scarves Archives - Page 4 of 11

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Risshū – Beginning of Autumn

August 17, 2022

Here in Chicago we felt it yesterday - that sense that autumn is coming. We all know that there will be sweltering days ahead, but we were reminded...

For me, that early cool day reminds me that I might want to check my wardrobe for upcoming autumn weather. This is a good time to start looking for the accent cashmere sweater that you will wear every week for six months, the scarf that you will cherish for years to come, or the warmer trousers that you need to replace the ones that you've worn to pieces this last few years...

Even if you live somewhere that doesn't get a lot of snow, you might still need a warm outfit or two!

This leaf perfectly conveys where we are, right now!

When I was ... View the Post

Indulging in Jackets and Sweaters

July 20, 2022 I think this might qualify as a "Sometimes Extravagant Wednesday"... Treating Yourself... I know that dressing in a solid column is somewhat controversial, but it's also so popular that I wanted to see what possibilities could be found for both navy and olive...

Getting dressed is easier when you wear a solid column every day, but if you're looking for things like matching loafers, you might find that shopping can be challenging!

For a heroine committed to wearing her column, she might have tiny wardrobe of pants and shirts, and then TONS of sweater and jackets, scarves, and nifty shoes...

There are so many color possibilities - I can't think of any color that she couldn't wear with navy!

Everything from relaxed ... View the Post

Let’s Look at Some Pretty Things…

July 18, 2022

For those of us who really already have enough clothes, this can be a weirdly sad time of year. Lots of people are throwing themselves willy-nilly into pre-season sales (and buying some things that aren't really all that nice...), and we just can't justify buying yet another black skirt, or pair of navy pants...

But we can buy accents and accessories!

Like this deeply, profoundly beautiful scarf:

I think this scarf is so beautiful that I gave it it's own page!

But that's just the start - I think that this lace collar is so pretty; I can see it over a crew-neck sweater or dress is any number of colors...

For those of us who really love purple, there are so beautiful scarves available. ... View the Post

Starting with a Black Column (or a Grey Column!)

July 13, 2022 Self-Esteem She's among the many who have to be back in their office - 10 days a month... (who's going to be counting these days, eh?)

She has completely changed clothing sizes during the pandemic, and she's changed her attitude toward work. Since she's been saving her clothing budget since spring of 2020, she's going to be a little bit extravagant (okay, really extravagant!) and make a personal statement of confidence when she gets dressed!

So she's already reserved the best office available (the entire place is now running on a "hotel desk" system...), and she's going to start looking and acting like she should be in charge...

She's starting with 2 simple pieces of black clothing that are VERY comfortable. ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Geshi, Summer Solstice

June 20, 2022

I'm finding it hard to believe (okay, maybe hard to ACCEPT) that tomorrow will be the longest day of the year. It feels like the weather here in Chicago just "hotted up" in the last 2 weeks...

But let's think of the Solstice as a chance for celebrating our extreme daylight (or darkness, if that's your hemisphere!). And that means a chance to treat ourselves!

I think many of us worry about our clothes quite a bit, at the expense of paying good attention to our accessories. Maybe, for balance, we should celebrate the Solstice with a self-gift of something beautiful? For those among us who wear a lot of earth tones, this might be a palette to consider:

I'm not sure what neutrals are best ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a Wardrobe: Start with Art – Sunlight on the Road, Pontoise by Pissarro

May 30, 2022

This is the painting that inspired our heroine:

And this is the wardrobe that she assembled for the upcoming summer months; she lives in a nice mild climate...

Of course she needs accessories! Most women will at least want some shoes, and I suspect that most of us also like a couple of pieces of jewelry, a bag, and possibly a scarf or two...

But there are no rules - if you really AREN'T a jewelry person, or a scarf person, don't force yourself to be someone you're not. There's nothing at all elegant or beautiful about being untrue to yourself!

