silk scarf Archives

January 2020 Six Scarves, Twelve Months, Twelve Outfits

I finally made my scarf choices - holy handbags of happiness, THIS was a project!

But here they are - I'll explain my choices after you've had a chance to look them over...

All but 1 is from Aspinal of London. I love Hermes scarves - but these from Aspinal cost 36% of what an Hermes scarf costs! That's a big thing for most of us, I imagine.

First up, I knew I had to include this scarf. This will be the "navy-centric" wardrobe, including that lion beige/camel color as the 2nd neutral. I suspect that there will be some rust accents in this wardrobe before the end of 2020, as well as a simple white shirt or tee shirt...

All of the outfits for this month are basic, as befits the start of a disciplined new year, and some ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Lion and Peacock Scarf by Aspinal of London, in navy and camel

She Decided to Branch Out...

She's worn navy with pastels for decades... And she's now ready for an update!

She's always felt drawn to camel. The richness, the warmth, and elegance. And she's been told repeatedly that it was a color that she could happily wear. But she starts small... something below the waist!

Success! But the real camel item that has always caught her eye is a lovely cardigan...

Now she's feeling positively emboldened! She looks closely and her scarf and sees a beautiful shade of blue; would a matching sweater and flats be wrong?

But she's not going to rely entirely new purchases - when she look in her closet, she realizes that her aqua sweater would be perfect with her new ... View the Post

February 2019 -12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

First things first: after much consideration, I'm going to continue to use the Appaloosa des Steppes scarf, even though the design elements in the scarf are indeed from Kyrgyz rugs. I contacted the Kyrgyzstan embassy to ask if they were concerned or offended by this, and never received a response. After I read the Hermes website description of the design, I felt that they were using the images respectfully. I can't swear to this, but unless I get better information, I'm going to carry on. (to catch up on this conversation, check the comments on last month's installment of this series)

But don't ever hesitate to contact me about things like this; I will always take your concerns very seriously, and try to respond ... View the Post

Roses! The Birth Flower for June

Roses! What's not to love? (I'm a little biased, because I'm born in June...)

There are roses everywhere - if you want home fragrances, or perfume, you're in luck.

And if you want to add some accessories to your wardrobe, maybe pick 2 or 3 pieces that look happy to be together? Sort of an instant update to your neutral outfits... I would cheerfully buy all 5 of these items, just to wear with black...

Or if you wanted a more striking color palette:

Maybe pink roses are your favorites? If you wear black, you can certainly live in that first scarf, and the 2nd scarf would be perfect with denim...

Yes, you might not want to wear a floral watch every day, but if you wanted to find one that you could love for ... View the Post

Daisies! The Birth Flower for April

If there was ever going to be a birth flower that we could all steal, it would be daisies! A few designers seem to have really embraced the entire daisy motif: Olivia Burton made all kinds of jewelry and watches with daisies, and Marc Jacobs went a bit nuts for them, too...

I think that daisies are popular for lots of reasons - in real life, they're a great cut flower to buy because they're generally very inexpensive, last a REALLY long time, and the buds will actually open after you buy them...

For ornamental purposes, they're simple in design, familiar to almost all of us, and for many people have associations that make us smile...

So if you want to add a daisy or five to your wardrobe, you have options:

If you don't want the ... View the Post

What If I Don’t Really DO Accessories?

Some people just don't wear a lot of jewelry; they don't want to collect handbags, nor shoes, and they find one scarf suits them quite well...

(okay, they're nuts...)

Actually, that's their right. Of course it is! But it does suggest that they're going to want to plan a bit to make certain that they have what they want and need when they get dressed.

Let's start where we were yesterday, with this nicely tidied leisure wardrobe:

When we finished this wardrobe yesterday, we had a lovely color palette for our heroine's clothing. Working from that, we can easily devise a corresponding palette for her accessories - add a choice of metal (if you're not going to have a lot of jewelry, what you do have can easily be either all-gold or ... View the Post

Just a Few Pretty Things…. and an Excellent Book!

