navy Archives - Page 36 of 45

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch: A Brief Pause to Check the Map

June 27, 2014

This seems like a good time to stop for a moment and assess what we've accomplished so far with our capsule wardrobes, and make sure that we're happy with the direction in which we're moving. The items that we've brought into the capsule wardrobe so far give us over a dozen outfit options (I'm showing 2 dozen, but if you take off the cardigans, there are additional outfits). Some of these outfits work better than others, but none of them are unwearable. What might be reasonable to do right now would be to stop and look at each of these outfits, and decide if we're comfortable with most of them. Certainly some are going to be... not to our taste... but if your choice of colors has been ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 7: A Base in the 2nd Neutral

July 26, 2014 Today's step will bring our second neutral color more fully into our capsule wardrobes, by the addition of another "suit-like ensemble" in this color. Please note that you can choose a really different cardigan style from your first one, or you could choose a jacket - even a denim jacket! And I'm opting for ballet flats for this color - no matter what shoes I choose, someone somewhere is going to detest them and want something very different. I'm including these in a really neutral style mostly for illustrative purposes - I want to focus on the role that a second pair of shoes, in a different color, will play. Tomorrow, when I show outfit options, this 2nd pair of shoes will make a big ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 6: Accent Color Tops and a Scarf

June 25, 2014

Now, the fun starts! A couple of accent color tops and another scarf will bring each capsule wardrobe to life and give you many more options. Don't be terribly fanatic about matching up your accent colors, because you won't be wearing these pieces together; just make sure that you're choosing items that convey your preferences and your personal statement... That's what this is all about - showing yourself to the world exactly as you wish to be seen.

Yellow tee – Warehouse, scarf – Collection Weekend, aqua tee - Reiss

Red blouse – Cutie, scarf – Brooks Brothers, blue shirt - Uniqlo

Pink shirt – Fenn Wright Manson, scarf – Twisted ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 5: Accessories round one

June 24, 2014

Now that we have enough clothes in our capsule wardrobe to put together at least a handful of combinations, it's time to pause and make sure that we're truly heading down a path which we like; if we want to change courses, now is the time!

At a minimum, wearing coordinating accessories with your wardrobe will keep you from making that excuse in your mind - "this wardrobe isn't working because I don't have the right earrings (watch, scarf, bag); when I get THAT then it will be okay." So let's take a break from clothes and take a look at our accessories. Unless you're making a completely radical change of colors, you might find that you have accessories already in your collection which will work beautifully ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 4: Jeans and a Shirt

June 21, 2014

From the very beginning of this capsule wardrobe project, some of you have been clamoring for a pair of jeans. (actually, someone sent me a shockingly rude email when I didn't start with jeans; nobody should care so very much about what a blogger suggests...)

So now we're going to find a wonderful pair of jeans in our first neutral - yes, this gives us a core of four, which I consider to be a great starting point for a wardrobe.

When you're looking for jeans, try on lots and lots of them. And don't worry about price - more expensive jeans aren't automatically anything special, and inexpensive jeans might fit you beautifully. Just don't compromise on the quality of the denim, nor on the construction. After ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 3: A cardigan and tee

June 20, 2014

After much consideration, I decided NOT to start our capsule wardrobes with a suit, but I'm going to now pull in a second layer garment that can give you "suit-like" utility if you want it to. These two pieces could certainly be purchased as a true twinset (I personally adore twinsets), or you can find pieces that are closely related in color but not matchy-matchy.

You can buy a cardigan without any buttons - a waterfall style - but make sure that it's nice quality, and doesn't look like "the cardigan that I keep on my desk chair all the time in case it gets cold in the office". And do bear in mind that a cardigan that buttons can be worn without anything under it - as a sweater in its own right. A handy ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch: Choosing Color Schemes

June 17, 2014

It's a question that's as old as The Vivienne Files - if you're starting a capsule wardrobe from scratch, how do you start?

What an ambitious question! But after thinking about it for three years, I'm going to give it a try - a step by step approach to rebuilding your wardrobe from the ground up.

Before you buy any garments at all, you've got to make a couple of decisions. One thing you'll have to work out for yourself - which silhouettes suit you best. I'm really not qualified to answer this question for every woman, but I encourage you to address this question on your own; you know better than anybody else in the world what shapes and sizes of garments suit you best...

But the next question - truly critical - is ... View the Post

What If I Only Want to Wear Solid Colors?

June 14, 2014

What if you don't WANT to wear printed garments, or scarves? More power to you, and congratulations for knowing what you really prefer! I'm going to recommend some coordinating small solid earrings in semi-precious stones, bracelets in enamel or stone, and solid scarves to keep your ensembles looking "intentional." I'm not sure, but I think this could qualify as a "whatever's clean" wardrobe...

Starting with the dark neutrals we've seen before:

And then the light neutrals:

And some solid neutral tops:

Finally, the accent colors. We haven't seen pastels for a while, so let's go pink and blue!

This is your sixteen-piece wardrobe:

Plenty of ways to pull this together ... View the Post

Neutral Accessories: Shoes Part 2

May 16, 2014 This is the second half of the Neutral Accessories: Shoes post that I started yesterday. Although I'm trying to show all of the 14 neutral colors that I've included in my Combination of 3 Neutrals document, I chose put both of the shades of grey together. Similarly, I've put natural and khaki together... In both of these cases, the number of items available are so small that it didn't make sense to break them into separate listings!

love,

Janice Looking Back:

2012 - one of my favorite paintings of all time - I got to Start with Art: Monet Water Lilies. 2013 - Sometimes I need to be reminded of my Project ... View the Post

What Shoes Can I Wear with Navy Clothes?

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 into your black ... View the Post

Navy and Beige with Coral and Sun

April 24, 2014 Warm accent colors with navy and beige? Absolutely!

I've changed up the cardigan again - this one is a splurge and a half, but the navy and coral are beautifully presented here:

And just to show some other possible choices, I've picked out a new skirt and a pair of outrageous summer pants. I personally would wear these pants in a heartbeat, but your mileage may vary!

This gives you this 24-piece wardrobe; isn't it fascinating how changing just a few of the garments makes so much difference in the overall feel of the ensemble?

As always, lots of possible ways to wear these - from the most casual, to reasonably dressy activities.

love, Janice ... View the Post

Navy and Beige Wardrobe gets the (Turquoise and Periwinkle) Blues

April 23, 2014

Many of you mentioned mixing shades of blue with your navy and beige, citing the always beautiful suggestion that this reminds you of the sand and the sea. How can anybody make this happen?

Say this is your summer shopping - these are the accent colors that you use, rather than the red and green that I used earlier. So your color scheme is this:

In addition to changing out the accent colors, I'm going to make two simple changes to the original core wardrobe. First, I want to include a floral sweater that does justice to our chosen accent colors:

and I'm swapping out the patterned skirt from earlier for a solid navy skirt with a ... View the Post