Whatever's Clean 13 Archives - Page 4 of 8

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Toasting Friends Version 2

January 19, 2016

Many people wanted me to revisit this painting, and many of you are interested in seeing posts with warmer colors, and many of you are looking for lower-contrast wardrobes. I'm tackling a lot of ideas in one lovely painting!

One of the fun things about this painting is the range of lovely colors included. I've madly exaggerated the amount of camel included in the painting, but I'm going to use shades of camel, beige and coppery brown as neutrals...

The most difficult thing about writing The Vivienne Files (well, except for having dozens of ideas, and not enough time!) is choosing a color scheme and then realizing that the colors I love and want to use aren't necessarily available in beautiful ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Hermes Cheval Surprise Remix

January 16, 2016

Today's travel wardrobe is very much like yesterday's, but in a slightly altered color palette. This was a special request for an upcoming Bar Mitzvah, and I think it's great fun!I chose this scarf as our leitmotif for the color scheme, because these scarves are marvelously interesting. You'll be seeing this design again, because there are a couple of color scheme available that are just striking, and I want to see what I can do with them...

look for the horses hidden in the design...

As I mentioned yesterday, this Diane von Furstenberg dress is available in a variety of colors - I just changed out for the color requested! And in place of a hat, a pretty headband. (some of us ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Toasting Friends

January 15, 2016 So many of us have these events coming up this spring or summer - a wedding, graduation, bar mitzvah, baptism, or other celebratory event. What a nice excuse to travel!

But it does require a bit of planning, because in just a few days, you might well span the full gamut of activities from a very dressy event or two, to things like cleaning out a dorm room, or playing frisbee with nieces and nephews. Barbecues, picnics, and more relaxed family activities require a completely different wardrobe from what you'll wear to the actual event itself.What to do? Just plan to take more! A normal long weekend is a great time for a 6-Pack or an 8-Pack, but for these very special weekends, I think 13 pieces is perfectly ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting With Art: Kveikur by Justyna Polar

January 8, 2016

Someone sent this to me ages ago, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to get to this gorgeous piece...

This suggests the most lovely color scheme, which is both timeless and seasonless:

I've also received lots of requests for travel suggestions for longer trips - that 3 to 6 week trip that includes a few meetings, maybe some teaching, maybe some sightseeing, maybe some time in an office, and almost certainly some casual outdoor activities.

The trips that have been submitted to me for packing advice had a few things in common:

They are all more than 2 weeks, some as long as 6 weeks. This doesn't automatically require more than 12-15 pieces of clothing, but if ... View the Post

Can I Wear Warm and Cool Colors Together?

Whether you're transitioning from one "season" to another (wardrobe color season, not time of year season), or you just don't want to be limited by guidelines about color combining, a lot of you ask about wearing warm and cool colors together. I particularly enjoy these posts; I'm just enough of an iconoclast to get a kick out of breaking that particular rule!

love, