French 5-Piece Wardrobe Archives - Page 4 of 6

Start with a GORGEOUS Scarf – The Hope Scarf by KathKath

November 2, 2017

Remember an absolutely amazingly beautiful rose scarf that I used here back in November of 2015 from a company called Kathkath? Well... I'm delighted to be able to tell you that the scarf is now available in a modal and cashmere blend, as well as in a rectangular shape!

And they have new scarves available - oh, do they have some gorgeous things!

The first scarf that caught my eye (but not the only one!) was this - the Hope Scarf. One of my dearest friends loves pansies, and this reminds me of her... and these colors are so ideal as a change of accent color for black; many of us would like a change from using red as our accent color.

Looking for these colors in clothing can drive you mad (there's a ... View the Post

Updating a Navy Wardrobe for Autumn – Start with Art: Shattered Tree by Otto Dix

October 31, 2017

I thought that this painting might be good for Halloween - it's sort of dark without being macabre or outright spooky...

I see this painting all of the time - it's in the Art Institute of Chicago - and I swear that I see navy blue in the areas near the horizon! At any rate, I think that these colors make amazing accents... One could easily include some gold, some medium blues and a bit of grey and live with the color-scheme forever.

This is my starting point today. This version of The Common Wardrobe is a hair dressier than usual - no jeans, and a pair of navy wool pants in their place. A pair of high-quality trousers can be worn almost anywhere... The navy ribbed tee shirt is a notch more elegant ... View the Post

Can I Wear Warm Accent Colors with my Cool Favorites? Start with a Scarf! Berlin Graffiti 2 from ImageDiary

October 27, 2017

The questions around color combinations can go in all sorts of directions... She Fell in Love with the Scarf...

She loved the story, the print, the colors... but her core wardrobe was grey and white! Is this going to work? She's going to honor her impulses and make it work...

She's starting here - comfortable and very versatile, but very grey, too... Not to worry, she has an idea!

The scarf will of course tie outfits together, but so will warm stones or faux stones like tortoise or amber, set in silver. And then she found another scarf that mixed some warm and cool...(yes, "5-Piece" is an approximation, not a law!)

The blue sweater is simple - blue and grey are both ... View the Post

Does the “French 5-Piece Wardrobe” Work with Warmer Colors? Start with Art! Composition by Lee Ungno

It's always a question - there are LOTS of good wardrobe ideas that work beautifully with black (and usually with navy and grey), but what if your favorite colors are warmer, and softer?

Let's start here, just for the sake of art. We saw 2 exhibits of this artist when we were in Paris - there was 1 small room in the Centre Pompidou, and then a much larger exhibit in the Musee Cernuschi (which is just outside of the Parc de Monceau, and is well worth the search!).

This just screamed to me across the room - I saw khaki right away, with amazing accents...

So let's think of a starting point that is lovely for a moderate winter - not a place where you get snow, necessarily, but where you see cooler temperatures. You don't worry ... View the Post

Start with Art: A “French 5-Piece Wardrobe” Based on Nature Morte sur une Chaise by Juan Gris

October 24, 2017

She is feeling a little bit... subdued. She was strangely drawn to this painting:

She decided to embrace her feelings of reserve and quiet, and thus decided that this was how she was going to plan her upcoming wardrobe purchases for autumn and winter.

It wasn't that she really needs new clothes - she's got a good base of her favorite neutrals. But she felt that it was time for a good snuggle, and a scarf of two to hold her tight... She could give lots of reasons for feeling the way she does right now - the weather? the change of seasons? At any rate, she's going to do a bit of shopping...

After much watching, and some almost ENDLESS searching for scarves, these are here choices. She's (quietly) very ... View the Post

How do you Choose a “French 5-Piece Wardrobe?” Start with Art: Portrait de Greta Prozor by Henri Matisse

October 20, 2017

A short and sweet post today, because I've lost ALL track of time...

