The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Home » Build a Capsule Wardrobe » By Season » Page 9

By Season Archives - Page 9 of 17

What I Packed for Ireland, and Why

By the time this is posted, I will in fact be back from Ireland, and in Florida! My head spins at the very thought....

But my packing for Ireland is pretty compact (as usual) and I had a specific approach that might be worth keeping in mind.

First off, my travel outfit, which includes one of my "target garments" to try to wear a lot in January:

Please note that I'm also checking a suitcase, because I am of course bringing undergarments and pajamas with me, as well as fleece leggings and a couple of wool base layer shirts. I've got gloves and a couple of Buff fabric gizmos in my parka pockets, too!

Because the whole purpose of this trip is to reacquaint ourselves with Dublin, we're going to be walking a lot, and thus I'm ... View the Post

How to Expand Your Accessory Wardrobe: Winter Scene in Moonlight by Henry Farrer

January 23, 2017

 

On Friday, I expanded the original travel capsule wardrobe into a more complete "Four x Four" capsule wardrobe, but the real fun comes with adding more accessories!

When our heroine originally packed for her winter weekend on the farm, these were her accessories - lots of scarves!

Just for reference purposes, and to enjoy this painting one last time, this is her style inspiration:

For normal life, constantly wearing boots won't work, so we probably should start by getting her a comfy pair of loafers...

  And just because I'm bracelet mad these days, another star bracelet could be a fun addition. It's a good thing that I'm in a shopping moratorium this year, because these ALL are very ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: November

  November 1, 2016  

Since these capsule wardrobes are becoming rather complete, I decided this month that I was just going to browse clothes in the colors of the capsule wardrobe, and see what caught my fancy!The earlier months of this series can be found here: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October.

First up, here's a reminder of the six scarves that we're using as the basis of these six capsule wardrobes:

Navy– Hermès Voyage en Etoffes; brown – Hermès Tyger Tyger; beige – Hermès Le Voyage de Pytheas; olive – Hermès Cheval Mirage; grey – Hermès Cheval Surprise Remix; black – Hermès Au Pays des Oiseaux Fleurs  

For this wardrobe, as soon as I saw the kimono, ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: August

August 1, 2016  

In August, the stores have VERY little warm-weather apparel, so we'd better be prepared to plan ahead and pick up some things that will be useful in autumn and winter...For reference, the earlier installments of this series can be found here:

 

January February March April May June July

And for reference purposes, these are the 6 scarves with which we started the capsule wardrobes: (I can't wait to choose NEXT year's 6 scarves - maybe we'll vote?)

Navy– Hermes Voyage en Etoffes; brown – Hermes Tyger Tyger; beige – Hermes Le Voyage de Pytheas; olive – Hermes Cheval Mirage; grey – Hermes Cheval Surprise Remix; black – Hermes Au Pays des Oiseaux Fleurs  

This ... View the Post

A Winter Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Red and White

July 29, 2016    

After yesterday's fun with packing capsule wardrobes, I couldn't resist changing the accent color, just to see how it would look! So let's revisit the first outfit, and change the shirt color from blue to red (as well as swapping out a different scarf and socks).

I've changed the earrings for something more round, so that we can look at softer or rounded shapes for prints and accent items. This, of course, will change our color scheme, too:

The 2nd outfit only sees a change of shirt and earrings - as much as I was considering a softer print for the shirt, the idea of a flannel shirt in Ireland and England just makes TOO much sense to abandon!

 

The 3rd outfit - our indoor ... View the Post

A Winter Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Blue and White

July 28, 2016  

Someone out there's going to Northern Ireland, and then over to England. Envy.... sigh....I know a couple of garments that are on the packing list, so I'm going to do some imagining around those few things.

For starters, let's say that this is the travel outfit in question, and thus our color scheme is set:

In addition to having a chosen color scheme, I've decided to focus on the tile-like pattern of the scarf, as well as the woven detail of the tweed jacket as our focal motif - a woven handbag, square earrings, etc. You'll see this detail in more pieces of jewelry, as well as the nice squared plaid of the flannel shirt, too!Knowing that it can be cold, wet, windy and changeable in both locations, a nice ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes – a Half-Way Through Bonus

June 11, 2016   I've been thinking about how these capsule wardrobes would work for additional outfits, now that we're up to a dozen pieces of clothing in each wardrobe. So I played around and came up with another six outfits for each grouping. Enjoy!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

love, Janice

  ... View the Post

A 2nd 3-Dress Travel Capsule Wardrobe

May 3, 2016 Unprecedented They were always really nice about it; her nephew always sent her the "Annual Beach House Room Reservation Worksheet," just as if she was going to be there for at least a weekend or two.

But she never went. Until now.

When the email arrived, she took the single room, for the Memorial Day Weekend. Shock waves reverberated around the extended family!

She realized that the things that kept her away weren't really "deal-killers" after all!

  It's possible to have a perfectly nice beach vacation without actually swimming...

 

Nobody is contractually obliged to wear shorts at any time in their life...

 

And you can walk in the surf while wearing shoes. In fact, one ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe in Turquoise, Coral, Black, and Grey: 1 Piece at a Time

April 7, 2016

What beautiful summer colors, and what exciting accessory possibilities!

Coral was a specific request...

  Normally, I would build solid columns and suits, but just to show you a different way to go about building a wardrobe, I'm adding an accent tee shirt first. This can be a wonderful idea if you're still "on the fence" about a color scheme; if you buy an accent piece and find that you don't reach for it every couple of days, it might mean that you need to rethink your choice of colors.

  Okay, NOW we're putting together the black suit. These kinds of monochromatic outfits really come into their own when the accessories show up!

  Since we're fast moving into summer, I thought ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Charcoal

December 9, 2015   One of my favorite colors - easier to wear than black, and easier to pull together outfits! So long as your grays are in the same general tone, things don't have to match exactly - always a help.  

I used all kinds of schemes for finding pieces this time - I started by looking at men's scarves (always a mystery to me...). The crinkled scarf here is worth taking a look - it's actually a large image of Napoleon. Wearing sunglasses. Designers are an interesting lot, aren't they?  (and PLEASE admire that I found square earrings to echo the gridlike nature of the quilted jackets... these are the things that entertain me no end! and the earrings on the left combine the warmth of gold and the coolness ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Teal or Petrol Blue

December 8, 2015  

First up, I have to confess that the whole question about what, exactly, this color is called is a mystery to me. I found all sort of shades and tones of these color under both Teal and Petrol blue. It seemed, in a general sense, that it was more likely to be called Teal in North America, and Petrol blue in Europe. Further, the things that claimed to be Petrol were generally more expensive than those that were called Teal. You may find different examples...But whatever it's called, it's very pretty!

In the time that I've been looking into the idea of accent colors, I've approached finding ideas a few different ways. Some color I just knew would work well, and some were combinations that I have wanted to ... View the Post