October 16, 2023
Today’s heroine is going to try an experiment; I’m not sure that it’s entirely successful, but it’s interesting!
Her inspiration is the lovely painting, and these wonderful, warm shades of brown:
At the end of September, our heroine was wearing this 29-piece wardrobe; I think it’s lovely and versatile:
It’s never really occurred to her to think about buying something in a print, but she kept seeing pretty sweaters in all sorts of patterns, and she finally succombed!
Cardigan – Peraluna; ivory shirt – Lands’ End; scarf – Elizabetta; bag – Longchamp; loafers – Söfft; corduroy pants – Lands’ End
Her new wardrobe (with the addition of the 3 new garments) doesn’t look a lot different than it did, but she’s not sure how useful the plaid cardigan will be!
And please note, she doesn’t plan to wear her new scarf with her plaid cardigan – she just grabbed it because it’s SO perfect with the rest of her wardrobe…
When our heroine gets her new garments home, and starts trying on outfits, she’s not at ALL sure that she’s happy with the plaid cardigan; she feels like it looks odd or unbalanced with any pants except her new, very dark, cords. What do you think?
Could you wear this wardrobe for a month? I’m pretty sure I could, but I would have to let the purple highlights in my hair fade quite a bit! This might have suited me much better back in the days when my hair was a true, dark brown…
love,
Janice
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
I think the new scarf could be fun to wear with the plaid cardigan. So glad you’re showing Elizabetta scarves.
Agree!
Brown isn’t my natural choice but I really like this wardrobe. I could do it in shades of blue with a bit of dark grey. I have a thick patterned cardigan in blues and greys which I bought over 30 years ago. Thankfully, it’s loose style means that it still fits. I wear it with trousers and skirts and can put one or two thin layers underneath. The pattern has not dated – I don’t think checks or plaid do.
Our heroine will be pleasantly surprised that this cardigan will become her ‘go to’ for a smart casual third layer in lieu of a coat. It is long enough and loose enough to go over a top plus thin jumper. It reminds me of a long checked cardigan that my daughter wears over a thin jumper and trousers in the winter.
Apart from the wax jacket, she doesn’t have a third layer that could be worn on autumn days when it is brilliant sunshine. Somehow a wax jacket on those days just looks wrong. Yesterday, after a period of rain when I was so thankful for my wax jacket, it was a crisp autumn day with brilliant sunshine. Cool enough to need a coat but it was a cloudless sky. We were going to an event in a country park. My wax jacket seemed so dull and utilitarian on such a lovely day. If I had had my chunky cardigan to wear over my top and thin cardigan, I would have done. However, it is still in the loft. Instead I wore a pink and grey small check coat with a scarf. It was the perfect layer over burgundy cords and grey suede ankle boots. There were people there with waterproof outer layers but they looked as if they were willing it to rain.
The pattern of the cardigan is not just dark brown and cream but has a mid-tone too. I look at what it has been paired with on the website – a pair of camel trousers similar in colour to the pleat skirt. So imagine swapping out the cable jumper in the first outfit image and putting the cardigan with the camel skirt or camel trousers . I might change the scarf to a thicker one to fill the gap. A long cardigan with a long skirt and boots is an outfit that I would wear . In colder weather, you could wear a polo neck underneath.
Now that she has had the courage to bring her wardrobe together with a patterned 2nd/3rd layer, she would do well to find a similar patterned shirt/top and a long coat that will keep her warm in winter. My winter coats have to be midi length as I hate having cold legs.
Beth t,
I wish you could share photos of your wardrobe. Your descriptions always fascinate me.
Thank you for your kind comment. I would love to share some of my outfits should Janice consider a private Vivienne Files Facebook group. Mind you, there is some advantage with some anonymity.
In my head I’m a slimmish 5ft 8 with long legs and ordinary feet. Sadly, the opposite is true as I’m 5ft 1, not slim and have short legs and wide feet. So most of the time, I’m battling to dress in a way that disguises my poor proportions and draws attention away from unflattering footwear!
I’m glad to see pattern enter this wardrobe and would love to see more – a brown ombré would really echo the inspiration painting. Some textured pieces – like a marled sweater or tweed – would enhance everything worn with them.
