March 31, 2020
You Don’t Have to Wear the Polo Shirt and Khakis…
She’s the only woman going to the trade show. She plans to sell rings around the rest of the delegation.
But they want her to wear red, black and white every day. Oh my…
Since she’s the only woman going from her company, she will get her own room. That’s ideal – she will leave the ironing board up the entire week. She wants to be crisp and fresh every morning, knowing full well that by the end of the day she will look like a crumpled tissue!
So she’s going to be inspired by this – except for the enigmatic and faintly menacing toes behind the ironing board:
Her color scheme is going to brighten up the beige to a more true white (to match her employer’s logo), and she’s translating the blue into denim – her refuge for her travel, and her spare time…
Her theme for the trip is “counting every minute ’til she gets home…”
black cardigan – J.Crew; earrings – Aurea Sandra; white tee – L.L.Bean; clock scarf – The Met Store; loafers – Toms; jeans – L.L.Bean; watch – Timex
For the first day she’s going to wear head-to-toe red! But then she really wants to tone it down a wee bit. She pulls together a core of black, adds in the essential red, and then fills in the blanks with white and denim:
Onyx necklace – Kai Kittima; jewel scarf – Echo; red earrings – Samuel B.; red sweater – J.Crew; black rayon shirt – Uniqlo; pearl earrings – Mahavir; red tee – L.L.Bean; white cardigan – J.Crew; check bandana – Kate Spade; chambray shirt – Halogen; floral shirt – Lands’ End; pleated skirt – Banana Republic; black cotton skirt – J.Crew; crossbody bag – INC International Concepts; black suede loafers – Hush Puppies; red ballet flats – Sam Edelman; black pants – L.L.Bean
The night before, she plans out what product materials she wants to take along, how she’s going to arrange her table and area of the exhibit space, and then her wardrobe and outfits:
She makes certain that she has options, just in case a garment gets torn or irreparably stained by some odd event. She can’t picture what that might be, but she’s going to be ready!
I have never had to wear the “logo polo shirt & tan pants” uniform – have you?
love,
Janice
p.s. On the last day of March back in 2014, I pondered what the optimal number of garments might be for my wardrobe. There’s still no good answer!
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That is an intriguing painting! It’s another great feature of The Vivienne Files. This is an absolutely beautiful capsule, especially when you consider how the red tops & skirt can feel like a dress. I can also see so many possibilities for additional pieces & accessories. Red handbag, anyone? You once wrote about the versatility of chambray shirts and wished you could find one without pockets. Talbots carries one this year in case anyone else in this community of readers is on the hunt for one. I snagged one yesterday at my local Talbots and I guess you must have a lot of readers in my city, because it was nearly sold out! ;-)
Well she’ll certainly stand out from the crowd wearing bright red which is a good thing when you are at an exhibition as you are memorable for customers amongst the sea of similar stands. However, wearing black in the evening, she can quietly ‘disappear’ at dinner so that she doesn’t have to ‘talk shop’ all night as well. I hope she has booked a the hotel for the weekend so she can relax before going into the office on Monday.
I had to laugh at your last comment about the uniform. Brought back visions of when I worked at a gas station during high school years! yep – uniform…..
Yes indeed – years as a Blockbuster Video manager meant navy logo polos and khakis (did anyone ever wear the gold polo? I think not), or a light blue oxford button down and khakis.
No polo shirts for me, but I once worked the front desk at a hotel that had a uniform of black pants, white shirt, an awful green polyester vest and a clip on tie! I asked if I could substitute a skirt so I wore a skirt and heels to make it feel a bit less awful.
Wow. This one really came together for me. I can see myself living in this wardrobe or using it as a foundation for a WTW. I hope we see more of this heroine and her inspirational painting.
I was thinking this morning about what the distinctive colour I would choose if I wanted to stand out in a crowd of similarity – probably fuschia pink or magenta with navy.
