The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Capsule Wardrobe Plans Archives - Page 7 of 57

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Brown, Green and Ivory: Start with Art – The Flower Arranger by Mary Brandish Titcomb

July 12, 2023

She loves this painting - it's what she does, in a way...

So when she travels - which is often - she uses these colors as her palette for assembling her travel capsule wardrobe:

Another Gala Opening Night She designs the flowers that lurk around on all of the occasional tables, grace all of the dining tables, and fill in the odd spaces around the museum...

She doesn't actually arrange the flowers - the local florists take care of that...

But she has spent the last 2 or 3 months designing the arrangements - making sure to use flowers and plants that are in some way symbolically associated with the theme of the current fete...

For example - her current work is at an exhibit of Grecian art, ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Brown and Ivory: Start with Art – The Guitar by Juan Gris

July 10, 2023

Her favorite painting...

And her easy, classic color palette:

A Weekend Trip, For Falling in Love "If you don't get a much better guitar, you're not really going to progress a lot more. You're doing so well; I'd like to see you get a really good instrument..."

"If you go into the city, I can arrange for you to go the really GOOD guitar makers, and play as many instruments as you want."

The print tee has matching pants, a scarf, and a camp shirt...

"You'll know when you find the right one..."

So she's going away for the weekend, to do all of the usual visitor things - dine, sightsee, maybe a museum or two...

But mostly to play guitars, and to find one with which she falls in ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Beige and Red – Start with Art: Black, Ochre, Red Over Red by Mark Rothko

July 3, 2023

I love Rothko - it's hard to understand unless you've seen one in person... Even then, his paintings may not be your thing!

"Skills Enhancement" A fancy way to say "we're sending you to the main office to take a cram course in new software."

The main office is somewhat dressy... So our heroine is planning...

She's starting here:

She knows that starting with a suit - even if she wears the blazer separate from the pants - is always smart for business travel:

She's pretty sure that she's okay wearing a cardigan, if she wears a skirt with it...

She's hopeful that tales of the formality of the headquarters have been exaggerated, but she's not taking any chances! If your company is willing to spend ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Beige and Blue: Start with Art – Miyajima in the Rain by Tsuchiya Koitsu

June 30, 2023

She's got to stop at the home office for a few hours, but then she's spending the weekend in the city!

Unsure of what she wanted to pack/wear, she browsed through her saved collection of paintings on her phone, and found this:

Suddenly, she's inspired!

She can wear black and blue to the office (she often feels like she's been beaten by the time she gets out of there, so black and blue is appropriate!), and then pack a few things to wear for sightseeing and dining...

She expects that it will be pretty warm, but also that she will run into some brutal air conditioning - especially in museums! 

Her wardrobe covers her for business (just in case she has to go BACK TO THE OFFICE on Saturday - ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe for a Long Weekend: Cavaliers de l’Hiver by André Brasilier

June 28, 2023

She's smitten with this...

So when her sweetheart invited her to a mystery weekend away, she has an idea...

They're calling it a mystery weekend, but she knows that they're traveling by train, so she can narrow down their destination to a couple of dozen cities...

They've agreed that they will DEFINITELY dine out somewhere nice, but not "over the top." And other than that, they will do the things that they always do when they're in a "new to them" city - walk, window-shop, visit museums and historical sites...

Her sweetheart has reminded her a couple of times to bring a sweater, because evenings will be cool. She could use this fact to try to figure out where they're going, but she's just going ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe for Eloping! Start with a Scarf: Oopsie Daisy by Clare Haggas

June 26, 2023

She couldn't resist; she didn't even try!

Let's Just Elope... Really, it's SO much easier, and nobody in either of their families is going to mind. Their friends expect this kind of spontaneous fun from them...

They aren't going ALL that far, really. Not that it matters; she's going to wear pink - even if they have to row a wee boat for 3 days!

Packing is tricky - she's not at ALL sure what she wants to wear for the actual ceremony! Of course, it will only be about 10 minutes, and she's not going to be on the cover of any magazines. But still, it's their wedding!

