jewelry Archives

Can Accessories Tie Together a Wardrobe? Start with Art – Courtesans Strolling Beneath Cherry Trees by Utamaro

May 7, 2021

Ah, it looks relaxed and pretty, if being a courtesan is your thing!

You may remember the 16-piece Four by Four wardrobe that we assembled, based on the colors in this painting:

The big question from many of you was that I hadn't really mixed the rose with the neutrals in the outfits that I showed last week. I think that those "mixed" outfits felt naked to me without something to blend the rose accent with the neutrals. So that's what I've looked at first!

For example, these sandals that seem to be silver, with a gold buckle, and splotches of color on them, are perfect with this simple tee shirt and shorts:

And these next sandals have rose and black in the striped part! And yes, this is a pretty dressy ... View the Post

Accessories! Revisiting Dance Dance by Jacqueline Osborn

April 16, 2021

Who doesn't love this painting?

Our heroine from Wednesday has assembled a really lovely, warm-toned and warm-weather travel capsule wardrobe:

Now she needs accessories! She knows that her color palette for her accessories will be the same as for her clothes, with the addition of gold for anything metallic:

She takes a look at the 24-piece accessory wardrobe that has been used before on The Vivienne Files; it seems like a LOT of things for a trip...

And she also looks at the suggestions that I made once upon a time:

And then she realized that if building her wardrobe 1 piece at a time worked so well, it might be a sensible way to assemble her accessories too!

She started with an ... View the Post

Little Things Can Make a Difference…

March 19, 2021

Sunday is World Down Syndrome Day - and wearing snazzy socks is one way that they suggest we observe the day! The thinking is that when someone comments on your witty or eye-catching socks, you can talk to them about Down Syndrome...

I can run with this idea!

This is a great time of year to treat oneself to something fun, pretty, and still practical. At least in Chicago, we're not wearing Spring clothes, and our winter things are looking tired... A bit of color might be a great little splurge!

Honestly, Talbots has the best accessories...

Maybe you're in the mood for butterflies?

Even the seriously achromatic among us can have some fun:

Maybe you're craving the great outdoors? Your socks can ... View the Post

Accessories! Revisiting the Photo Floral Silk Square by Echo

March 12, 2021

I couldn't resist revisiting this scarf; the colors and the stunning floral images really stuck in my mind! (and at this point in my life, anything that I can remember is a good thing...)

Here's the original post...

As we have done in the past, each outfit from the original post will be back here, but this time with accessories!

Also, as in the past, I will try to re-use a few accessories just to reinforce the fact that we don't have to have all-new (or different) accessories for each outfit. That's nutty, wasteful, and the road to confusion and over-consumption!

First up, I love the idea of accent socks, and these tie-dyed ones are the perfect color...

Some day I'm going to find socks of one of my ... View the Post

Acessories! Adding Balance and Interest to Start with Art: Meadow by Mainie Jellett

February 24, 2021

This may or may NOT change your feelings about this wardrobe; I suspect that I'm going to revisit this at least twice! Maybe once use darker brown and olive to balance the red, and a second try to incorporate the mauve pink in place of the red...

This is where we started:

I already feel like the wheels are coming off - the red accessories that go so well with this outfit won't be worn with any other outfits except maybe an all camel ensemble...

This outfit screams "reading on the sofa for 5 hours" to me...

If you haven't had a haircut in a REALLY REALLY long time, a pretty hair clip might be smart...

The green puts our heroine in the mood for 4-leaf clovers, and who could blame ... View the Post

Need Something Bright? Accessories in 10 “New” Colors

December 21, 2020

Pantone gifted us with 10 more "new" colors for the 2021 London Fashion Week! Actually, we've seen Illuminating yellow before, but the rest of these are new names for lovely colors that have existed since we first had rods and cones in our eyes...

Their colors for 2021 are Illuminating Yellow and Ultimate Gray, which made me laugh; back in about 1998 or so, I worked at an ad agency that unveil their new logo in the very edgy colors of yellow and grey!

The more things change, eh?

So if you're in the mood for a gift to brighten up your wardrobe, I've got a few suggestions!

First is an elusive but really lovely cool pink - almost lavender...