I’ve always shied away from logos, branding and team colours because they are usually so awful. I get stopped in shops by people asking for help, completely ignoring the shop assistants wearing black and green….
That’s a tribute to how well dressed you are!
Aww thanks Linda P. I always think that I disappear in a crowd but that’s mainly because I’m only 5ft tall. ?
This is the perfect business capsule for me if I ever go to another conference, but frankly, the way things are going with virtual events, I can’t see myself ever going to another conference. It is a lovely wardrobe though.
This is a very cool and versatile capsule wardrobe. I’m glad the heroine has her own room, but it made me wonder: does any company require employees to share rooms on business travel? It’s been a while since I traveled for business, but nobody in our organization shared hotel rooms. Also, I’ve never been required to wear a uniform for my paid jobs, but have worn plenty of uniforms over the years: at school in grades 1-12, and for volunteer work, including current navy (skirt, cardigan, shoes) + white (collared shirt) with logos when we travel with a group to Lourdes. – nancyo
Yes, I’ve had to wear the logo polo and tan/khaki pants as a uniform for many years probably 20. I worked in healthcare and this was my option or scrubs, which I didn’t want to wear. So, needless to say, I refuse to wear anything that resembles a polo shirt, no matter what color. I wear khakis but only 1 pair! It’s taken 2 years to get to wearing khakis again.
A terrific capsule! I especially like the two-piece dress look achieved with the pleated skirt and T/sweater. I am always attracted to this high-contrast black and white with a bright accent kind of look, but have finally accepted that it’s not a great choice for me unless I want to disappear behind the clothes.
My fast food job in high school and college summers required a black logo polo shirt and black pants. Black pants is definitely better than khaki/beige pants, but ugh, still.
To Nancyo’s question, I haven’t had to travel for work in over 10 years but when I did (quite rarely, thankfully), I always had to share a hotel room. I don’t know whether this norm has changed or not, but at the time, it seemed pretty typical.
I like this capsule just as it is, and it could easily be expanded to include other colours. Red and black have just come in to the shops here in Australia where we are in mid autumn. Country Road has some atractive garments.
This painting trigger a curiosity. How have your neutrals and accent colors changed over time? Did it become more saturated and more “primary”? Or more muted? My mom, who dyes her hair black, wears bright white and primary colors like orange and red lipstick. I, on the hand, seem to be shifting from black to navy and grey. My hair is also greying and I haven’t started coloring it nor do I wear makeup. I always had an affinity to pale blue and pink but have thrown some wintery saturated colors. As I contemplate to fill holes like a black button-up shirt as I absolutely love the look, I wonder whether I should justembrace my aging colors. Lol.
Forgot to add I used a lot of red With sharp color contrast like this painting. :)
I’m shifting to more muted – while I still love black and white, I have almost no red left in my wardrobe (maybe I should check?) and I’m embracing pink and heather blue in their place.
But I cover my grey hair with purple, so I’m not a normal test case!
hugs,
Janice
INTERESTING…. so did your neutrals shift to the warmer tone like beige and camel?
OH NO – NEVER!!!
I might shift to grey, but I don’t like the way I look in beige. Camel might tempt me but at this point in my life, I’m not investing in a big pile of neutral clothes until (and unless) all of the black things wear out. And we’re talking about a LOT of black…
Thanks for asking!
big hugs,
Janice
I have purple hair too – still sticking w/my red though! I’d have a tough time replacing it at this point :)
I sold some of my red things through ThredUp, and some through the RealReal. Always nice to get some cash back when I’ve changed my preferred colors!
hugs,
Janice
16% of my wardrobe is red – I wear it year ’round… I can’t even fathom trying to replace it… :)
Pink, blue and purple is my favourite colour combination. ?
Genevieve, I hope you continue to embrace your natural grey. Our skin tone changes and softens as well so what suited us in our youth, doesn’t now. My hair is going white and I’m not going to colour it. So my red’s are more burgundy, raspberry and berry colours rather than the bright red of my younger days! There was quite an entertaining debate on VF about wearing red a few weeks ago.
