December 23, 2022
It’s like an early Christmas gift! And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, it’s just a gift, full stop.
This was quite a bit harder than choosing 6 scarves; there’s something to be said in defense of any painting, so rejecting any of them was difficult…
Let’s get started!
Street, Berlin by Ludwig Kirchner
I couldn’t resist this! Black and white with pink and purple, and just enough blue to include denim in the wardrobe…
Flash back to the wardrobe from when we first saw this painting.
I’m starting each of our heroines with some simple essentials:
Black cashmere crewneck sweater – J.Crew; earrings – Gemondo; purple silk scarf – Elizabetta; tote – Dagne Dover; velvet loafers – Birdies; black pants – L.L.Bean
Yes, we looked at this painting just recently…
A Peasant Woman by Edgar Degas
But for those of us clamoring for brown, this is worth looking at some more!
Her basics are pretty lovely, aren’t they?
Natural cashmere sweater – J.Crew; earrings – Gather Brooklyn; camel scarf – J.Crew; weekender – Paravel; loafers – Nine West; café latte velvet pants – J.Crew
It’s been a long time since this painting was the focus of multiple blog posts!
Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare
by Claude Monet
But these colors are timless:
Our heroine is starting out with essentials in grey:
Grey cashmere crewneck – J.Crew; earrings – Pure Crystal Jewelry; grey scarf – Nordstrom; tote – Dagne Dover; silver loafers – Cole Haan; pants – L.L.Bean
I chose this painting because it gives us options of mixing warm and cool neutral colors… We used this for our inspiration FIVE AND A HALF years ago. Holy handbags, time files…
Paysage Algérien
by Renoir
This should be fun!
Note that this heroine went crazy buying her bag – she plans to have it for the rest of her life.
Redwood cotton sweater – Orvis; glass earrings – Lala Salama; ivory cloud scarf – Nordstrom; bag – OSTWALD Finest Couture Bags; loafers – Sofft; stone twill pants – L.L.Bean
I might be the only person here who loves this painting – well, me and my mythical heroine!
Light, Earth and Blue by Mark Rothko
This was from seven years ago – it seems like just a week or two…
I felt like a navy scarf was just TOO much navy – what do you think?
Navy cashmere crewneck – J.Crew; lapis earrings – Margot Fox; scarf – Paul Smith; expandable weekender bag – Longchamp; loafers – Jack Rogers; navy twill pants – L.L.Bean
And lastly, we are going to hang out with a heroine who lives someplace warmer than Chicago, and who loves pastels!
Vocal Fabric of the Singer Rosa Silber by Paul Klee
I can picture this heroine…
Ivory cashmere sweater – Lands’ End; earrings – Pebble and Loop; light blue scarf – Nordstrom; bag – Belle & Bloom; loafers – Lifestride; antique alabaster cords – Lands’ End
We are going to go shopping with these six heroines twelve times this year; I suspect that we will get to know them (and their personal styles) much better as time passes!
love,
Janice
p.s. Eleven years ago, I wondered if Chanel was right about only needing 2 suits to get dressed. Of course, my definition of suit is pretty loose!
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Janice! The Arrival of the Normandy Train!! How I love the painting and the colour palette!!! It really is an early Christmas!!!!
OK, I’ve officially run out of exclamation marks now :) But seriously, I actually thought there’d be no post tonight, given your household situation, so imagine how delighted I am to see this, then double it! (Oh, there’s another one.)
I am hoping you are all getting better. Sending very best wishes for good health, and a peaceful and happy Christmas for you and your family.
This is, indeed, a great Christmas present! Thank you! It is clear quite a bit of work and planning has gone into these choices. They are awesome and I already have several favorites. That leather bag is amazing. I think the Renoir is going to make me want to change my color plan. This will be a fun year.
AMAZING Renoir! Great find.
What a lovely post for us all to ponder over during Christmas? I’m already looking forward to the first post in January. My favourites are already The Street in Berlin which has my all time favourite colour combination – pink, purple and blue and the Arrival of the Normandy train adding in green and grey.
Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas and hoping that everyone is well to enjoy the festivities. Stay safe in the snow.
🌲🎅🍾☃️
My intention for next year was to start a “proper” capsule wardrobe, restricting myself to one of the paintings. And l was secretly hoping that you would include the “Man in a Cafe”, so l was disappointed that it didn’t make the cut. At first. But being the style wizard that you are, Janice, you came up with another choice that got me immidiately. I am really looking forward to accompany you and the heroine of the Degas-painting through the coming 12 months!
