Build a Capsule Wardrobe Archives - Page 34 of 80

How to Pack a Foolproof Travel Wardrobe, All in Neutrals

May 24, 2017

If you're in Chicago, you of course must go to the Art Institute of Chicago, our very deservedly famous art museum. But when you're there, make sure not to miss the fabric exhibit. It's small, it's in the basement, it changes every few months, and it NEVER disappoints...

Seen there last weekend, included in a really stunning exhibit of batik fabrics:

This fabric is maybe 9 or 10 feet long, and 4 feet wide. It's really kind of breathtaking...

Seeing these neutral colors working so beautifully together, our mythical heroine was able to solve her packing dilemma...

I've got it all arranged...

We'll just go from city to city by train; I've already purchased the train passes....

Well okay, she ... View the Post

What to Pack for Ireland? Start with Art: Etude de Mademoiselle Pogany by Brancusi

May 19, 2017

Ireland? I used to live there! If you're going there, you're in for a treat... but be warned, much of the year it's a somewhat colder treat than you might be expecting...Let's use a beautiful, simple painting to focus our color choices, and just to treat ourselves, eh?

This is NOT going to be a "Whatever's Clean" wardrobe - it would certainly be possible to do it with this color scheme, but I'm going to recklessly include both pink and red pieces here that will not play nicely together. You don't have to have every last little thing matching, so long as you've got the basic neutrals in place...

You might feel really foolish leaving a fairly warm place and getting onto an airplane while wearing or ... View the Post

What Accesories Do You Want for Warm Weather? Start with an Echo “Paris in the Spring” scarf

May 18, 2017

When we left our happy heroine yesterday, she was packing for a trip to visit friends on the Gulf Coast of Florida. She was using this scarf as her leitmotif - the inspiration around which she was building her travel capsule wardrobe:

This was what she knew that she would pack - plenty of things for the beach and boat, and enough dressy pieces that she would be fine if dinner turned out to be more formal than she expected:

Just for reference, let's remember that she'd planned this wardrobe pretty carefully!

But she knows that she wants to include more accessories - especially more shoes! So she's going to work through a handful of outfits, making certain to include each of her "bottoms" so that her shoe ... View the Post

What to Pack for the Florida Gulf Coast? Start with a Scarf: Paris in the Spring by Echo

May 17, 2017

The scarf says Paris, but your luggage is all tagged TPA - you're going to Tampa to visit friends with a home on the Florida Gulf coast!

They've mentioned the beach, and the boat... (repeatedly...) There's a bit of sightseeing, some serious lounging to be done, and you might take in a baseball game. You'll be dining out at least a few times, too!

Well, you know that it's going to be hot and sunny. You know that it's a relatively casual part of the country, and you know that you don't want to carry a whole ton of stuff with you.... What to do?

Let's start with a color scheme, based on this most lovely scarf:

You know that no matter how warm the weather is, the airport will be freezing cold, and the plane is ... View the Post

How Can You Pack a Foolproof Travel Wardrobe? Use the Whatever’s Clean System!

May 9, 2017

I can always tell when a lot of you are planning travel because I start to see more and more emails with packing questions. Many people want a wardrobe that they don't really have to think about once they've arrived at their destination; that's why I cooked up the idea of a "Whatever's Clean" Wardrobe. If all goes according to plan, you should be able to pull any available garments from these wardrobes and assemble a reasonably presentable outfit. Certainly, some combinations are going to be better than others, and you're going to like some outfits more than others, but overall, you've got mountains of flexibility, after doing a bit of strategic thinking...

First off, let's start with a great color inspiration - ... View the Post

What to Pack for Paris? How About Beige and Navy, with Teal and Brown Accents?

May 8, 2017

Remember our heroine who was taking photographs in Paris for a long weekend? Well, she's realized (we're shocked) that she needs to go back for a much longer trip!

She's staying with her original color scheme and her original travel outfit. She's maybe going to see the same people when she checks into her hotel, but it's possible that wearing the same outfit might help them recognize her; that would be good!

