The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Accessorizing Archives - Page 7 of 22

Experimenting with Project 333 – 20 garments and 13 accessories?

September 7, 2018

Wednesday I experimented with a different approach to Project 333 - in which I built a template for 4 5-piece "clusters" of clothing:

Partly to showcase 2 of Eileen Fisher's "new" fall colors (Midnight and Nutmeg), I pulled together this wardrobe:

If we're going to be really strict with Project 333, this would only leave us 13 accessories for this wardrobe! But let's bear in mind the LAST thing the creator of Project 333 wants is for us to feel limited or constrained by this process - she just wants us to be thoughtful...

That said, I'm going to see what I can accomplish with only 13 accessories, just as an exercise in planning and in limits! If nothing else, it's educational to see what you really want ... View the Post

Can Accessories Tie Together Clashing Colors?

July 4, 2018

Some of us felt pretty uncomfortable with the grey Common Wardrobe paired with warm citrus-hued accent colors. That's okay - everybody is NOT going to like every color combination in the world!

So I thought that I would try to bring the colors closer together visually by choosing accessories with that goal in mind...

This is the color scheme with which we are working, based on this really cool painting:

While the first wardrobe from this painting - with brown and beige neutrals - looked great with gold jewelry, now that we've changed our core neutrals to cool grey, I'm thinking that silver jewelry is the direction to take...

It's always reasonable and smart to have a plan when you're pulling together ... View the Post

What Accessories do You Need to Pack?

June 15, 2018

 

Wednesday I shared one approach to pulling together a travel wardrobe when your original plan starts to fall apart. Today, I'm going to look at what accessories need to be packed in order to make sure that you can get dressed without problems and panic...

First, let's look at our wardrobe color scheme:

For accessories, you want to make sure that you're including a color that will be suitable for jewelry - something metallic - and a color that can be used for your leather goods. This is pretty straightforward for this color scheme; the brown is perfect for leather, and gold just feels right...

Next, you want to think about what you expect to want to pack. This might not turn out to be exactly what ... View the Post

Roses! The Birth Flower for June

May 28, 2018

 

Roses! What's not to love? (I'm a little biased, because I'm born in June...)

There are roses everywhere - if you want home fragrances, or perfume, you're in luck.

And if you want to add some accessories to your wardrobe, maybe pick 2 or 3 pieces that look happy to be together? Sort of an instant update to your neutral outfits... I would cheerfully buy all 5 of these items, just to wear with black...

Or if you wanted a more striking color palette:

Maybe pink roses are your favorites? If you wear black, you can certainly live in that first scarf, and the 2nd scarf would be perfect with denim...

Yes, you might not want to wear a floral watch every day, but if you wanted to find one that you ... View the Post

Adding Just Enough Accessories

February 21, 2018   Yesterday she managed to wrestle her wardrobe into shape, so today she want to be certain that she has enough accessories. She's not mad about having tons of stuff, but it is pretty important to have at least some appropriate shoes! Her color palette looked like this when she was finished:

She thought for a bit, and chose gold as the metal color for her jewelry (maybe just for this season - who knows?)

And she's going to rely a bit on navy as a "cooling" influence on her wardrobe, as she moves away from those warm olive-ish greens that made her feel drab. So she drafted a 2nd color palette, like this:

Now that her colors are all settled, she things for a minute about what she's going to look for in ... View the Post

What If I Don’t Really DO Accessories?

February 8, 2018  

Some people just don't wear a lot of jewelry; they don't want to collect handbags, nor shoes, and they find one scarf suits them quite well...(okay, they're nuts...)

Actually, that's their right. Of course it is! But it does suggest that they're going to want to plan a bit to make certain that they have what they want and need when they get dressed.

Let's start where we were yesterday, with this nicely tidied leisure wardrobe:

When we finished this wardrobe yesterday, we had a lovely color palette for our heroine's clothing. Working from that, we can easily devise a corresponding palette for her accessories - add a choice of metal (if you're not going to have a lot of jewelry, what you do have can ... View the Post

How do I Know That I Have Enough Accessories?

