The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Accessorizing Archives - Page 10 of 22

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe with Accessories 1 at a Time: Blues, Grey and Black

May 19, 2016   Casual, but really nice...Remember, we started with a simple black column of clothing, with a great blue cardigan; of course, we need shoes:  

And I usually have earrings added pretty early in the process. For this wardrobe, I tried to stick with a feeling of linearity, to echo the subtle stripes in the cardigan:

 

Scarves! I love scarves...

 

For those who do not want to wear sandals, a simple low-heel or flat casual shoe will be just as suitable:

I love wearing an inexpensive watch sometimes - the look on someone's face when they admire your watch, and you tell them it's a Timex, is priceless. And it's an important reminder that good design can be ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories 1 at a Time: Black, Ivory and Russet Business Wardrobe

May 11, 2016

This capsule wardrobe looks so much more interesting with just a few simple additions!

Remember, we started with this gorgeous jacket, and I put a simple black column of clothing under it. So shoes will be an essential first step:

Tee – Lands’ End; pants – L.L.Bean; jacket – Babette; top shoes – Robert Clergerie; middle shoes – Frye; bottom shoes – Kate Spade Since the jacket pattern is so striking, I thought that a simple, solid scarf would be a good choice: Shell – J. Crew; pants – L.L.Bean; jacket – Babette; top scarf – Jimmy Choo; middle scarf – Gucci; bottom scarf – Nordstrom  

And I can never go too long without earrings; to me, they give a touch of shine and a feeling of polish ... View the Post

How to Add Accessories to a Capsule Wardrobe: Olive, White, Tomato and Mustard

May 5, 2016  

This capsule wardrobe puts me in the mood to watch baseball - I have NO IDEA why... Maybe just typing the words tomato and mustard? But what a fun capsule wardrobe for accessories!

I've mixed up the order for the accessories this time, primarily so I could get another pair of shoes into the mix and give our poor wearer a break from those red loafers! Because this entire wardrobe has a warm feeling to it, I thought beautiful brown leather would be a great accessory option:

 

Because this outfit felt like three separate colors (maybe because it IS 3 colors.... duh....) I thought a necklace would be a good choice - something to pull things together and to break up the big patches of solid color. I ... View the Post

Part 2: L’Harmonie des Couleurs, and 13 MORE Accessory Families

April 27, 2016  

Some of these color names could be debated for WEEKS... and then you can spend even more time trying to find just the right item! But why would you settle for something less than ideal, just because it was the easy choice? We have high standards...Just a suggestion - if you choose to search for these colors, be very creative and open-minded when coming up with words for your search. While the book called the 2nd color turquoise, many of the items that I found here (for Blue-Green) came up under a search for turquoise. And don't get me started on the whole lilac/lavender/light purple/mauve conundrum!

Yes, the royal tote is from Nike; some people NEED a washable nylon ... View the Post

L’Harmonie des Couleurs, and 13 Accessory Families

April 26, 2016  

I had never seen this book in the US, although it's been available for years! But I saw it at the Pompidou Center in Paris and grabbed it right away - it's right up my alley...Below are links to the book in both English and French - links at Alibris.com. Alibris is a collective of private, small bookstores; I'd rather keep them in business than give that river in South America more money...

The section of the book that intrigued me first was one that linked a range of colors to certain personal or abstract qualities. I'm showing you the first half of them today, along with some ways that each color could be incorporated into your wardrobe.It's particularly thought-provoking to me that red is a symbol of ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories: Turquoise, Coral, Black and Ivory 1 at a Time

April 8, 2016  

Yesterday's "1 Piece at a Time" capsule wardrobe is a great base for accessories - although trying to find turquoise and coral that are the same shades can make you a bit daft...This is our starting outfit:

 

Shoes are critical, and I thought that a simple ballet flat would be pretty with the swing and movement of the black skirt.A small-ish bag is my next accessory choice. I'm particularly smitten with that octagonal bag...