Could you point to the red discussion? In the meantime, I’ll start combing through; The commenters on this blog are pretty active. :)
It was the Start with Art: Meadow by Mainie Jellet. The dates are:
9 Feb 2021 – Original post (41 comments)
24 Feb 2021 – Accessories (37 comments)
5 March 2021 – 2nd version of the wardrobe to include olive/green ,and brown with a more muted red. (25 comments)
This would be a good series if you are thinking of a neutral on the brown/beige spectrum. I’m currently trying to include and find the right brown, taupe and a dark grey-green but not rust, beige/camel or olive.
My mother had strong colouring and wore vibrant colours on the autumn/winter spectrum. My colouring is soft and muted – mousy brown hair going white with light green eyes and soft muted colouring on the Soft Summer spectrum. Her colouring softened as her hair went from auburn to ‘pepper and salt’. She didn’t dye it. As she got older, we could almost swap clothes!
I was an Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America adviser for many years. FCCLA is a student organization focused on the family. The organization teaches professionalism, hence a professional looking wardrobe was a requirement. The colors of this wardrobe are exactly the same as the organization. They are NOT colors that suit my complexion! I wore khakis with a white top, a red blazer and a silk scarf with all of the colors to pull it together. Apparently, I was able to make it work, the head of the state organization always complimented me on my pretty, professional dress.
Hi Amy, I always admire people who can make a uniform ‘their own’ and wear it with elegance and panache.
I once worked as a bank teller. Our uniform consisted of base pieces in brown or tan and button front shirts in an abstract pattern of brown, tan, rust, and blue. The shirt colors were chosen to match an abstract painting that ran the entire length of the wall behind the teller line. All polyester fabric. Pretty bad.
I meant pretty bad fabric, not clothes color coded to the artwork, which is very “Vivienne Files” way back in the mid 70’s!
Pink, blue and purple is my favourite colour combination. ?
Hi Janice and Everyone! I like the addition of denim/ chambray to this, esp for those breaks in the action when you just want to sit and pour through all the swag you just picked up.
For the conferences I go to, it’s a bonus price-wise if you can find someone you can room with. Usually that’s Wonderful Husband. Our state Convention is all virtual this year so I’m saving on hotel right there.
I am contemplating my next 21 pc Wardrobe Challenge for April. Considering it was 70°F yesterday and they’re calling for snow tomorrow I have to consider my options wisely. We should officially have spring by May 1st. I’m thinking camel/tan/brown with grey and pink and one Accent Color to be Announced.
In the UK hotels, conference and event venues assume single occupancy at a special conference or business room rate usually with breakfast included. Double or twin rooms are standard. So if a partner or colleague share a room, the room rate is the same and all you pay extra for is another breakfast.
I’m still loath to put my winter clothes away because this week in the UK, we have had temperatures 18-24C, but by the Easter weekend, it will have dropped ten degrees and next week, we have rain and snow with night-time dropping to below freezing!
I remember that series! Funny that was the series that shocked me that someone’s preferred neutral could shift from cool to warm. But then again there is such a thing as cool vs warm navy. It made me think about adding cool beiges and browns to my wardrobe but I find it hard to find the appropriate beige/camel. I love the look of navy or black with cognac/camel but have only ventured into shoes.
I once worked for a travel agency that has the best uniform. There were a pair of pants, a skirt, a blazer and a pair of shorts in black and white and red prince of wales check and a red and black Chanel-style cardigan. Then you could mix and match your own black and white business clothes. We all looked very well put together, but we weren’t copies of each other.
I would have LOVED this uniform! Lucky you – and a travel agency! My dream job, maybe?
hugs,
Janice
That sounds brilliant! Sort of like a five piece French wardrobe to integrate into your basics.