April 25, 2014 It's a question that comes up often - what are the best shoes to wear with navy clothes? Well, men have, for generations, worn black shoes. Nobody would expect them to wear anything different; navy shoes worn with a navy suit would be inappropriate for most men in most business settings. I've never felt that there was anything wrong with women doing exactly the same thing... Or you can thrown yourself into the project of finding navy shoes that work with your clothes. Generally speaking, I think this means looking for about the darkest navy you can find that doesn't look like black. But then you've got to make sure that you keep your shoes together and that they don't migrate ... View the Post
jewelry Archives - Page 17 of 18
The Vivienne Files FAQ: Are Accessories Necessary?
March 4, 2014 Do you have to buy and wear accessories? Absolutely not - except most of us will have to wear shoes... But I very strongly feel that just a few well-chosen accessories can make a world of difference in how the simplest of garments come together into ensembles. If you're not comfortable wearing scarves, find a way to just throw one around your neck one day and then do your utmost to ignore it for as long as possible. Make sure your first scarf isn't anything floaty or filmy that's going to blow up into your face at the first opportunity. Maybe something quite small, tied up and out of the way so that you won't even really see it... Jewelry is also pretty useful - earrings especially ... View the Post
Brooches for Winter
I fully intended to hold back this post until it was a bit closer to winter, and the winter holidays, but since all of these brooches are available right now, on ebay, I thought I'd go ahead and give you some eye candy...
While a brooch might not be considered a wardrobe essential, even the "non-brooch" people among us have to admit that these are pretty - especially when aggregated thematically... And the vintage brooches are often beautiful quality for a modest price!
love, Janice ... View the Post
Capsule Wardrobe Project 333: Earrings
October 18, 2013
Earrings are far from an essential part of any wardrobe, but I wear them every day; I find that I really hate the look of the holes in my ears without earrings. But most of the time I prefer to wear only small stud earrings, or very modest hoops - I'm not terribly keen on large earrings on me...These are the core of my day-to-day wardrobe:
Pearls, or another lustrous stone in a neutral tone, are a good starter:
A metallic stud is always nice:
It's generally handy to have a somewhat dressy earring for those occasions:
And a small earring in an accent color is fun:
If you're a hoop earring type ... View the Post
Capsule Wardrobe Project 333: Bracelets and Necklaces
October 14, 2013
Bracelets and necklaces are also items that absolutely nobody MUST have in their wardrobe; women have lived completely fulfilled and productive lives without them. But for me, this is the core of what I will be wearing through the autumn and winter.Note that I wear both silver and gold, mostly because I have a Trinity ring as a wedding ring, and my watch has a yellow and white gold band. As will ALL things style, your mileage may vary.
Pearl bracelets - there are SO many beautiful ones available:
Pearl necklaces with some black detailing - I would buy two of these and layer them together:
A nice simple gold ... View the Post
Autumn Zest: Brooches
I feel like these posts on brooches are almost vanity posts, because I have so much fun doing them. They take HOURS - don't get me wrong - but I always have such a good time searching out the pins and cleaning up the images to share them with you.If the weather every gets cool enough that we can break out outerwear, a beautiful or whimsical brooch is a wonderful addition to the everyday coat. In a city with a sea of black, navy and grey coats, the chance to see the occasional brooch, or grouping of brooches, is a chic sighting indeed.
So what could you break out, for the approach of autumn?
(I used a variety of background colors, to give you a sense of how different pins will work with your clothing or coat ... View the Post
Getting Dressed with the 33 Piece Capsule Wardrobe: the accessories
I'm not going to share with you what I wore last week, because with the exception of two days in the office, I wore flannel pajamas. Constantly. For five days, while I recovered from a stomach virus of Olympic strength. Instead, I've aggregated all of the accessories that I wore during January, for our consideration.Bear in mind that the REAL Project 333 starts with 33 items of clothing AND ACCESSORIES for three months, and that there are lots of people making that work beautifully. I'm currently doing the sissies version of 333, which has 33 items of clothing and unlimited accessories.
First up are my shoes - only seven pair, including two pair (the black & white, and the gold) which many people ... View the Post
Brooches in Bunches
How to find vintage brooches? All of these are currently available on Etsy, and all are of the brand Coro...Tips:
search for both "brooch" and "pin", and even "broach", if you can bear to decide up front what your tolerance is for wear and tear: scratched enamel, yellowed rhinestones etc. check the description carefully - some pieces are sold JUST for dismantling and using parts for repair - the are NOT wearable "as is" Make sure that you're choosing brooches of a similar size, if you plan to group them. Unless you want a variety of sizes, in which case - go for it! If you see a design or pattern that you love, be patient, and check all over the internet. Most of these designs were made in a variety of ... View the Post
Accessories: The Power of the Plural
If you don't feel comfortable with big pieces of jewelry, but you still want a sort of "statement", consider tripling up on your jewelry. (for some reason, it works really well with odd numbers).
Tiny brooches, like those shown above, take on a new level of impact when grouped. (these pins are about one inch across). You can do this very effectively with bracelets too. Sometimes, with necklaces. Earrings... could be tricky...
Pins are particularly fun - the variety of designs available is staggering! Were you to suddenly decide that you wanted to find five brooches that looked like feathers, or vegetables, or hearts, or ballerinas - they're out there.
This can be great fun. And some of ... View the Post
Variations on a dress: brown, with sleeves
Variations on a dress: grey, with sleeves
Grey dress – La Garconne, bracelets – Buckle, bag & pumps – Debenhams, yellow earrings – Kate Spade, yellow clutch – Ted Baker, yellow flats – J. Crew
Grey dress – La Garconne, scarf – Emilio Pucci, clutch bag – Lanvin, slingbacks – Wallis Fashion, carnelian bracelet – Sydney Evan, orange & grey bag – Mysuelly, wedge pumps – J. Crew
Grey dress – La Garconne, chain necklace – Olivia Collings, silver bag – Kelly & Katie, grey flats – Aerosoles, scarf – Hermès, red bag – Lulu Guinness, red pumps – Christin Michaels
Grey dress – La Garconne, amethyst earrings – Deborah Pagani, purple bag – Salvatore Ferragamo, purple pumps – Miu Miu, earrings – Irene Neuwirth, flowered bag ... View the Post
Variations on a dress: black, with sleeves
June 26, 2012
Black dress – Bruuns Bazaar, earrings – Katie Diamond , bracelet – Aspinal of London, cognac bag – Balenciaga, cap-toe flats – Elizabeth & James, scarf – Aspinal of London, nude bag – JosephM, two-toned cuff – Etro, nude flats – Christian Louboutin
Black dress – Bruuns Bazaar, blue jade bracelet – Tess van Ghert, patchwork bag – 3.1 Phillip Lim, blue ballet flats – Giuseppe Zanotti, striped earrings – Dorothy Perkins, dotted clutch – Sergio Rossi, striped slingbacks – Manolo Blahnik
Black dress – Bruuns Bazaar, knot earrings – Anna Beck, woven bag – Kate Spade, gold woven ballet flats – Dorothy Perkins, pearl & black crystal earrings – Azaara, clutch bag ... View the Post