the following is a direct quote from the original Je Ne Sais Quoi discussion group postings I made regarding my friend Vivienne:
Someone asked me what Vivienne thinks of my wardrobe – to put it mildly she thinks I’m
crazy! Admittedly, she has never actually been in my apartment and seen the beautiful
arrangement (by color) of my bounty, and I HAVE seen her apartment (but not her closet)
but she assures me that she has about 4 linear feet of hanging space. (Well okay, slightly
more than a meter)
But she thinks that I’m a genius packer – the last 2 trips I’ve made to Paris on business, she
has come over to my hotel with me and hung out while I unpacked, pressed and otherwise
got my act together. She describes her single-season work wardrobe as being very much
like my 2 business weeks packing array – as follows:
2 pair black pants – one plain, one a relatively dressy (but still wearable for day) fabric
2 black skirts – same thing
1 black twinset
1 red twinset
1 black and cream tweed twinset (silk)
2 cashmere turtlenecks (maybe red and gray, or charcoal and b&w tweed)
black boiled wool jumper
2 cashmere crewnecks (turquoise and charcoal, usually)
I try to pack about 14 pieces of clothing for any trip that is two weeks or more.
12-Day Business Trip to London and Paris – Winter
Someone asked me what Vivienne thinks of my wardrobe – to put it mildly she thinks I’m
crazy! Admittedly, she has never actually been in my apartment and seen the beautiful
arrangement (by color) of my bounty, and I HAVE seen her apartment (but not her closet)
but she assures me that she has about 4 linear feet of hanging space. (Well okay, slightly
more than a meter)
But she thinks that I’m a genius packer – the last 2 trips I’ve made to Paris on business, she
has come over to my hotel with me and hung out while I unpacked, pressed and otherwise
got my act together. She describes her single-season work wardrobe as being very much
like my 2 business weeks packing array – as follows:
2 pair black pants – one plain, one a relatively dressy (but still wearable for day) fabric
2 black skirts – same thing
1 black twinset
1 red twinset
1 black and cream tweed twinset (silk)
2 cashmere turtlenecks (maybe red and gray, or charcoal and b&w tweed)
black boiled wool jumper
2 cashmere crewnecks (turquoise and charcoal, usually)
I try to pack about 14 pieces of clothing for any trip that is two weeks or more.
Believe it or not, I remember this posting from Je ne sais quoi, and it continues to inspire me. I hope you post more originals from the Vivienne discussions, as well as any evolutions that have occurred from those originals. Does Vivienne still practice her capsule wardrobe and strict color scheme?
I love the black dress! Do you know the brand and style?
Leah
Alexander McQueen – a humble $2,000… Please note that this is NOT the dress I have!
SIgh. No wonder it is so pretty. But it is best that I don't buy another black dress. Thank you for the information!
Leah
That's a pretty great packing list. I tend not to use knits, so my tops would be very different, but I love the simplicity.