red Archives - Page 3 of 13

12 Months, 12 Outfits in a A Black-Based Capsule Wardrobe – An Evaluation

Ah, this one is closest to my normal capsule wardrobe, and to what I would buy if I had to start all over... Remember, we left this wardrobe on the first of November like this:

You can see the outfit-by-outfit progression of this wardrobe here: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November.

Because this wardrobe is so close to my own, I wasn't really concerned that things wouldn't be reasonably well balanced. The easy assembly of a "Four by Four" capsule wardrobe supports my thoughts:

I wasn't quite as certain that things would be as well-balanced for seasons and dressiness - I tend to love cold-weather clothing more than warm, and to like dressier things more than casual. You ... View the Post

The French 5-Piece Wardrobe Starts with Art: Still Life with Bouquet of Flowers and Plums by Rachel Ruysch

Dear Elizabeth, who's favorite designer is Vionnet - send me an email at theviviennefiles@gmail.com with your mailing address. You won the Mainbocher exhibit book!

So what do you do if you WANT something new, but you really don't need anything? You feel the need for brightening up, for some new ideas and inspiration, for some updated options in your wardrobe... I think it's important to take these feeling seriously, and to act on them deliberately, with a clear plan and established goal. If you just start buying things willy nilly, you risk wasting money, and feeling guilty, and still not satisfying that urge that stems from something vital within you. How about first find something beautiful to help focus that sort of "all over ... View the Post

Tote Bag Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Red, Blue and White

It's always interesting to work with red, blue, and white in a capsule wardrobe - the challenge is to do justice to three colors that look great together, without ending up looking like someone's flag... The grey here, the 2 shades of red, and the 2 shades of blue, give us lots of options to avoid a very "bleu, blanc, rouge" kind of look. (unless that's what you want - I'm not going to tell you no!)

For this very abbreviated little ensemble, I focused on just four colors. Introducing a spectrum of grey could give you a million options...

He Falls Asleep....

At the symphony. Always. Audibly...

And that's kind of a drag for her, because she LOVES it. The longest Mahler, the most repetitious theme and variations from Bach - ... View the Post

Tote Bag Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Yellow and Red

Strong, classic colors, with LOTS of accent possibilities in the Hermes scarf:

But for just one night, we only need a couple of accent colors in the capsule wardrobe color palette...

She LIKES Carmen...

But nobody else seems to... so she's going to the opera alone!

A nice pre-theater dinner is in the cards too; if she's going to do this, she's going to do it right!

And she's got a knockout brunch planned for the next morning... love, Janice ... View the Post

Tote Bag Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, White and Red

As you might already know, I'll be in Italy when this post goes "live"! But I've got 2 weeks of lovely capsule wardrobes lined up for you, all of them starting with a pair of scarves. From there, our protagonist is going to spend one quick (but lovely!) night somewhere... Starting NOW!

This is our color scheme, although careful scrutiny of the left scarf suggests that pink might have also been a possibility here:

Barely Enough Time...

Okay, she checks her watch...

As soon as she's off the train and in the cab, (1) change earrings, (2) add bracelet, (3) change shoes, (4) stuff cardigan in bag and grab wrap, and (5) make sure she has what she needs in her gorgeous evening bag...

Worst case - the way she's ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette – A Soupçon of Scarlet, with Six Neutrals

You asked for "soupçon," you get it!

If you're going to have a red sweater, why not a cozy cashmere cardigan? This is one of those garments that you could keep forever, and wear it mostly for Christmas and Valentine's Day, but there are a lot of other times when it could be just the ticket. Some gloomy day in November, when the sun has never shone...

First up, scarlet and olive! This is a combination that might veer too far into the Christmas-y, if the green is too bright. (Which isn't a problem, unless you don't like the look.) However, this olive green mutes those holiday associations, and provides a good base for the brightness of the scarlet.

