Start with Art: Double Lucky - Charley Harper

This is such a great painting - simple, but beautifully balanced and whimsical, with a wonderful usage of multiple shades of green.  Many people find green hard to wear, but if it looks good on you, I say wear it often, and with a smile. 

From this painting, I drew primarily the idea of looking for a lot of different shades of green, and of balancing the outfits through the strategic use of green accessories...

Does anybody else remember reading a book - maybe as a child in the '60's - that included a character named Mrs. Moss?  She was a schoolteacher, and she ALWAYS wore green?  It's tickling around in the back of my head, and I can't figure out if I really read this, or if it was a figment of my over-active imagination...

Leather jacket- DSquared2,  olive jeans – Joe’s Jeans,  scarf – Echo, booties – The Flexx,   dress – Ralph Lauren,  leather and gold bracelet – Vince Camuto,  leather wrap bracelet – Vince Camuto,  pumps - Trotters

Earrings – Tasha,  Blouse – Ted Baker London,  sparkle skirt – Allsaints,  pumps – Stuart Weitzman,  jacquard coat – Topshop, infinity scarf – Steve Madden, boot – Donald J. Pliner

Tee shirt – Petit Bateau x Kitsune,  Capris – Space ,  bag – Medusa,  shoes – Keds,  earrings – Nikki Baker,  green dress – Issey Miyake,  clutch bag – Poupee Couture,  sandals – Pelle Moda

Chic Sightings: Beige Cardigan, 6 different outfits

Now that we can occasionally pull out our sweaters in Chicago, I've noticed that a LOT of women are wearing a simple beige wrap cardigan in all sorts of lovely ways:

Cardigan – Alpha Massimo Rebecchi, Tweed skirt – Stella Jean, ivory sweater – Stefanel,   taupe suede pumps – Naturalizer,  black sweater – Stefanel,  printed skirt – Weekend by Max Mara, black pumps - Sofft

Cardigan – Alpha Massimo Rebecchi, Grey trousers – Giorgio Armani, grey blouse – See by Chloe,  grey flats – Munro,  navy top -  Shirt C-Zero,  navy trousers – Paul Smith, navy fabric loafers – Munro 

Cardigan – Alpha Massimo Rebecchi,sleeveless sweater – Stefanel,  beigejeans – Frame Denim,  booties – Gentle Souls,  floral tee shirt – John Galliano,  copper velvet pants – Brunello Cucinelli, buckled boots – Lucky Brand

What we do for fun in Chicago

Come over today to Heather's wonderful blog, to catch up on her recent visit to Chicago...   What a wonderful afternoon we had - nostalgic sigh...

Any time you're going to be in Chicago, let me know- we can try to get together for afternoon tea!  I'd love to meet you.

Infinity scarves - will we love them forever?

I know you're shocked to hear that I don't jump on every trend bandwagon that races through the streets of Chicago...  But lately I've been intrigued by the "infinity" scarf - aka an endless loop of fabric that you just toss over your head like a big poofy fabric necklace.  It would certainly obviate any worries about how to tie your scarf, and thus might be a good option for scarf rookies...  I've seen quite a few women wearing these around town, and they tend to look rather nice.  Maybe it's just the novelty that appeals to me, but I am seriously pondering the possibility of one of these in my winter wardrobe.

The pattern in this scarf appeals,and the range of colors available means that it could look good on many of us:

Fuschia/orange scarf - Lulla Collection by Bindya, aqua scarf - Lulla Collection by Bindya,  khaki scarf - Lulla Collection by Bindya

Or I could take my own advice and grab an infinity scarf in a "blush" color:

Hot pink lace cut-out scarf - BP,  coral lace scarf - BP,   rose & white scarf - Collection XIIX

 Earth and sky colors abound in these scarves:

Olive scarf - Leith,  color-blocked scarf - Echo,  blue and brown scarf - BCBGeneration

 Although something bright like this might be just the ticket at 6:00 am in January:

color-blocked scarf - Echo, purple floral scarf - Tasha,  coral and aqua scarf - BCBGeneration

 But for me, nothing would take the place of a good graphic dot or stripe!

striped scarf - Vince Camuto,  dotted scarf - Nordstrom, multicolored striped scarf - Echo

 And the very uncertain could opt for a classic neutral color:

caramel scarf - Nordstrom, charcoal scarf - Nordstrom, cinder grey scarf - Nordstrom

Has anybody else bought one of these yet?  Are you loving it, or should I wait for my brief heartthrob to abate?  This is quite tempting, because it's not a fortune to spend, it's not something that will expose embarrassing chunks of the body, and it could ultimately be quite warm and functional.  But will I look like a turtle?

