January 15, 2020
As I start sorting out my brain to pack for Paris, I’m looking a lot at the Perfect 10 Packing Template…
Bird Watching
Nothing rigorous – no cameras, no sitting in a blind somewhere waiting for hours for the sighting of the rare crested whompalicious swamp duck… Just lounging by the lake, on the deck, sipping a warm beverage and watching the birds come and go…
Her plan is to keep it simple:
She loves the unexpectedness of using brown with black. Why don’t more people wear them together? Lots of birds pair the 2 colors in the plumage…
brown cardigan – American Eagle; wing earrings – Lord & Taylor; scarf – The Met Store; watch – Daniel Wellington; wing bracelet – Alex And Ani; black cotton shirt – Lands’ End; black jeans – Lands’ End; loafers – Rangoni; tote – Frye
She will be going out at night with friends, so she plans for a couple of slightly dressy evenings…
black cardigan – Lands’ End; brown earrings – Heidi Daus; paisley scarf – Forzieri; tortoise earrings – J.Crew; tortoise bracelet – Banana Republic; striped cardigan – Plan C; sunglasses – Longchamp; black & white tee shirts – Lands’ End; necklace – Chaps; floral shirt – Lands’ End; black v-neck sweater – Marks & Spencer; black corduroy pants – Lands’ End; evening bag – Lele Sadoughi; cashmere socks – Johnstons of Elgin; waterproof boots – Naturalizer; flannel plaid shirt – Banana Republic; black ponte skirt – Vince Camuto; black dress – Banana Republic; ballet flats – Naturalizer
She reviews her template carefully…
And when she gets to the inn and gets into her pajamas, she takes the time to admire the simple elegance of what she has with her:
As always, she has plenty of different outfits for a 4-day weekend (or even longer!):
Now, she’s going to climb into bed and review her bird identification book; she doesn’t want to be the one who can’t remember the names of ANY of the birds!
love,
Janice
p.s. back in 2016 on this date, we were planning for Celebration Travel, in black, white, bright blue and bright green!
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What a great painting? I live 80 yards from our local nature reserve where there are wild fowl and we have lots of lovely birds in our gardens and the surrounding woods. One only has to look at bird plumage to be inspired by unusual colour combinations. Perhaps Birds of the World could be a new theme to explore this year?
As a bird nerd, I second this idea ?. I started out as an amateur photographer and ended up falling in love with their beauty. There are so many unexpected but lovely color combinations to be found among our feathered friends.
The male Mandarin ducks on our lake are my favourites – amazing coloured plumage.
The black certainly emphasizes the warmth of the brown. I found myself thinking that it could add variety to have a black pair of shoes in the mix instead of 3 brown pairs. However, I can see how sticking with the brown simplifies the accessories and helps minimise the total number of pieces- unless perhaps one or more of the bags was a black and tan mix rather than straight brown?
Love the colors and tones
“Going out with girlfriends” has so many different meanings. I have to say I was looking for a more baring or daring top, or shinier. What if they want to hit a bar or a club? I have to say I dress up more for my girlfriends than for my husband these days!
Love everything about this post. I, also, love pairing black with a different brown: cognac.
That was one of my favorite combos when my hair was a light red. I can still wear it if I add a brown hat.
The Perfect 10 Packing template really seems to be perfect. I love the idea of Birds of the World as inspiration! I’d totally be this bird: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/311592867970516231/ Except for the dots; I don’t like polka dots.
Wow! That is gorgeous!!
Kim, I too, am totally “that bird “!
Hi,
That was photoshopped :-(, FYI.
Still love the colors!
Lilac breasted Roller Birds have the most amazing natural plumage.
I love this concept more than I can state.I love this capsule, so wonderfully put together.
That color combo was a fav for years when my hair was still light red. Nowadays, my hair, skin, and eyes share a palette with the Chipping Sparrow ?.
