The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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I Need Accessories For Client Meetings and Dressy Evenings! Start with a Scarf: Vintage Rose by KathKath

November 22, 2017

 

Yesterday, we left our heroine with a really lovely 16-piece wardrobe, but pretty much in need of more shoes, and at least a couple of pieces of jewelry. (okay, this is not NEED in the biological survival sense, but more need in the "being appropriately dressed for business" sense...)

So, as I love to do, let's work through one accessory at a time and assess the possibilities.

This very simple outfit cries out for a necklace, at least to me:

The same necklace can of course be worn here, but I'd like to see my heroine with a softer, more rounded handbag. A briefcase is essential, but not every day...

Okay, I'm the first to admit that floral boots aren't likely the next thing that this ... View the Post

Does Anybody Care About Making and Selling Beautiful, Comfortable Shoes? Heck YES!

This is a shamelessly sponsored post! Yes, I was given a pair of shoes, which is a pretty sweet deal. But I hope that you know me well enough by now to know that if I didn't think that something was worth your time and effort, I wouldn't write about it - I'm not going to sell out and waste your time, and my good reputation...Last week, I was invited to the Thierry Rabotin shoes trunk show at Hanig's Footwear. I've been buying shoes from Hanig's for... 25 years? maybe, and I've been buying Thierry Rabotin (1 pair every 6 months, VERY carefully chosen) since they began carrying them. So I just thought that they were inviting me because I'm an old, and pretty good, customer...

Heck no! They offered me a pair of CUSTOM SHOES, in exchange for ... View the Post

How to Accessorize a Navy-Based Fall Capsule Wardrobe – Start with Nature Central Cygnus Cloudscape

September 8, 2017

When we left our heroine on Wednesday, she had a tidy 16-piece wardrobe, but no accessories!

Of course, she probably still had lots of accessories that can work really well with her new clothes; let's go piece by piece, step by step, to choose some essential additions for her...

Shoes seems really important, I'd say!

And I'm going to be really practical and get her a bag pronto!

Now a bit of fun - some stars!

Scarves! Always remember that you might find the perfect scarf in an unexpected place - someplace you don't usually visit...

Don't discount the impact of a great watch... (yes, that last watch doesn't go with everything in this wardrobe, but if you were the kind of woman who didn't ... View the Post

Starting a New Season From Scratch – a Gorgeous Pair of Loafers

August 11, 2017

While I'm still hanging out in Ireland, I'm sharing with you some of my favorite blog posts from the past. Today I think it's worth making certain that, before the season changes, you have in hand a really good, high-quality pair of shoes for the months to come. If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, this might certainly be a pair of sandals, but for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, I strongly suggest a beautiful pair of loafers. Look for beautiful quality, and exquisite construction...

This was Step 2 back in the original Starting From Scratch Wardrobe Building Exercise, 3 years ago, and I still believe it to be a great idea...

These are the sort of purchase that will last you forever - choose ... View the Post

August Birthstone: Peridot!

July 24, 2017

THIS is a tough color - it's really difficult to find any sort of accessories in this lime-y shade of green. But I think that it's a unique accent color that's well worth considering. If you're not comfortable wearing it close to your face, don't discount the beauty and the impact of a ring and/or bracelet...

As the weather remains really warm here in Chicago, I continued to build these little vignettes around dresses, although a couple of the dresses are decidedly more autumnal in feel - some for now, some for later!

I mentioned on Friday that I feel like the best balance for a wardrobe to lean much toward accessories, in a ratio to garments. On Friday when I got dressed to go out, I put on ONE dress (more than one ... View the Post

10 MUST HAVE ITEMS for Spring and Summer 2017?

May 25, 2017

I get dozens of these lists, and once in a while I actually take a look to see if there are any fresh ideas I can learn, or at a minimum some insights into the fashion zeitgeist that I can observe... In all fairness, this list was written by a young lady half my age, so her insights might be very different from mine!

In finding examples of these trends, I've tried to stick to relatively inexpensive pieces (with 1 exception I can remember). If you're tempted by a trend, it only makes sense not to spend the monthly grocery budget on an item that you might not want to EVER see again after Labor Day. (aka early September...)

As always, some aren't bad ideas, some are ridiculous, and many of them depend on the individual. ... View the Post

June’s Birthstone: Pearls!

