The Vivienne Files

Traveling? Don’t Know What to Pack? Start With a Scarf – Madagascar by Lost Pattern NYC

June 29, 2026

Happy Birthday To Me! I should be sitting in a cafe in Paris when you read this...

It seems from your emails that traveling in September is very popular - except for that whole "warm weather? cold weather?" question.

Of course, we all watch the weather like hawks before we leave, and we adjust accordingly. But it's comforting to have an idea before you start flinging clothes into a bag...

How about a centering inspiration, in the form of a scarf WITH LEMURS!!! I love the detail of their striped tails throughout this:

These are the colors that I chose to try to find. Is anybody else having the experience that LOTS of things are sold out, or are only available in strange assortments of sizes? It's a bit ... View the Post

Another Summer Long Weekend Wardrobe: Start With Art – Birds in Winter by Atsushi Uemura

June 26, 2026

Her experiment of packing just teal and white was so much fun, she decided to try the same idea with a different accent color.

Her painting inspiration is this:

She had always had the persimmon/berry color in mind; this is her color palette so far:

She's taking the same six pieces of white clothing, but she's changed up some of her silver accessories for gold things. These small changes can feel like they make a huge difference!

She finally found the red that she wanted - a color that Eileen Fisher calls grenadine. Accessories were a bit easier to find in this color than they were with teal!

She thinks that this long weekend travel capsule wardrobe feels both summery and ... View the Post

Would You Like a Formula for Summer Get-Away Wardrobes? Start With Art – Birds in Winter by Atsushi Uemura

June 24, 2026

She goes away a lot in the summer. Mostly long weekends with a group of friends who have homes at the beach.

The packing part drives her crazy. She doesn't need to really dress up, but she still always finds herself on Thursday nights trying to make up her mind what to pack.

Then she saw the birds:

No painting could be more "out of season" than this, but she's inspired by the teal and white. She loves teal, and she looks really great in it.

And so she ponders, what if she put together a core of white clothes, and then added teal accents? The persimmon could be nail polish (or a second accent capsule!)

This is how she's thinking:

She starts with white. Yes, it gets dirty. She doesn't care; it's ... View the Post

Need Inspiration for a Business Trip? Start With A Scarf – Concourse of the Birds by The Met Store

June 22, 2026

A week in a branch office. Guaranteed to be cold during the day, so it's not like you can take normal summer clothes. Plus, there will be executives there, and we have to pretend that we're MUCH more serious than we really are!

Our heroine has no idea where to start - until she digs into her scarf drawer:

This gives her a color palette with two classic neutrals, and the sky blue and leafy green of summer! Perfect!

She will travel in a navy "suit" with a pretty blue tee shirt. Comfortable, but completely appropriate if she arrives at the office and is immediately confronted by a swarm of the suity types...

Her navy top and skirt are silk, so she's perfectly prepared for any dinner plans that are ... View the Post

Love Brown, but Want A Surprising Accent Color? How About Hot Pink?

June 19, 2026

I could have titled this post "the best laid plans of mice and women...". Turquoise was going to be the accent color with brown - I was SO eager to do this. Turquoise and brown are gorgeous together...

BUT - finding a matching set in turquoise wasn't happening. I couldn't even really find individual garments from which I could assemble a decent grouping of clothes.

What to do? Think again! I looked about for a different accent color, available in enough different garments (in the full range of sizes!), with which I could pull together a variety of outfits.

I finally had surprisingly good luck at the GAP, so we're changing horses in midstream!

There's a lesson in here - of course there is! Be flexible. Stick to ... View the Post

Where I’m Going, What I’m Packing – Paris June 2026

June 17, 2026

Next Friday, the 26th, I'm going to Paris! Unless the weather is going to be unbearable hot, in which case I'm just going to CANCEL. My hotel expense might be a sunk cost, but I'm pretty sure I can do some kind of exchange things with my plane tickets.

But this is a good time for everybody to fully grasp the meaning of "sunk cost." Going to Paris and being miserable, or just being unable to do much of anything, isn't fun. On top of the expenses that I've already incurred, I would have transportation back and forth to the airport, and lots of meals, and any other incidental goodies I buy.