For the sake of fun, maybe our heroine is going to use this template as a guideline for her summer accessories:

Where does one start? Our heroine decides ... View the Post

A Few of My Favorite Things – April 2022

April 6, 2022

I've never done this, in the 12 years (!!?!!?!!) that I've been writing The Vivienne Files - just show you a bunch of stuff that caught my eye!

But I realized a few days ago that my "cool things to remember" file was getting stupid big, and so I thought that I could just show you items outside of the context of a wardrobe. You're adults - you'll figure out how these could be worn!

Everything here is from 1 website: wolfandbadger.com. I've been to their stores in New York and London, as well as ordering things from them. Their service is excellent...

And since all of these things come from small designers, you really could email a designer to ask questions! For example, if you madly admire a pair of red earrings, ... View the Post

You Don’t Have to Spend a Fortune – 10 Scarves under $40

March 30, 2022

I've mentioned them before - the pants that I wear EVERY week, that are always in my laundry, are from redthreadcollection.com. (I have both the Essential Ankle Pants and the Essential Straight Leg Pants...)

The process is really simple and sort of fun - you take a couple of photographs of yourself dressed in something tight (like leggings or tights) and THEY figure out how to make pants to fit you. They eschew all discussion of sizes, which I can definitely support...

And right now, you can get 20% off of your purchase from them by using the code Vivienne20!

Nice people, great pants, and now a discount - how good can life get?

Someone recently commented that they really loved a scarf but that ... View the Post

Dresses – Accessorizing Them A Little Bit Differently…

March 25, 2022

Are you getting ready to wear dresses again? Now that the weather teases us with hints of spring, I begin to ponder what dresses are lurking in my stored warm-weather clothes, and how I will wear them...

I know some women prefer to wear dresses in colder weather, because they can wear tights! Fair enough, but don't discount the comfort and versatility of a "below the knee" dress in a light fabric and a roomy cut!

Today, for no good reason, I wanted to accessorize dresses in a way that's NOT the first thing one would expect; if you can find more than 1 way to wear a dress, you'll have a good reason to wear it even MORE often. That's always smart!

For example, this most excellent black dress would be an obvious base ... View the Post

Adding a New Accent Colors to Your Wardrobe? Pantone Colors Autumn/Winter 2022/23

March 16, 2022

"New" colors! Well, we've had this conversation at least a dozen times...

But for those of us who have a pretty good idea of what we're going to wear when the weather warms up (in the Northern Hemisphere, of course!), it's always fun to consider adding a fresh accent color to go with our signature neutrals...

Please note that I (obviously!) can't guarantee that these items will all go well together if you get them into your home. Between the variations in the colors of the items themselves, coupled with the variations in the rendition of color inherent in computers, all sorts of issues are possible! But we do the best we can...

First up - I would wear this color more in the autumn or winter than in summer, ... View the Post

How do you choose accessories for a LONG trip?

January 26, 2022

Okay, our heroine has a great color palette chosen for her quite long trip to Europe:

And all of her clothing is chosen too:

Because our wise heroine has already figured out what she wants to wear for travel, and what she's taking with her in her tote bag for that quick change in the airport, she has some of her accessories already chosen:

But she will need more accessories, almost certainly! (well, technically, she could get by with just these things...)

And there's so much to consider:

My favorite approach to choosing accessories when I travel is to pick out a LOT of outfits - making sure that I've included all of my garments at least once. Then I accessorize each of the ... View the Post

Accessories “Families” based on Pantone’s Spring 2022 colors

January 12, 2022

It's time to look at some "new" colors. (Yes, I never cease to be amazed by the hubris of calling a color "new"...)

But the announcement of these colors does give us a chance to think about what accent colors we prefer, and what we might want to consider. During these VERY short days (in the Northern Hemisphere!), which are very VERY cold, something to brighten up your wardrobe routine isn't crazy...

Please note, when you're shopping for socks, make absolutely sure that you're ordering what you have in mind - some socks are NOT meant to be worn with shoes! They're for lounging, or sleeping, or maybe worn under heavy boots. Trying to get a pair of those into a trim little loafer is going to be disappointing... ... View the Post