May 22, 2017

 

Well okay, I've also read that we get moonstones, AND alexandrite, but I'm going to concentrate on pearls. They're my all-time favorites... (I've actually never owned a diamond engagement ring, because I'd really always rather have pearls...)

And I'm going to get this out of the way right up front - these pieces are not all genuine pearls, and none of these pieces is expensive. There are smarter bloggers than me who can tell you all about real pearls, and glorious pieces of jewelry that include them (yes, Passage des Perles, I'm looking at you!), so I thought I'd concentrate on more modestly priced treats... Joy should not be confined to those with abundant disposable income...

For lack of any better idea, ... View the Post

The Only 4 Pairs of Shoes You Need in New York

May 15, 2017

New Yorkers walk a lot - everybody knows that. And so it's only logical that they wear (for the most part, with some insane exceptions!) practical shoes. But after some careful observation, I realized that almost every pair of shoes that I saw on a woman in New York could be classed into 1 of 4 categories:

Ballet flats - if you're wear a dress or skirt for work, it's better than even odds that these are what are on your feet; Canvas loafers - a step up from athletic shoes, but equally comfortable and relaxed. Paired with pants, jeans, or more casual skirts; Short boots - worn with tights and skirts, or with bare ankles and the narrowest of pants. As a general rule, the legs of pants in New York were so narrow that ... View the Post

A couple of interesting things…

I'm quite short of time today, but I did have a couple of things in mind that I've been meaning to share with you....

First, have you heard of an organization called 4Ocean? They clean plastics off of beaches, and thus out of the oceans.  They sell bracelets made from the beach plastics, the funds from which support their work. I need another bracelet like a bad headache, but this would be well worth supporting: https://4ocean.com/

And a project I'm looking forward to is trying on FIVE pair of glasses frames from Warby Parker. This is the coolest system - you give them a credit card number so that they know that they're sending things to a trustworthy person, and then you go to their website and choose five glasses frames ... View the Post

How to add Accent Colors to a Navy, Grey and Camel capsule wardrobe

March 10, 2017

Monday I added accessories to a very neutral navy, grey, camel and white; many of you requested in the comments that I go back to my reader's original accent colors of wine and forest green to see how they might look with this capsule wardrobe.

Changing up accent colors is one of the easiest ways to take a very classic capsule wardrobe and put your personal spin on things, so I was positively eager to get to this post!

First up, let's update the color palette that we were using, and update the style notes for a bit of guidance:

 

I didn't want to really disrupt the core of our original Four by Four wardrobe, so I chose the very easiest way to experiment with accent colors - tee shirts!

I just pulled ... View the Post

Celebrating Women’s Day with some beautiful jewelry, made by women!

March 8, 2017

I promise, the 2nd approach to decluttering is ready for tomorrow! (and the results are VERY similar...)

But since today's International Women's Day, and we're supposed to be on strike, or not shopping, or at LEAST shopping from women-owned businesses, I thought that I'd indulge in some eye-candy jewelry (all made by women!), arranged in my very favorite "accessory family" themes:

earrings – Narayani; onyx & amethyst necklace – Matta; square earrings – Matta; bracelet – Neeru Goel; ring – Kenari; multistrand necklace – Neeru Goel; earrings – Rosalia Tarigan  

corded bracelet – Chuleekorn; anklet – Neeru Goel; heart pendant – Neeru Goel; ring– Mary Geluda; oval pendant – Mary Geluda; ... View the Post

How to Choose Accessories for an Olive and Grey Wardrobe – Start with Art: Head of a Woman by Dali

February 17, 2017

Yesterday, I finally got up the courage to tackle a wardrobe based in olive and grey, and it turned out pretty great, I think. it was based on this most amazing painting by Salvador Dali and color scheme:

 

But a simple wardrobe isn't really useful, nor fun, until you add the accessories...

Cardigan – L.L.Bean; tee - Uniqlo; jeans – L.L.Bean; Top loafers – Dansko; middle – Dansko; bottom – UGG   Feminine is Where You Find It She works outdoors quite a bit - half the time in the lab, and half the time sitting on the ground, counting the plants and animals she finds in a 1 meter square of virgin ground.

Cardigan – L.L.Bean; tee - Uniqlo; jeans – L.L.Bean; First earrings – Kenari; ... View the Post