I think the cardigan works with both outfits you showed – there are elements of both the Devon cream and bone in the sweater.
Do you know, I had completely forgotten about the lightest shades of this wardrobe. To me the cardigan stands out at the moment, but I suspect she’ll reach for it again and again. Oddly enough (or great minds?) over the weekend I bought a gray/ivory/brown striped cardigan – more of a gradually fading into stripes not hard stripes if that makes sense. Anyway, I bought it mostly to wear with my few brown pieces, but I’m happy it will also go with my few gray and camel pieces as well. I don’t look great with camel near my face, but I think with some scarves I might could pull this off for a month. My hair is currently a lavender vs purple, so personally I wouldn’t have an issue there.
Bren – thank you for the suggestion of scarf magnets. I didn’t even know there was such a thing, and of course found them on Amazon – which seems to have everything.
Have a good day ladies.
Is that stripe fading called ‘ombre’? Last year I bought a similar striped jumper in blue, pink and lilac. I don’t normally wear horizontal stripes but the fading draws the eye vertically.
No, not quite as soft as an ombre. I think because of the way it’s knit the stripes just blend a little more instead of being harsh and clean cut.
I hope you like them, Sheila! I used mine yesterday on the tails of a small square scarf just below my shoulder, to keep it at a more ‘jaunty’ angle. Otherwise it kept sliding down, and looked a little droopy. You’ll have fun playing with them, I’m sure!
I love the sweater and I would definitely wear the scarf with it. I can wear this wardrobe and I probably should. But I’m not disciplined enough to wear so few colors.
These additions are lovely. I’m afraid the distinct dark brown stripes would make me look heavier, but I’d wear the sweater anyway. Wolf &Badger never disappoint.
One of my favorites, I’d wear all of these neutrals, but need pops of brights to feel like me. Gold accessories would brighten it up.
The cream top & bottom seem to work better with the cardigan, perhaps because it is present in a larger amount? I think she will get mileage out of this cardi— to be sure. I would try that scarf with it. Just because.
I just bought a pair of dark brown Josef Seibel loafers from Nordstrom similar to the Sofft loafers. They’re outstanding- definitely going to get worn a lot. Beautiful structure, detail and fit.
This collection reminds me of my favorite college outfit: tan khakis, cream top, brown belt & shoes, and my roommate’s brown velveteen blazer. After 12 years of wearing a school uniform it felt good to put together a nice looking outfit for date nights.
How do you go back to find the wardrobe items that apparently were shown earlier….not just the few new additions?
You can do a search of six paintings, twelve months, and it will bring up all the posts. Usually whatever was added that particular post will show on the thumbnail picture.
I like the brown cardigan and I don’t think it looks odd with either of the lighter coloured pants.
Oh I agree with beth t that she will reach for this sweater again and again. I love a longer cardigan that can double as a jacket. I would also wear it with the plaid scarf if the day seemed to warrant a little extra warmth. Like Janice, this wardrobe would have been easier for me to pull off when my hair was a natural chestnut brown, but that ship sailed many years ago! We are having some lovely weather after such a ghastly summer and I am enjoying putting together some layers/fall-ish looks. I have been pulling out pieces that I’ve had for years (10-20) and not worn, putting them together in a more current way , and been quite pleased with the results! Two random people at the county fair stopped me and said how much they liked what I had on. One even asked where I got the skirt. It’s at least 20 years old and I haven’t worn it in probably 8 years. So glad I didn’t ditch it as I now have figured out some new ways to wear it. Have a lovely day ladies. As always I enjoy everyone’s insight. Thanks Janice!
I am not a fan of brown, but I packed rust, orange, and teal for my recent vacation. I also have purple-ish hair, and lots of people comment on how pretty/striking it is, but I don’t let it affect my wardrobe. Guess I have hit the crazy cat lady phase of my life, lol. As always, Janice, thank you for your hard work on our behalf.
A couple years ago I wore a version of this capsule. I like this with soft metallic gold and/or copper accessories. It reminds me of warm, soft sand glinting in the sun. Last month’s scarf, “Parrot and Insect Among Pear Blossoms”, would allow red and green into the capsule if one desired some variety. I was happy in this capsule and then color analysis ruined it for me.
