The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Archives for 2012

2012 - Page 23 of 25

Drool-worthy, or how’s your legacy looking?

February 12, 2012

 

So if you're not busy Friday, there's an auction of vintage Hermes items, in Paris.

Artcurial has Hermes auctions twice a year - vintage everything made by Hermes.  Just scrolling through the lots here will give you food for many drooling dreams...

Which begs the question in my mind: am I leaving anything behind me, at the end of my life, which would even be WORTH auctioning?

I don't want to have wasted every penny I've ever spent on things that my heirs will just throw away...

love,

Janice ... View the Post

The Follies of Reckless Experimentation

One of my great assets has always been my skin.  It's pale, smooth, and immune to pretty much any abuse - I could wash my face with laundry detergent, and I don't think it would matter much!  So when a very dear friend of mine gave me a few skincare product samples to try, I didn't think there was any risk involved.

Now mind you, this was product from a VERY reputable company, and it is quite well-known stuff.  Desirable, even.  Quite high priced, and considered to be the bee's knees of beauty goop.

So I apply said goop to my normally asbestos face.  60 seconds later, itching.  90 seconds later, a shade of red normally seen on ripe summer fruits.  120 seconds later, AMAZING swelling commences.  121 ... View the Post

Chic Sightings in the Chicago Loop: red coats

Maybe because it's been dark and gloomy, or maybe because Valentine's Day is barreling down upon us, but I've seen quite a few red coats in the last week, on women from 18 to 80.  They certainly brighten up an otherwise severe city sidewalk!

Red jacket – Donna Karan, black skinny jeans – Rag & Bone, red hi tops – Converse Chuck Taylor, red peacoat – DSquared2, striped scarf – John Lewis, navy trousers – Reiss, navy loafers – Easy Spirit,  

Trench – Burberry,  tote bag – Kate Spade, black boots – Liz Claiborne, black tights – Oasis, scarf – Yves Saint Laurent, wool coat – Mauro Grifoni, grey pants – Viyella, patent loafers – Kate Spade   ... View the Post

A Minimal Wardrobe from Years Ago

For years, I would tear out articles or images from magazines and keep them if they interested me, or resonated with me on some level.  In a fit of technology-inspired tidying, I scanned them all about six years ago.  Just today, I was browsing through them - aside from the very 80's or early 90's vibe from some of the photographs, a lot of the information was rather timeless.

One that I thought of a lot was the following.  I've erased her identity, because I'm quite sure that after 20 years, she doesn't want to be seeing herself all over the internet...

As I work toward identifying "the number" for the size of my upcoming carefully curated wardrobe, I'm seeing suggestions ranging from 10 to 1,000 - giving me a lot of ... View the Post

Scarf tying: the square knot, two ways

I don't wear this knot terribly often, but it's very handy to know, as there are two variations using a square knot, and once you know how to tie this one, you can do it without a mirror...

Start with a bias folded scarf, or a rectangular scarf, and center it behind your neck like so:

 

  Bring the left part over the right part:  

    and loop it over and through - standard knot-tying procedure:  

Now here's where many people go awry.  Your normal instinct is to take the "new" left end and take it back over the "new" right end.  Resist such instinct, and instead, bring the RIGHT SIDE OVER THE LEFT SIDE.  (I could get into a technical explanation of how changing direction ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in soft, warm colors with green and beige

    Someone suggested that I build a wardrobe based on my old blog photograph, of Melrose Abbey in Scotland.  These are beautiful, subtle colors that combine in lovely ways, and I could have chosen a hundred different palettes, just based on this one photo!   Build your own color-schemes, based on photos, here.  

Striped Sweater – Jane Norman, sweater – Acne, tee shirt – Kain Label, Dress – Topshop, chinos – Jack Wills, jeans – Oasis, skirt – Blumarine, scarf - Hermes  

Sweater – Vanessa Bruno, linen shirt – Acne, Duffle coat – Miu Miu, Trench – Burberry, cardigan – Woolrich, silk sweater – Private B, striped tee shirt – Sign Kora, jacket - Etro  

Crepe top – Marni, ... View the Post

Aaack!

So my belovedest ordered a few new dress shirts from a very reliable mail order establishment.  Said garments arrived chez nous,  were divested of their (excessive) packaging, and immediately went to the laundry.  Standard operating procedure in our home.

Later that same day, I found myself reading a lengthy on-line discussion about whether or not people launder new clothing before wearing it.

I was amazed; it never occurred to me that you wouldn't wash things before you wore them.  I've worked in retail long enough to tell you absolutely nauseating stories about clothing in stores.

And Good Morning America, a couple of years ago, went into an assortment of New York retailers, purchased some clothing, and ... View the Post

Maximize Your ROI: Statement footwear

 

Navy sweater – Acne, navy bag – Debenhams, Striped tunic - Jaeger, sunglasses – Cutler and Gross, Melange sweater – Black Fleece, Jeans – Alexander McQueen    

Silk blouse – Stella McCartney, earrings – Tiffany, silk sweater – Private B, gold necklace – Ben-Amun, tee shirt – Burberry Brit, 6-button cardigan – John Smedley, drop-collar cardigan – Eastex, Navy pants – Joseph,    

Silk blouse – The Row, hat – Topshop, turtleneck – Woolrich, tee shirt – Isabel Marant, floral scarf – Erdem, boucle coat – Jil Sander, Navy skirt – Debenhams, navy tights – Falke     

Ruby earrings – Lord & Taylor, Paisley drop earrings – Max and Chloe, ¾ sleeve dress – Crumpet England, ... View the Post

I Don’t Own the Eiffel Tower

It happens all the time: you wander into a store, see something ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, and buy it.

On the face of it, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this, but do you truly think that every beautiful thing in the world must belong to you? Of course not...

We can easily distinguish between our admiration of a beautiful painting, or structure, or city, and our need to own that object of beauty.

However, when it comes to beautiful things that are available for sale, we often lose our sense of perspective. Just because a garment, scarf, handbag or piece of jewelry is aesthetically pleasing and well-crafted does NOT mean that it's appropriate for us to purchase.

Your closet is not a museum, and you are not responsible for being ... View the Post

The shopping fast: Month 5

This month's activities included some of my heavy-lifting job (jeans, cotton turtlenecks, sweatshirts), a few lunches and dinners out with friends, and one cocktail party.  I already owned everything I needed for all of these activities, so I never felt that "need" to buy new clothes.  And I stay out of the way of temptation in stores, I've cut out all catalogs; overall, I felt only the occasional twinge of admiration for something.  Admiration does not HAVE to equal desire; more on that idea tomorrow.

 

 

 

  ... View the Post

Considering colors: a site to savor

Many people struggle with the idea of building a wardrobe in a limited color palette, so I've been nosing about, finding some interesting websites which help train one's eye, and evaluate gut reactions, where colors are concerned.

One of my favorites can be found here; it's a site on which you can upload a favorite photograph, and then build a color palette based on the colors detected in that photograph.  For example, I have always admired Canada geese - they wear the same monochromatic palette every day, but are always the most elegant birds in the city.  Coupled with the stunning photograph above, I knew that I might learn something interesting about my personal color preferences by using the Image to Palette tool.

So ... View the Post