Archives for 2014

2014 - Page 11 of 26

Post #1,000!!!

I have absolutely nothing to say here today except Thank You.

Thank You for reading The Vivienne Files.

Thank You for commenting.

Thank You for sending me email suggestions, ideas, and criticisms.

Thank You for getting in touch with me when you're going to be in Chicago, so we can get together.

The Vivienne Files is my full-time work. It's a labor of love, feminism, environmentalism, and the joy of color, beauty, and feeling confident every day.

All this work would be wasted without you. And I know it.

Love, really, from my heart,

Janice

... View the Post

The Vivienne Files Color Planner

It's finished! My self-reference for color combinations, completed and formatted for you, is finally completed.

The file is $5.99 - I promise you'll find enough colors here to keep you occupied for weeks!

Each of these combinations, no matter how unusual or difficult to "swallow", was drawn from a painting, a photograph of nature, an Hermes scarf, or some other place where the colors seemed to be happy and compatible together.

The thing I learned from this, more than anything else, is that if you really WANT to put specific colors together, you can. There seem to be no limits in the world to what colors appear together; you just have to get out there and look for the examples.

There are, in fact, two pages of color ... View the Post

Pretty Much The Perfect Pack

August 8, 2014

Although I had relatively little lead-up time for my trip two weeks ago, I feel like I had the perfect assortment with me. This was a relatively easy trip for which to pack, because I knew my activities ahead of time, I knew the weather conditions, and I had access to laundry facilities - sort of the packing trifecta!While I almost always travel in pants, this time I just slid leggings under my favorite linen dress in order to stay warm in flight. This crossbody bag is a fairly new purchase, and I really like it - it's light, lays flat, and holds quite a bit. I admit that I might have been tempted to get the next size larger, so that my tablet would fit in it...

Please note that these are not ... View the Post

Common Capsule Wardrobe Colors: Cobalt

August 7, 2014

How maddening.... This is a great shirt. At a great price. And the way Uniqlo shows it on their website (with a superimposed color swatch) makes it look like there's something defective with the left sleeve. Really, do you NEED a swatch, in blue, overlapping a blue shirt. Did we think the shirt was really, surreptitiously, pink?Ahem...

I love this color. I wore it in the '80's, as did many of us. Maybe you can't shake those memories, but I'd encourage you to consider a little bit of bright blue...

Earrings – Dorus Mhor, shirt – Uniqlo, bracelet – George J. Love

I loved this color with brown and beige WAAAY back when...

This is how I wore ... View the Post

Common Capsule Wardrobe Colors: Puce

August 6, 2014 Okay, even the internet can't agree on what, exactly, puce looks like! But one of my favorite color references, Encycolorpedia, calls it puce, and that's good enough for me. This is certainly a color that you could tweak a bit - moving to something warmer, or lighter, as suited your wardrobe, your preferences, and your personal coloring. Never buy a color just because it's the "big" color for the year - that's just an industry device to get you to spend money you don't need to spend on things you don't need to own!

This color has been added here because I've recently read a couple of things that suggest that it's a universally flattering color. I believe that a color that matches your personal blush or lipstick is indeed ... View the Post

The Things One Learns While Traveling

August 5, 2014

I got home last night, or more properly, early this morning. Rain and lightning on both ends of my journey made things... interesting... First off, when I got to my departure airport, I found that it was packed, literally almost shoulder to shoulder. No seats, no place to even LEAN on something, and absolutely no access to any electrical outlets. I'd been using my cell phone all day for contact among the various people taking me to the airport and picking me up, and I listen to music on it while in flight. Dead battery loomed large, and dreadful.

I can't recommend enough these Anker portable chargers. Mine is exactly the same size as my cell phone, and it completely recharged ... View the Post

Another Unexpected Interruption…

I've been called away for another family medical emergency. I'll be away until at least the first week of August... so the color file will be arriving later, and post #1,000 will just have to wait.

Don't have too much fun without me!

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Common Capsule Wardrobe Colors: Teal

July 26, 2014

Sometime very soon I'm going to HAVE to do a capsule wardrobe based on mallards or some other duck that shows this color in a natural palette. I'm beginning to believe that I can't go wrong looking at nature for ideas. In the meantime, this is a great color to transition into the end of summer/hot days of early autumn. As much as we'd all like to start wearing fall clothing the first day of September, it's sort of insane to really consider it (at least in Chicago) until the last week of the month. A color like this at least lets you FEEL a little bit autumn-ish!These earrings are silk, and the bracelet is leather - what WILL they think of next?

By now you of ... View the Post

Common Capsule Wardrobe Colors: Coral

July 25, 2014

Coral comes in a range of tints - there are more "pinkish", less "orangish" versions out there too if those would be more flattering. But any of them will look completely appropriate and attractive with all of our neutral color usual suspects. And as we move into August, and what is for many of us the end of summer (my great-nephew goes back to school IN 10 DAYS!!!), this might be a good wardrobe refresher, as well as a low-commitment way to test drive a new accent color for your wardrobe. Please note - this tunic-length top is going to be "iffy" with some cardigans; I personally can wear a top hanging out below my cardigan without worry, but you might want to bear this conundrum in mind when ... View the Post

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

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: Pigeons

July 23, 2014

I have to confess, I think pigeons are beautiful. Annoying little sky rats, yes, but beautiful; their shades of grey, with iridescent green and purple...

So when I was asked to build a wardrobe based on a photograph of a pigeon, I was happy to do so. But there's no way I'm addressing those red eyes!

I think this makes a lovely wardrobe...

love, Janice

... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Navy Tunic and White Cropped Trousers, times 6

July 22, 2014

It seems to be almost the uniform of the weekend - roll up the sleeves of a navy linen tunic, pull on some white cropped trousers, and accent with brightly colors jewelry and sandals... The jewelry isn't all precious stones, and the sandals are casual, but the effect of the bright accents was very eye-catching.I think you can learn a lot about your personal color preferences based on which of these looks appeal to you, or which you swear you could never wear!

love,

Janice ... View the Post