes, all 1 word.

Yellow was hard! Really REALLY hard. Maybe as the weather cools down, and we have more sweaters available?

I don't wear pastels, but I could easily be tempted by mint green! I don't know what it is about this color...

Light blue ... View the Post

Accenting Navy with Other Neutrals

August 9, 2023

Ah, let's see what kinds of lovely ensembles we can pull together with this as our base:

I'm not going to interject a lot of remarks for this post, because (a) I don't wear navy anymore, and I'm more interested to hear what those of you who DO wear navy have to say, and (b) I'm dashing off to have someone poke a needle in my wrist, after which I shall NOT type for the rest of the day! I'd say I deserve a break after that, eh?

Editorial update: NO SHOT!!! And no more visits unless the pain dictates... Woo hoo!!!

First, an all-navy ensemble, accented with labradorite earrings and a lovely small scarf:

You don't wear scarves? A nice olive necklace will do the trick...

If you want a less "all dark" ... View the Post

How to Wear a Blue Dress – 10 Ideas

July 24, 2023

I heard from quite a few of you, asking if this dress could be worn with... well... navy, black, green and pink, so far!

So I decided to give this dress the attention it deserves, and see what the possibilities might be...

My gut instinct tells me that this dress will be great with any neutral, and with just about any other color that is of a similar intensity. Let's see!

Navy - of course! This would be a great dress to wear to a stuffy office environment, and then out for dinner:

I think this is a lovely combination - the green is soft, but equally saturated, so that it stands up to the blue:

If the weather is hot...

If autumn is approaching, and you feel like a darker color is the right ... View the Post

Accessory Families – Adding a Fresh Color for Warm and Cool Weather

April 28, 2023

It's fascinating to me that one can buy a cashmere sweater any month of the year, but it offers us an interesting wardrobe-planning option.

Think of this: you choose a color that you'd like to add to your wardrobe - maybe a bright or pastel accent, maybe a new neutral.

Over the next 6 months, you gradually add things to your wardrobe, and by the time autumn comes (or spring, depending on what hemisphere you call home!) you will have an accessory family in your new color!

Maybe you already own a piece or two in your color; I'm thinking of doing some deliberate shopping to get more mileage out of my purple cashmere crewneck sweater!

One really excellent item per month is a much easier way to ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Windows by Robert Delaunay

March 31, 2023

Accessories make SO much difference; I think we're going to see that pretty quickly!

Remember this painting?

And this wardrobe?

Let's work our way through a bunch of outfits, to see what accessories our heroine needs...

First up - the all-beige ensemble! Some people make this look wonderful...

For this next outfit, if the weather gets too hot to wear a scarf around your neck, you can always wear it as a belt, or in your hair, or tied to your bag...

One could make a summer-long project of looking for accessories that worked with their summer capsule wardrobe!

Even a very small scarf - literally a pocket square - can add a touch of color when worn as a bracelet, or around your neck, ... View the Post

Part 2: HOW CAN YOU WEAR A NEW ACCENT COLOR? PANTONE AUTUMN/WINTER 2023/24

February 27, 2023

Let's spend some time with the other 5 colors that Pantone identified as "important" for Autumn/Winter 2023/24...

yes, I would definitely put a brooch over the logo on this cardigan; I just couldn't resist this, because the color is so perfect!

Of course, this color is lovely with navy:

I think I could have found a better name for this shade of green, but they never ask my opinion!

I'm not sure about this with navy - I think I will pull together a beige core wardrobe next week and try all of the colors with it...

I love this color!

And I love it with navy; navy is a great neutral!

I think Pantone almost always include some shade of blush peach/pink. It's a pretty ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Ursi – Rain Water

February 22, 2023

We've had as much rain as we have had snow in the last month! Not an "average" February in Chicago!

But if you've got a rainy day facing you, a cozy outfit with warm socks for indoors, and with sneakers for later, when the rain stops, is just the thing...

This is a good time to find sweatshirts and sweaters in pretty colors - the cheer of spring to wear during the cold of spring!

While these outfits are great on their own, they also give you new garments and new accessories for your wardrobe:

If you can hear the rain on your roof, it could lull you into a nap!

Even if your wardrobe is traditional colors, you can still snuggle up!

Sweatpants are so useful in changeable ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a 20-piece Navy and White Spring Wardrobe

February 20, 2023

Let's revisit the friend who has lost her wardrobe; she wants to start to rebuild with this scarf as her inspiration:

For reference - this was the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe 13 garments that she is wearing for Spring:

And these are the bonus garments that will round out her wardrobe:

But accessories! She still has a pair of sandals, and her sunglasses, as well as the earrings she was wearing when they were away and their house was destroyed...

I don't have a clear plan - I'm going to assemble 10 typical outfits from this wardrobe and make certain that she can wear those outfits with appropriate extras. Most important are certainly shoes and a bag or two, in my thinking...

First up, a spring bag, ... View the Post

Accessories! Project 333 based on Composition by Ernest Mancoba

January 20, 2023

It's the 20th already? Holy chocolate-coated Buddha on a stick... So Far, So Good... Our heroine has her color scheme all sorted:

And she has all of her clothing (except for 1 piece - that's the bonus #33 item!) chosen, too:

At a minimum, I'm thinking that this heroine needs 3 pairs of shoes, a couple of bags, and some jewelry. Maybe a scarf or two...

The best way I've found to make sure that you have what you need - packing, or planning a Project 333 Wardrobe - is to work your way through a number of outfits and think about what you want to wear with the clothing.

She can't easily resist gold loafers, and a matching handbag...

A backpack is always handy - many of us have started carrying ... View the Post

Some Pretty Things aka Have You Written Your Holiday Wish-List?

October 14, 2022

Let's just look at some pretty things, eh?

I ended up arranging things by color/mood, because they seemed to look good on the page like that!

Something like this, assembled with appropriate links or information, might make gift shopping easier for those who want to get you something that you really love this winter...

My first love here was the scarf. Or maybe the bracelet. It could have been the ring, too...

I have one of these little rectangle necklaces from Carved. They're lovely - very well made, and VERY affordable. And they come in dozens of colors... Take a look!

This scarf delights me - I could imagine folding and tying it in a couple of different ways to show the purple/pink ... View the Post