Art Archives - Page 60 of 65

Start with Art: Lucy Hessel at the Seashore by Edouard Vuillard

June 4, 2014 My readers have the very best taste; this painting was sent to me to consider for a "Start With Art", and I thought the colors were so beautiful!The mood of this painting - languid, soft, dreamy, relaxed - made me think of a honeymoon, or a second honeymoon...

These were my color choices:

If you wanted to pack for a second honeymoon, you could certainly do worse than this!

As always, a well-chosen handful of outfits selected with a unifying theme will give you lots of options.

love, Janice ... View the Post

Start With Art: Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte – Version 2

May 22, 2014 A second look at this great painting - focusing on the left half of it, and picking up the lovely periwinkle/chambray blue details...

It is interesting that such a drizzly and cold painting lends itself so beautifully to hot-weather clothes.

I love this dress...

A couple more garments, some accessories, and shoes:

Soft and pretty - a great travel capsule wardrobe!

love, Janice

Looking back: 2012 - What to wear with a necklace: dragon pearls 2013 - We look at a whole bunch of ways to wear One Dress: Six Ways in Black, White and Pink ... View the Post

Start With Art: Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte

May 21, 2014

This wonderful work is back in the Art Institute of Chicago; it was being restored and was not available to view for a while. It's such an amazing work - the asymmetry, the subtle powdery colors, the juxtaposed angles...

Even though this is a chilly winter scene, I'm going to look at some warm-weather clothes... I love this coral color, so that's going to be the primary accent color in this wardrobe.

And the taupish grey that suffuses this painting is a perfect base for some simple summery tops.

A few more lovely coral items...

These should get you through at least a long weekend in style!

I ... View the Post

Start With Art: The Girl with A Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

May 13, 2014

The most beautiful color scheme, combining warm tobacco brown, black, and brilliant blue and golden yellow highlights... That Vermeer guy was good!

One nice warm outfit, for in transit, or for a sudden cold snap, and some beautiful silky solids...

A simple outfit, and a nice basic dress:

A much less basic dress, and a warm-weather outfit with an over-shirt for air conditioning.

And a few extra pieces, for versatility!

love,

Janice

Looking Back:

2012 - one of my readers had a piece of jewelry that she wanted to wear more, and so I suggested What to wear with a ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Libyan Sibyl by Michelangelo

May 6, 2014

I am often asked to consider basing a wardrobe or a travel capsule on this most lovely of Michelangelo's works, and I have to admit that I find her sort of intimidating! The unusual color combinations, as well as the overall strength and power of her image are so striking that my brain goes a bit blank after studying her for a while.

Let me quote, at length, the excellent www.moodbook.com site's description of her:

"The Libica, or Libyan Sibyl brings pre-Christian prophecy to a close. With a graceful movement, displaying her lovely shoulders, her foreshortened arms, and the lowered profile of her fine head with its gold tresses, she lays aside the open book as if about to close it. It is a large and cumbersome ... View the Post

11 Minimalist Icons

April 7, 2014 I'm pretty busy these days with my care-taking responsibilities, but someone asked about the 11 Minimalist Icons mentioned on the cover on last week's featured book, Ma To-Do Lists - Dressing. I don't know that I fully appreciate all of these choices, but they are certainly thought-provoking!

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Paris vs Chicago, and a Great Quote

April 3, 2014 What does Paris have that Chicago doesn't?

Bookstores - dozens and dozens of bookstores. It used to be a joke between Belovedest and me - "Oh look - a bookstore!" when we would walk past one, but it's sort of lost it's humor, because bookstores are so common in Paris, and so very uncommon in Chicago. You might say that it's because we stayed, this last trip, near the Universities. But that's a weak explanation - from my apartment window in Chicago, I can see buildings belonging to at least 3 universities - and there are very few bookstores in the entire downtown area... And what's interesting is that the French don't spend THAT much more time reading than American ... View the Post

The Week Ahead

March 15, 2014

If all has gone according to plan, as you're reading this, I am in Paris... but this coming week, I've scheduled posts that flash back to guest posts that I did last year for A Femme d'un Certain Age. They're all about travel... If you don't already follow me on Instagram, you might want to consider. If I take any great photographs, that's where they will be first. Just look for The Vivienne Files there! love, Janice ... View the Post

Travel and Love – Remembering What’s Important

March 14, 2014

Today, we leave for Paris. To say that we're excited would be accurate, but it's more of a "warm, thrilled to be able to go away together" kind of excitement, rather than an "OMG WE'RE GOING TO PARIS" kind of thing. Because it's every-present in our minds that, a week from today, we'll be in Paris, but TWO weeks from today, we'll be back in Chicago, and the vacation will be an accumulation of beautiful memories, credit card bills, and a few gorgeous items we purchased... Travel is hard - there's no question. You're out of your usual routine, all of your normal "stuff" is either somewhere else completely, or crammed into bags, and for many people, you're someplace ... View the Post

Start with Art: From Mount Darling by Peter Simpson

February 28, 2014 So this is your dream:

And maybe this is your current reality:

All the more reason you should consider shopping your dream, and at least wrapping your immediate self (i.e. your body) in the calm, soft, organic and tranquil colors of which you dream. Start small - a simple silk tunic that can be worn with any pair of pants you own... This tunic, all on it's own, could raise your spirits for a few days! Maybe some blue shoes, or a bag. And your next pair of jeans could certainly be green rather than something more predictable and conformist...

So many shades of blue from which to choose - but you don't really have to choose! ... View the Post

Start With Art: An Interior from Architectural Digest

February 25, 2014 This photograph was sent to me as a suggestion for a wardrobe - and what a great idea. This photograph prompted, in me, ideas of wood, stone, natural fabrics and textured fabrics. While I'm going to start with mostly colors in the beige/brown/grey families, there are definite hints here of green, blue and orange that would be great accent colors here.

Another question I've been asked is about the possibility of purchasing garments one at a time, so this is something we're going to try here. And the idea of not matching colors exactly - the colors in this wardrobe (with one exception) won't be identical matches... So here we go! First off, wouldn't you like to be sitting ... View the Post

This is Why I Blog

February 24, 2024

Thanks so much to the reader who steered me to the New York Times Magazine article: Sign of the Times/Slaves No More by Cathy Horyn. It ends thus:

...a woman of indeterminate age who knows what she likes and has shrugged off what she no longer has any use for, and maybe never did. If that sound rather limited, that's the point. I'll stick with the same paint colors and my lovely old kilt, because, it turns out, there's a surprising amount of harmony in unremarkable choices."

(emphasis is mine)

Timeless. Elegant. Classic. Simple. Unique. Beautiful. Maybe not the words by which I live, but definitely words that inform and illuminate my style choices.

love,

Janice ... View the Post