November 7, 2018
This is the time of year when my email begins to fill up with requests to write “gift guides” on The Vivienne Files… As if I know what kinds of things your friends and family will want for gifts! All I can do is show you pretty things that I see; you still have to make the difficult gifting choices yourself!
So I seldom do these, but The Met Store is exceptional. Anything inspired by art, and that helps support a wonderful museum, is alright by me…
My plan is to start with beautiful art, choose a simple garment that might be something that this particular heroine might love, and then add some accessories. Let’s see how this works… Of course one would probably not wear ALL of the accessories – but I like to show some options!
First up, Rubens!
Who is this heroine? Someone romantic in a timelessly classic way… Someone who would love this off-the-shoulder velvet top!
earrings – The Met Store; velvet top – Vince Camuto; bracelet – The Met Store; scarf – Ted Baker London; necklace – The Met Store; loafers – Sam Edelman
Pearls, a lovely scarf, and velvet slippers… I could live in this!
Next I feel like we have a heroine who loves the ebb and flow of nature, and the gentle drifting beauty of flowers. She adores this stained glass:
Her cardigan and scarf are soft and snuggly, and the floral jewelry reminds her of the nature that anchors her view of life:
earrings – The Met Store; cardigan – Lands’ End; bracelet – The Met Store; scarf – Halogen; necklace – The Met Store; boots – Ecco
Some women excel in bringing things and people together – in making connections and harmonizing things that one might not think of as harmonious:
Tying things together is a worthy goal in life, isn’t it?
earrings – The Met Store; sweater – L.L.Bean; bracelet – The Met Store; wrap –BP.; necklace – The Met Store; boots – Trask
I think virtually everyone likes flowers, but sometimes you know someone for whom flowers and plants are more vital – almost essential to their life…
Red cashmere with floral and holly accessories are the perfect little vignette of our heroine’s holiday!
holly earrings – The Met Store; cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; boots – Joules; scarf – The Met Store; bracelet – Olivia Burton; holly necklace – The Met Store
Some heroines love modern art, and the angularity and color juxtapositions that can be found:
This heroine loves simple garments and neatly structured jewelry…
earrings – The Met Store; sweater – Eileen Fisher; bone bracelet – The Met Store; scarf – The Met Store; necklace – The Met Store; boots – Sam Edelman
And occasionally you’ll meet a heroine who is full-on all about ornamentation, decoration, gems, sparkles and all manner of things that catch the eye:
Even her sweater sparkles!
earrings – The Met Store; sweater – Boss; pearl bracelet – The Met Store; scarf – The Met Store; necklace – The Met Store; loafers – Kelsi Dagger Brooklyn
Could you build an outfit around a favorite painting, or choose gifts for someone based on the recipient’s favorite art?
love,
Janice
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
These are gorgeous and I love the accessories from The Met Store, but have you seen their extortionate charges for shipping outside the USA? Plus, I would then have to pay VAT on top. I would love to buy some of their stuff but this prices me out!
Does your local museum have a similar gift shop? Or a local etsy shop to you maybe has similar products? Don’t think this is THE guide – we are being shown examples and are meant to find our own way. (Even many of us in USA are priced out of stores like this, but it is nice to find a way to think about it and then apply it at our own budget.)
Oh Dee, you understand me so well! I strongly encourage everyone to support museums in their country or their city – sure, I get a small commission on purchases from The Met Store, but it’s more important that we all find what WE most want, at places from which we are happy to make the purchase…
hugs,
Janice
What country do you live in, Dee? I know that the Met has a couple of shops in Australia and one in Thailand. It is slightly reduced in the number of items that they carry but you might find what you want which can be shipped from Australia or Thailand cheaper than the always super expensive USA postage.
Love the Paul Klee, and basically have everything to reproduce the outfit except the scarf itself. Hmm.
Tiffany wisteria patterns are so soothing to me. Imagine having a window like that at home.
I really enjoy the accessory posts! (And most everything else, I admit). If you get the chance to add a couple more things into collections like this, I’d appreciate good suggestion for 2 accessories I use all the time, and would like to be a good fit in my day: just had to get a new cell phone, which means a new cell phone case (so many choices, but which will fit the things I already love). And a silly one, but I’d love to see kitchen aprons that complement what’s under them.