I've worn red with grey for years, and I've always like the way to quiet richness of ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art Part 2: Cow’s Skull: Red White and Blue by Georgia O’Keeffe

She's a medical examiner, and she's got her own, very deliberate, way of doing things! When we saw her at the class reunion, this was what she had with her:

This is the unifying style inspiration that she uses for her appearance and image; not for just anyone, I'd say!

Now, she's preparing for an interesting vacation. She's agreed to go with him on his lengthy business trip, even though they don't know each other all that well...

The promise of 10 days in a new city is compelling, and the idea of having 8 or 10 dinner dates with him is... sufficiently intriguing that she's willing to give it a try!

She packs meticulously, as would be expected. Because it's vacation, and because it might be romantic, she includes lots of ... View the Post

One Red Dress in a Capsule Wardrobe: Fourteen Ways to Wear It

I love doing these... and this dress just calls my name. How can I NOT own this in black? This dress also comes in yellow (remember last week's post about a yellow dress?), black, and raspberry, which is a gorgeous rich hot pink... sigh...

It probably doesn't amaze you to learn that when I do similar blog posts, I reuse the original template, and just make the appropriate changes. So after I went into this template and changed the dividers in the middle from red to yellow, I removed the yellow dress from every page, and just plunked the red dress in...

And didn't have to change ONE THING, for these two options! How many different colors could work here? Certainly the black dress would be perfect here, if even a bit drab, and the ... View the Post

Building a Wardrobe of Bags – Accessories for the Capsule Wardrobe

A couple of weeks ago, Belovedest and I were wandering around Chicago when we happened upon a store called The Shudio. Yes, it's a "hybrid of a retail shop full of eco conscious goods... combined with a metalsmith jewelry studio." And yes, this is some fun... I could have purchased a lot of things, but I'm trying very hard to avoid that kind of reckless madness (especially with THREE big vacations coming up in the next year!), but I did buy a lovely little black leather wristlet, from a company called CHC. They donate 10% of their revenue to a local organization for homeless women, and all of their materials are local. Pretty nice; I was happy. But when I got home and dug out my bag for our upcoming trip to Italy, I realized that my ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Mariana by John Everett Mlilais

Deceptive

But not in any damaging way; she doesn't meant to mislead anyone...

But in her heart, she longs for castles, and brocade hangings on stone walls...

In reality, her life is casual. Relaxed. No need for ANY dress - certainly not a fluid, draped, swinging and swaying swath of velvet in a rich, luscious color... But she keeps these feelings in mind when she's shopping: rich colors, intricate prints, and indulgent details and trims.

The boldest thing she might do is mix a pair of deep, saturated colors. She does dare to wear a velvet hoodie, as well as one in cashmere. They are small rebellions, but essential for her well-being.

Her jewelry might be a bit more detailed than is absolutely necessary, and her footwear ... View the Post

A Winter Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Red and White

After yesterday's fun with packing capsule wardrobes, I couldn't resist changing the accent color, just to see how it would look! So let's revisit the first outfit, and change the shirt color from blue to red (as well as swapping out a different scarf and socks). I've changed the earrings for something more round, so that we can look at softer or rounded shapes for prints and accent items. This, of course, will change our color scheme, too:

The 2nd outfit only sees a change of shirt and earrings - as much as I was considering a softer print for the shirt, the idea of a flannel shirt in Ireland and England just makes TOO much sense to abandon!

The 3rd outfit - our indoor activities ensemble - gets a great scarf, and some fun socks. ... View the Post

A Six Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Red, White and Blue for Uncertain Weather

Sunday, when B and I went out for our usual breakfast and Art Institute visit, we wore jackets and gloves. Yes, May 15th, we wore gloves! I felt terrible for the people who had scheduled an outdoor wedding, and also for the hundreds of tourists who were caught completely off guard by the record-tying coldest May 15th in history. So I'm going to reiterate, one more time, that no matter WHERE you are going, no matter WHAT time of year, you should always include a few essential items. Closed-toe shoes, a pair of socks, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt might never make it out of your suitcase, but if you encounter the kind of weather that we've had here recently, you'll be endlessly glad to have them. If you're coming to Chicago to see ... View the Post