That’s just sad. I’ve been told I’m a winter, and also an autumn. Now I just try to be aware of which outfits/colors I feel I look best in and do my own thing. Especially in cooler months I’m likely to wear a scarf with a “good” color near my face if I want to wear an outfit that’s less than a great color for me. Like camel/beige.
Ha! I would’ve hated this capsule bur color analysis helped me see its virtues. I would never have believed it had I not seen my face light up when the consultant draped me with chocolate brown. I’m a spring, so I need some awesome bright colors, but I’m quite comfortable in these neutrals.
Finally, an outfit for this wardrobe that I would actually wear :D
I think the cardigan is much more versatile than our heroine currently thinks. I can understand what she means about balance, but if she’s wearing a darker bottom piece of pair of shoes, that will allow her to “top and tail”/bookmark the dark brown in the cardigan. I think she’ll find the cardigan + dark brown loafers to be one of those pleasing pairings that she turns to again and again. Once she’s comfortable with that, I think even a medium brown on the bottom half could have a similar effect.
I really think this capsule needs some leopard print!
Honestly, I don’t know why brown gets such a bad rap! It’s such a rich, beautiful color and there are oodles of yummy shades. Brown looks good on most people, but you may need to tweak shades depending on your coloring.
Kari’s comment from the previous post was really interesting to me: “I work hard to save up for certain things because they are much nicer than what I can purchase locally, but since I read those comments, I have questioned if everything that I own is just junky and horrible which leaves me wondering if we define nicely dressed as expensive fabrics like cashmere and badly dressed as inexpensive ones?” Her comment came late to get any responses but I feel that this is a good question that’s worth thinking about.
I think some people do (on some level) equate price = quality and/or fabrication = quality, but I don’t think it’s at all that simple (and I think most people on TVF would agree with that). I have also noticed that many commenters here prefer natural fibers, esp. the priciest ones like cashmere, but there are many of us as well that don’t automatically prefer the extra cost or care requirements of natural fibers for everything. For example, I never want to own a silk blouse ever again.
I think some people really just want to continue to buy clothes like the ones that they used to buy “back in the day” when clothes were both higher quality (in terms of fit, tailoring, construction, etc.) and generally made from natural fibers. That can be an anchor point for what people want/expect clothes to be like. I get it. I started my first office job in the late 90s, and even then I could get better quality clothes from the thrift store than in the retailers that I could afford. Now quality across the board seems lower than ever…even when items are made from natural fibers.
But one thing I’ll say about the well-constructed quality items I used to wear is that they really were not very comfortable! There was no stretch in those beautifully made wool blazers or lined pants I used to wear, for example. A monthly 3 pound fluctuation in weight could make certain things tight and uncomfortable to wear. Over time, I have become less and less tolerant of clothing that feels stiff and/or constricting, so I have no desire to go back to the clothing of days of yore before modern fabrics were developed.
I personally know a number of older people (65+) who continue to assume that the manmade fabrics of today are like the very early unattractive and unbreathable polyester etc. of the 1960s/70s, and are committed to wearing only natural fibers. That’s a personal choice, and I have no issue with it, but it’s also a somewhat behind-the-times understanding of modern fabrics. I’m not assuming that any particular readers on TVF have this unexamined belief but I know it’s out there and can lead to categorical rejection of anything less than 100% natural fibers as low quality. (At the same time, I can understand why so many women did embrace those fabrics-that are kind of yucky by modern standards-at that time; to be released from the tyranny of having to iron absolutely everything must have felt like a godsend.)
At this point, I think the correlation between “quality” and fabric content is probably around 0. I have bought expensive, natural fiber “junk” and inexpensive, manmade fiber “quality” and everything in between. My guess is that most readers here have experienced the same. I personally don’t like referring to any clothing as “junk” because it seems unnecessarily pejorative and can lead to unfair/untrue implications about the people who wear it.
I think it’s helpful to remember that “quality” isn’t a single dimension. There are many aspects of clothing quality that people make trade-offs about when deciding what to purchase. But is there a classist/socioeconomic aspect to this entire conversation about “quality”? I would say: Definitely yes. Is there an aspirational aspect? 100% yes. Do I think it’s no accident that so many of the costlier brands touted as “high quality” don’t even come in a size big enough to fit my “low class” body type? Oh yes. And yeah, that includes the cardigan in this post that I really like the look of, which is available up to a US size 12 (where the average size is a 16).
