The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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By Season Archives - Page 6 of 17

What Are You Buying for Autumn? I’m All Finished…

September 24, 2018

(yes, I know it's soon to be Spring in the Southern Hemisphere - I'm interested in that too!)

This is difficult for me - I'm not all that comfortable talking about myself! But I think we should all have a deliberate plan for the changing seasons, as far as being prepared in our wardrobes. So I'm sharing my purchases...

I've been gradually picking up things for... six weeks? Maybe longer! As soon as I saw a black and white flannel shirt, I KNEW it was coming home to me. And a new black velvet skirt was imperative - my old one is too big! My rain coat was chosen to see me through those wet but not terribly cold days - I don't have anything truly waterproof that covers the seat of my pants... Other things caught my ... View the Post

How to Shop a Sale (Some Modest Suggestions!)

July 11, 2018

In case you've been asleep for the last month, or somewhere without Internet access, we're barrelling headlong into the big "pre-season" sale time of year.

Now, I've got nothing against saving money, nor against buying myself something new and pretty... But these sales? They can overwhelm you, and before you know what you've done, you've spent a ton of money on things you didn't really need, just because they looked lovely and appealing...

So? How to avoid being a victim? Have a plan! That's my answer to almost everything...

First, think seriously and honestly - are you shopping for need or want? And might you spend the money somewhere more gratifying? For example, I'm not buying anything this fall, because I've ... View the Post

Wear a Uniform and Simplify your Summer Wardrobe – Using Navy as Your Neutral

May 25, 2018

I wanted to share one final experiment into uniforms for warm weather. You don't necessarily have to dress like this every day (although you're sort of losing the whole "ease of a uniform" idea if you don't wear it... uniformly...). Still, if you have these pieces in your closet, you're never going to really be stuck finding something to wear... Unless you're going to something really outside of your normal activities, your "uniform" capsule should be perfectly chosen to help you get dressed in a flash for the activities that take up most of your time.

So let's visit some navy! What's nicer than a bit of navy for warm weather?

(a note about matching navy garments... when I was in Ireland last month, I saw LOTS of men ... View the Post

Wear a Uniform and Simplify your Summer Wardrobe – Using Beige as a Neutral

May 23, 2018

Maybe yesterday's white outfits are a little bit too... risky? for you... Maybe beige is a better option?

The beige heroine has every color of the rainbow at her disposal for accents - you would really struggle to find something that would clash with these pieces!

So let's go with summery pastels that aren't saccharine and sickening...

Pink is always pretty on virtually anyone, and this muted shade of teal is a nice change from navy or royal blue:

If you were only going away for a few days, this might be all you would need!

You've got all kinds of different levels of dressiness here, as well as being able to dress for everything from very hot to a bit of a cool morning (or ... View the Post

Wear a Uniform and Simplify your Summer Wardrobe

May 21, 2018

Some people manage to sail through life wearing white and they always look cool and collected. Even white linen! I think that we all need to embrace the inherent wrinkles in linen - wrinkled clothes make your face look smooth! But seriously, a core of cool white pieces for warm weather could make getting dressed every day a breeze...

With this timeless wardrobe core, you could use accessories to add all of the fun and interest... I don't think you would wear ALL of these pieces at the same time, but you certain could if you want to!

How about a couple of accent colors that supposedly clash?

A hot long weekend? Yes, the white is risky, but so cool and comfortable...

Yep - lots of possible ways to ... View the Post

Adding Just Enough Accessories

February 21, 2018   Yesterday she managed to wrestle her wardrobe into shape, so today she want to be certain that she has enough accessories. She's not mad about having tons of stuff, but it is pretty important to have at least some appropriate shoes! Her color palette looked like this when she was finished:

She thought for a bit, and chose gold as the metal color for her jewelry (maybe just for this season - who knows?)

And she's going to rely a bit on navy as a "cooling" influence on her wardrobe, as she moves away from those warm olive-ish greens that made her feel drab. So she drafted a 2nd color palette, like this:

Now that her colors are all settled, she things for a minute about what she's going to look for in ... View the Post

How do I Know That I Have Enough Accessories?