Maybe the dress? Or one of her lovely tops with her ivory skirt? She can decide when she gets there - maybe they can choose together?

she ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe for a Dressy Weekend: Start with Art – La Trappistine by Alphonse Mucha

June 23, 2023

Now that summer is finally here, it seems that many of us are being called upon to get gussied up!

Yes, the term "gussied" always makes me laugh...

It's always more challenging to find warm weather clothes in warmer shades...

It might be a wedding weekend, but it might also be a graduation, or an anniversary celebration - there are plenty of reasons to get dressed up and party in the summertime!

Our heroine isn't at all sure what she wants to wear when, so she's bringing an assortment of dresses with her, as well as a couple of tops and pair of bright jeans. Once she arrives, she can check with the organizers of things to see what will be most appropriate when.

And then she will wear what makes ... View the Post

A Rosy Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – Untitled by Peter Doig

June 19, 2023

Our heroine from Friday isn't the only person attending the Pollinator Conference, of course!

I can't find a title for this painting!

Lovely colors....

Our 2nd heroine is dressing in similar colors to her friend from Friday, but she's opting for brown rather than beige...

She doesn't think to find insect-themed jewelry, but she doesn't miss the chance to wear her favorite floral skirt.

her floral skirt has a matching print blouse available...

She likes to think that her wardrobe combines the rich, life-giving warmth of soil, along with its glorious floral products!

Our heroines love to pack this way - once you've arrived, all you have to do is unpack, and then be alert to what is ... View the Post

Wardrobe of the Week: June 11 – 17, 2023

June 18, 2023

This was a challenging week - I'm still wearing a brace on my right wrist 24/7, on my left wrist at night, AND I got a cortisone shot in my left foot! I was left unable to put on any sort of shoe over the top of my foot for the entire week; it was cool enough that I would have preferred sneakers or loafers...

Also, I'm sharing a snippet of the fabric of my 2 pairs of pants - they're both black and white, but quite different. Note that my black and white dress is made of the same tic-weave fabric as one pair of pants. In that fabric, I also have the tunic, and the sleeveless top, and a dress... When something is just exactly what you love, you stock up, right?

Maybe the most interesting thing about looking at what I ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Beige with Warm Accents – Start with a Scarf: The Curiosity Cabinet Silk Scarf by Emily Carter

June 16, 2023

The Annual Pollinators Study Conference

It's just a couple of days - mostly scientists who work in VERY specialized fields, talking about bugs! How to count them, how to help them thrive, how to encourage new and different insects to step into the void of dying populations...

She's a bit of a star in this world!

She's spearheading the information campaign about the possibility of ants as pollinators - it's not something that will be a worldwide solution, but in small areas it may work...

Her silk scarf is amazing - this designer does scarves from paintings...

When she decided to attend the conference (as if she serious might miss it!), she chose her favorite scarf as the theme for her wardrobe; ... View the Post

A Green Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start With Art – The Autumn Moon by Shufu Miyamoto

June 14, 2023

They Named Her Ivy... A long time ago; she always loved her name...

She saw this print, and something deep inside her clicked into place. Not a thing, really, but just a feeling. A new confidence, and understanding...

So she decided to wear green during her upcoming trip. All green. Just to see if it felt as right as she expected it to feel!

She's not worrying about matching everything. Nature doesn't worry; why should she?

Maybe people will think she wears too much green. Or that her outfits don't quite go together. She is dressing to please herself, so these thoughts mean  nothing to her anymore...

Her travel capsule wardrobe feels like home...

She loves her ... View the Post

Expanding a Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – Woman with Folded Arms by Picasso

June 12, 2023

Oh, let's look at this some more!

When we left our heroine on Friday, she had a lovely 9-piece travel capsule wardrobe all sorted out for long weekends this summer:

Wise people learn from their successes, and when your deeply-held preferences work out well, why not continue on that path?

Since the weather is warm, our heroine realized immediately that a few white garments might be useful:

And while she wasn't wild about the idea of adding denim to her wardrobe during the warmest weather, chambray is a good option!

Prints? Maybe? I admit that our heroine was strongly drawn to a couple of striped shirtdresses, as well as a plaid camp shirt and matching skirt in shades of blue.... Frankly, she ... View the Post