By Season Archives - Page 4 of 17

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Taisho – Large Heat

July 22, 2022

Well, this is timely! I was just out on Michigan Avenue, the temperature is around 90 degree Fahrenheit, and the most comfortable women I saw were wearing loose dresses...

And so was I!

The most important thing to remember on days like this is to stay hydrated! And of course, protection from the sun is critical...

It's possible to wear black, if you've got your route planned so that you can stay on the shady side of the street! If you're not sure about how sunny it may be where you're going, you may want to choose something in a lighter color.

This is how it feels...

Even if you're somewhere surrounded by buildings and pavement, you can wear pretty flowers!

You might find that ... View the Post

June 2022 Start with a Bracelet: The Surprising Lynx Bracelets

June 27, 2022 They Never Know What to Expect...

Some years their more... eccentric aunt can't make it up to the lake for a weekend with them. They understand; she travels a lot and is often busy with work...

So when they got a call asking if there was room for her this coming weekend, they were all pretty excited to see her, for all kinds of reasons!

Her current car is a convertible. Electric. Very sleek... And she looked quite elegant...

They weren't expecting purple socks, but they weren't exactly surprised...

It was the next morning, when she turned up for breakfast wearing a swim-dress, a matching hoodie, and water shoes, that they were gobsmacked...

"Yea, I was stuck in the Maldives for a few days on a ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Golden Stairs by Sir Edward Coley Burney-Jones

June 24, 2022

Yes, you saw this painting a long time ago! That heroine was also traveling for a family celebration...

Let's take a close-up look at a bunch of these lovely ladies, and enjoy the color palette...

Our heroine is off for a quick weekend trip to a family wedding! She's taking Friday off of work, so that she will arrive early in the afternoon - certainly early enough for lunch with relatives, and possibly early enough for a quick nap:

Because the partying starts tonight, with the rehearsal and the following dinner, and then of course the wedding on Saturday! By Sunday, she just needs to drag herself to brunch before they run out of coffee, and then sleep on the train on the way home!

She wants to ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Bōshu, Grain in Ear

June 8, 2022

Time flies when the weather is lovely!

These Are NOT Gardening Clothes... These are sitting on the back porch admiring your garden clothes...

These are clothes for walking around your neighborhood, admiring other gardens...

These are clothes to wear while sitting on the porch swing, discussing how many raised garden beds you can fit on your lot...

These are clothes to wear when you're watching your friends and family play sports...

These are clothes for the backyard barbecue, picnic, fire pit, marshmallow toasting...

These are clothes for sitting under the trees, snipping the ends off of green beans...

These are clothes to wear when taking baskets of fresh vegetables to your ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Shōman, Grain Full

May 23, 2022 2-Lane Roads, Top Down

After the main crops are planted, a lot of farms open to the public on weekends for visits, tours, and even a bit of shopping!

Our heroine is a particular fan of old barn architecture, of driving in the country, and of buying fresh produce!

And she takes this as a chance to dress nicely - she already knows that she's going to need a scarf in her hair, so wearing a dress isn't overdoing it. It's not like SHE'S the farmer, right?

I like to think that all of these heroines have a pair of driving shoes in their car (these come in about 20 colors!) - they kick them off when they park, and slip on their sandals... Better for driving, better for their sandals, and safer too!

Yes, people who ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Rikka, the Beginning of Summer

May 6, 2022

Yes, for those of us still shivering in VERY cool temperatures, this is aspirational. I think we all have to accept that these 24 Japanese Seasons probably don't conform to what we're currently experiencing...

Nonetheless, aspiring to a warm summer day is a lovely daydream!

Shopping, Cooking, Celebrating Summer The Farmers Markets are back! And she's ready - tote bag in hand, shirt with a bit of a sleeve to keep sunburn off of her shoulders...

Never was a woman so thrilled to be going shopping!

Does she wear lots of olive and denim-ish blue?

Of is this our heroine from Wednesday, dressed for a casual day?

A couple of hours later, she's got her work cut out for her! Some freezing, some ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year

April 25, 2022

When I started working on this post, it was pouring rain in Chicago. I mean pouring buckets and barrels and VATS of rain...