After a few days of consideration, she's decided to take everything with her that she took for her first trip. She really wants to dress up a bit more on this trip (because her sweetie is going with her!), but most of these pieces are going to work just as well for that!

Since Sweetie is coming ... View the Post

W.H.A.T. to Pack for New York?

May 5, 2017

When you read this, I will be in New York for a long weekend with La Photographe. She's got a chance to photograph at Ellis Island on Sunday, and so we decided to make a long weekend of it! Why not?

But of course, one must pack.... How do you make these choices? I have thoughts - oh do I have thoughts!

(my brain generates acronyms like normal people make conversation...)

W - here are you going? This is pretty critical, because the difference between the city and the beach, or between the mountains and the downtown office, are massive. The joy of going to New York is that I could pack a tutu, a Buddhist monk robe, and a leather jumpsuit, and still be fine... it's pretty difficult to be inappropriate there!

H - ... View the Post

How to Add an Accent Color for Warm Weather; Start with Art: View of New York by Charles Sheeler

May 4, 2017

This painting couldn't be allowed to fade into the history of The Vivienne Files without another look, right?

Our bird watching, star gazing heroine is going on a much longer trip, but has decided that she doesn't need to make any changes to her travel outfit:

You might remember what she packed for her shorter trip to visit her friends with the veranda - all of these things were perfect, so she'll definitely include them:

These are what she's adding to her suitcase for her longer trip; she's gone a wee bit overboard on her accent color, but summer clothes don't last as long as winter, so she felt a bit like indulging. And no, it's not the exactly precise color that ... View the Post

How to Pack Light for a Long Weekend? Start with Art: View of New York by Charles Sheeler

April, 26, 2017

Do you remember one of my very favorite all-time posts, where a woman went to visit friends to look at the stars? Her wardrobe colors were inspired by the colors of the common shelduck - brown, black, and white...Well, she's found a painting that she really likes, so this year, when she's going back to visit her friends again, she's in the same color scheme. The weather is warmer, but you might recognize a few of her accessories from last winter's trip...

Her color scheme expands to include cream and grey (earlier, she was pretty strictly black and white with brown leather accessories), and some day she's going to try something in sky blue. Some day...

She knows that it's going to be warmer in April ... View the Post

How to Build a Warm Weather Travel Four by Four Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Palimpsest 46 by Kamrooz Aram

April 25, 2017

Let's revisit yesterday's painting - I don't feel like we've nearly exhausted the possibilities of these colors! My hypothesis is that yesterday's heroine has been invited to... a wedding, let's say, out of town far enough that she's going to stay for a week or so. Except for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself, she won't have to get madly dressed up, but she can reasonably expect at least another dinner or two out with relatives and old friends.

So we start here:

And we remind ourselves of what our color scheme is going to be for this travel capsule wardrobe:

Our heroine was really happy with her travel outfit when she took her long lazy weekend break, so she's not changing a thing ... View the Post

Build An Overnight Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Before the Parachute Opens, Version 2

April 21, 2017

After I looked at this painting again, on a different computer, I realized that I just HAD to consider the possibility that the "jumper" here really is more olive than brown...

Today's heroine is drawn to this painting by the angularity of it - she's the woman who really admires a good right angle, straight lines, clean structural joints and elegantly well-executed welds. She does have a bit of a hidden soft spot though...

Her tote bag is solidly squared off, and easily holds her gear for an overnight trip - maybe she's an architect going to visit a site and then dine with some of the people working there?

I'm no miser when it comes to buying pajamas, but these are pretty extravagant!

And I have to ... View the Post

Build an Overnight Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Before the Parachute Opens by Tullio Crali

April 20, 2017

Such an amazing painting - from such an unusual and compelling point of view!And I've noticed that the central color of the jumper is dark brown on my main computer, but that she is more olive green on my laptop! No wonder we have so much trouble talking about colors - we're not even necessarily seeing the same things...

But since I've found a few nice brown pieces, I thought that I'd stick with my initial impression that she's mostly brown. Maybe I'll re-visit this painting and use olive instead - what do you think?

My only style thoughts were of a strong respect for the sky, space, flying, and birds! But this color scheme could really work for a long time, although it would take a long time to find ... View the Post