turquoise Archives - Page 4 of 6

Common Capsule Wardrobe Colors: Turquoise

July 24, 2014

As I spend hours each day getting the big color combination document ready, I notice that there are a handful of colors that turn up in almost every color palette. They are colors that you might not like, or that might not look good on you, but they are colors that you might want to consider for a late-season capsule wardrobe refresh, or for an experiment in accent colors.Here, I'm showing a tee shirt and two pieces of jewelry; you could certainly go with only one piece of jewelry, or include a pair of sandals or casual shoes instead. But here, by adding just two or three pieces, you can see how each of the Starting From Scratch wardrobes can be updated.

I like the shirring on the sides of this tee ... View the Post

How to Build a Summer Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch in Navy and White

July 19, 2014

Someone specifically requested a Starting From Scratch capsule wardrobe in these colors, and many of you have expressed concerns about how to implement this plan if you're dealing with scorching hot summer weather. I really felt like I wanted to go through an entire wardrobe in one post, just to clarify and illustrate one more time how I see this project working. So here you have it! Please note - the white garments here really ARE white - they just show up looking sort of beigy/grungy against the background. I generally don't promote the wearing of mungy clothes...

The first three steps are pretty straightforward: pants and shoes, then a cardigan and tee, then a neutral top and ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch – The Wardrobes, Finished (for now…)

July 17, 2014

Remind me, when trench coats are back in stores, that we want to revisit these capsule wardrobes and make some additions. If you think of anything else we should address (December holiday attire?), send me a note at theviviennefiles at gmail dot com.

I broke everything out into two pages; I might have been able to fit everything on one page, but we wouldn't have been able to see anything - the earrings would have been teeny little dots on the page!

And I think the links are working - let me know if you find some that are broken and I'll look into it...

thanks, as always!

love, Janice

PS - For more color inspiration, you can find the latest Pantone Color Planner ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 17: A Few Finishing Touches, for now…

July 15, 2014

Many of you have written to me to ask how this capsule wardrobe compares with my earlier 24-piece wardrobe - excellent question!Just as in the 24-piece wardrobe, this Starting From Scratch includes to two core "Four by Four" assortments in your neutrals, it works with two accent colors and a light neutral, and it includes the concept of the "bridge" garment, which is something that incorporates both of your neutral colors and allows you to wear piece from both neutrals seamlessly.

So I decided to look at each wardrobe one last time (for now - I'm sure we'll be back to revisit this concept when trench coats hits the stores, and when there are other requests/needs), and see how things stacked up in terms of a 24-piece ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 8: Two Tops, and a Necklace

July 1, 2014

One thing that I've noticed after many years of wearing clothes is that I feel like my capsule wardrobe is better balanced if I have more "tops" than "bottoms". Two to one seems a pretty workable ratio for me, and so in search of this it's time to grab a couple more blouses, tee shirts, or sweaters. This is an ideal time to introduce a pattern, if you wish, or to bring in more of your accent colors. If you found that you really preferred wearing light neutral blouses, those are perfect for this step. And a necklace... Some days when I'm walking in downtown Chicago, I make a point of looking specifically for necklaces, and I'm always kind of shocked that I don't see very many. A semi-precious stone or ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch: Choosing Color Schemes

June 17, 2014

It's a question that's as old as The Vivienne Files - if you're starting a capsule wardrobe from scratch, how do you start?

What an ambitious question! But after thinking about it for three years, I'm going to give it a try - a step by step approach to rebuilding your wardrobe from the ground up.

Before you buy any garments at all, you've got to make a couple of decisions. One thing you'll have to work out for yourself - which silhouettes suit you best. I'm really not qualified to answer this question for every woman, but I encourage you to address this question on your own; you know better than anybody else in the world what shapes and sizes of garments suit you best...

But the next question - truly critical - is ... View the Post

What I Packed for Florida

May 30, 2014 I completely missed the backpacking around Europe experience - I never took a year off of school, and I never even WENT to Europe until I was 35... But I'm still fascinated by the whole experience of being THAT light on your feet - that self-contained. So when a really nice Patagonia backpack made it into our home, I decided that I was going to give it a try. At least once, just to know what it's like, I'm going to be a backpacker...

I loved it. The incredible lightness of putting all of your luggage under the seat in front of you, and being able to walk for miles without wheels, was memorable. I don't know that I'll ever do it again, but it was wonderful.

There were a few factors that made this ... View the Post

A Summer Capsule Wardrobe, from “Ma To-Do List: Dressing”

April 30, 2014

A little more of the text from this section of the book:"To build your "capsule wardrobe" can be intimidating, and also can represent a substantial outlay of money! Why not take things step by step, and focus on the essentials necessary for each season. This permits you to gradually, purchase by purchase, build an ideal wardrobe. Several paths can be considered and adapted according to your personal needs and life style, as well as the weather where you live."

love, Janice ... View the Post

Navy and Beige Wardrobe gets the (Turquoise and Periwinkle) Blues

April 23, 2014

Many of you mentioned mixing shades of blue with your navy and beige, citing the always beautiful suggestion that this reminds you of the sand and the sea. How can anybody make this happen?

Say this is your summer shopping - these are the accent colors that you use, rather than the red and green that I used earlier. So your color scheme is this:

In addition to changing out the accent colors, I'm going to make two simple changes to the original core wardrobe. First, I want to include a floral sweater that does justice to our chosen accent colors:

and I'm swapping out the patterned skirt from earlier for a solid navy skirt with a ... View the Post

More Wardrobe Leverage: 3 = 30

April 19, 2014

Let's say that you are the happy owner of the 24 piece wardrobe in navy and beige that we've looked at for the last two days... And you decide that you want a little bit of brightness for spring!The only real thing you want to keep in mind while shopping is the degree to which anything new that you choose can be worn with your core pants and sweaters. A scarf that includes your core colors, along with a couple of pretty accent colors, is a good place to start. Pick up a pair of tee shirts in the accent colors, and you're on your way!

At first, these don't see to be a particularly compatible choice for your original wardrobe:

But in ... View the Post

Wearing a Celtic Knot Scarf – July through December

February 6, 2014 As is usual in the hottest weather, you might only be able to use your scarf to tie up your hair, or to decorate the handle of your bag, but the colors can still be the guiding inspiration for your wardrobe choices. These four garments clearly give you four outfits for the summer months.

Even though September is still warm, it always puts me in the mood for a sweater - and warm gold seems so perfect for autumn. For October, olive is a perfect neutral for a jacket, and a suede skirt in deep russet will have lots of mileage through the colder months.

Many of us need a dress during the winter months for family and holiday events. If you wear warm colors well, ... View the Post

Wearing a Celtic Knot Scarf – January through June

February 5, 2014 One of my dearest readers sent me a couple of photographs of this scarf, and asked me for some suggestions... This scarf has great possibilities - the gold, turquoise, carnelian and olive drab colors, with some white, offer tons of possibilities. If anybody can tell me who designed this scarf, or where it's available, please let me know ASAP - I hate showing something this beautiful without giving credit where credit is due!

Cold weather requires sweaters and boots - and olive and carnelian are both exceptional colors for this. All of the major colors in this scarf go really well together, so you can combine them pretty much at will and the scarf will pull everything ... View the Post