Archives for April 2018

April 2018

Lily of the Valley! The Birth Flower for May

April 30, 2018

Well THIS was difficult - as much as it's really easy to find lily of the valley fragrances, and lily of the valley room fragrances, finding garments or accessories with lilies of the valley is pretty difficult. (if you see something, please post a link in the comments!)

But we persevere, right!

Yes, the blouse is absurdly expensive... but the jewelry is winsomely lovely...

So how can we channel our inner "lily of the valley" when we struggle to find something that obviously and specifically shows our flower? Maybe just adding a bit of spring green to our the neutral dresses that we break out at the first hint of warm weather...

The green that you bring into an outfit can be very subtle, and the floral ... View the Post

Traveling with Children? Pack a “Whatever’s Clean 13” Wardrobe!

Let's see how this new version of The Vivienne Files works, shall we?

It's a question I hear from time to time - I'm traveling with small children, and I want to pack something bright and cheery. I also get questions about packing with printed or patterned pants, skirts and shorts - I'm going to throw that variable into this mix too!

This is a pretty bold way to start a wardrobe! But it will work, if we're intelligent and thoughtful...

First up, let's pull out our "Whatever's Clean 13" template to make sure that this plan stays on track:

It might behoove us to come up with a color scheme, before this goes completely crazy! I'm nominating navy as a neutral for this wardrobe, because navy is a great, classic neutral for ... View the Post

Exciting Stuff Coming Soon…

Well, it will be exciting when we get it all sorted out...

My brilliant consultants at RockFort Media are moving The Vivienne Files off of Google Blogger, and onto Wordpress.

I know, that means virtually nothing to most of you - I'm not really quite sure what's going to happen either. But I do know that The Vivienne Files will be prettier, and a little bit easier to search through, and that moving away from Google makes me look like a real grown-up blogger in the eyes of the big sponsors and advertisers.

So things will be nicer for you, and a better business for me. After I make it up the learning curve, it's going to be wonderful. (I keep telling myself that...)

For the next few days, there won't be any new blog posts, at all. ... View the Post

Travel – All Kinds of Random Thoughts…

April 18, 2018 I'm back from Limerick, and my friend has his gold medal in hand! That, in and of itself, makes the trip an unqualified success, because it's the perfect, desired outcome...But as is my way, I was thinking of you all, and trying to observe things that I thought would be useful or interesting for you. Of course I was!

The above photo notwithstanding, Limerick's not the most scenic city in Ireland, but it could easily be the friendliest, or the most fun... I can highly recommend:

Squire McGuire's pub, where I had about the very best pub night humanly possible - singing, dancing, drinking, hugging total strangers...

The Locke Bar, where I had what might be the very best hamburger I've ever devoured in my ... View the Post

Instruments de Musique by Picasso, Revisiting for Spring 2018

She still doesn't really fit in... Back in January, when she went to visit a client with a number of co-workers, her uniqueness worked to her benefit... Maybe because she's inspired by this Picasso painting, it's not surprising that she's a bit of a square peg!

This is what she packed for that very successful adventure:

Now, she's been chosen to go meet the client with whom they have the most problems. Recurring, SERIOUS problems... She's ready! For the first meeting, with management, she's making things clear, in black and white!

After the first day, she's going to tone it down a notch or two, and use a softer approach when she's meeting with the staff.

She knows that it's breaking the ... View the Post

Dame au Chapeau by Natalia S. Gontcharova Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 17, 2018

She's not a quiet, retiring type. She doesn't meant to be conspicuous, but it just seems to be her way! Maybe because she takes her style cues from this painting?

The last time the traveled - just after the winter holidays - she packed a simple, but eye-catching, travel capsule wardrobe:

She's off for a weekend symposium.... She's not presenting, so she plans to just sit back and listen...

She's packing what she considers to be the bare minimum for the weekend:

She loves the way that her wardrobe reflects her personal tastes; it's not something everyone would enjoy, but it gives her endless pleasure, and occasional real delight!