The next day, the temperature is over 20C, and quite lovely. If the wind doesn't (literally) blow you over...

Which made me realize yet again that there are really more than 4 season in the year; they've apparently always know that in Japan!

So I'm very intrigued by the idea of 24 Seasons - which are divided into 72 wee mini-seasons! I'll stick with this 24 for now, but I never rule out doing something fun with 72 seasons!

My thinking, at this early stage: an outfit for each mini-season, 3 garments. That would be a 72-garment wardrobe - considerably smaller than what I currently ... View the Post

2 Spring Capsule Wardrobes – Navy and Green, Green and Beige

June 18, 2021

Lots of green! I don't really have a good explanation - I just happened across quite a few pretty things!

I feel like our first heroine must be going back to her office; a wardrobe like this might reconcile me just a little bit to such a fate:

She has choices galore for serious work days, casual work days, and work from home days:

And what will be our last Spring Weekly Timeless Wardrobe is for a heroine who is relaxed, but likes to feel pretty and pulled-together!

I don't think I could be pulled together right now if 2 snow-plows pushed directly at each other, with me in the middle...

This wardrobe gives her the option of outfits that are all green, or subtle beige, or a mix of the ... View the Post

13-Piece Spring Wardrobes – Rose and Chambray, Grey and shades of Purple

June 16, 2021

Oh, you all are SMART! This turned out well, I think...

Yes, there's only 1 cardigan, because I just never saw a denim-colored one that I liked. But when I saw my mother wearing my denim shirt over her tee shirt, I knew I had the answer!

Even with prints above and below the waist, this wardrobe has lots of possibilities:

Just for reference, here's the garment list. I want to remind us all that this isn't a hard and fast list - it's a guideline, just like everything on The Vivienne Files. Nobody should tell you what to wear...

I discovered something interesting, and sort of weird, when I was putting together this next wardrobe: when I searched for "purple," I got all sorts of shades of pink, and ... View the Post

13-Piece Spring Wardrobes – Black and White, Olive and Beige

June 11, 2021

I can clearly see that I want to do at least 2 more of these after today! The denim/chambray/soft pink idea MUST be investigated, as well as... what other color?

But today, we look at black, and then at my nemesis, green!

First up - a wardrobe that I could envision buying if I lost every stitch of clothing that I own... the pink skirt would be a real adventure for me, but why the HECK not try it?

This may not qualify as a completely "Whatever's Clean 13" wardrobe - I can see some of us feeling uncomfortable wearing the blue tee shirt with the pink skirt. But if one could find the right scarf, necklace, or bracelet to tie them together, or if one just plain and simply LIKES the 2 colors together, why not? (it's ... View the Post

Two Spring Capsule Wardrobes, Using the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe

June 9, 2021

Ah, you would have laughed if you could have seen me starting this post - I thought that I would just open ALL THIRTEEN of the earlier posts, and copy things from there...

Now remember, since the beginning of the pandemic, I've been blogging from a laptop!

Just as well it didn't work out - many of the garments from early weeks are long gone in many sizes...

So I've used quite a few familiar garments, and picked up some new things to fill in the blanks!

I really like to show these wardrobes to reinforce my personal conviction that these classic garments can come together to give you a great travel wardrobe, or the base of a Garde Robe du Mois.

I love the subtle elegance of these colors:

Just imagine this ... View the Post

Are You Ready? Stress Dressing for Warm Weather

June 4, 2021

Emergencies and last-minute changes of plan don't stop just because the weather gets nice, right?

So it behooves most of us to have a plan in mind in case we're called away for a day or 2 of work at a remote location, or a quick trip to a fun destination, or a quick trip to an urgent family situation...

This first wardrobe is the sort of thing you would grab if you had to go babysit for a day or two, or care for an older relative:

Your friends need you to go stay at their summer home for a couple of days while the windows are being repaired? You can be ready in 10 minutes...

Someone from your family needs to show up for an estate issue... You might just need to BE there, but you may have to hang ... View the Post