The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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silk scarf Archives - Page 9 of 11

#2 How to Choose an Hermes Scarf: Sous l’Egide de Mars

November 12, 2014   Yesterday's post was so much fun that I thought I'd take another pass through this idea: building little outfit vignettes in order to facilitate making an expensive and/or important personal style purchase.  These ensembles here don't necessarily have to be about buying a scarf - I'm thinking of undertaking this exercise for the purchase of winter coats too...   This scarf is called "Sous l'Egide de Mars", which means (more or less) under the aegis of Mars.  It's lots of pieces of armor, as near as I can tell, and thus is all about war.  Still a madly pretty piece of work, as their scarves always are.  

  As always with me, I'm starting with a simple outfit in a solid ... View the Post

Start With Art: Are you More Renoir or Laurencin?

November 10, 2014   Two of my favorite artists, and two subtly different approaches to the feeling of romance and femininity. Renoir is very traditionally (late 19th century) soft, ruffly, dainty floraly kind of feminine. Laurencin, very much like Chanel who is the subject of this painting, gives us a little bit sleeker vision of womanly grace and beauty.  

How do these subtle differences translate into your personal style - your choices of accessories and garments? Both are beautiful and appealing, but there are substantial differences, if we study the paintings long enough. These were some of my thoughts:

For jewelry, Renoir art gives me the feeling of delicate, carefully jeweled pieces with a lot of detail, and a ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Black and White Hermes

June 5, 2014  

It was a great question - thanks for sending it on - "I want an Hermes scarf in black and white, but there are SO MANY of them - how do I choose?"  

Note that she also let me know that she's pretty committed to a strict black and white wardrobe...

I've chosen these six scarves to use as our possible purchases. I strongly encourage you to click through and admire the details on these scarves if you have the time. There's a reason that these scarves are so terribly expensive - they are exquisite.

For illustrative purposes, I'm going to use a couple of simple outfits - a very neutral black dress, and a white silk blouse and black silk pants.

The first scarf, Fleurs et Papillons de Tissus, ... View the Post

The Vivienne Files FAQ: Are Accessories Necessary?

March 4, 2014   Do you have to buy and wear accessories?  Absolutely not - except most of us will have to wear shoes... But I very strongly feel that just a few well-chosen accessories can make a world of difference in how the simplest of garments come together into ensembles.   If you're not comfortable wearing scarves, find a way to just throw one around your neck one day and then do your utmost to ignore it for as long as possible.  Make sure your first scarf isn't anything floaty or filmy that's going to blow up into your face at the first opportunity.  Maybe something quite small, tied up and out of the way so that you won't even really see it...   Jewelry is also pretty useful - earrings especially ... View the Post

Wearing a Celtic Knot Scarf – January through June

February 5, 2014   One of my dearest readers sent me a couple of photographs of this scarf, and asked me for some suggestions...  This scarf has great possibilities - the gold, turquoise, carnelian and olive drab colors, with some white, offer tons of possibilities.   If anybody can tell me who designed this scarf, or where it's available, please let me know ASAP - I hate showing something this beautiful without giving credit where credit is due!  

    Cold weather requires sweaters and boots - and olive and carnelian are both exceptional colors for this.  All of the major colors in this scarf go really well together, so you can combine them pretty much at will and the scarf will pull everything ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting With a Scarf: Navy and Burgundy

January 29, 2014     What if you bought a new scarf, and you liked it so much that you decided to make EVERY clothing purchase, for a year, based on the colors of the scarf?    

I get lots of questions about red, white and blue wardrobes, so when I was asked to address this scarf specifically, I thought it could be great fun.     This looks like a tremendous amount of shopping, but do bear in mind that the average American purchases 68 garments and 7 pair of shoes per year, and that it's entirely possible that you already own a few of these items...  This budget is pretty extreme, but I'm pretty confident that you can find beautiful items for just a bit less ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting With a “Difficult” Scarf: Liberty London Ianthe Scarf

January 27, 2014   Yes, I was going to take the day off,  but I had this post finished...   Liberty London makes this scarf is a variety of colors, some assorted sizes, and at least two different fabrics that I know of, but no matter how it's done, the Ianthe scarf is a popular classic. But this scarf is subtle, understated, and challenging...   I really honed in on the subtlety of the coloring, and determined that very muted, dusty or milky colors would blend best. The overall curved patterns combine to form a starburst feeling, which I wanted to hold in the back of my mind, and the very fine detailing meant that I was going to be watching for small stones in jewelry, fine but visible textures in fabric, and ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting With a “Difficult” Scarf: Sepia and Light Grey

January 24, 2014   One of my friends asked me specifically to suggest some ways to wear this scarf - Musique des Spheres, from Hermes. The scarf came out... at least 10 years ago? And thus is only available on the secondary market, but as you can clearly see, it's a stunner. There is NOT a pink patch in the upper left corner... I struggled to find the best image of this scarf I could, and this was what I found.   Identifying the adjectives that convey the aesthetic of this scarf is difficult - I had to think and study for quite a while. But I found that I kept coming back to the ideas of contrast (the clarity of the lines against the background), balanced with an overall sense of muted coloring (the scarf is not pure white, ... View the Post

Start With a “Difficult” Scarf: Black and White

January 22, 2014   This scarf, currently available from Hermes, is incredibly beautiful - much more interesting in person than any photograph can do justice...  

  But it's easy to see how you could fall into the routine of wearing this scarf pretty much exclusively with black and white garments - it just seems reasonable.  So I'm proposing a mental "reframing" of the scarf that might expand your comfort zone with it...   First off, think of the adjectives that characterize the unique beauty and appeal of this scarf.  To me, this scarf is clear, graphic, and linear.  This gives you a basis upon which to think about the sort of outfits that might benefit from the addition of this ... View the Post

Wearing Hermes Les Clef Silk Scarf All Year – July through December

January 6, 2014   In the hottest of hot weather, your scarf may just be tied around the handles of your bag, or around your ponytail...  

Don't let your scarf get wet, but wearing it on a rainy day can brighten things up...  And finding a print skirt in the colors of your scarf can be tricky, but when it happens you can have a lot of fun!

  Tweeds that meld together the main colors of your scarf are a particularly interesting thing to look for - you can wear your scarf from the most conservative family or professional functions to the dressiest of business outings at the holiday season.

  And after a year of using your scarf as the core inspiration for outfits, you have a relatively ... View the Post

Scarves for a Six-Pack – Grey, Pink and Black

November 15, 2013

 

Cardigan – Uniqlo, skirt– Uniqlo,  watch – Movado, tee shirt – Uniqlo,   opal earrings – Novica,  boots – Vaneli, scarf – Alva-Norge, tote - Tumi  

Bracelet – Novica,  Black and grey pants – Uniqlo, grey sweater - Uniqlo,   skirt – Wunderkind,   dress – Emilio Pucci, shirt – John Lewis, pumps – Isaac Misrahi, pink sweater - Jil Sander    

  love, Janice   ... View the Post