I appreciate that you love the hunt and share what you find.
The Met store gifts are lovely, but $3000 earrings won’t be happening in this lifetime!
I just had to include those, even knowing that most of us were just going to admire and then move on!
hugs,
Janice
I’m quite good at breaking down barriers and bringing people together when they have fallen out; I have a penchant for Celtic knot jewellery and I like cable jumpers, checked woollen scarves and flat boots. So I guess the Fifth Knot slide would suit me down to the ground, albeit in a different colourway though.
That Delacroix amazes me…so many petals in those Dahlias, so many brushstrokes. The floral Wellies are a great find!
Many, many years ago Dearest and I visited the Met. He bought me a pair of earrings in the shop based on an Egyptian necklace. I’m wearing those earrings today. Beautiful jewelry. Precious memories.
What a lovely memory! Thanks for taking the time to share… Some possessions WILL have memories associated with them, and that makes things more precious!
hugs,
Janice
Klee’s colors and gentle abstraction speak to me of the structure and fall of light in open woodlands, as does the title.
As much as I love all the art you feature, this piece I will definitely keep as reference for my wardrobe. Thank you. Those colors, along with with the expressed aesthetic, are how I dress. Because today I’m going downtown and not out in the field, the pictured outfit is close to what I actually have on (except no gold booties–not practical enough for taking the el!). Too bad the scarf is wool, not silk or other non-irritating fabric, or would order it immediately.
what a great idea and my favorite is the Paul Klee…off to investigate the scarf.
The holly earrings and necklace are lovely. They would make any outfit look “Christmassy”.
It would be a pretty easy way to get ready for Christmas, eh? I particularly like the holly brooch – on a winter coat it would be perfect for the entire month of December!
hugs,
Janice
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2016/01/start-with-art-blocks-and-circles-by.html/
Hi again
I am going to purchase the Paul Klee scarf but I want to ensure that any payment to you happens. The link in the blog doesn’t work, so I will wait to purchase until your link works. By the way, you may recall a few years ago, you had a whole post for a travel wardrobe based on a similar Paul Klee painting ( at my request), so I am beyond thrilled to find this scarf.
You’re so thoughtful! I’ve double-checked the link, and it seems to work. You can click through any item at the museum shop and I’ll still get “credit” for your purchase, so you needn’t worry…
hugs,
Janice
And it is on its way to me…thank you Janice
What gorgeous accessories–and what a great post! Thank you, Janice.
If you like green jewels check out Helenite from Mt. St. Helen’s eruption ash. I have only seen pictures, not the real jewelry, but to me it is prettier than emeralds..a bright, deep green. Of course I grew up near there so it has personal meaning.
This was a very fun post. Museums have such interesting shops and some of my favorite scarves and jewelry are from museums that I have visited on my travels. Can I pick a favorite of these Met Shop collections? I love the colors and the accessories for the Delacroix (more than I like the actual Delacroix painting, to be honest!) I have two pairs of Joules rain boots and enjoy them tremendously – nancyo
You nailed it with this post! I loved your collections! How fun, too. Thanks for producing such wonderful content week after week. Yours are always among the first emails/posts I read!
I just discovered you and I love, love, love your posts! You are so elegantly artful and fun! Thank you!
I like the way your reflections on the artworks lead to ideas for the accessories. This is intelligent, responsive looking. I recently bought a pair of pearl earrings as a holiday treat at the shop in the Petit Palais in Paris. The assistant explained, as she wrapped them for me, that the design was inspired by the earrings of the naked lady in Dejeuner sur l’Herbe. So, no need to worry about what I’ll wear them with, eh ;). Like others here, I really enjoy shopping for gifts and for myself in museum shops, both in person and online.
I do love a good museum store but glass pearls are not pearls, and lack the glow, the soul, the pleasure of genuine pearls. Many museum stores, such as Montréal’s Muséee des Beaux-Arts, have genuine pearls at very reasonable prices. Come up for a visit and I’ll show you!