shoes Archives - Page 11 of 14

The 1st Five Steps: Shifting Accessories from Cool Colors to Warm Colors

February 11, 2016

To me, changing the color palette of your accessories is more difficult than shift a wardrobe of clothes! Jewelry might be valuable, scarves might hold sentimental value, and shoes can be just plain hard to find...

Especially when you're starting with a very nice assortment of items like this:

Step 1 - Defining Accessories need to change! As hard as it is to let go, this scarf WAS the defining core of the wardrobe from last week. And you'll want a new pair of earrings, to bring your warmer colors near to your face. And since your wardrobe is going to be more limited for a while, another scarf is a good choice - you can wear it to help your 2 color palettes work together.

There are 2 ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Rust, Gold, Burnt Orange – the Autumn Leaf collection!

January 1, 2016

This started as rust, but I saw such pretty things in colors close to there that I decided to expand my focus to include all of the "autumn" colors.

For years, because I have brown hair and brown eyes, it was assumed that I would look good in these colors. (this was back in the days before the seasonal color theory caught on...) It was a reasonable thesis, because my eyes are decidedly amber-ish, but it just never worked out. I'm glad that I stumbled onto this idea for including unflattering colors in a wardrobe; maybe now I can have a reconciliation with warm gold and cognac shades!

This first color feels like caramel to me - I would be tempted to pour the nail polish over ice cream...

(and ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Pastel Blue and Green

December 31, 2015 Oh, I could tell you stories about wearing mint green...

I decided to combine these two posts, because it wasn't tremendously easy to find nice things in these colors - especially nail polish. That surprised me; I would have assumed that all pastel colors would be pretty readily available...

A LOT of these items appealed to me, and I thought that the combinations turned out well. And what I wouldn't give for a pair of lace trainers...

I love this look - it reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream! And that can ONLY be a good feeling...

I also thought that this was lovely - soft and feminine...

The ring just makes the all come together! I don't suggest that you wear ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Khaki

Khaki turns out to be another one of those colors that means absolutely NOTHING, in absolute terms. I saw things all over the spectrum that answered to my call for khaki jewelry, bags and shoes!This, in my mind, was what I expected when I started searching for khaki; I really quite like this with black; it's unexpected, a bit earthy, but rather sophisticated, too.

Bag – DKNY; loafers – Eileen Fisher; tee shirt – Uniqlo; crop knit pants – Helmut Lang; Khaki nail polish – Burberry; leather bracelet – Veronica Bettini; pearl spinner ring – Topshop

And then I saw this more brown-ish color, which I think looks glorious with the brown outfit. Again, it's not an expected choice of accessories, but it has a richness that ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Olive

December 29, 2015

Wow, I had no idea that olive was such a controversial color! But I guess since there are different colored olives, there are going to be different search results when you start looking for olive green...This is sort of what I expected to find when I started searching. The boots that have the black elastic inset in the side sort of subtly hold all of this together pretty well.

(if someone gave you this ring for the holidays, kiss them repeatedly...)

This was the other sort of shade that I expected to find, while hunting down all things olive. When you see a bag that you like, in the color you want, with leather details in YOUR neutral, you know you're in good shape! I wouldn't usually include a ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Purple

I adore purple - I could easier become a really nutty "wears nothing but purple" person... There's a woman here in Chicago who wears EVERY shade of purple, and nothing BUT purple, every day. She combines the shades and nuances with reckless abandon, and carries it off with panache. I don't always like it, but I always notice it. And she seems very happy....Frankly, I'm not convinced that all of these combinations work - certainly they wouldn't work for me. But everybody gets to decide for themselves, and if you love it, go with it!

This grouping all started with the very cool purple shoes...

Bag – Jimmy Choo; trainers – Fratelli Rossetti; tee shirt – Uniqlo; crop knit pants – Helmut Lang; Night Creature nail polish ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Pink

December 26, 2015

While the right shade of pink is flattering to most women, what do you do if your favorite pink ISN'T the really flattering one? Move it away from your face, and indulge!

Some commenters specifically said that really bright, intense fuchsia is hard to wear, and I can agree with that! But nail polish, or a pair of snazzy flats? That could be just perfect....

I looked for a pink that was just a touch softer and warmer to wear with brown. And now I absolutely long for this nail polish... (the name is hysterical...)

This is a kind of bubble gum color, which looks great with grey. Something to consider, as warmer weather approaches: if you've got a color you'd like to have around the ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Yellow

December 25, 2015

A very Happy Christmas to all of you celebrating today, and a joyous and wonderful day for everyone else! Let's all remember what's most important, and remember to share love, patience, and endless care to everyone around us. We are strong; we can do this!The more I work with "unflattering" colors, the more I find that there are some really lovely items available in the world that might, at first glance, seem difficult to wear. But I think if we keep these kinds of colors away from our faces, there's no reason in the world to avoid them, if they really speak to your heart.

Yellow and black can be REALLY difficult to wear - threats of the nickname "Bumblebee" are always present. But I think this shade is ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Orange

December 24, 2015

I think a lot of us find orange challenging, because of its associations with Halloween, or fast food. That's too bad, because it's really quite nice, and there are a lot of gorgeous accessories in the world that just happen to be orange...

Hardest of all is combining orange and black, but I think using prints, or defiantly non-Halloween details, helps a lot. Using accessories from other cultures, who DON'T think have the same associations with colors that we have, can make a big difference, too.

Orange and brown feel like a match made in heaven, don't they? I think it's important to break this combination out of the "only wear it in the autumn" category and use it more of the year...

One of the benefits of ... View the Post

Choosing an Hermes Scarf, using handbags, shoes, Chanel brooches…

December 18, 2015

Yes, I'm absolutely going to write more about Paris, probably later today, but this was sort of a rush, emergency request...A chance to choose a scarf for a holiday gift... and you wanted to see how they paired with Chanel brooches??!?!?!??!?! Chanel brooches aren't in my usual repertoire, but why not take a look?

She's narrowed it down to these:

This looks a lot like my friend: smoothly coiffed hair, always in immaculate taste. Plus I like the oval pearls that echo the tiny faces in the scarf!

Sometimes, there's nothing more fun than the juxtaposition of a Chico's necklace with a Chanel brooch. Coco would flip...Although I could easily see her in this also, the sheer ... View the Post

My Wardrobe: Revisiting A Common Wardrobe

August 6, 2015

Among the most popular, and among the most misunderstood, posts that I've ever written for The Vivienne Files have to be the ones about A Common Wardrobe.

I used to work in advertising. I used to travel a lot, and I used to be privileged to meet some of the most intelligent, creative, eccentric and downright weird people you could imagine. But one thing that I noticed, time and time again, was that no matter how unusual their appearance might have seemed, their clothes would invariably include at least one or two elements that were pretty normal. In fact, when I looked over large rooms full of these people, you could see a common theme of a lot of jeans, khakis, and black trousers, a lot of white shirts, a lot ... View the Post

“Whatever’s Clean 13” in Navy and Beige, with different accessory “moods”

June 9, 2015 You all send me the best requests! How about a "Whatever's Clean 13" in navy and beige, with the accents and prints/patterns in the accessories? Our starting template:

The "Flower Burst" scarf from KathKath was specifically mentioned, and I thought that a few She-Beads bracelets would work well. I really want to support these designers that have been so generous to The Vivienne Files!

After much pondering and searching, this is what I've chosen to pack. The sandals have jeweled tops in muted, soft shades, and the canvas shoes have clearer pastel flowers. Of course, you also now have your bright pink loafers with you, so you are able to accessorize your ... View the Post