The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Archives for 2018

2018 - Page 5 of 17

Project 333 For First-Time Participants – 30 Pieces of Clothing!

September 17, 2018

 

Lots of us are used to having at least 40 or 50 garments available for the current season, so the idea of limiting all of our clothing AND accessories to 33 pieces seems daunting! But 1 thing that I'm pretty sure the creator of Project 333 would agree with - you should just start somewhere, and move on as you feel comfortable!

Therefore, I decided to build a wardrobe template that includes 30 garments - still fewer than many of us are used to seeing in our closets, but a pretty comfortable number...

When I look at this template, it seems like a huge number of pieces! But once you start pulling items out of your closet, it could fill pretty quickly.

I'm planning this wardrobe more or less on what ... View the Post

Choosing Accessories for a Project 333 Wardrobe? How about a template…

September 14, 2018

 

Monday I built a 4 by 4 Wardrobe based on this lovely scarf from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store (they have a LOT of lovely scarves...)

Before we dive into accessories, let's remember what our final color scheme was (remember, I had to change the colors halfway through building the wardrobe!):

And the wardrobe was this; yes, I could easily have re-arranged these items to put the camel-colored items into the 2nd row to be the 2nd neutral. Proof that these templates are guidelines and NOT rules!

I've been thinking about accessories a lot... Maybe we can organize them the same kind of way we organize clothes? Let's start with the stuff that most of us MUST have (although bear in mind ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: William Morris Patchwork Scarf

September 12, 2018 Class Action Settlement She had completely forgotten that she was part of this class for the lawsuit - all she had done was fill out a few documents and mail them to the attorneys. So when she received a letter telling her that she was receiving a cash award as part of the settlement, she was delighted!

And then she saw what she was receiving, and she was overwhelmed...

"Take that trip to Paris that you've wanted..." She didn't have to be told twice!

So she started to plan, starting with her favorite scarf:

She's only going to go for a few days, and her primary goal is to do some dining... maybe a few nice lunches in the better restaurants. She's learned that this is a good way to get an excellent meal ... View the Post

When Your Wardrobe Plan Hits a Snag – Start with a Scarf: Japanese Irises

September 10, 2018

Our mythical heroine has her scarf chosen for her Capsule Wardrobe, and she's full of optimism!

And while she wants to keep her wardrobe casual, she's still going to indulge in a few pieces of clothing in more feminine, dressy fabrics...

She goes to her closet and picks the 4 garments that she absolutely, positively wants to include in her wardrobe for the autumn:

In some ways, this is a great start, because these pieces all work seamlessly together - 4 garments = 4 outfits!

So with her colors and her style inspiration in front of her, she begins to shop. Since it's going to be cooler weather (she hopes!) in the next few months, her first thought is for another shirt - a nice plaid should do ... View the Post

Experimenting with Project 333 – 20 garments and 13 accessories?

September 7, 2018

Wednesday I experimented with a different approach to Project 333 - in which I built a template for 4 5-piece "clusters" of clothing:

Partly to showcase 2 of Eileen Fisher's "new" fall colors (Midnight and Nutmeg), I pulled together this wardrobe:

If we're going to be really strict with Project 333, this would only leave us 13 accessories for this wardrobe! But let's bear in mind the LAST thing the creator of Project 333 wants is for us to feel limited or constrained by this process - she just wants us to be thoughtful...

That said, I'm going to see what I can accomplish with only 13 accessories, just as an exercise in planning and in limits! If nothing else, it's educational to see what you really want ... View the Post

Do You Want More than 16 Pieces of Clothing for Project 333? I have a thought…

I've heard you - many of you are concerned that 16 pieces of clothing won't be enough for a Project 333 Wardrobe for the upcoming autumn... (even if you're not participating in Project 333, the exercise of editing and focusing your wardrobe can never be a bad idea, eh?)

How about we bump up the number of garments to 20, chosen in "clusters" of 5 garments each? For me, I think this might be just about right! This is what I'm thinking:

For reference purposes, I pulled together a wardrobe following these guidelines, using "new" Eileen Fisher colors of Midnight and Nutmeg.  (the other colors that she included are Dark Red Lory (huh?),  Raisonette (a lovely wine), and Monterey (a dusty dark rose). These all look wonderful ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – September 2018

September 3, 2018

No holidays at The Vivienne Files! I would never miss the chance to share one of these "6 outfit" posts...