I personally avoid synthetic fibers because they won’t compost or biodegrade; I once saw a photograph of a pair of stretch jeans that someone had tried to compost, and there was still a white “web” of threads left long after the cotton had decomposed. Everybody just needs to do the best that they can…
hugs,
Janice
An excellent example of how personal the decision is and the trade-offs we make. Thanks for sharing this, Janice.
Hmmm… thinking. In my book, quality is something that looks good, feels good & performs well over time (years, not months), whatever it is made of. Current fashion retail (even from well-respected vendors) often overlooks that last part, which is super-frustrating. It sure would be helpful if there were true quality standards out there so we could make informed decisions about how to spend our money! (cost of production/ # of full performance wears)
There’s some current fabrics that seem to toe the line between man-made and natural, like tencel and lycocell, and those seem to hit my personal sweet-spot for comfort and breathablity. They also seem to hold up fairly well and typically come with some stretch, which suits me personally. There’s also a new fiber made from seaweed, which I haven’t tried yet. Has anyone else?
That said, “quality” is definitely a matter of perspective, since I’ve seen plenty of polyester garments with poor construction that have designer labels on them and are being sold for a mint.
There’s a great video I saw on YouTube (from Justine Leconte, who is an actual designer) on how to recognize quality, which can be totally independent from price point: https://youtu.be/6a5lHAHf0Zk?si=c6rHNgvJsTBn5czv
Really fabulous points. i missed this comment, so i’m glad you flagged/ brought it back up for discussion.
Re: natural fibers – I’m personally not a fan. I’m allergic to wool and cashmere. I find that cotton shrinks and pills and looks old so fast. Team acrylic here for winter! For summer, I do like linen blends or cotton for super hot weather, but for work I’ll wear polyester in the blink of an eye (the AC is killer). I have a soft spot for velvet and silk.
Re: fabric quality/ “luxury, expensive, not cheap trash” – for me it’s the weight of the fabric and the drape; the way the garment is cut; does it hold up in a washing machine/wash instructions. “cheap” clothing for me doesn’t hold up in the “care” department, structured pieces cant hold their structure, they have a lousy “hand-feel”, the stretch caused in the fabric by my (admittedly ample) bosom results in pattern distortion/ white showing through the screen printing… or I plain dont feel good in them.
I will say, some fabrics tend to not hold the same depth/intensity of color (for example, every sweater i see that makes me “oooooooooooo” over the color is Merino wool – cotton just doesnt seem to hold the same saturation). Retailers seem to think “oh if it’s wool, or has 5% wool in it (enough to make me itch) I should take extra care with the seaming and cut because now it’s a different “class” of sweater. Which sucks – the acrylic ones tend to make me look sloppy and shapeless. This is different today – in the past (say … 2005? so not even “forever ago”) the synthetic fabrics were cut with the same care as the natural fibers, and i didnt look so sloppy in them.
Sorry, got distracted by my own venting/ranting.
At the end of the day, Kari, please dont feel like things you own are junk if they make you happy and make you feel good. You’ll wear them more, spend less, and that also helps the economic & environmental aspects. OTOH, if you DONT like the what you have, try and distill out what makes things feel “quality” to YOU, and then go by that metric.
Hugs to all of you, and thanks for the interesting discussion :)
I have never managed to feel lovely in brown, though I admire it on others. I think a beautiful black woman would look great in this wardrobe.
Janice,
The dark brown trim on the plaid cardigan is the problem child here, partnering it with anything else other than the matching dark pants. It reminds me of when I was a chid with my coloring books and I would take a dark crayon and outline the inner colored body of work . If the trim would pick up the camel color within the pattern instead, I think it would harmonize a lot more easily with the other garments shown here . Instead, the dark trim seems so dominant .
That was my feeling – I wish our heroine had been able to find something like a Fair Isle v-neck that included everything from ivory to copper to medium brown… Alas, she did NOT see such a grail sweater!
hugs,
Janice
I too see that dark outline before the lovely pattern.
I think the limits of adding posts monthly and trying to find a “grail” sweater, available right then makes it a challenge for you,Janice.