Let's say that you've got a well-established core wardrobe of the essentials, in mostly black. So you decide, this fall, you're going to use this amazing painting as the inspiration for your purchases - your "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" for this season:

You think for a few days, and decide that this is going to be your guideline:

This is your starting point - more than enough essentials to keep you reasonably well-dressed for most casual to medium-dressy events through the season:

And after some careful, deliberate shopping, this is what you add to your wardrobe for the upcoming cooler weather:

In addition to the myriad ... View the Post

3 FINAL French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring: Lavender, Coral, and Labradorite (?)

April 11, 2017

It's apparent that I could do these for a while - I'm going to have to remember to tackle this idea again the the autumn! But for now, I decided to venture into the idea of lavender, confront the controversy surrounding just exactly what color IS coral (well, in many places in the world, coral is turning white...) and then throw in a complete wild-card multi-colored accent based on one of my favorites stones!

And while I'm at it, I thought I would see if I could provide some ideas for those among us who don't want accent-colored shoes, and those who aren't in need of a cardigan!

(Where do you stand on accent shoes? I have very average-sized feet, and wear monochromatic outfits most of the time, but I can NEVER bring ... View the Post

Three MORE French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring: Blush, Red and French Blue

April 10, 2017

More accent colors! If greenery, from yesterday's French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring, is the "color of the year," then blush must be running a close second...

First up, let's see how blush works with these very classic neutral pieces:

I'd say this looks great!

Will blush look lovely with these very organic-feeling neutrals:

I admit that I'm always surprised by how very versatile olive green can be...

I'm pretty confident that black and white will work well...

It's not an expected color combination, but I think it's all the more effective and interesting for that!

Red is such a classic accent color, but it really never gets boring. Not many women wear it, frankly, because I ... View the Post

Three French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring

April 7, 2017

Yesterday, I shared with you what I consider to be the "must have" items for warm weather. (although I don't think I can say it enough - there is NO SUCH THING as a "must have" item; if someone tells you that there is, they are more interested in selling you something than they are in helping you figure out what you most need for YOU...)

Today starts the fun part - adding accent colors! I think I'm going to have to do this for at least another 2 or 3 days, because your suggested accent colors were many, varied, and lovely!

But let me start with the "Color of the Year" - another one of those fun marketing gimmicks that really don't mean a whole lot, but that remind us to focus on a color that we might have ... View the Post

The French 5-Piece Wardrobe Starts with Art: Little Harbor in Normandy by Georges Braque (Version 2)

November 21, 2016

Oh, this just gets better and better!Remember, we started with this painting:

Today, I've used the top part of the painting, and used silver in place of the gold from Friday's post...

I found new pieces for our Wardrobe Building Blocks, emphasizing grey. This is another small collection of pieces that work without limits - you could, again, literally get dressed in the dark...

Same four pieces - sweater, earrings, tote and scarf - but in silver rather than gold. Equally timeless, but a very different feel...

The only change I made here was the earrings - the others were set in gold... These earrings have a geometric feel to them, and a gorgeous fluidity that I really ... View the Post

The French 5-Piece Wardrobe Starts with Art: Little Harbor in Normandy by Georges Braque (Version 1)

November 18, 2016

I've never really accepted the idea that women can, uniformly, only wear warm colors or cool colors. I know that for many of us, it's a great guideline for wardrobe discipline, and helps coordinate things beautifully, but I still wonder why someone who loves black and white as much as I do would have gold and orange highlights in their eyes... Oh well, it's a great subject for conversation...

But I think of these things when I look at this painting, which skews two very different directions, color-wise:

I seriously considered sawing the painting in half (metaphorically, of course) and using the bottom half for today, and the top half on Monday for a study that includes grey... But I think we can all manage to ... View the Post

The French 5-Piece Wardrobe Starts with Art: Still Life with Bouquet of Flowers and Plums by Rachel Ruysch

Dear Elizabeth, who's favorite designer is Vionnet - send me an email at [email protected] with your mailing address. You won the Mainbocher exhibit book!So what do you do if you WANT something new, but you really don't need anything? You feel the need for brightening up, for some new ideas and inspiration, for some updated options in your wardrobe... I think it's important to take these feeling seriously, and to act on them deliberately, with a clear plan and established goal. If you just start buying things willy nilly, you risk wasting money, and feeling guilty, and still not satisfying that urge that stems from something vital within you.

How about first find something beautiful to help focus that sort of "all over the ... View the Post