signatures Archives - Page 2 of 3

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: July

In the world of "fashion," summer is pretty much over! It's a good time to grab a couple of tee shirts (which you will of course continue to wear well into the colder weather), as well as another pair of shorts for your capsule wardrobes. A pair of sandals purchased now will definitely be a starter pair for NEXT summer, and a pretty pendant will be useful for years to come... Remember, these are our starting points for the 6 capsule wardrobes we're building:

I just NOW noticed that I chose TWO scarves with "voyage" in the title. Do I think about travel ALL the time?

Note that the pendant is "square-ish," and turquoise blue, and intricately detailed, like the elements in the scarf? This sort of coherence of style just tickles the ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes – a Half-Way Through Bonus

I've been thinking about how these capsule wardrobes would work for additional outfits, now that we're up to a dozen pieces of clothing in each wardrobe. So I played around and came up with another six outfits for each grouping. Enjoy!

Many of these items will be sold out by now, and some of the links are probably dead...

love, Janice ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Hermes Geologie, for 12 Months

This was difficult.... It's hard enough to find wintery clothes this time of year, even though the weather is still decidedly cool. But when you try to find clothing in warm colors, with decent photographs, that don't cost the absolute EARTH to buy... well, it explains a lot of the weirdness that I exhibit from time to time... But I persisted, and I'm pleased with these results. And I realized a couple of very important things, for those who wish to wear these VERY difficult to find colors:

Work with the idea of colors that blend rather than those that match identically. Cousins, rather than identical twins, of the clothing family. This will save you a lot of headaches, while at the same time giving you the opportunity to explore quite a ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories: Navy, Beige, Turquoise and Yellow, 1 at a Time

Maybe it's the unseasonably warm weather here in Chicago, but this wardrobe felt very summery to me...

We always have to start out with a couple of basic, essential accessories...

I thought that I'd introduce some pearls here - to pick up on the pearl/off-white color of the cardigan. I like to tie outfits together through these small, but powerful, little color "echoes."

Theoretically, this particular outfit would be better balanced with dark shoes, but I'm assuming that you're going to carry a dark bag, which will serve the same purpose. Let's not go completely nuts trying to do everything perfectly!

If you're an avowed "watch avoider," you can always just buy a gorgeous bracelet!

Speaking of bracelets, I particularly like ... View the Post

DIY Tee Shirts

Sometimes, the Internet behaves badly....

Well, let's be more specific - my connection to the Internet can often be disrupted by things that happen in Chicago, or that happen in my (VERY large) building, or that take place in the phases of the moon which govern our connectivity to the rest of the universe. (this last issue might explain why I personally am often stymied about how to get things working again!)

At any rate, sometimes I have NO ability to comb through the world of online merchandise, searching for the perfect tee shirt or scarf. It is during these times that I play with PowerPoint...

PowerPoint is ideally suited for making fun graphic images, especially those that use standard shapes that are arranged in essentially ... View the Post

How Are Designers and Consumers Alike? or How SHOULD They be Alike?

When I go to Paris, I always try to find a new book or two that discusses some aspect of personal style, fashion, clothing history - just anything that interests me, and that might in turn interest you!

Right now, I'm reading this:

The second of the 101 "little secrets" tells us that "designers create collections, not simply isolated garments..."

Isolated garments - that's a pretty thought-provoking phrase! But I think that's the results from how a lot of us shop - we see something fabulous, we buy it, and we don't necessarily stop to think about the degree to which said gorgeous object will work with the rest of our wardrobe.

That's why I'm always hammering home the idea of having a plan; if you shop with a color scheme and an ... View the Post

How to Create Your Capsule Wardrobe – a Vivienne Files Bookshelf Excerpt

Taken from one of my very favorite reference books for The Vivienne Files: Ma To-Do List by Jeanne-Aurore Colleuille and Laure Gontier. I'm going to quote directly from their book in grey type, and my comments will be in this color...

The 3 Secrets for Creating your “Capsule Wardrobe”

“My style is the result of distillation. I have accepted my grey hair. I only wear black and white. Each year, I buy three or four dresses which I wear in rotation. I own a pair of jeans.” – Jamie Lee Curtis

This barbaric Anglo-Saxon concept, adored by fashion magazines and women of style across the Atlantic, doesn’t have a real French equivalent.

The word that they use to describe this concept is barbarisme... is doesn't translate with quite ... View the Post

A Black Wardrobe, with Silver, Aluminum and Grit

This is certainly not a style for just everyone, but I know a couple of women who wear this very urban, industrial style, and who carry it off with great panache! (Imagine a woman with silver grey hair, cut in a very short, angular style. Chiseled cheekbones, a slash of red lipstick...) One of the things that we have to remember about a unique personal style is that it is, by definition, not for everybody. Realistically, it shouldn't be for ANYBODY other than you. It's hard to chart your own path, style-wise, but feeling quintessentially like yourself can be an amazing sensation...

I was fascinated, but not really surprised, when I was able to find all of the accessories I needed for this post from just one website: Boticca. Some of ... View the Post

12 Months, 1 Scarf: A Navy and Green Capsule Wardrobe

I know I seem to talk about this same idea a lot, but I can't sufficiently emphasize the benefits of building your wardrobe around a unifying theme of some sort. Your theme could be a particular color scheme, a painting, a photograph, or a scarf - there are really no limits to what you might choose. This theme doesn't have to last throughout your entire life, nor does it have to define absolutely EVERY purchase that you make. However, it should be an overarching guideline that helps you make the hard decisions when you see something appealing - does it fit? does it clash? does it harmonize? does it make NO SENSE WHATSOEVER in the context of your chosen style theme?

So, when someone asked me to show some more navy and green, this ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf to Wear with Navy

I happen to know for a fact that one of you will buy this design scarf for yourself for the holidays, and that you are struggling to decide which color you want. I further know that your wardrobe is basically navy, so I thought I'd play around a little bit with some ensembles to show what kinds of other preferences you have that might help make the choice clearer.

First up, the most lovely Hermes Ors Bleus d'Afrique - the Blue Gold of Africa. That refers to indigo, which was commonly used in textiles of this type.

And I picked a couple of outfits - very simple - in order to create a base for my ideas.

First up, this scarf cries out to have the rich browns emphasized and accented. I am NOT suggesting that you would want to wear all ... View the Post

What IS my signature accent color? Capsule Wardrobe Project 333

Despite the fact that I don't report in regularly on my progress, I do keep track of what I wear, and what's getting appropriate usage, and what's wasting closet space. As much as I always get compliments when I wear blue, I never really feel quite myself when I'm wearing it... except denim...

And, as I always have, I'm drawn to red. Always... So when I did my readjustments for Project 333 starting Monday, I added in both a red tee shirt and a red sweater. They're from L.L.Bean (those people NEVER give me any credit for promoting their clothes, the silly louts), they're festive, and I love them. Also, I'm replacing the non-existent blue jeans with my beloved black velvet skirt! My paisley pants are too cropped, and too cotton, to ... View the Post

Starved for Options

When B and I go to Paris, we have a standing joke that we share - basically, think of jewelry in some relatively uncommon design or motif (like a bracelet that are a bunch of hands holding each other, or earrings that look like lily of the valley), and without fail, somewhere along our walks, we will find said jewelry, and a million other things we would never have imagined...

I contrast that right now with the offerings in the US, where most department stores costume jewelry departments are dominated by no more than 5 designers, and maybe three other recognizable names. There aren't any small boutiques downtown that carry smaller brands, so if I'm going to make my purchase in-person, I'm going to have to venture further afield.

This ... View the Post