Start With a Scarf Archives

Love Bright Accents? Start With a Scarf – The Kelsey McKinney Scarf by Echo

November 15, 2024

She likes red and green. And purple. And pink. And blue. And yellow...

She's going away for a long weekend that will be FESTIVE. Not necessarily big splashy parties, but she knows that anywhere she goes, there will be a bit of a holiday fizz in the air! So she decides to travel with her core of black essentials, but to round out her travel capsule wardrobe with four accent colors.

Remember, not every heroine flies to her destination! This lovely lady might be taking the train, or the boat, or driving...

And yes, Vivaia shoes are everything they claim to be; I've got two pair, and I live in them. Both will go to Paris next month!

She reviews her packing... jeans, a skirt, bright but not gaudy or ... View the Post

Love Blue and Lavender? Start With a Scarf – The Julianna Margulies scarf from Echo

November 13, 2024

Yes, THAT Julianna Margulies. Multi-talented, I'd say!

Lovely colors! That blue is just delicious...

Our heroine has to travel, and she wants to at least seem to fit in with the festivities! She's not really a "red & green" type of girl, nor is she much interested in an ugly Christmas sweater...

So she's going to go with a smile and a snowflake. That feels festive enough for her!

Yes, she's packing a few of the same things that her friend packed on Monday - simple black classics look very different when you wear them with a different accent color!

In her world, a pretty sweater and a skirt will be dressy enough! Most of the time she's more likely to be wearing her jeans!

When our ... View the Post

Feeling Bright? Start With a Scarf – the Dorothy Lichtenstein scarf from Echo

November 11, 2024

She's ready for a holiday weekend, but this is NOT the woman who's going to wear red and green, or a wreath or Christmas tree...

Which is great! You need to know what you do and don't like, by the time you're fully grown. Well, I believe this; your mileage may vary.

This is her inspiration, and it's a goodie:

This is her color palette; maybe she's stretching a point to include the bright blue, but she's got this sweater...

It's cold. It's dry. She's wearing white pants! If you want to stand out in a crowd in the dead of winter, this will do it...

She knows for a fact that she's probably going to want to wear a skirt. She might wear it with a sweatshirt, though...

And a blazer is never a bad ... View the Post

Want To Add Some “Snap” to Neutrals? Start With a Scarf – The Abby Silverman silk scarf by Echo

October 21, 2024 Normally Neutral She usually wears ivory and black. Every day. With nothing else added... So this scarf has some appeal, right from the start!

She recently made a mistake (there are really NO mistakes?), and ordered a pair of brown shoes instead of the black that she would obviously have preferred. But she found the brown ones to be fetching, so she just picked up a brown handbag, and a pair of earrings, and called brown "an accent color..."

So NOW, this scarf really appeals!

This could have all stopped RIGHT THERE... but she sensed that she was ready for something new...

A RED SWEATER???? Her friends will be so shocked - it's worth wearing, just to see their faces!

So when it came time to pack ... View the Post

Need a Foolproof Office Wardrobe? Start With a Scarf – the Olga Naiman silk scarf by Echo

September 30, 2024

Have you been forced to start going back to your office? I hear from heroines all the time who are suddenly expected to be their office two or three days a week, and who are NOT amused...

Two issues I hear often:

Business clothes from the "before" days just don't fit, or don't suit, and Quite a few people have received promotions (sometimes multiple promotions) in the interim, and feel that they should dress to a higher level than before.

SO... let's start with this very lovely scarf, and see what we can do! If you're only going to an office twice a week, you really only need a small wardrobe...

I saw four accent colors right away, as well as white...

Even at this late date in the world, I ... View the Post

Need a Step-by-Step Six-Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start With a Scarf – The Scott Schuman scarf from Echo

August 23, 2024

It's just a long weekend. She's tired, and she's only going because it's a very important occasion, and a low-key party that she wouldn't miss. But she's determined to make things as easy and fool-proof as she can...

So she looks long and hard at her new favorite scarf:

She realizes that she can just wear and pack her favorite black and white, and then include pretty much any accent color she wants! Yes, toast brown would be perfect here, but she's going to opt for a couple of brighter colors - this time!

