signatures Archives - Page 3 of 3

Starved for Options

November 14, 2014

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 ... View the Post

From the Agnes B. Winter 2014 catalog…

I love these little snippets of wisdom that one finds without trying...

These are two facing pages in their little Winter 2014 booklet. Not only does she make great clothes, but she also understands our drive to personal expression, uniqueness, and an image that's all our own. ... View the Post

Mood Boards, Style Boards, Inspirations Boards…

It's an old piece of advice - grab a stack of magazines, a pair of scissors, and start snipping out all of the things that you see that you love. Glom them all together, and look for unifying themes and motifs upon which you might be able to build a wardrobe.

Fashion designers are legendary for having a wall of their atelier covered with photographs, snippets of fabric and trim, and anything else that might help both inspire and focus them as they put together their collections. Is there any reason that this wouldn't work just as well for us? (keeping with yesterday's theme of thinking the way a designer thinks in order to curate our closets in the way a boutique is curated).

I don't like to call these mood boards - ... View the Post

Signature: A Grey and Ruby Autumn Scarf

October 3, 2013 So, I decided against an eternity scarf, and decided to purchase this beauty instead.

And as I admired how really pretty it is, and how nice the accents in ruby are, in the middle part of the scarf, I got to thinking about how this could be a really great focal point around which one could build their autumn wardrobe. What a beautiful color scheme it suggests:

I already have my autumn wardrobe well and completely purchased, but if I were to go on a big shopping spree, this might be a fun splurge.

Wool coat- Vanessa Bruno, earrings – Novica, sweater- Cuple, flannel trousers – Carven, silk blouse – Emporio Armani, bracelet – CoriNa Mardari, tee ... View the Post

Your best color, and a Signature Scarf

Back in the dark ages of the 80's, when I was in graduate school, I worked for a department store. (very un-glamorous, I assure you). This was back when department store inventories were NOT driven by individual "designer" boutiques; we had separate departments for suits, for sportswear, for formal wear etc.

For a while, I worked in the area which sold tee shirts, blouses, shirts and sweaters. We carried at least a dozen styles at any point in time, depending on the season, and each style was available in a couple of dozen "cosmetic" colors. In other words, we always had tops available in every possible shade of coral, peach, plum, pink, berry, cherry, crimson, scarlet or whatever other lipstick-like color you ... View the Post

Signature: Anne Selby pleated silk scarf

July 12, 2013 These scarves are sufficiently beautiful that they would make a compelling focus for one's wardrobe. Even if you didn't wear the scarf every day, using the colors in it as a unifying theme for your purchases could be a brilliant idea...

Ruffled silk scarf – Anne Selby

Olive coat – Jil Sander, olive sweater- Ralph Lauren, Earrings – Georg Jensen, Silk top – Jil Sander, Grey cardigan – Tsumori Chisato, Taupe cotton velvet jeans –Brunello Cucinelli, Taupe sweater – Nina Ricci, Suede skirt – Jitrois, Bracelet – Gag and Lou, Bag – TSM The Swedish Model, Loafers –Geox, Pumps – RSVP, Grey jeans – BLK ... View the Post