  I love earrings, so they're next! While I'm not usually a big fan of "matchy-matchy" accessories, I think there's some wisdom to purchasing the earrings that were manufactured in the same batch as your necklace; you know that they're the same overall mood and ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories: Denim, Stone, Pink and Soft Blue, 1 at a Time

March 24, 2016  

This wardrobe is such a nice mix of casual fabrics with soft and pretty accents, I thought that I would try to continue the theme of femininity in the accessories, without getting too girly or sissy... I love these challenges!The original wardrobe is from yesterday; this is the starter outfit:

While I felt that jeans and a sweatshirt strongly suggested boots, I limited my choices to softer colors or boots with a metallic sheen to them. A lady-like boot might be a stretch, but these at least have a lighter feel to them!For the first bag, I wanted to see something in the stone neutral, but with a bit of softness, or texture, or "pink-ness" to it...

An all-navy outfit strongly suggests a scarf that ... View the Post

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

March 18, 2016  

The more I look at these colors, the more I like them; for a wardrobe with only 16 pieces, there are wide-ranging options from somber black to gentle pastels. This shows the possibilities of just a few pieces of carefully-chosen clothing.Here's the original wardrobe, and this was out starting point:

I thought it would be nice to show the possibility of some metallic accessories!

  And small, simple, classic silver earrings...

 

But you are always going to want a pair of neutral shoes. (well, I'm sure someone out there would be happy wearing silver shoes every day. If that's you, then do it!)

 

The Ted Baker floral scarf was perfect with our first outfit, ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories: Lime, Coral, Beige and Cream, 1 Piece at a Time

March 17, 2016 This wardrobe cried out for a bright floral tote bag... I managed to avoid the temptation and look for things a little bit more restrained. The original wardrobe step by step can be seen here; this was where we started:  

Take care of the essentials first thing - shoes and a bag!

 

The coral color put me in the mood for some rose gold...

 

Some of these shoes you've seen before, but I like them, and I think they're terribly versatile!

 

The overall warm feeling of this wardrobe suggested GOLD to me.

 

Three choices here: (1) ornate, (2) small and simple, or (3) statement, but still streamlined. Choices are a good way to isolate what ... View the Post

Pantone Fall 2016 “New” Colors, and Way to Try Them

March 16, 2016   Always a favorite time of year for me - Pantone finds "new" colors to share with us! Of course, there's no such thing, but I always like to spend some time looking at the colors, and trying to see if I can find them represented anywhere in the world of merchandise. Gone are the days when these colors dominated retail offerings!   While a couple of these colors are nothing more than cleverly named neutrals (the grey and the taupe), the other 8 might serve as a fun new accent color for a season or two. With that in mind, I looked at accessories, nail polish, and a few tee shirts, to see if anything was tempting.... And don't forget that canvas shoes are available in about a billion different colors, ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories: Navy, Beige, Turquoise and Yellow, 1 at a Time

March 14, 2016   Maybe it's the unseasonably warm weather here in Chicago, but this wardrobe felt very summery to me...  

We always have to start out with a couple of basic, essential accessories...

  I thought that I'd introduce some pearls here - to pick up on the pearl/off-white color of the cardigan. I like to tie outfits together through these small, but powerful, little color "echoes."

 

Theoretically, this particular outfit would be better balanced with dark shoes, but I'm assuming that you're going to carry a dark bag, which will serve the same purpose. Let's not go completely nuts trying to do everything perfectly!

If you're an avowed "watch avoider," you can always just ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories, 1 at a Time: Navy, Beige and Poppy

March 12, 2016   Remember this wardrobe, viewable here? Time for some essential accessories!  

Start, as always, with some shoes in which you could do serious walking:

  This time, you might prefer a small bag:

 

 

I will always have earrings as the 3rd step, but from here on, the order of choices, and the overall numbers, are entirely up to you. If you want to have 3 pairs of sunglasses, go for it!

 

I love the range of off-white shoes that are available. Since the materials are very different from those of your garments, the colors don't have to match exactly, but they should be in the same color family. It's easy to wander into the "too grey" crowd if you're not ... View the Post