The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Archives for 2015

2015 - Page 6 of 26

The Four T’s, in Brown, and in Pine Green

October 23, 2015  

After I reported to you about how women were dressing in London (see here), I kept mulling over that idea of the four garments in the same color... There's certainly no reason that they have to be black! I think we can agree than many of us don't wear black, and that there's a lot of other options available.So I replicated the same idea in brown:

Something I saw only a few times in London,but that I wanted to share, is women wearing their matching turtleneck and tights with a dress over it. While this will only work with the rarest of dresses  it's worth remembering. A dress that's too bare for cooler weather, too dressy for day, or just well-suited to layering will work here. And a denim shirtdress ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Pigs on the Wing by wrq.e.d. Version 2

October 22, 2015  

While the first colors that I saw in the scarf were greys and black, there's definitely enough beige and brown here to work with; maybe I see black and grey first because that's my personal capsule wardrobe focus?But this time, this is the color scheme. I like giving myself the full range of the blues and browns as options, I think it works well with the scarf, and makes the blending of different shades of one color possible. While there are a few colors that need to be matched pretty closely, others can blend all over the place and work well - I think brown is one of those!

I didn't mention this, but the border of this scarf reads:

"my song was out of tune, my voice was cracked, but at least no chorus ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Pigs on the Wing by wrq.e.d.

October 21, 2015   Such a great scarf... Do we all remember the Pink Floyd song?  

I am going to work with this scarf twice - I have a warm color scheme in mind for this, too. But for now, I'm concentrating on shades of grey, and that glorious blue.

  The Thinnest Veneer of Conformity   You have to visit the client. You developed the billing fee plan, so you've got to explain it to them. (those sales persons are such sissies...)   You've been briefed at exhausting length about how to dress. Like you haven't been dressing yourself for decades. But you're usually... somewhat... nonconformist, so I guess they might have reason to be concerned.   No worries, you are going to board the plane is ... View the Post

What Women Were Wearing in London, or the Four Black T’s

October 20, 2015

If you want to blend into the London crowd, the first thing you need to buy is black tights! And a pair of very sensible low-heeled black shoes... We walked for about 26 miles over the 2 days that we were in London (yes, I'm really happy that we work out so much!) and about half of the women we saw were wearing either black tights or black trousers, with shoes in which they could easily walk. Many ballet flats...And I saw a large number of women who had paired their tights or trousers with a lightweight top in black.

Thus is born the Four Black T's: tights, tee shirt, trousers and turtleneck! (mnemonics help me remember things!)

  In my ever-mathematical mind, this immediately translated into four ... View the Post

A Little Bit About a Lot of Things… and a Special Offer!

October 19, 2015  

Back from vacation!

I thought about you all A LOT, and have all sorts of odds and ends to share... My Packing

First off, 2 suitcases are 5 times the headache of 1 bag... But we did run A LOT, so I didn't regret having my running gear with me. However, I'm seriously going to think about how to whittle down packing every more - maybe do laundry even MORE often? We had laundry done on days 5 and 10... I should have used MORE packing cubes - to segregate dress from casual from spectator sport from running. No excuses on this - I have the cubes, and just didn't use them! Economizing on the number of socks one packs is just silly... Ditto lingerie... I used to pack a plastic vacuum bag, that ... View the Post

My Favorite Posts: Accessory Families

I love accessory families - I think that a really productive way to analyze a potential purchase (of accessories OR clothing) is to think of your possessions as a family, and try to envision the candidate for inclusion playing nicely with what you currently have...There were a bunch of these posts at the beginning of 2015 which remain favorites of mine!  

White Outfits with Grey, Turquoise or Celadon Green Accessories  

Brown Outfits with Accessories in Light Blue, Brights, and Brown    

Denim Blue Outfits with Floral, Bright and Silver/White Accessories    

Beige Outfits with Accessories in Celadon Green, Brown and Light Blue     love, Janice  

  ... View the Post

My Favorite Posts: Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf

You've certainly figured out that I'm an avowed scarf fan, and so working on posts that center around scarves is a delight for me. These are a few that stand out in my mind: 

Start with a Scarf: Capri Scarf from Radical Chic    

Start with a Scarf: Le Voyage de Pytheas by Hermes    

The "Difficult" Scarf: Sepia and Light Grey    

  Start with a Scarf: Gentian Blue by Yuh Okano   love, Janice   ... View the Post

My Favorite Posts: Start with Stuff

I love Start with Art, and Start with Nature, but some of the most interesting posts I've ever done have started with a vase, a cabbage, a photograph of eggs, and a photograph of a pigeon!  

Start with a Vase: A Qianlong Vase, and packing for China    

Start with Nature: Ornamental Cabbage - a Four Pack    

Start with Nature: Bird's Eggs photograph from Kevin Fleming Photography    

Start with Nature: Pigeons   love, Janice    

  ... View the Post

My Favorite Posts: Packing with Navy

A color I don't ever wear, but posts that I really enjoyed preparing. The images still make me smile...

Packing: Navy with classic accent colors

Warm Weather Travel in Navy and Coral - Step by Step

Four Pack: Burgundy and Navy

Breaking All the Usual Packing Rules: Navy and Green love, Janice ... View the Post

My Favorite Posts: Maximize Your ROI

Maximizing your ROI means getting the greatest Return On Investment - using those special items on which you splurged!

Maximize Your ROI: Leopard Flats

  Maximize Your ROI: Black and White Houndstooth Check Flats

  Maximize Your ROI: Orange Boots

How to Wear Black and Brown Together, or 

How to Incorporate an Expensive Garment into The Common Wardrobe

love,

Janice

  ... View the Post

My Favorite Posts: Flowers

As autumn truly sets in, it's a good time flash back to some of my favorite posts that started with flowers!

 

 Start with Flowers: Delphiniums

Start with Flowers: Daffodils

This is actually fabric, and not real flowers, but I think it fits here!

Start with Art: Flowers from Rosablue - a Four Pack for Business

Start with Flowers: Cherry Blossoms

love from vacation,

Janice ... View the Post

My Favorite Posts: Packing with Camel

October 10, 2015   I'm not sure exactly why I love these so much, because I never wear camel! But I really love the way the richness of the color works so beautifully with deep jewel tones, or soft pastels. If I had the coloring to look gorgeous in camel, I'd be ALL over it...  

  Four Pack: Camel and Burgundy  

 

  How to Pack for a Long Weekend: Teal and Camel    

  How to Pack for a Long Weekend: Navy and Camel    

  How to Pack for a Long Weekend: Camel and Wine     love, Janice ... View the Post