4X4 Wardrobe Archives - Page 3 of 14

How Do I Know I Have Enough Accessories? Revisiting Double Vision 1974 by Edwina Sandys

September 20, 2019

It's one thing to get a good work wardrobe sorted out (as we did for our heroine on Wednesday), but how do you know that you've got the accessories that you need, and moreover want?

Let's remember our source of inspiration...

Our heroine's going to have to go back to work in her office, after years of being able to work from her home 95% of the time. She's got her clothes sorted, but she's not sure about her accessories...

So she pulls together 5 outfits - 1 for each bottom in her work capsule wardrobe - and then determines what accessories she would wear with each outfit.

First up, she knows that she will be wearing her black pants a lot...

And she knows that her tan pants will be important, so ... View the Post

Revisiting Double Vision 1974 by Edwina Sandys

September 18, 2019

She spent most of the summer at the beach house; she had been allowed to work from home for years, so she was able to work while sitting on the balcony, looking out at the shore...

You'll Have to Work in the Office... Since the acquisition, she knew that things would change, but she hadn't expected this. But they're giving all of the staff who had been telecommuting a small bonus to re-establish their commute. (or their office wardrobe?)

So she reverts back to her favorite painting, and starts planning...

She knows that she will need some neutrals, so she gets a great cardigan blazer, some washable wool pants, and a really cool coated denim skirt! But she's determined to include her favorite red and tan ... View the Post

Start with Art: View from Bodacke, Liden by Helmer Osslund

March 20, 2019

This reminded her immediately of the site of their cabin:

So much so that she decided to make this her wardrobe inspiration for their upcoming weekends away!

This summer, she's going to plan out a simple, small, but versatile wardrobe, take it up to the cabin, and LEAVE IT THERE until they close up for cold weather! She knows that she might need to take something else with her at some point, but she's determined to avoid the "every Thursday night" packing that inevitably results in something being forgotten...

So she's planning a 4 by 4 Wardrobe, starting with "hedge green."

Next, she wants some beige. She's lucky that it looks pretty good on her - if it didn't, she would either swap the 2 ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of Shallow Deep by Wassily Kandinsky

November 26, 2018

Oh how this heroine's life has changed in a year! Back in January she took a pack of 6th graders to New York City - what a brave woman! On a more leisurely note, she went back to New York 3 months later, by herself, to scout out more destinations for students...

Her confidence in planning these trips, and the expertise that she developed, lead to her applying for a job with the State Board of Education specifically dealing with student activities outside of the classroom! When she got the position, she began the frequent trips to the state capital that she will have to make every month or so...

When you look back at these 4 wardrobes, you can see that her style becomes a bit more dressy over time - she has to be ... View the Post

Choosing Accessories for a Project 333 Wardrobe? How about a template…

September 14, 2018

Monday I built a 4 by 4 Wardrobe based on this lovely scarf from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store (they have a LOT of lovely scarves...)

Before we dive into accessories, let's remember what our final color scheme was (remember, I had to change the colors halfway through building the wardrobe!):

And the wardrobe was this; yes, I could easily have re-arranged these items to put the camel-colored items into the 2nd row to be the 2nd neutral. Proof that these templates are guidelines and NOT rules!

I've been thinking about accessories a lot... Maybe we can organize them the same kind of way we organize clothes? Let's start with the stuff that most of us MUST have (although bear in mind ... View the Post

When Your Wardrobe Plan Hits a Snag – The Kiss, by Max Ernst

June 13, 2018

It all starts out so well. You've got your art inspiration in front of you, and quite a few of your garments are clear in your mind...

The brown was hard to find, but you're really happy with the results:

This is a great start...

The turquoise wasn't too tough to find; the maxi skirt is going to be SO nice to have on vacation...

This is where the wardrobe is supposed to get fun - finding tops that work with both core colors, and that pull them together. But you find that the things you were thinking about packing are too big. Too small. Too worn out. Too much in need of laundering. But you really don't have time to do ANYTHING except rethink things...

This isn't a bad wardrobe, so far, ... View the Post

I Want to Pack ALL of my Clothes!

March 23, 2018

All of my clothes are lovely - why can't I take EVERYTHING with me on vacation?Well... of course this isn't going to work, but it's a legitimate question that I think about every time I'm going out of town - if I take everything that I own that I really love, I'm just going to end up moving away. (don't tempt me - I LOVE to move...)But let's be adults about this for a few minutes; choices are hard, but must be made. Let's walk through an example to see 1 way to make these decisions rational, if not any easier!

Start with the spring into summer wardrobe:

The first thing you want to do is get EVERYTHING out in front of you, or at least on a list. Visibility is really key to see where redundancies ... View the Post

A Timeless 4 by 4 Wardrobe

March 19, 2018

While I'm in Ireland, here at The Vivienne Files we're wandering back through some of my most popular posts on Pinterest...Isn't this wardrobe timeless? I wrote this a year and a half ago - long enough for some people to want to get rid of every stitch and start over! - but I don't see a thing here that I wouldn't cheerfully wear today...

I hope you're all well and happy! If you're interested in where I am, and what I'm doing, come follow me on Instagram....

love, Janice

... View the Post

An Oldie, but A Classic…

This image turns up frequently on Pinterest, and that makes me really happy! This might be the concept of which I am the most proud, of all of the work that I've done on The Vivienne Files. The idea of being able to be well-dressed and fully-prepared for most of what life throws at us with only SIXTEEN pieces of clothing... Simplicity, economic responsibility, and care for the environment, as well as a clearly-defined personal style - they're all here!

But this is NOT the only template that I have suggested for planning a wardrobe - the original post from which this came runs through a variety of planning ideas that might be helpful...

love, Janice ... 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