February 6, 2018

Our heroine ended yesterday's adventure with a color scheme that felt right, and a spring capsule wardrobe that she found really comfortable; it gave her great pleasure, every time she opened her closet door...

But she still needs to wear shoes! And carry a bag. And maybe wear some earrings, or a bracelet, from time to time. How to plan THAT?

Well, I pondered this for a while, and I think that she should think about what outfits she's going to wear, from her wardrobe, and then make certain that she has the accessories that are right for each of those outfits. What else would she want, if she knew that she had a dozen outfits ready to go?

To keep choices balanced, I'm going to see if I can fill in this ... View the Post

“Fixing” a Wardrobe that Just Doesn’t Feel Right…

She's worn navy forever, and really, legitimately loves it. She also really feels comfortable with bright colors - she doesn't mind the high contrast. But, for some reason she can't quite put her finger on, she's not quite "right" with her wardrobe...

This is what's she's got for spring:

She really doesn't know what to do to feel more comfortable with these pieces, so she just started getting dressed as normal, but changing 2 small things:

She pulls out and wears what she really "feels" like wearing, rather than trying to carefully rotate everything in her wardrobe. If she focuses on what she most likes, it might help her learn something, and She keeps careful track of what she wears.

After three weeks, she sorts ... View the Post

What Accessories do I Want for a Trip to Bermuda?

January 26, 2018  

Not just a trip to Bermuda, but a trip in March, when the weather is still cool, and the crowds aren't pressing...We're working with this color palette:

And these are the accessories that our heroine has already chosen to pack for her romantic get-away...

And this is her wardrobe that she's planning to have with her - 3 pieces to wear and a lucky 13 to pack:

Here's the accessories that she has included with her two core outfits... With the exception of shoes, she could of course travel with just these pieces and manage just fine. But in the interests of fun, let's expand her options...Please note that I'm not suggesting that this is going to be all of the accessories that one owns - unless ... View the Post

A 4 by 4 Wardrobe for a Vacation to Bermuda in March

January 25, 2018  

This is similar to the very recent wardrobe about traveling to Italy, but sufficiently different that I thought it was worth a look...First off, I'm going to take a clue from yesterday's thoughts about accent colors and include some muted, pretty colors with the same navy and beige that we've already used... (navy and beige are on purpose - I'm pretty sure that this reader is a navy/beige person; if I'm wrong, I apologize!)

This is the easiest possible way to dress for travel - a "suit" in your dark neutral, with a contrast blouse, shirt or tee shirt, and a pretty scarf to tie everything together! I'm re-using a lot of the accessories from the earlier post to show how versatile they are... I changed the ... View the Post

Can I Wear Grey for Dressy Events? Heavens YES!

November 28, 2017

I was asked to show some options for cool colors - especially including grey - for dressy events in cooler weather. Grey can be so elegant...

First I went "shopping" for cool clothes - mostly in silver grey, but I could NOT resist that luscious aqua sweater! It also comes in grey, as well as a really light beige heather, and a glorious bright but heathery blue... The aqua and the blue are such uncommon colors to see this time of year - you won't see yourself coming and going on the streets...

To provide us with a basis upon which we can build some outfits, I'm referring back to A Common Wardrobe in grey that I used a few weeks ago. Realistically, you could easily wear both the grey sweater and the gorgeous ... View the Post

What IS Dressing Up? Taking a Warm Common Wardrobe into the Winter Holidays

November 24, 2017

Of course I've been thinking a lot about what it means to say that you're "dressed up." In the absence of showing more skin than usual, I think I've learned that there are four ways to go about this process:

Anything metallic or sparkly - if you can find a garment in one of your colors that features some sequins, some beads, or metallic thread, the dressiness quotient is automatically raised. Ruffles, bows, or other trim that you would not normally wear. Swapping out an ivory cotton shirt for an ivory silk shirt with a bow at the neck can make a world of difference, while filling exactly the same role in your wardrobe. Swapping for a fabric with more texture or shine. Satin, velvet, lace, or brocade are all ... View the Post