February 6, 2018

Our heroine ended yesterday's adventure with a color scheme that felt right, and a spring capsule wardrobe that she found really comfortable; it gave her great pleasure, every time she opened her closet door...

But she still needs to wear shoes! And carry a bag. And maybe wear some earrings, or a bracelet, from time to time. How to plan THAT?

Well, I pondered this for a while, and I think that she should think about what outfits she's going to wear, from her wardrobe, and then make certain that she has the accessories that are right for each of those outfits. What else would she want, if she knew that she had a dozen outfits ready to go?

To keep choices balanced, I'm going to see if I can fill in this ... View the Post

Can You Plan Your Accessory Wardrobe? Madame Paul Escudier by John Singer Sargeant

December 28, 2017  

Our heroine from yesterday has a tidy and very well-planned wardrobe, after her few additions to what she used for business travel. But she's in pretty serious need of some accessories, I'd say!First off, let's remember what her inspiration is for her wardrobe:

Our heroine finally got her well-deserved (and long overdue!) promotion, and picked up a few more garments to finish up her wardrobe. She's going to be traveling a LOT...

But she didn't buy anything BUT garments - no more shoes, scarves, nor jewelry. That's just not fun!

Although she's made her reputation at work for her empathy and her ability to provide coaching and correction in a warm and constructive manner, she is at heart also a ... View the Post

Accessories Can Make ALL the Difference! Monet Water Lilies…

December 26, 2017

Our heroine has this lovely wardrobe...

But she's really going to need some accessories! She already has 1 scarf, but because so MUCH of this wardrobe is solid navy, more than 1 scarf can come in handy...

Please understand that any (or ALL) of the accessory suggestions that I make would be great with this wardrobe - this isn't some sort of "guess the "best" accessory" game... I personally could easily make a case for this heroine to own at least a handful of scarves!

I wanted a pretty, floral pendant for her now - something that echoed both the floral motifs of her original painting, and also had a "water-ish" feeling. (no, that's not really a word, but you know what I mean...)

And a bracelet - I ... View the Post

Just a Few Pretty Things…. and an Excellent Book!

December 20, 2o17

I have a couple of delightful things to share. First up, my dear friend Scottie has created 4 limited-edition scarves which are well worth your attention. Her scarves are unlike anything else in the accessory world, in that they reflect very personal stories and experiences in her life... And they're beautiful! I've seen all four of them "in the silk," and I can attest that the colors are amazing, and the silk is lustrously soft and supple. You will not be disappointed!This first scarf features a little girl with a hula hoop... And a helicopter. The juxtaposition is striking!

A vintage postcard, and a photograph from the Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands NM are superimposed on this next scarf. The ... View the Post

If You Could Design Your Own Shoes…

December 14, 2017

Although most of us are always going to buy what's "on the rack," I think that it's important that we let ourselves dream of what our "perfect" item would be... This is something that I learn from hanging out with people who sew - they can come closer than most people to making their sartorial dreams come true, and thus they have to be pretty focused about what they want, or they're quickly overwhelmed with options!

You might remember that Hanig's Footwear gave me the opportunity to have a pair of shoes made to my specifications - well, I had to use an existing Thierry Rabotin design, but I could then combine leathers (from a range of hundreds of colors and textures!) any way that I wanted!

I was, frankly, a ... View the Post

Essential Accessories for a Pretty but Casual Wardrobe: Start with a Scarf – Vintage Rose by KathKath

December 13, 2017  

Update - I did NOT go to Paris - a very last-minute fibromyalgia "interlude" suggested that the wiser course was to stay home and try to reschedule. Happily, I have a bunch of blog posts ready for you, so I can still rest for a few days! hugs - Janice When I left this wardrobe last week, the clothing portion was pretty well-organized, with lots of possible combinations, so let's choose some accessories for this heroine!

It seems that the first outfit is always a very simple one that kind of cries out for a necklace or something at the neck...

 

As far as a woman can get with a good briefcase, at some stage she's going to want a handbag instead...

 

I'm not even ... View the Post