I have a couple of delightful things to share. First up, my dear friend Scottie has created 4 limited-edition scarves which are well worth your attention. Her scarves are unlike anything else in the accessory world, in that they reflect very personal stories and experiences in her life... And they're beautiful! I've seen all four of them "in the silk," and I can attest that the colors are amazing, and the silk is lustrously soft and supple. You will not be disappointed!

And just because she's a really nice person, Scottie is giving us all $50 off of any purchase with the code VF2017... As if you weren't already tempted!

This first scarf features a little girl with a hula hoop... And a helicopter. The juxtaposition is striking!

A ... View the Post

December’s Birthstone is either Turquoise or Tanzanite – They Go with EVERYTHING…

This is the last month of birthstones... I'm already thinking that next year I'm going to look at the flower associated with each month, just for fun!

Turquoise is pretty easy to wear, since it comes in such a range of colors. Tanzanite only seems to be available in shades of that vivid violet/purple - not that there's anything wrong with this color!

First up, greenish-blue looks absolutely perfect with warm orangish brown.. And that touch of hot pink in the scarf is really unexpected, but lovely...

Some tanzanite jewelry is madly expensive, but oh so lovely...

Maybe wearing all of these accessories at the same time would be overdoing it, and maybe it wouldn't! Would you dare?

I love this ensemble - I don't know that I'd wear the ... View the Post

Paris Accessories – Autumn 2017

Arguably, my favorite thing to do in Paris is look at the shop windows! And given my demonstrated fondness for accessories, there can be little surprise in learning that I love to look at scarves and jewelry most of all...

I think that one of the reasons that the Parisienne has such a reputation for chic personal style is the wide range of accessories that are available in Paris. When confronted, from birth, with such a vast number of choices, any person has to begin to clearly define their preferences and inclinations early, and continue to refine that personal style throughout their life. Without a sense of direction and focus, shopping for a simple ring or scarf in Paris can be completely overwhelming!

Many of these photographs are of ... View the Post

Pantone Fall 2017 “New” Colors, and Ways to Try Them

It's time again for that most amusing of events - the announcement of "new" colors for the upcoming season!

Of course we know better than to envision that there could be a "new" color (can you imagine how thrilling that would be?), but I do think that the release of these colors is a good time to look at our wardrobes with a clear eye and an open mind. Would a new accent color - maybe just for a season or two, maybe for longer - be of benefit to us? This time of year, as our warm-weather clothes begin to feel... old? and tired, a couple of new accessories might be just the ticket to get us through until the return of cold weather! See if any of these appeal... Grenadine A bit more "orange-ish" than a true red, this is a cheery and ... View the Post

Want to See a Really Adorable Scarf?

I plain and simply can't do the New York shoes today - I had a bunch of broken hyperlinks to fix on yesterday's post, and I'm feeling distinctly horrid. (I have a chronic pain condition that I'll tell you all about some day...)

But I have to share this with you; last night, Belovedest comes into the apartment after work carrying a gift box. Now, my birthday isn't until the last part of June, but he tells me that he has an early gift for me...

We're going to Paris in September for HIS birthday, but you can bet your bottom dollar that this scarf is going to be in my bag!

It's not a Hermès (thank heavens, they can't all be that outrageous!), but it's lovely quality silk, nicely printed, with cheerful images and absolutely delightful ... View the Post

How to Wear Diamonds – the April Birthstone; Some New Ideas!

Everyone already knows how to wear diamonds - there's a big business consortium that's been telling us exactly what to buy, and how to wear it, for decades...

So I'm looking at something a little bit different - unpolished diamonds, or diamonds as an accent with other stones, or diamonds in unusual colors. So if your birthday's in April (or the birthday of a special someone...) and you don't want to go full-on solid diamonds, I have some suggestions:

(yes, you've seen some of these dresses before! A nice dress can stand up to a lot of scrutiny, and works well with a variety of accessories...)

And this black pleated dress? I'm just saying - it's a REALLY good thing that I'm not shopping for a dress (or anything else!) this year - this ... View the Post