Even though very few of us are seeing cool/cold weather, I firmly believe that it's smart to get your cold-weather clothes ready in advance. Nobody's going to give us 3 days warning that autumn is about to smack us down!

I loved the gold scarf with this otherwise monochromatic outfit...

We are far enough into the year that I now need to have a separate page for clothing and for accessories! Admittedly, a heroine who owned this wardrobe might not have NINE pairs of shoes for 9 months...

While the accent colors here are very unexpected for a "black-focused" wardrobe, I think that this wardrobe is ... View the Post

How to Decide – Should You Buy This Cardigan? (or anything else that tempts you…)

August 31, 2018

The entire purpose of the garment industry is to tempt you to buy things that you don't need. I think we can agree that we are far past the point of saying that they exist to make sure that we're all appropriate attired for the weather and our social environment. Most people have far more clothes that they'll ever need!

But sometimes, you do want to buy something new. Maybe just a refresh to your existing wardrobe, or a treat because you deserve one. There's nothing wrong with this thinking, in moderation - so long as it IS thinking, and not just an emotional response.

So how to know?

Let's say that you've seen a cardigan that you really love. REALLY love...

First thing is to determine if the colors of the ... View the Post

Asters! The Birth Flower for September

August 29, 2018

Asters... It means stars, which, when you look at the flowers, makes sense!

However, from my perspective, this was really tricky. (Yes, I considered using all "star" accessories - of course I did!);

First up, there are no items with asters on them, except for a very expensive dress, and the really nice cuff bracelets that are available for each month.

To pile on, asters come in about a million shades, from darkest red to a lot of various purples...

What to do? I found six excellent neutral dresses to serve as our background, and then I experimented with a range of colors as accents. (it would be fascinating to mix each of the dresses with each of the various accessory families!)

How do things look? Black is ... View the Post

But What IS Art? Start with Art – with a Cell Phone Wallpaper!

August 27, 2018

Start with Art is one of my favorite ways to build capsule wardrobes, but the subject begs the question of what qualifies as art? To me, if YOU think it's beautiful and inspiring, that makes it art, at least for wardrobe purposes!

Let's take this striking example:

As is true with so many images on the internet, I can't find the "original" of this, nor can I determine if this has been enhanced or altered in any way.

But that doesn't really matter, if you're just using the powerful image, and striking colors, as your inspiration. Nobody's giving out grades on your wardrobe inspiration!

Tough colors to find, but lovely together...

So let's take a bit of a dive into the process of putting together a ... View the Post

Project 333 for Business Travel? Start with Art – Calm Wind by Yoshida Hiroshi

August 24, 2018

Yes, I'm fascinated with this artist... The Autumn Quarter Will Require Numerous Client Visits... That's the title of the memo...

She took a deep breath, and looked at her computer, where the background was this calm, simple, but gracefully beautiful image:

She knew it was coming. Their acquisition by a much larger firm has left many clients feeling uncertain, and visiting them to reassure them of the firm's commitment was an obvious answer. So she has a great idea... First, she decides on a color scheme and overall "feel" for all of her travel:

She's going to choose a Project 333 Wardrobe STRICTLY for her trips. Everything is going to be segregated in a separate part of her closet, and when she knows ... View the Post

A Start With Art Project 333 Wardrobe – Kameido Bridge by Yoshida Hiroshi

It Was Love at First Sight When she saw this print, she immediately knew that she was going to limit her Project 333 for autumn to just pinks and blues... Simple, but versatile, and really pretty!

She has always intended to build her Autumn Project 333 Wardrobe around navy, because it's been her favorite neutral for years. Thus, the first part of her wardrobe plan was simple:

For her second Core of 4, she looked for soft fabrics like rayon and velvet, and also thought that a touch of floral print might be nice:

She wanted to make sure she didn't get TOO dressy, so she made sure to include a couple of classic tops in pink, as well as 2 relaxed sweaters in muted blue:

For her last 4 garments, she got a little more ... View the Post