This might not be the easiest shade of green to wear, ... View the Post

Start with Art: Adding Accessories – Colored Rhythm: Study for the Film by Leopold Survage

I'll be back off and on for a week or two until things settle... Your kind messages and support help keep me sane right now. much love, Janice

November 25, 2020

She's quite happy with how her wardrobe is progressing; she's basing her choices on this painting she just discovered, and the color palette she developed from it:

She has her clothes all ready:

This is already a pretty fun wardrobe, but she's eager to see what accessories will add. The perfect scarf is all this outfit needs - a pair of earrings and some loafers finish this outfit in a classic way!

A sweater with texture and a pendant with a real eye-catching pattern are perfect for a work day:

The turtleneck print is subtle but its just ... View the Post

Start with Art: Adding Accessories – With My Back to the World by Agnes Martin

November 13, 2020

Friday the 13th, what might go wrong?

She's still craving calm, peace and quiet. There's quite enough upheaval in the world right now, without her adding to it!

So she finds a favorite painting, and isolates a color palette she loves:

And then she adds to her core Common Wardrobe of grey garments some accent things in each of the 3 colors; her wardrobe for the month looks like this:

In order to keep the peaceful organization of her closet growing and advancing, she decides to focus now on the accessories that she wants to wear with her wardrobe. So she chooses a number of outfits, accessorizes each of them (sort of like playing with dolls!) and then stores away all of the rest of her things for a few ... View the Post

Start with FICTION? Fulvia Morgana, from Small World by David Lodge

November 11, 2020

I've never tried this before! But when I read this description, I knew I had to share it, and to fantasize about what she might have packed.... So let's meet Fulvia Morgana from the book Small World by David Lodge.

Isn't she fascinating? There's no hint of how old she is, or how she's built, or what her coloring might be!

But I'll warn you, she's not the nicest person in the book...

For our purposes, though, I'm thinking about what she changes into when she arrives at the ghastly literary conference...

note - this character is super-wealthy, so I've completely ignored prices on things in this post; it was interesting...

For the first night, she wants to sit quietly on the sidelines to see who's there, ... View the Post

Start with Art: Adding Accessories – Red Hills, Lake George by Georgia O’Keeffe

November 9, 2020

Remember this lovely work, and our heroine who was so uncertain about including both red and pink accents in her Garde-Robe du Mois?

Her final wardrobe was this lovely, uncommon but very practical assortment:

She's going to whittle down her "visible" accessories for the month too - put a few pieces of jewelry into nice storage bags and give them a vacation. Fold some of her scarves into a storage box... Put some of her shoes away on a shelf... A bit of simplifying for 30 days or so!

So she takes 10 outfits, makes sure she has the perfect accessories for each of them, and then tucks away her other treasures for a different month and a changed Garde-Robe du Mois...

editorial comment: I would ... View the Post

Is It Time for a Wardrobe Brightener? Pantone 2021 Spring Colors

October 30, 2020

Most of us are being very disciplined with our wardrobes right now, but I think that we (and those around us) might benefit from the occasion cheerful update. With that in mind, I tackled the "newest" colors from Pantone.

First up - if you can wear yellow, DO IT. Many of us look like a Halloween decoration when we wear it, and that's too bad. Nothing is more eye-catching and smile-prompting.

And this gingham sweatshirt comes in 4 colors, including pink. I AM tempted...

This shade of blue might be an accent for some of us, or for many it will just be some pretty new additions. I wasn't able to exactly match the Pantone color (heck, I wasn't able to match ANY of the colors exactly!) but I tried to ... View the Post

Start with Art: Adding Accessories to a Wardrobe – Poem by Bunya no Asayasu by Hokusai

October 19, 2020 She Chooses LOTS of Accessories! She has her inspiration:

And her clothes are all chosen (as well as 1 scarf!):

So she heads into the kids rooms with a handful of garbage bags, and duly loads ALL of their clothes into the bags.... It's what they wanted, and she's so happy that they're going to be away from civilization for a few months that she's NOT going to quibble about odd wardrobe requests....

And then, she walks into her bedroom. She needs to pick up some shoes, and whatever other accessories she might want for the next few months. Her first inclination is just to grab her loafers and a pair of slippers and call it a day, but then she pauses, to take the time to think about this with herself and her ... View the Post