Thank you for this present and for all the time and work you dedicate to us!
Merry Christmas to you and all your family!
What a lovely gift, thank you. I’m very much looking forward to following these posts over the coming year. I hope your family are getting better and you are able to celebrate the holidays. Best wishes!
Also wished to say happy Christmas and good health to Janice and everyone.
I love the Street in Berlin painting and can’t wait to see what you do with this wardrobe in 2023! My second favorite is the last one by Paul Klee. I hope you and your family are recovering now. Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas! OMG how am I ever going to make a decision! These are all just brilliant! I do hope you have a wonderful holiday, and recover soon. I may chime in later today after I have a chance to let these percolate for a while….was a rough night w/the dog. I swear he’s turned into a barometer. Every time there’s a major change in the weather lately he keeps me up all night. Add to that a husband coughing from a cold and a son who is a night owl and eating everything in site…. such is life. Cheers everyone! Janice, thank you again – I can only imagine how hard it was trying to make a decision on the paintings, colors, and then to put everything together! Hugs. And thanks for the info on the pants. Flannel pants sound wonderful
I’m already back, and I know someone can help me. What was the post you did regarding your office? Which was amazing by the way. Thanks much!
Do you mean the headquarters of the Vivienne Files? Might have been international headquarters…
yes Sandy – thank you! I typed in every office search I could think of…. Cheers.
Here you go:
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2022/11/a-view-of-the-international-headquarters-of-the-vivienne-files.html/
I am very excited for 2023. There are several colorways that suit me – I am having trouble picking just one.
Thank you Janice. Happy Holidays
I think a navy scarf might have worked if it were textured—say, burnout velvet or Fortuny-like pleats.
Thank you for such a marvelous Christmas present! I’m in recovery from a Thanksgiving week knee replacement surgery and so look forward to your posts; I can’t express how much they brighten my day. My favorite is the first one with the last one coming in a close second. Merry Christmas and wishing your family a speedy recovery!
Well it is perfect timing for a Day 5 Chanukah gift too! How exciting!!! Thank you!
I have very high hopes for Street, Berlin, as those colors are already favorites in my wardrobe. I also really like Earth, Wind and Blue, and will be following that one with interest as well. I do think eventally a navy scarf will be a good addition, especially in an interesting texture, as the earlier commenter said.
Wearable for me or not, you’ve once again chosen beautiful color combinations and I am eager to see watch each of these wardrobes evolve.
Oh, I’m really going to love 2023’s posts…there are two paintings that grabbed me immediately, and while we both recover from the first appearance of Covid in our households, it is a good time to re-assess the contents of the closet.
Merry Christmas, Janice! This was a lovely gift to us. Hope this finds your household back in good health or close to it.
p.s. loved your holiday message in the look-back post!
I am pretty sure my favorite is going to be the grey wardrobe… The Arrival of the Normandy Train. I actually had plans to expand…lol, after I finish…the Hydrangea wardrobe by adding a bit of grey; it will be very similar.
Love the idea of using paintings…you’re not limited to what the Patone folks say should be the colors for the new year….
Because I am a monochromatic type girl, I really like “A Peasant Woman”
Even though these are not my colors, both the painting and wardrobe thus far are gorgeous. I may follow it replacing the camel with navy and the ivory with light blue. I really, really wish I could wear the camel and ivory though; it is stunning!
Looking so forward to following along!
Merry Christmas!!
Oh that Renoir!!! Angels are singing. Can’t wait to see what the New Year brings! Thank you for this and may your Christmas week be warm and cozy.
Beautiful collection! I love the Street, Berlin and the Renoir. I am looking forward to seeing the wardrobes develop over the year.
Janice, I enjoy your blog, it is a taste of home. I grew up in Chicago (Newport and Seminary) and frequented many of the places referenced in your blog. Bravo!
I love the paintings and color palates you’ve chosen for 2023. I hope you’re post covid now and feeling better! Merry Christmas!
Oh, these are great! My colors are mostly Street, Berlin with navy instead of black. So that will be fun to follow along. Thanks so much for all you do and Merry Christmas Janice. I hope your household is getting healthier.
Nice! I’m attracted to the cool color paintings – black/pink/purple/denim, and the soft blue/gray/green. Can’t wait to see how these evolve!
