Dress – Mandula, gold lace earrings – Liz Law, bag – Artessorio, sandals – BC Footwear, tank top – L.L.Bean, earrings – Yoox, crinkled skirt – Jeremy Laing, sandals – Aerosoles
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!
Sweater – Uniqlo, black jeans – Seven, rain boots – Hunter, rain jacket – Stutterheim, cross-body bag – Marc by Marc Jacobs, turtleneck – Uniqlo, skirt – Fendi, wingtip loafers – Aerosoles
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.
Hoop earrings – Roberto Coin, Dress – Roberto Collina, bracelet – Aurelie Bidermann, suede pumps – Isaac Mizrahi, earrings – Arosha Luigi Taglia, tweed jacket –Viyella, velvet skirt – Christopher Kane, clutch bag – Fabiola Pedrazzini, jeweled pumps – Coach
love,
Janice
Really lovely! This is one of my favorite groupings yet among your posts.
One of my all-time favorites too, Janice! And it's even better that I, providentially, happen to own, unworn and languishing in my scarf drawer for years, the navy version of Les Clef. You've definitely made me see that old matronly scarf in a transformed new way!
You had a gorgeous piece of wearable art and forgot about it??? :))
But I agree, there are some beautiful groupings here.
I love "old matronly" chic. So does my 23 year old daughter.
Suggest you take a look at the Hermès site, especially the scarf-tying booklet (downloadable) and you will see them on the loveliest women, not a matronly look in the bunch.
Dear Cornelia and frugalscholar, the one and only time I (already certifiably an old matron) wore my navy Les Clef, I thought I looked like a dead-ringer for an over-the-hill airline hostess. But Janice has given me a conversion experience. :)
That's pretty funny!
Dearest Janice, I love the one scarf all year concept. Thank you! You are so gifted and I love starting my day with your blog. But I wish you would give yourself a break on the weekends. You so deserve it :)
Mary
Because of your posts, I have bought a couple of lovely large square (though not Hermes) scarves. The problem is…I just don't seem to have the knack for tying them. No problems with the long ones….but the square ones give me fits. Please post a seminar to help me get started!!
I am not Janice, but there are a couple of basic folds under the Hermes label on the right. For more in-depth, try mai tais picture book blog. Hope this helps.
Second on Mai Tai's Picture Book blog – she offers video tutorials on literally dozens of ways to tie a scarf and offers pretty capsule shots of her own very French wardrobe. Be warned: you will contract some serious Hermes-envy as you browse her accessories collection, but she is so informative you'll forgive her.
Yes, Mai Tai and also on the Hermès site, there's a downloadable booklet that shows many ties. Deja Pseu, who writes "Une femme d'un certain age" also has many scarf-tying tutorials.
Janice — I am in the UK and was left to my own devices at an outlet mall with some of my favorite UK shops (LK Bennett and Hobbs). In the past — I would have bought SOMETHING. Because of your blog, I easily walked through, scanned for colors and shapes, and was able to leave without even trying anything on! Thank you! Much more refined in how I think about the wardrobe and whether I will add anything to it.
What a fun series! I'd love to see you do it again some time.
Janice–After reading your blog for a year, and drastically reducing my wardrobe down to the things I love, I found myself in Paris. So of course, I bought an Hermes scarf (Les Voitures in blue, black and orange)! However, I apparently absorbed part of your message and not others, because the scarf I bought doesn't so much fit with my wardrobe (which is mostly black and grey). Help! I do love blue, and I do love blue and orange together, but what should I add to my wardrobe to wear with my beautiful scarf, in a way that doesn't seem too matchy?
I'm not Janice, but… I imagine it working beautifully with black, with white (or off-white) and pale blue?
This post is just absolutely awesome! Thank you so much for all your hard work in putting it together! It is very much appreciated!
You are right that the bright yellow and camel don't play too well together, but I can see saving the yellow for spring and summer and concentrating on camel for autumn and winter. And the August tank top in gold does work well with the camel, so that color will be very versatile and could be used year round.
This is such a great way to think of colors and clothes and how they all work together. It is amazing how an organized closet can lead to organizing other areas of life, such as one's desk and file drawers. LOL!
What fun this series was! Your inspirations continually impress me. I was surprised you didn't recommend wearing the scarf itself as a halter top – isn't that a tried and true French strategy for keeping those expensive scarves in the wardrobe rotation? Granted, you need a French figure to pull that particular look off, but it is so cute when done well!
It is cute, but after that, you're going to have to launder your scarf, and lots of women freak out at the prospect of water & Hermes. But it is a great option to remember if you're traveling and running low on clothes – the halterish thing under a cardigan can work really well!
I finally tried handwashing per several internet sites' directions, and it worked beautifully. Not wearing that halter, though, but I love the look.
I, too, have washed Hermes scarves successfully. I tend to buy second-hand, and I always wash before wearing. Anything from the 1980s onward seems to wash ok. I can't vouch for earlier scarves and wouldn't wash a collectible. But my scarves are for wearing, not saving for posterity.
Janice, this post is brilliant! Please do more with other colors- navy, gray. You could definitely build a wardrobe around one scarf! I absolutely love this!
Karen
Janice I'm amazed you found a print skirt to match, score! I like the idea of camel and yellow together, kind of so-wrong-it's-right.
What a lovely set of outfits! I wouldn't wear those particular yellow and camel colours, but the same principals would apply for blue or whatever favourite colours.
Gosh, you're inspiring… I really need to sort my wardrobe out as I'm feeling like I've got not a thing to wear at the moment!