scarves Archives

Three Ideas for Two Dresses

March 18, 2026

I'm sitting here right now in a dress and a velvet jacket, with black "sneakerinas." For no good reason - I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not going to see anybody outside of my building. (which is not to say that my doormen aren't tremendously important to me!)

So I'm in a rebelliously "wear whatever you blinkin' well please" mood. And I think that almost every woman should have a fun dress..

How about something like this?

(I know, it's sleeveless. Your arms aren't perfect. YOU HAVE LIVED YOUR LIFE, AND YOUR ARMS REFLECT THIS. IT'S OKAY!)

I'm really on a rant...

First, it's easy to wear this dress with a classic cardigan and the normal accessories. This is the kind of outfit you ... View the Post

Fresh Colors – with LOTS of Green! Pantone New York Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2026-27

February 25, 2026

So New York Fashion Week is behind us, and I saw ABSOLUTELY NONE of it... We're not about fashion, we're about personal style! But it's always fun to see what colors Pantone chooses to highlight from the rainbow of things that are shown on the runway...

This year, if you like brown or green, you're going to be happy!

With no further ado (because this post takes quite long enough as it is!) I share with you the anointed colors for next fall, with some suggestions for an accessory splurge. If you already have something in one or more of these colors in your stash, it might be time to build yourself a wee "accessory family" to liven up your neutrals..

If I were adding ... View the Post

Maybe It’s Time for an Accent Color That Will Last Into Spring…

January 21, 2026

This post started with a BUNCH of emails in which I tried to encourage some of you to at least try a button-front shirt from Lands' End. For literally decades, I avoided button-fronts like the plague, because I'm short, short-armed, short waisted, and generous endowed...

You know how this works out - buttons that gape, sleeves that hang down to your knees. That feeling that your body is not built for this world!

These shirts might work. They do for me. I wear Petite Large, and everything is just right...

Seecond, the temperature is punishingly cold right now. A bright color or two might be nice, eh?

Finally, I realized that the clothes that stay in my closet all 12 months are my button-front shirts, which I ... View the Post

More Beautiful Accent Colors! Pantone London Fashion Week Spring Summer 2026

October 10, 2025

Quick question before I throw a ton of beautiful colors at you: do you wear gym shoes/athletic shoes a lot? More and more, as I search for shoes, I'm finding about half of my results are something sporty. This is particularly true if I'm trying to find a pretty color! But is this the way YOU dress? I don't want to include tons of shoes more suited to sweaty, if you're more interested in sophisticated, or sexy, or simply simple...

Ten more colors! Well, a couple of these are repeats from the New York Fashion Week. Still, a lot of appealing colors:

It comes as a complete surprise to me to realize that Shale Green is my favorite color here!

What's ... View the Post

Need a Fresh Accent Color? Pantone’s New York Fashion Week 2026 Colors

September 29, 2025

One of my favorite posts! Although it takes HOURS to find these things - but if you're going to test-drive a new accent color, it's worth it to get things that work together.

This year's colors are very interesting - I've never seen so many shades of red and pink...

But let's start with this color that looks almost yellow on the Pantone website, but if you follow their digital guidelines, it's actually this moss green. Hmm...

Finding this color was easiest if I searched for moss or lime. Acacia did NOT register, and I'm not surprised.

I quite like Alexandrite, although I can't help but feel that half of the things should be this teal green, and the other half the purple color that Alexandrite turns when ... View the Post

Thinking About Accents? Six Scarves, with “French 5-Piece Accessory Wardrobes”

June 11, 2025

It's been ages since we've really taken a long look at a stack of scarves! When I saw that The Met Store had a few new scarves in, I thought that this was a good time to think about accessories and accent colors.

First up, I chose these six scarves upon which we could focus:

Even if you're not buying a scarf these days - heck, even if you NEVER buy scarves - this exercise might help you focus on what your favorite accent colors are. When you're confronted with a number of items in different colors, even if they're spatulas (!), it's always interesting to see what draws your attention first, and if that initial attention translates into affection or admiration.

