silver Archives

Grey or Wine? What do I Need to Wear for the Holidays?

November 17, 2017

These are so much fun...

Grey is tough! It's really difficult to find things in shades that look good together... But you can easily imagine these tops with jeans, and a pair of nice grey pants will go anywhere short of a barn or a beach...

Little touches like snowflakes on your ears, or a sparkly clutch bag, can elevate the dressiness quotient of a classic outfit:

Of course, if you have genuine grey pearl jewelry, the pearls on your cardigan will not look as nice, but that's not something worth worrying about - it's the holidays!

One of the very best things about choosing a signature color for holidays (or anything else!) is that you can then collect really nice, high-quality things from year to ... View the Post

Timeless Chic Sightings: Black with Metallic Accessories

June 27, 2017

Some things don't change much through time - over the weekend, we saw lots of women accenting solid black outfits with well-chosen metallic accessories. These kinds of outfits always catch my eye!

The clothes from this post are absolutely ageless and timeless; if you keep your eyes open for metallic accessories (or an accent color?) that you love, you'll instantly have an outfit that can wear forever, or until it falls apart! And that should be our goal - to use things fully and well, and retire them when they've been worn as much as possible. Anything less doesn't do justice to our time, nor or budget, nor to the planet.

love, Janice ... View the Post

Celebrating Women’s Day with some beautiful jewelry, made by women!

March 8, 2017

I promise, the 2nd approach to decluttering is ready for tomorrow! (and the results are VERY similar...)

But since today's International Women's Day, and we're supposed to be on strike, or not shopping, or at LEAST shopping from women-owned businesses, I thought that I'd indulge in some eye-candy jewelry (all made by women!), arranged in my very favorite "accessory family" themes:

earrings – Narayani; onyx & amethyst necklace – Matta; square earrings – Matta; bracelet – Neeru Goel; ring – Kenari; multistrand necklace – Neeru Goel; earrings – Rosalia Tarigan

corded bracelet – Chuleekorn; anklet – Neeru Goel; heart pendant – Neeru Goel; ring– Mary Geluda; oval pendant – Mary Geluda; ... View the Post

The French 5-Piece Wardrobe Starts with Art: Little Harbor in Normandy by Georges Braque (Version 2)

November 21, 2016

Oh, this just gets better and better!Remember, we started with this painting:

Today, I've used the top part of the painting, and used silver in place of the gold from Friday's post...

I found new pieces for our Wardrobe Building Blocks, emphasizing grey. This is another small collection of pieces that work without limits - you could, again, literally get dressed in the dark...

Same four pieces - sweater, earrings, tote and scarf - but in silver rather than gold. Equally timeless, but a very different feel...

The only change I made here was the earrings - the others were set in gold... These earrings have a geometric feel to them, and a gorgeous fluidity that I really ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories: Cobalt, Black and Grey, 1 at a Time

March 22, 2016

I love this wardrobe...This wardrobe was originally put together in this post; with the starting outfit I'm leaning toward a pair of shiny black flats:

And for no better reason than to show some variety, I think that we'll give our mystery wearer a nice clutch bag. If you're not usually a handbag person, maybe all you really need is one nice bag for dressy occasions!

I'm changing the order of the accessories here so that I can find a scarf to really tie this outfit together. This is another thing that you really want to bear in mind when you're finding accessories for your wardrobe - they should be sourced (purchased, gift-hinted, etc.) in whatever order you need ... View the Post

Start with Art: Rose by Ansel Adams

March 6, 2015 Not everybody wants a monochromatic wardrobe, but for those among us who find this idea comfortable, and even exciting, the opportunity to experiment with texture is irresistible...

This woman has been in business long enough to be in charge. Long enough to love her grey hair. Long enough to know the power of simplicity...

If you have a moment, note that many of the accessories have a circle theme; that's the kind of thing I love to do! Our executive packs fearlessly for a long trip. She has people who handle her bags...

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Brueghel the Elder

February 19, 2015 I love this painting! And I still marvel at how many decidedly winter-themed paintings have been suggested to me in the last few weeks! Any other paintings you want to see? Leave a comment, and I'll do my very best.

You could certainly include a warm, dark golden brown here, and rust as an accent...

For these colors, I was thinking of someone who had to travel overnight for a special dinner. Not necessarily a work event - possibly a family fete? But this is definitely ideal for some cold travel in order to get to a lovely festive occasion. (note that in defiance of the cold, I included a floral-trimmed scarf, and floral ... View the Post

How to Choose an Hermes Scarf: Post-Valentine’s Day Gift Edition

February 18, 2015

One lucky reader was given an Hermes scarf for Valentine's Day! But the scarf is just a place-holder; she gets to choose the REAL scarf herself. I think we can all agree that the giver of this scarf is a beloved well worth holding onto, eh?

I was delighted that she contacted me for help with her enviable dilemma; my first advice was that she immerse herself in the Hermes site and narrow her choices down to six scarves. I then promised that I would give some thought to helping her with making the final choice.

This time, my approach is to treat the scarf very much like the "silk jewelry" that I've always believed them to be. For each of the six scarves in the "finalists" group, I've assembled a handful of other ... View the Post

The Whole Heart Thing…

February 5, 2015 It's that time of year - we're inundated with heart-shaped goodies of all kinds. Now, a frilly box of GOOD chocolates never goes amiss, but many of the things being presented to us right now would be much better suited to a teenager, and NOT to a woman of defined, exquisite taste and preferences. So my answer to all of this is to buy my own heart-shaped goody or two, and wear them when I'm in the mood, time of year notwithstanding! You can always start with the traditional red heart:

Or you can opt for the equally expected, but somewhat less intense pink heart. Sometimes the heart is just a subtle part of the design of a piece of jewelry:

If you've ever looked really closely at ... View the Post

Start With Art: Winter at the Convent by Margaret Loxton

February 3, 2015

I love this painting... if this doesn't make you smile, I can't help you.

While I strongly suspect that these nuns are wearing black habits, the habits look very navy on my computer, and so my imagination was strongly drawn to working with navy, white and cool pastels.

I've talked before about the usefulness of having six garments that are the same color, that give you a basis for getting dressed on Monday morning without opening your eyes. That idea has really stuck in my head, so I've decided that I want to build on it a few times. Let's start here:

Even if you get dressed out of here every Monday, you still have LOTS of clothes unworn, so let's toss in a few extra goodies ... View the Post

White Capsule Wardrobe with Grey, Turquoise, or Celadon Green Accessories

January 24, 2015 For now, I'm finishing up this idea of monochromatic outfits and "accessory families" with some summery white linen items. (yes, they look sort of beige or ivory on the page, because white on white would be an incomprehensible blizzard...) Since the available linen white shoes are limited in January, I decided to grab some shoes that match or tone with the accessories - always a fun option! And for the elusive celadon, I chose some gold sandals; metallic are always worth remembering when you're struggling with a shoe color choices.

I'm starting to work on some more "Start With Art" wardrobes - anybody have some ... View the Post

A Grey Capsule Wardrobe with Silver and White Accessories

January 16, 2015 She likes things clean, clear and uncomplicated: white sheets, white towels, white tableware. She mixes white with grey and silver to keep things simple and straightforward. The clarity of her heart and her mind shines out of her eyes, and is apparent when she gets dressed!

love,

Janice ... View the Post