I love this wardrobe a lot. It is funny – I used to wear these colors all the time, just add burgundy and that would be my old wardrobe. Since reading this blog I’ve got “restless” and have tried out some other colors, but now I find myself gravitating back to black, brown, burgundy. My white is more ivory than in this wardrobe but otherwise very close to my colors.
Simply beautiful!
As someone who often mixes black and brown, I love both the inspiration and the resulting wardrobe! And that butterfly scarf is a beautiful and clever choice.
Dear Janice,
I love the idea that you bring up the older posts. This one you mentioned today, was specifically helpful, with the idea of dressy, casual and middle stuff. Could you please do something similar this year? It was really helpful.
Many thanks and hugs,
From the very beginning of The Vivienne Files, my goal was to show clothes that were “Hi-TEC” which in my household means Timeless, Elegant and Classic. Your clothes shouldn’t tell people what year they were purchased! (like in 2 years, everybody’s going to see jumpsuits and puffy sleeves at the shoulder, and think “how 2020…”). I like to look back at old blog posts to see how much I’ve learned about blogging, and about how much the clothes are still wearable… Thanks for letting me know that you enjoy them!
hugs,
Janice
“Hi-TEC”! Another Janice-coined/Janice-revised word ?
With first glance at the painting, it looked like a stylized woman (think Picasso sculpture in Chicago that could be the head of a woman or head of a horse).
Janice–I don’t comment on blogs very often, though I remain a reader, but…. when I first saw the image (drinking morning cup of coffee), I thought it was a weird version of Sargent’s Madame X! I still kind of see it–even after my coffee.
Okay, I had to go back and check….
And I see it too! How interesting. We have a special kind of insight, don’t we?
hugs,
Janice
This combination is terrific! I hope you revisit this painting in spring or summer with more white for pizzazz. – nancyo
A heads-up: the Forzieri scarf is currently 60% off! Thank you Janice for finding all of these beautiful things!
Such a classy color combo!!
She never wears her socks! I’d put them on with the dress and the boots in the third outfit.
I love your bird posts! Heron in Snow and Northern Whistler are two of my favourites. I wonder if the birds’ “air” or attitude, looking so alert or thoughtful, contributes to their stylishness. Here, black, brown and ivory look so sophisticated together.
Birds are cool. I say that in my best Doctor Who voice… But you’re right, some of my favorite color combinations come from nature, and I think that birds are a great place to look for inspiration. I personally am smitten with magpies, as a woman who wears black and white SHOULD be, right?
hugs,
Janice
The British magpie has the most gorgeous blue-green on its wings. The Greater Spotted Woodpecker might be your bird – black and white with patches of red!
I am an avid reader whose wardrobe has been completely revised due to a large weight loss. During my rapid loss stage I used your 6 pack template, now I’m using 52 weeks. I would love to help hubby in the same way. Have you considered the outfit a month idea for men? I’d love to see sample mens wardrobes.
Hello from a longtime reader! I am a big fan of capsules.
I’m wondering if you have a suggestion for black trousers that can be worn with (gasp) sneakers in warm weather, like very warm weather. I’m traveling to London this summer and not sure what kind of pants can be worn in 90 F weather, should those temps occur in that city again (which I’ve been reassured is quite unusual). Tops are no problem, as I have some dressy tees. I need to wear sneakers for the comfort factor. I’ve got a pair of Brooks Glycerins and nothing has worked better for me. Thanks, Janice!
J.Jill and Uniqlo will both have linen pants in stock some time soon. (well, probably tons of people will, but I’m used to seeing them from these 2 every summer…) In Paris, the wide, above the ankle proportion (almost like a split skirt) was being worn by men and women. and every body was wearing athletic shoes of some ilk. I mean like 90% of the people we saw (and we were in a very residential area) were wearing Veja’s, Adidas, or New Balance. You’ll be great with your shoes in London!
hugs,
Janice
Wow–I guess I will be right in style, then! I can’t argue with the French. Thanks very much, Janice! Enjoy your trip! XO, Sandra