That said, your choices inspire me to question whether I’d like to add a pattern or accent or to rearrange pieces in a new way. Recently your posts have inspired me to not dress in a column ( need color near my face but don’t want to wear coral or a lighter blue bottom) and to add a striped top and a bolder third layer.
Thank you
I’ve been reading the Vivienne Files for a couple of years now and can definitely say doing so has impacted my wardrobe and clothing compatibility choices in a very positive way…as it has with many other readers here. But Sally in St. Paul raised some interesting points and made me reflect on where I fall with the whole concept of buying quality = more expensive = longer lasting fabrics = caring more for the planet versus buying moderately priced/lower priced pieces = not necessarily buying the best fabrics = hopefully being able to put them together in such a way that they still look stylish/make you feel good = living within your means even though you still love our planet and try to do your part in other ways. I did a quick tally of the new pieces offered up today (all desirable!) and they came in around $915. I live in the Midwest, worked as a journalist for 30-plus years and have been blessed to know many many wonderful people all along the way. Very few of those I’ve known and cared about would/could spend that amount of money on just a few items of clothing. My husband and I have been blessed financially as our careers progressed, but we came from humble roots and we both lived through some lean years that make us appreciate the comfortable years. Still, even though I now could perhaps afford to do so, spending large sums of money on only a few items of clothing seems just as personally irresponsible/wasteful to me as not buying a wardrobe of mostly higher quality/“right” kinds of fabrics that don’t add to the landfill overflow. When it comes to talk about caring for our planet through our sustainable clothing choices, there does seem to be a certain elitism involved. The wealthier can afford such clothing and a moralistic call to help save the planet, while the vast majority of Americans can’t swing buying “responsibly” even if they were so inclined. They are just getting by. These are just some humble thoughts from a regular and appreciative reader. We are all here at this site because we care about how we look and we receive a great deal of inspiration here.
I feel the addition of just a little black brings a lot of life to this wardrobe. I hadn’t realized it was missing until i saw it. Perhaps a single pair of black pants, another scarf or jewelry piece, maybe black loafers, might set off all the great neutrals.
Interior designers always say even the most ethereal or neutral room needs a little black…
Sallie makes good points about what is regarded as quality. Is it the material, where you purchased it from or the price? Many years ago, there was an experiment on British TV which involved taking three white T-shirts – basic, mid-price and designer – wearing and washing them over six months. One would expect that the designer T-shirt at a premium price might have been the best. In fact it was the worst and had ‘greyed’ and become threadbare after six months of normal wear. So maybe quality could be based on how often you can wear and wash an item before it needs replacing. If it was expensive in the first place, you might not wear it often so the cost per wear remains high. A cheaper garment might be worn more often but will then the replacement will still be affordable.
Another question is how much price reflects product placement and brand names. We are drawn to wear brands as if one is better than the other. At the moment a big department store is closing down in my town. All the clothes have just been arranged on racks and on tables by size. There is no distinction between the brands. The clothes look the same so one branded pair of jeans is remarkably similar to another. The brand names are still attached to the walls but they are now meaningless. Brands are often owned by the same company, so where is the distinction? With online purchasing, brands have less market dominance. People search by category of item, size, colour, price etc. Some websites I have been on no longer have a brand filter.
Well I’d take that cardigan back. Even in the W& B photos it looks sort of tacky…and the camel pants worn with it, even though they echo the camel in the cardigan don’t really work because of that dark brown band. There is something really off about it compared to the rest of the items, it looks ( forgive me) cheap. The design is poor..Its’s just ugly. I like the previous poster’s suggestion of a little black introduced. A black leather jacket or black suede boots would jazz this wardrobe up. The items in this wardrobe ( sauf the cardigan) are really lovely and classic I just can’t see the heroine even considering the cardigan.