She loves the options of wearing a suit, or ... View the Post

Passion Flower with Hummingbirds by Martin Johnson Heade, Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 16, 2018 Our heroine is quiet. Subtle, but not without interest, and great depths...She draws her personal style inspiration from this moody, but beautiful, painting:

She traveled back in January with a warm, simple, but at the same complex wardrobe. That sounds silly, and like an oxymoron, but there's more going on here than will meet the casual, careless eye...

She's traveling again, with a wardrobe that looks uncomplicated, but which includes 2 neutrals and 3 accent colors...

The key here is that all of her accent colors will work equally well with olive green or deepest charcoal grey...

It's such an eclectic, but harmonious, little capsule ... View the Post

Fonds Marins by Lee Ungno, Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 13, 2018 She's an iconoclast - it's safe to assume that you don't know anybody with a wardrobe with color combinations like this! But she's happy, and we need to remember that happiness is a BIG factor when we choose what we wear...This is her dream painting:

She took a quick trip just after the winter holidays, for which she packed this most unlikely but lovely Tote Bag Travel capsule wardrobe:

She's on the road again, for another quick jaunt... Sometimes she's driving to see the World's Largest Ball of Twine, or maybe there's something very important and moving at the Art Institute of Chicago that she wants to see, so she jumps on the train...

Now that she punches nobody's time clock, she ... View the Post

Study in Verticals by Frantisek Kupka – Revisiting for Spring 2018

She likes facets... and doing difficult, serious work that requires her to be multi-faceted. So it's no surprise that her personal style guideline is this:

She's still wrapping up all of the documentation from a taxing negotiation from back in January... It was fully of drama - slammed doors, pounded fists, raised voices, and all sorts of threats to quit, or to fire people.... At least her travel wardrobe was under control - nothing else was!

She's now taking off just a few days, to sit under the trees, near the beach, and listen to the ocean...

She's sticking with dresses. It's how she feels most comfortable! And she's keeping things simple - she's had quite enough complexity in her life ... View the Post

A Colorful Moon by Alain Paillou – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 11, 2018 She's always loved the moon... And found this unexpectedly colorful photograph to be the perfect inspiration for her wardrobe:

She was bowled over when she was told she needed to travel to the capital because of an issue with Probate Court! But when she received the expense check to cover her travel (and a bit of shopping), she was prepared to make some smart choices. This is what she packed for that most life-changing adventure:

She's still getting used to the idea of being able to retire... She just worked the last day of her 4 week notice to her employers, and she's heading away for a couple of days, to a city in Mexico of which she has heard a great deal...

She's not meeting a ... View the Post

Flowers in a Crystal Vase by Edouard Manet – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 10, 2018 She's a soil conservation engineer... a job nobody understands...This is what inspires her - the richness of brown, and the beauty of what the soil can produce:

Just after the 1st of the year, she attended a conference of soil professionals. She packed carefully, and within her plan; she was delighted with the results:

One of the people that she met at her conference has invited her to speak to some of the classes at the University where they teach. THE University, as far as environmental issues are concerned.... She's thrilled, but doesn't want to go too "over the top." They will be walking through a bunch of plowed fields, after all. (yes, they have boots for her to borrow!)

The professor ... View the Post

Shallow Deep by Wassily Kandinsky – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 9, 2018 She loves simplicity, clarity, things that are explained and can be learned...

So she became a teacher! Her last trip to New York was with a group of her students, and her travel wardrobe reflected her need to be bright, cheerful, mobile and ready for anything!

This time, shes going ALL BY HERSELF! Just for a couple of days, but a couple of days among adults...

She's not taking very much AT ALL with her. She's going to concentrate on spending as much time with a work of art as she wants, without worrying about keeping her class on schedule. She's going to eat, slowly, savoring every bite and not caring one whit about the table manners of anyone around her. She's going to sleep late...

Yes, her ... View the Post