Your correlations of paintings with clothes are wonderful…inspiring us to examine art in relation to wardrobes. And since I live near Lincoln Park in Chicago, I very much sympathize with and appreciate your seasonal references. -7 this morning.
The lack of true reds, electric blues and Kelly greens is slightly disappointing to me. I love bright colours. But I am sure you will do something beautiful with these.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Agreed that these are not the paintings or colors I would pick, but I nearly always enjoy and learn from Janice so I’m looking forward to a beautiful 2023! The way she captures the different vibes of the artwork in fashion accessories is always creative!
Merry Xmas to those who celebrate!
Yes, I did notice that as well, and am a little surprised considering so many requested them after this year. I will enjoy watching and learning anyway, and I may follow one wardrobe but change a couple of colors to suit me better as we go along.
I don’t know why but as soon as I saw the Rothko painting, I thought a scarf with a Tiffany pattern should join the capsule. After reading the post & comments, I dashed off to the Met store online & saw Tiffany grapevine scarf with beautiful colors. You’ve taught me that online store is a treasure trove for accessories. Thank you for sharing your talents & time with us readers. Truly enjoy your blog.
Happy Holidays & A bright & happy new year!
Dear Janice,
Echoing all of the prior comments – such a grand selection of art for this coming year.
My two favorites are the Normandy Train by Monet and the Berlin Street.
Your emails have been a happy respite of fabulous fashion in my email inbox for years now! I am excited to see how these wardrobes and heroines take shape and how they inspire my closet to evolve this coming year.
Hopefully your household is well into recovery mode and wishing you a calm Christmas and healthy New Year!!
Argh! It’s been a busy busy day and I’m late to see the reveal.
What tremendously fun choices! Can any top the Tree of Life build? 😉
Doesn’t Janice propel us forward every time? I’m hanging on for the 2023 ride!
Blessings through the holidays and into the new year!
What an excellent Christmas gift! The early voting here says the Kirchner followed closely by the Monet. Expecting great things in the coming year. Thank you. Happy holidays!
I love having these posts to look forward to every year. The Monet suits me best but they are all so lovely in their own way. Janice, you truly get better with each year. Thank you for the gift! A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.
Those who like navy, warm browns, soft blues, soft greens/olive, and yellow are in for a treat this year. I did wish that one of the choices would represent the vivid reds, blues, greens, and/or pinks that are typically skipped over in the capsules…and a lack of red, burgundy, coral/orange, and aqua/teal is noted. Will the Peasant Woman capsule be truly monochromatic?? Interesting!
Nothing will top the 2021 Mountain View capsule for me personally, but I am of course very excited to see where these paintings take us in 2023.
I thought about this and I’m going to do the first painting, but sub navy for black. There’s some deep blue in the painting, after all! I’m all set for the sweater, pants and shoes. I asked for the scarf for my January birthday!
I have a lot of colors like the train station painting in my wardrobe at the moment, so I might grab some outfit inspiration from there as well!
I spent a lot of time in airports over the holidays and spent a lot of time people watching. The best dressed woman I saw was an older woman, pretty much wearing the brown Degas capsule. Sleek hair, simple gold jewelry, driving mocs and tonal apparel.
I’ve learned I’m not the type to commit to any season/capsule. The women who prefer soft, more muted looks are going to be happy this year.
The Rothko and the Renoir will be vying for my votes. Navy and olive are my base colours. Mustard and cognac are my accents. Between these two painting wardrobe collections I’ll be watching carefully to see how it all plays out. This will be a fun year.
Janice I have been following you faithfully for years! Always such excitement for the yearly reveals. I too am swooning over these sneak peek options. I’m choosing Berlin Street. I’m on day 86 of the wool dress Sierra challenge because of you. Curious did you choose a reward dress? I would love to see a Facebook group that shows pictures of your followers wearing the inspiration outfits. I ordered missing items from Amazon to complete my Berlin street look. I have ordered many things straight from your links as well. Hope you’re feeling better. Thank you Janice and happy new year!
I chose 2 wool tee shirts – a black one, of course, and a teal one! I’m not sure what the plan is for the teal, but it’s definitely a color that I can wear with black…
I was thinking about doing a “30 days with a black tee shirt” trial, or maybe 60 or 90. It’s that good a shirt!
hugs,
Janice