First, she chooses her all-important travel outfit. Even if you're only driving for an hour, you can never go wrong by choosing a travel outfit that can stand up to a LONG day. Things go wrong. There are ... View the Post

MUST. HAVE. DENIM? Start With a Scarf – The Alexandra Kleeman silk scarf by Echo

August 14, 2024

Our heroine loved Monday's wardrobe, except she just can't imagine traveling to her kinds of destinations without denim. Lots of denim... So Echo releases another Echo 100 scarf, in perfect colors for her!

(true story, what are the chances?)

This is the color palette that she really wants!

She loves to travel wearing her denim jacket. She can't explain it, and she doesn't have to!

I agree with our heroine on this - there are very few people who can't find a good use for a denim shirt:

JEANS!!!! Along with a favorite tee, a nifty hat, warm sweater, and water-resistant sneakers...

She's going to pack her denim dress, because it generally happens that they find something to do in which ... View the Post

Need a Foolproof Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start With a Scarf – the Kendra Scott scarf by Echo

August 12, 2024

For a heroine who loves ivory and shades of brown, who loves turquoise and coral accessories, who wants to just pack four outfits and then not think too much about clothes...

For autumn travel, she immediately sees her color palette:

She will probably travel in this outfit - these are the darkest pants that she's taking with her, so it might be a good idea!

She doesn't have much turquoise clothing, but for travel, she doesn't need more than just a sweater that goes with everything:

Her vacation isn't going to be particularly dressy, but she's not going to want blue jeans... IVORY jeans, on the other hand, might be just right!

They don't have any very formal plans, but a casual skirt ... View the Post

Love a Little Black Dress? Start With a Scarf – The Bryan Yambao scarf by Echo

August 9, 2024

One of our heroines fell instantly in love with a scarf, and had a business week travel vision...

She has a closet full of black dresses, but she's never dared to pack JUST black dresses for a business trip!

Why not? She's going to meet different groups each day she's away, and she doesn't care if she's known as the woman who wears lots of black...

Here's her color palette:

Her first dress is a mid-calf shirtdress... perfect with her suede belt, a red cardigan, and some other bits that pull everything together:

Her second dress is shorter, and has a small "moc" neckline. As much as she loves her golden yellow cardigan, she MUST have a brooch, so that she can conceal that annoying ... View the Post

A Dignified Travel Wardrobe? Start With a Scarf – the Chun Wai Chan silk scarf by Echo

August 7, 2024

The first thing I saw in this scarf was a upside-down Ukraine flag...

"Your Costumes Will Of Course Be Transported For You... but you will have to carry your warm-up gear, as well as your personal attire."

Ballet dancers might travel with a lot of personal gear - she's seen it before. But NOT her... First, she chooses a classic palette that she found in her favorite new scarf:

"And I'm going to remind you again - we expect you to dress like ballet stars - NOT shabby teenagers. No jeans, nothing torn, cropped, or otherwise sloppy. People should know immediately that you are an artist..."

Well... OKAY.

She starts with her favorite dress:

They are allowed to wear pants; she picks out her ... View the Post

Variation on a Theme? Start with a Scarf – The Mosaic Tile silk scarf by Echo

July 8, 2024

Someone took a look at Saturday's post, and decided that they could easily replicate the wardrobe with an accent of pink! She's even got a scarf in mind:

Although it takes a while to find the perfect pink items, the overall idea for this wardrobe is very simple - remove all blue things - replace with pink!

Like this - same cardigan and pants, different top and accessories:

Please note - everything doesn't have to be flawlessly dye-lot matched! I try to come really close for The Vivienne Files, because all of the things appear quite close together on a small screen. It just looks better if they're a good match! But in the real world, your shoes are at the end of your legs (I assume...) and your bag is ... View the Post

When Wardrobe Plans Go Awry; Start With a Scarf – the Emily Henry scarf by Echo

July 7, 2024

Oh yes, she knew IMMEDIATELY that this was going to be hers!

She could see her color palette a mile away:

She goes to visit friends at the beach every weekend. Literally. If she visited the SAME friends, she could leave some clothing at their summer home, but she moves about and visits a variety of people...

If you're not reading Ninth Street Women, you should. One of the things that's really material to all five of their lives is the time they spend in the Hamptons. In case you think I exaggerate about everybody leaving the city to go to the shore every weekend...

Her first outfit just sort of fell into her lap...

And then - NOTHING. Any turquoise item she found either cost $500, or didn't come in ... View the Post