August 2, 2011
love, Janice
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Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
Cardigan – Kain Alva, Blue linen shirt – Aubin and Wills, Orange tan – Topshop, White tee shirt – Vanessa Bruno, Orange Linen pants – J. Crew, White linen pants – Marc Jacobs, Silk skirt – Bruce II, silk scarf - Hermes
The wardrobes just keep getting harder! The request for this wardrobe was: "I am a short, graying brunette in her early 60’s woman who lives in the South (think 4 seasons with an emphasis on hot & humid but occasional snow/ice). I think Katherine Hepburn with more colors would be my inspiration. Casual, few skirts/dressy itesm, but chic. I love the colors of the sunset and sky plus silver/pewter jewelry with black, charcoal or dark jeans as the ... View the Post
Blazer – The Row, Cardigan – Chloe, Blouse – Chinti and Parker, Tee shirt – Witchery.com.au, Pants – Martin Grant, Skirt – Paul Smith, Hazel jeans – MiH, Scarf – Hermès Ashley in Switzerland, among many Anonymous requests, asked me for a wardrobe of warm hues. I've been working on a general "spring" wardrobe for a while so I thought I'd share this one with you. I hope you enjoy, and don't forget, if you have a specific wardrobe request, leave me a comment! I'm particularly enjoying the requests based on specific paintings or scarves - maybe someone has a beautiful piece of pottery or china upon which I could design something? It may take me a few weeks to ... View the Post
Jacket – Missoni , Cardigan – Acne, White tee – Vince, Silk blouse – Marlo, Black pants – Missoni. Skirt – Piperlime, White jeans - Levis, Scarf - Hermès
I really love you all. Seriously. You take time every day to read my writing, look at my work, and give me feedback and challenges. What else could I ask from total strangers?
I particularly enjoy the wardrobe requests I get. This one was AMAZINGLY difficult: "I'm a gold jewellry wearer and love to wear orange which I think always goes well with black or white depending on the season. I would love your suggestions for a core wardrobe for a femme d'un certain age."
This is my best effort - I threw some ... View the Post
Blazer – DKNY, Cardigan – Etro, Silk blouse – Paul & Joe, Silver short-sleeed top – Jason Wu, Pin-striped pants – Moschinol Skirt – Lanvin, Jeans – J. Brand. Scarf - Hermès A very appreciated reader in the UK asked for "My colouring is "Summer"; style "Full Classic"; bodyline "Straight". A little more info on colour - My 100% Neutral is Dark Blue Grey; 100% Basics - Deep Sea Green, and Plum, and I suit the deep and smokey colours of my palette." This is what I chose for her...
Blouse – Dolce & Gabbana , Trench Coat – Alberta Feretti, Charcoal coat – Jaeger. Dress – Rick Owens,
Pants – Etro, , Skirt – Max Mara Studio, Sweater ... View the Post
Gray blazer – Chloé, Striped cardigan – Aubin & Wills, Pink sweater – Ralph Lauren, Henley top – Dolce & Gabbana, Black sleeveless dress – The Row, Gray crewneck – The Row, Black & gray tweedy crewneck – The Row, Cream long-sleeved tee – The Row, Tweedy skirt – Markus Lupfer, Gray flannel skirt – Vionnet, Gray pants – Donna Karan, Black lace-trimmed tee shirt – Jason Wu, Black blazer – The Row, Black pants - Gucci
Square scarves - Hermes, Sequined muffler – John Lewis, Bracelet – Blu Bijoux, Black and silver balls necklace – Kenneth Jay Lane, Silver hammered disc earrings – Dorothy ... View the Post
Blazer – A.L.C., Cardigan – John Smedley, Blouse – Golden Goose, Tee Shirt – Dorothy Perkins, Pants – Theory, Skirt – Theory, Jeans – J. Brand, Scarf - Etro
The lovely Anonymous asked "I would love to see your creative French style on a wardrobe capsule which uses: Navy, Chocolate Brown and Soft White ( base colours) with Soft blue, Soft pink and Lavender as accents." This is my best effort - I hope you love it! Brown leather goods are SO beautiful...
blouse – Joseph Paolina , Trench coat – Weekend by Maxmara, Winter coat – Etro, Dress – Missoni, Pants– Bodkin, Suede skirt – Burberry Brit, Sweater – Crumpet, Leather jacket – Haider ... View the Post
July 18, 2011
Jacket – Gucci , Cardigan – J. Crew, blouse – Fanfare, tee shirt – Proenza Schouler, Pants – Gucci, Leather skirt – Jitrois, Jeans – J. Brand, Scarf - Hermès
Blouse - Chloe, Trench coat – Paul and Joe, Winter coat – Weekend by Max Mara, Sweater dress – Alexander McQueen, Pants – Proenza Schouler, skirt – Vince, sweater – Snobby Sheep, Leather jacket – Matthew Williamson
Dress – 3.5 Phillip Lim, Cardigan – The Row, Shirt – Modstrom, Tee shirt – Yves Saint Laurent, Sweater – Acne, Pants – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Shirt - Aubin & Wills, top – Burberry Prorsum
The ... View the Post
So far, all of the wardrobes I've built have been posted under the heading French Chic, and I'm frankly becoming a bit uncomfortable with that. We've wandered quite a distance from what the original guidelines of Susan Sommers' iconic book, and I'm not sure that I should continue to exploit the title which is so indelibly hers.
Thus, I'm just going to call them wardrobes. And with that decision, I thought I should share with you the mantra I use for the building of these little gems.
First: Carefully Curated. Each garment has to make the cut. I've heard some fairly harsh criticism recently that "good enough" is really okay for one's wardrobe, and I have to disagree. Yes, in some circumstances we do have ... View the Post
Blazer – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Cardigan – Acne, Blouse – Yves Saint Laurent, Tee Shirt – Topshop, Pants – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Bermuda Short – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Jeans – Alexander McQueen, Scarf - Hermès
One of my friends has long black hair, an outrageous personality, and works in advertising. This is for her!
White blouse – Marc by Marc Jacobs , Trench coat – Dolce & Gabbana, Winter coat – Maxmara Studio, Dress – Alexander McQueen, Pants – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Leather Skirt – Helmut Lang, Sweater – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Leather jacket – Helmut Lang
Dress – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Jacket – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Tank – 3.1 Phillip Lim, Tee ... View the Post
So as lovely as the garments above are, this is certainly not going to be enough clothing to even get you through a week. Most of us would want at least five separate tops and bottoms (or a dress) to get through the week. Even if you wear black pants repeated each week, it's nice to have more than one pair.
Thus, I decided to take it upon myself to determine what additional garments Vivienne would want in order to consider this a complete wardrobe. Realistically, I think most of us would do this exercise twice - once for cooler weather, and once for the sweltering misery that passes for summer on much of our planet. But for starters, let's just round out this core wardrobe with a few of the ... View the Post
One of the things about the book French Chic (Susan Sommers) which intrigued me was the list of garments which included "The seven essentials no well-dressed Frenchwoman would be without". That list included:
A black straight skirt a V-neck or cardigan sweater a suit a pair of jeans a silk shirt a couple of white tee-shirts an Hermes scarf
The idea of a list of essential clothing fascinates me; in a world that tries to compel me to over-consume, that finite-ness of a list like this, in which I could have some discipline and some structure, seems heaven-sent. Knowing that I was going to buy a fixed number of garments would give me the freedom to determine how much I wanted to spend, in what areas I ... View the Post