Accessorizing Archives - Page 14 of 22

A Leaf Green Handbag: Integrating a New Accent Color

April 30, 2015 I've been thinking a lot about my friend's inclination to buy a bright green handbag. This time of year, when it feels like we haven't seen ANYTHING green since the Christmas tree came down, bright green can be really tempting. And if the bag in question is beautifully well made, in a classic design, the urge makes even more sense! This was the bag in question - you might be able to see the allure:

But I, for some reason, just can't quite see an ensemble in which you're wearing other colors (in this case, navy), and the only green thing in your outfit is the bag. Other people are okay with this, but for balance and a sense of intentionality, I like to see another green something included. ... View the Post

Integrating a New Accent Color: A Smoky Blue Coat

April 25, 2015 Another interesting email: One of your is seriously considering the coat shown below, but you have some concerns about how this color will integrate into your primarily black and white wardrobe. Well!!! It's a lovely coat - I particularly like the way that the buttons are placed close enough together that the double-breasted effect is actually vertical rather than horizontal (a rare bit of design intelligence, I'd say). The pockets help with the vertical feeling too, and this shade of smoky blue is beyond lovely - subtle and rich. BUT! It's a substantial (gulp) investment. This isn't a purchase that you make on a whim... The writer also indicated that, if she chose this coat, that she wants ... View the Post

Choosing the Right Scarf Color – One Approach

April 24, 2015 Here's a decision scenario: you know you like the scarf - the silk and wool blend, the pattern drawn from foliate motifs and calligraphy of the Sultan's courts of India, the knowledge that your purchase supports the Metropolitan Museum of Art - but WHICH COLOR TO CHOOSE????

I'm of the opinion that your wardrobe should have a certain DNA - a "fingerprint" that is as unique as your own. If this is true, then anything that you add to your wardrobe should look like it's related to the things you already own. So maybe this decision can be made easier if we look at some options that might currently be in your closet, and see if any of them look like they're in your style family... Do you ... View the Post

How to Choose a Green Hermes Scarf

April 16, 2015 The email asked me to help choose from among a handful of Hermes scarves, being purchased for a landmark birthday, and to serve as a focal point for personal style and image. But the most fun part? In a very monochromatic (black, dark denim, white, eggshell, pale silver, linen white) wardrobe, she is looking to this illustration for accent colors:

This absolutely charming and intelligent book has no text, so it's appropriate for any child (and a lot of adults!) anywhere in the world... What a brilliant inspiration! The scarves in her narrowed-down shopping were these:

I was thinking about looking at shoes, to try to isolate the defining DNA of each scarf.

Dear, ... View the Post

My French 5-Piece Capsule Wardrobe for Spring and Summer 2015

April 11, 2015 This spring is a festival of Eileen Fisher! There's an Eileen Fisher Company Store in Schaumburg, in the west Chicago suburbs, which is a wonderful place to shop if you have both a plan and some discipline! Couple that with being able to get Eileen Fisher clothes at every department store in Chicago, and the canny shopper can often scare up some good deals! So, for this upcoming warm weather period, I've got a new red twinset-ish sort of arrangement, as well as a pewter cardigan, a GORGEOUS silver silk jacket, and my engineering-striped dress. (the black dress I bought in New York qualifies as a neutral, if anything ever did...)

I'm just going to work with five simple black ... View the Post

Color and Proportion – Step 3: Adding Print Scarves and 2-Tone Shoes to Solid Garments

April 7, 2015

Here's where the fun starts, for me! As an avowed fan of scarves and what they can accomplish to balance, accent, and just generally jazz up, I was happy when we get to the patterned scarf part of our experiment..

I've owned these black and white loafers a COUPLE of times in the past (literally, I believe they've been making these since the '80's) and I always wear them to death. And I'm embarrassed to confess that the Trotters loafers are, in fact, beige and dark brown. On my monitor, the trim looks black! I truly didn't know the "real" colors until I was almost finished.... sigh...

And you can always find deck shoes in a ton of color combinations...

I personally now really like the first two outfits, but ... View the Post

Color and Proportion – Step 2: Adding Shoes, and the Occasional Solid Scarf

April 3, 2015

For this 2nd step in my pondering about proportion, I want to introduce some shoes into the equation, as well as a solid-color scarf. I didn't find that I felt the scarf was "necessary" as often as I had expected - sometimes a pair of shoes made enough difference in the proportion of the outfit that the scarf, while fun, might be superfluous.

For these first two outfits, shoes that matched the cardigan lent enough "gravity" to the outfit that I didn't really reach for a scarf. Out fit 3 is more problematic - in screaming hot weather, white sandals might work, but white shoes made this look really "uniform", in the medical profession sense. Maybe the beige scarf and loafers would be better?

These outfits felt a lot ... 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

Maximize Your ROI: Estellon Striped Handbag

February 14, 2015

It's so easy to do - you see a bag you adore, and the next thing you know, you're struggling to use it...

Bag - Estellon

love, Janice

PS - For more in the Maximize Your ROI series, check out the following articles:

Maximize Your ROI: Orange Boots Maximize Your ROI: Black and White Houndstooth Check Flats Maximize Your ROI: Leopard Flats Maximize Your ROI: Estellon Striped Handbag Maximize Your ROI: St. John Collection scarf ... View the Post

Maximize Your ROI: Leopard Flats

February 13, 2015

You clamored for leopard shoes - I hasten to respond! If these shoes were mine, I'd be seriously looking at one of these bags - there are LOTS of options...

As I so often find, these items look particularly nice when aggregated. Toss in a white shirt and maybe a black dress (as well as another pair of shoes!) and you'd be well outfitted for travel!

love, Janice

PS - For more in the Maximize Your ROI series, check out the following articles:

Maximize Your ROI: Black and White Houndstooth Check Flats

February 11, 2015

As I mentioned before, I've received a couple of questions about what to wear with a special pair of shoes. When I saw these, I KNEW I was going to have fun, given my abiding love of all things black and white:

A little fearless mixing of stripes is the perfect foil for these simple flats. And a classic black dress with just a hint of white would be madly useful through the summer.

Putting dots with the houndstooth of the shoes seemed like a fun idea, and the pleated shorts are a lot more forgiving than the super-short shorts that seem to be everywhere! The red dress is easy with the black and white shoes - and a bag in a MUCH larger houndstooth pattern keeps things amusing.

Any bright color works ... View the Post

Maximize Your ROI: Orange Boots

February 7, 2015

It might be the request I receive most frequently: "I just bought ______ and I don't know how to wear it!"

As much as I'm a big fan of planning purchases and having a deliberate wardrobe scheme, I'm not immune to the reality of the "coup de coeur" - that French kick in the heart that screams to you and will not be denied. And I think that these impulses that overwhelm can be a good way to indulge in an accent color, or a change of wardrobe direction.

Take, for example, these stunning boots:

These are oh so NOT my style, but I can see the appeal. And one of you, dear friend, fell for their charms.

Now what to do? I have a plan. Of COURSE I have a plan!

Consider, while you're still carrying these ... View the Post