I literally do not have to decide until I'm about to hand over my suitcase to be checked. I don't carry a suitcase onto an ... View the Post

Tempted by All the Brown Available Right Now? Some Ideas…

June 15, 2026

I love brown. I've never worn it a ton, because it wasn't easy to find when I was younger (although I remember at least once when my parents must have turned over EVERY ROCK in Appalachia to find a brown dress for me...), and when I was building my work wardrobe, brown was ABSOLUTELY NOT ACCEPTABLE.

How things change, eh?

I was quite smitten with the many offerings from Alex Mill, like this quartet:

I had to be dragged kicking and screaming away from using turquoise as the accent color here! My second choice was light blue, but I finally settled on coral. Coral and turquoise are a "made in heaven" combination for accent colors.

I keep counting and counting, and in these six ideas that I share, I swear ... View the Post

June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Winter Cottonwoods by Georgia O’Keeffe

June 12, 2026

Our heroine the landscape architect is using this soft, subtle painting as the focus and inspiration for her wardrobe:

At the end of May, she had 24 pieces in her wardrobe. Even though grey just doesn't seem like it should fit in here, I think it's going to be okay. Time will tell, eh?

Her accessories are wonderful - her scarves seem to have been designed just for her:

This month, our heroine needs tee shirts! She doesn't spend as much time outdoors in warm weather as we might expect; her clients don't like to be out in the heat... Snowflakes!

But she still has to dress for warmer weather...

When she takes a look at her 28-piece wardrobe template, she's pretty pleased:

But it's ... View the Post

June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Lonely Erika Giovanna Klien

June 10, 2026

Lonely indeed! Thanks to a brilliant reader, we all know that the German word "einsam" is (not tremendously well) hidden in this painting. The Vivienne Files community is the best!

Our heroine is a pro with typefaces, fonts, and constructing documents with a combination of legibility and creativity. Sounds perfect - clear, but fun!

Sort of like her wardrobe at the end of May:

While her garments are all simple and classic (albeit with some snappy color), her accessories are where things get interesting. It's easy for all of us to wear similar clothes, so long as we have accessories to put our personal touch on things...

This month, our heroine's shopping was a bit of this and a bit of that!

She ... View the Post

June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

June 8, 2026

So what is our glamorous Gothic researcher up to?

Let's enjoy her favorite painting for a moment; it's easy to just skip right past the paintings to get to the wardrobes, and that's a pity. I take AGES to choose these paintings, and they all have something to offer us each time we look again...

At the end of May, our heroine had a 24-piece capsule wardrobe that definitely leans toward the dressy! But she also has a pair of jeans, so she's not entirely a princess... If I had the joy of a trip for weeks and weeks, to all kinds of different weather conditions, I would try to pack something along these lines:

Her accessories at the end of May are pretty nice...

Although this particular heroine marches to ... View the Post

June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Common Shelduck by Dennis A. Jones

June 5, 2026

Our bird-data expert is back, and she has travel plans...

Remember, she takes her wardrobe inspiration from this handsome guy:

At the end of May, our heroine had a pretty lovely 24-piece wardrobe:

And her accessories were pretty nifty too! I have to share with you that I've started loving these narrow silk scarves; enough time has passed since we HAD TO WEAR THEM in the office, with our white shirts, dark suits and sensible pumps...

Later in June, our heroine will be leaving for six weeks on a college campus in VERY rural New England. The campus is going to be completely cleared of anybody except essential support staff (cafeteria workers are ESSENTIAL...) and a band of avian ... View the Post

June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Spirit of Autumn by Albert Pinkham Ryder

June 3, 2026

Let's see how our "professional listener" is doing! For what it's worth, I was picturing this woman as a psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor or such...

Her inspiration art:

She REALLY doesn't care if any of her clients or co-workers remember what she wears; she's much more concerned in helping people... But she does want to look nice, and she likes to think that her choice of colors gives her a warm and calm image.

And she has russet hair and aqua eyes...

At the end of May, her wardrobe looked like this:

And these are her accessories, so far:

Our heroine is trying quite hard to stick to her wardrobe template. Last month, she bought both pants AND a dress, which left her with "template ... View the Post