I still waffle back and forth between purple, brown ... View the Post

Want Lots of Accent Colors? The Meredith Wing Scarf by Echo

January 17, 2025

This scarf scream warm weather to me, but I'm pretty certain that we can figure out ways to wear it every month of the year!

There are a few additional colors from the scarf that I could have included, but I felt that these 3 colors, plus black and white, were the most visible:

Even in the coldest weather, a warm sweater and some accessories that go with it will always be useful. And if your new scarves just happens to go with your sweater...

If you like to wear "suit-like" pairings of clothes, a new accent tee shirt is always handy! Yes, the jewelry is VERY inexpensive (aka cheap), but it's a good way to test-drive how much you like this color without going nuts. If you decide to upgrade at a late ... View the Post

Thinking About Accent Colors? Pantone London Fashion Week, Spring/Summer 2025

December 30, 2024

I always love these, even though they are difficult - just because Pantone says that a color is going to be popular does NOT mean that anybody actually sells something in that color. Maybe I'm just ahead of the curve...

But this is interesting - no pink, no dark or medium blue, and an offensively named (at least to me) shade of brown.

And I must share - on the Pantone website, there's a recurring typographical error that calls this first color Windsor Wind, rather than Windsor Wine! Maybe it will be fixed by the time you read this, but still - someone should be proofreading these things.

Does anyone still proofread?

Let's go!

Why yes, I'm quite smitten with this next color!

I was surprised how ... View the Post

Looking for a Wardrobe Spark? Pantone New York Fashion Week Spring 2025 colors

September 23, 2024

Ah, one of my favorite projects! "New" colors are always fun...

I feel like the Pantone people had a meeting at which they decided that their work needed to be more "green," and that someone misunderstood the assignment. Lots of shades of green in this list!

But let's start with Orangeade, which I kind of interpreted in a more rust direction, for autumn:

I like this warm light brown, but I might have tried harder to give it a more appealing name than Bran...

I don't know why you'd take a nice shade of light camel and give it a slightly greenish cast.... OH WAIT, this is the green season...

I wish I could think of any legitimate reason for me to own this next scarf, but it would be fiction! If ... View the Post

Some Wardrobe Update Ideas – Pantone London Autumn/Winter 2024/25 Fashion Week Colors

June 26, 2024

Some of us are diligently wearing our well-crafted wardrobes regularly, but still have... an itch? a yearning? for just a little bit of an update. Something fresh (for us). A bit of a wake-up call for our usual outfits...

And Pantone delivers, with ten colors that they isolated from what they observed at the London winter fashion week. Does this mean that these colors will be readily available or easy to find? Heck no! But they do give us ideas, and ideas are where all beautifully-dressed women start!

Oddly, there is NO shade of pink here.

Please note that I really don't think anybody will wear ALL five items in these images at one time. I'm not sure that you should buy all five, unless you've got a serious ... View the Post

Love to Wear Black & White? Start with a Scarf – Helen Nonini Scarf by Echo

January 31, 2024

We're almost through January! Did you notice that there were THIRTY-ONE Mondays in January? Sheesh....

But we have loveliness to brighten this last day:

The colors here are glorious - bright, strong, and just slightly off of the usual or expected red and blue...

I realized within seconds that there was virtually NO way I was going to be able to match those colors to any dress, sweater, or much of anything. Furthermore, I decided that I wasn't going to try!

Many of you know that I wear a lot of black and white; the best way to show this scarf in its full beauty would be to pair it with subtle, classic clothes, and some special accessories.

This first ensemble is a simple but perfect way to dress ... View the Post

Accent Color Ideas! Pantone NYFW 2024 Spring colors – Part 2

December 15, 2023

Have you reached the point in the autumn/winter (or spring/summer, depending on where you are!) when you've worn ALL your clothes for the season, and feel the need for something to brighten up or refresh your wardrobe?

Or maybe you've been thinking that a different accent color in your wardrobe might bring something delightful to your mornings...

Pantone's ALWAYS got ideas - I'm finishing our look at their New York Fashion Week colors today, but in the next week or so, I will visit the London colors too! I'm never quite sure how they choose these colors, and I certainly can't explain how they name them. But I can find lovely things to give us inspiration, and ideas:

I think this Watercress green is lovely, ... View the Post