Capsule Wardrobe Plans Archives - Page 17 of 57

Revisiting Van Gogh, and Using Cool Sky Blue to Accent Navy and White

July 11, 2018

Someone wanted another visit to this painting, someone wanted some navy and sky blue together, and someone wanted to see another French 5-Piece wardrobe. Here, I present ALL of that, and more. First, let's enjoy this painting, and the idea of the shore...

Warmth, salty breezes messing up your hair, reapplying sunscreen... The stuff of a million dreams!

And although this painting seems pretty monochromatic at first glance, when you look carefully at it for a while you find a whole BUNCH of different shades of blue and green, as well as dark brown, and warm orangish-tan. (I'm ignoring the red signature, except for lips and nails!)

I start a LOT of my blog posts with a core wardrobe of classic, neutral, timeless ... 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

Start with Art: Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Revisiting Jack Pine by Tom Thomson

May 16, 2018

Someone asked me to revisit this most striking of paintings... Years ago I showed some outfits that were based on this work, but it's well worth returning to works of art from time to time. If you choose a work of art or other lovely image/object to be your style inspiration, you'll be coming back to it often, so why shouldn't we do the same here on The Vivienne Files?

As much as brown plays a really big role in the painting, I've chosen to not include brown in this wardrobe because it's terribly difficult to find for spring and summer! If you've got a good source of beautiful brown garments for warm weather, take advantage! That's the only way these colors will move back into the marketplace...

I'm imagining that ... View the Post

Traveling with Children? Pack a “Whatever’s Clean 13” Wardrobe!

Let's see how this new version of The Vivienne Files works, shall we?

It's a question I hear from time to time - I'm traveling with small children, and I want to pack something bright and cheery. I also get questions about packing with printed or patterned pants, skirts and shorts - I'm going to throw that variable into this mix too!

This is a pretty bold way to start a wardrobe! But it will work, if we're intelligent and thoughtful...

First up, let's pull out our "Whatever's Clean 13" template to make sure that this plan stays on track:

It might behoove us to come up with a color scheme, before this goes completely crazy! I'm nominating navy as a neutral for this wardrobe, because navy is a great, classic neutral for ... View the Post

The Easiest Way to Get Dressed? Find Your Personal Uniform!

March 29, 2018 I've seen him twice in the Pedway in downtown Chicago. The first time, he was wearing black jeans, some sort of white shirt, and a RED VELVET TUXEDO JACKET. In the middle of the day, in the middle of the business district. And he looked amazingly cool...He's average height, very slender, young, and quite nice. (Yes, the 2nd time I saw him, I had to stop him and compliment him...)The 2nd time I saw him, he was wearing a white shirt and black jeans again, but this time his jacket was BLUE BROCADE. It's a uniform, and it's his!

Of course this got me thinking how this might translate for all of us...

Say you have this outfit, and you love it:

This would be so easy to build - when you see a jacket that you love, you ... 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

Periwinkle! A French 5-Piece Wardrobe, with Grey and White…

March 13, 2018

I have to admit, this might be my favorite color. Most shades and hues of purple are way up on my list... and since my favorite flowers are lilacs, hyacinths, and violets, it all sort of fits together!

These 2 garments work well together or separately, the earrings and scarf blend nicely, and what wouldn't you do for THAT BAG??? What a fresh jolt of spring this brings to the timeless grey and white...

If you start with some nice, casual piece in grey and white, you're in a good place... (this is the wardrobe from last Tuesday, of course)

You've got all sorts of ways to get dressed:

Adding that dash of periwinkle gives you more choices, of course, but it also really changes ... View the Post

Sage and Blush! A French 5-Piece Wardrobe, with Camel

March 12, 2018 I don't think I've ever pointed this out specifically - your French 5-Piece Wardrobe doesn't have to be all one color! It probably should all go together, if only to make wearing it easier, but 2 colors that are beautiful together could be a great idea...

Imagine that you've already pulled together your camel and ivory Common Wardrobe for spring...

Yes, this is the same wardrobe from Monday the 5th - and the shirt is NOT (at this very moment) sold out... You would already have a good many ways to get dressed in the morning without really even thinking - that's handy when you're in a rush, and distracted!

When you add just the 5 new items you purchased for spring, your options ... View the Post