I agree. But that would break the rules for these wardrobes, so we’ll just have to press on and see what happens! Your explanation of what’s wrong with this cardigan put into words what I really couldn’t explain…
hugs,
Janice
This has been such an interesting discussion, particularly about the clothing construction and the impact of some fabrics on the environment. When I was first working, fast fashion wasn’t such a thing here in New Zealand, & as I recall, if you paid more, the garment or shoes would launder well and last well. Higher priced garments often had more complicated tailoring than a home sewist might want to take on, with tidy and straight seaming, looking good inside the garment as well as outside, & stripes/checks always matched! With the advent of fast fashion, we were offered simplified tailoring along with an increase in man-made fabrics. Over the years, say the last twenty, it seems that the tailoring & details of even high price garments has been simplified, but this has not resulted in reduced price. Now we are offered very simplified garments for either a lot of money, or not much, and neither will necessarily last well! Stripes and checks often don’t match in the higher price bracket, even though I will argue till the cows come home that you could expect the higher price to cover the extra material required to do this!!
I’m not a huge fan for brown or camel, but I like all the cream, off-white, and I do like the plaid cardigan with the lighter coloured garments. As a knitter, I 100% agree, this heroine needs a fair-isle jumper :) Can she knit, Janice?
Excellent comment – a lot of wisdom here! What a wonderful discussion…
hugs,
Janice
Sorry, couldn’t wear this wardrobe for a week much less a month. People would start asking me when the funeral was going to be.
I could wear the dark brown trousers if they were not “skinny” jeans, and maybe the darker skirt, but I’d be totally lost for tops.
I think that while I like and wear monochromatic outfits a monochromatic wardrobe would not hold my interest. I need colour variety.
I absorbed all of their comments like a sponge.
First about the post: I look sick in natural colors that are too light and I agree with most people here that adding more pattern (leo) and a pinch of black makes the wardrobe more interesting.
I buy a lot second-hand and locally, because nothing is more annoying when it doesn’t fit perfectly or suits me or the colors look completely different. I’ve already sewn something for myself (beginner).
It is important that we wear the clothes we buy as often and for as long (decades) as possible and only have our favorite items in the closet.
Yes, it is particularly annoying when particularly expensive clothing quickly warps or breaks.
My experience is that a brand is no guarantee. And what was bought very cheaply surprisingly lasted for decades.
Is the photo with the accessories missing?
I totally agree with you Maria. Your last paragraph is spot on! I don’t buy expensive things, but I know what I like and how I want it to perform and last. It takes searching, but it can be done! I also wash things as rarely as I can.
*That is the paragraph regarding wearing clothing as long and often as possible and having only our favorite items in our wardrobe.
and this is where Janice helps us with her wonderful contributions. There is something for everyone in terms of color.
I’ll look at the old posts again when I have free time. The seasonal capsules, about 4×4, particularly helped me to optimize my closet.
Posting again and maybe too late but what an interesting discussion. While I can afford a higher price-point than I could years ago, I still love my Target tees. They are soft, wear like iron and are very reasonably priced. Plus they come in lots of colors. I have them for years. I have bought some more expensive tees and they get those tiny holes in them. I have old Eddie Bauer tees and turtlenecks that have also stood the test of time. Matching stripes and plaids is a must for me! I’m amazed at items that are not inexpensive but look it because the plaids are off. I will do without before buying such. My mother was a wonderful seamstress and taught us how to match up seams and shoulders!
+1 on the Target tshirts. I’ve also had excellent luck with some of their tshirt dresses. Very simple basics, but they wear well. And when people compliment them, I have the fun of saying “Target. $20!”. 😊
This hands down is my favorite. I don’t go quite as dark as the super dark pants shown because it would be too harsh for my very fair complexion, but I am seeking brown to add to my wardrobe. I think the plaid cardi looks fine with most of the items. Janice, at the risk of having some readers appalled at this admission, the cardi you show looks similar to a brown plaid that was at Talbots for the September offerings. The Talbots was machine washable and, I think may have been a wool blend with a modern acrylic. It fell in my price range after a sale was offered. I am one who does not knit well enough to make sweaters, have not the luxury of time to do it, not enough room in budget to afford luxury fibers and no access to an even barely acceptable dry cleaner for expensive garments. I have the option of wearing garments from Family Farm, Dollar General or Walmart if I buy local. Thrift options are usually cast offs with holes and stains if they aren’t dollar store items to begin with. Otherwise the choice is a 2 hour drive. In light of that, Talbots at least provides an option for items that look better than those dismal options with a semi known quality factor. When you have few options, you tend to try to do what you can. Wish that the choices were better, but am grateful for what I have.