Chic Sightings: Purple and Navy

A variety of shades of purple, but all of them using navy as their neutral, from the most simple choices of navy pumps with a purple dress, to a very dressy silk blouse and velvet skirt ensemble.

Earrings – Nikki Baker,  dress – Malo,  pumps – Trotters, scarf – Esther Bonte,  blazer – Aspesi, pants –  Cedric Charlier, loafers - Geox

Scarf –  Joanna Allsop,  sweater-  Armani Collezioni,  skirt – Pauw,  boots – Nine West,  amethyst bracelets – Lagos,  amethyst earrings – Lagos,  cardigan – Malo,  skirt – Sofie D’Hoore, navy suede pumps - Clarks

Blouse – Aspesi,  clutch bag –  Georgina Skalidi,  velvet skirt – Vanessa Bruno,  satin sandals – Nina,  tunicsweater – Alberta Ferretti, scarf – rag & bone,  leggings – Uniqlo, flats - SoftWalk

Start With Art: Cliffs of the Upper Colorado River, by Thomas Moran

This painting made me think of subdued yet strong colors - both warm and cool.  Intensely pigmented, but muted in brightness...  It was a beautiful challenge.

Cardigan – A. F. Vandevorst,  jeans– Brunello Cucinelli,  bag –nada,  loafer – Trotters, gold silk blouse – Lanvin,  pearl necklace – Majorica,  skirt – Deborah Drucker, high-vamp pumps - Trotters

Stud earrings-  Linda Friedrich Jewelry,  Blouse –Marc by Marc Jacobs,  jeans – Uniqlo,  ballet flats – Sofft,  taupe tunic – Maison Martin Margiela 4, pleated skirt – Uniqlo, triangle earrings- Robert Rose,  belt – Halogen,  pumps - Softspots

Turtleneck – McQ,  skirt – Labour of Love,  scarf – Alva-Norge,   driving loafers – Robert Zur,  storm blue sweater – Mauro Grifoni,  scarf – Helen Ruth,  pants  - Sofie D’Hoore,  boots - Ecco

Cowl sweater – Lamberto Losani,  Degrade trousers – Brunello Cucinelli,  scarf – Nordstrom,  oxfords – Munro,  necklace – Maria-Xuan,   v-neck sweater – Malene Birger,  leather trimmed skirt – Yigal Azrouel, black pumps - Ecco

Elegance is Refusal? What DOES this mean?

This is a quote that gets bandied about quite a bit, but I don’t know how many of us have thought about how this idea translates into everyday actions and choices. 

 But I think it might be:

• Refuse to buy what we’re told are “must-have” items.  Elegance is not conforming to the dictates of others – especially when their primary goal is to sell you something, and not to help you be more elegant, more attractive, or more financially secure.

• Refuse to accept the conventional wisdom that you need new clothes constantly, no matter that you already have enough clothes, or that you don’t need to spend more money, or that the environment can’t sustain each of us buying clothes without restraint and planning.

• Refuse to fall prey to the “color of the year”.  Or more generally, refuse to believe that you have to own the entire rainbow in your wardrobe in order to not be drab or boring.   

• Refuse to be a human billboard of visible logos.  I wonder what Chanel would say about the logos on so many products… I scrolled through dozens of photographs of her, and I couldn't find any in which she was wearing anything with a logo – have you seen any?  I’m so curious…

                       

Fall Accent Color: Linden Green

I wasn't crazy about this color when I started looking for accent items for our wardrobe, but when I started putting it against the neutral colors it really began to grow on me.  And I'm also beginning to see the value in an accent cardigan.  I think it's easy to assume that an accent color for a season or two might be best purchased in a blouse, tee shirt or sweater, but upon reflection I can see that a cardigan could be worn more often, and make more of a visible impact...  Food for thought.

Bag –  Rebecca Minkoff ,  Cardigan – Schumacher, ring – Renaissance Life, flats – Glitter Pink, scarf - Hermes

While I was combing the internet for this color, I noticed that the brand Schumacher had a variety of garments in this color currently available.  It's not uncommon for a brand or designer to do a grouping in a single color; if Linden is really your thing, it's worth checking out Schumacher for some ideas.

black tee shirt - Uniqlo, beige silk blouse - Uniqlo, white tee shirt - Uniqlo, black cashmere cardigan - Uniqlo, beige cashmere sweater - Uniqlo, black sweater - Uniqlo, jeans - Uniqlo, black skirt - Uniqlo, beige pants - Uniqlo, black pants - Uniqlo

Update:  the way your monitor shows colors seems to make ALL the difference on this post.  I was just at Belovedest's mother's home, and on her computer, this color looks like bile.  Spinach baby food.  Kind of grotesquely repulsive.  On my computer, it's a subtle celadon green with undertones of grey or taupe.  The difference is sufficiently startling that I now understand the wide divergence of all of your comments!