The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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How to Pack for a Long Weekend: Navy and Camel

November 22, 2013   A classic cabled cardigan is always a good starting-point for this travel outfit.  After I tossed in a striped top, I thought that a solid scarf with a little bit of embellishment might be a calming touch.  This scarf is one of those things that you could wear forever... and if you want jewelry made of genuine stones that don't break the bank, take a look at Novica.  You know that these aren't investment-grade gems, but they aren't glass or synthetic, and the unique designs are delightful.  

Cardigan – Ralph Lauren,  earrings – Novica,  pants - Jaeger, cowl top – Phase 8, watch – Skagen, sparkle scarf – St. John Collection, loafers – Munro, Coat– Uniqlo,  tote – ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Long Weekend: Grey and Navy

November 21, 2013  

I love these travel vignettes, and I'm going to share the step by step thought process I go through to build them.

Once you have your two core neutrals chosen, the rest just falls into place. It gives you a great deal of ease in life to have a nicely-chosen wardrobe that is focused...

First off, choose your travel outfit using any combination of the two colors  I usually opt for a cardigan and pants that are the same color, and then use the 2nd color for shoes and a coat. A printed tee shirt, and a printed scarf, that include the 2 colors, finishes off your travel outfit.

Your watch and your bag will probably be in one of your neutral colors, and a simple pair of stud earrings give you some ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Long Weekend: Cranberry and Grey

November 20, 2013   It's that time of year, when many of us have to put in a beautiful appearance with family and friends.  Packing light, and smart, is a good way to begin.  And cranberry is such an appropriate color for autumn holidays...  

 

And if your weekend is longer than most, or if you absolutely can't bear the thought of traveling with only 4 pieces of clothing, consider adding these:

   

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Scarves for a Six-Pack – Grey, Pink and Black

November 15, 2013

 

Cardigan – Uniqlo, skirt– Uniqlo,  watch – Movado, tee shirt – Uniqlo,   opal earrings – Novica,  boots – Vaneli, scarf – Alva-Norge, tote - Tumi  

Bracelet – Novica,  Black and grey pants – Uniqlo, grey sweater - Uniqlo,   skirt – Wunderkind,   dress – Emilio Pucci, shirt – John Lewis, pumps – Isaac Misrahi, pink sweater - Jil Sander    

  love, Janice   ... View the Post

Three Neutral Colors – An Amazing Range of Possibilities

Realistically, it's quite easy to work with three neutral colors as a solid wardrobe core.  And starting with the fourteen rather arbitrary neutrals that I isolated yesterday, combinations of three start to pile up QUICKLY.  Note that these THIRTEEN pages of color combinations are only those that include black as one of the colors...      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    For reference purposes, these were my fourteen neutral colors... 

  Interestingly, one of the most popular posts I've ever written was one which I built a wardrobe around six neutral colors  (see it here).  And I've finally ... View the Post

Two Neutral Colors – Dozens of Options

I get a lot of emails from people who are concerned about building a wardrobe around neutral colors, because they're worried that they will end up looking like everybody else.  If you devote yourself to black, and you live in a major city, that is certainly a valid concern!  But I think that there are more neutral colors around than you immediately think of, and that if you can focus on two colors as your predominant theme, you have dozens of options.   First off, let's choose a palette of possible neutral colors.  This palette is NOT exhaustive, and the colors as they are shown here are NOT intended to reflect the beauty and the depth that the color actually exhibits in three-dimensional garments and accessories. ... View the Post

Avec Style: The 10 Rules of Color Harmony

  November 5, 2013   Color is often the first thing to be addressed when fashion and personal style are the subject...   The  10 Rules of Color Harmony   1.  Limit the number of colors in your outfit to no more than 3.  You will in this way create a visual harmony.   2.  A print will often include more than 3 colors.  In order to create balance, focus on the color which is most prominent in the print when finishing your outfit.  Example:  A black jacket is a good complement to a dress of multicolored flowers on a black background.   3.  To lighten your silhouette, it is preferable to wear lighter/brighter colors on the top half of your body, and darker ones on ... View the Post

Casual Packing: The “Triple Top” Secret

October 29, 2013   Here are a couple of examples of how my Triple Top Secret selection of tops can work for a really casual trip (or just a day to day wardrobe).  First, I started with a cool flowered shirt, got really gutsy and tossed in a striped tee shirt, and worked from there.  Yes, I would wear the stripes and the flowers together...  

I realized after working with this idea for a while that there are, in fact, two "triples" inherent in this idea:

 

  Yes, the button-front shirt is critical!  A shirt that can both be worn as a jacket or 2nd layer, but also layered under a sweater or sweatshirt, is key.  

    Here's an example of how this can work with some ... View the Post

Packing: The “Triple Top” Secret

October 28, 2013   I found, after a few days of travelling, that the shirts and sweaters that I had packed gave me a lot more options than I had anticipated!  A reminder: these are what I had in my bag:  

  Of course, I could wear any of these except the cardigan on their own.  But as the weather, and my location, shifted, I began to experiment with different ways to layer these 5 garments.  I discovered that, ultimately, I had a DOZEN options.  In the coldest weather, I was able to layer three tops together for maximum warmth, and thus the Triple Top Secret was born!    

But I quickly realized that, if I had chosen JUST a little bit more carefully, I could have had even more ... View the Post

How to Pack for Changing Weather

October 26, 2013  

My recent adventures took me from decidedly summery weather to something more in keeping with gloves and scarves.  As usual, I was limited to just a carry-on bag... But I was really delighted with what I took with me.Nobody around you is going to be fooled into believing that you have a vast and limitless wardrobe at your disposal, and you're going to need to be able to do some laundry occasionally with this little ensemble. I found, however, that I was covered (or uncovered, as the case may be) for everything that I encountered.

AND!!!  I deciphered the reason that all of this worked so well, and next week I'm going to explain the secret, and show some other ... View the Post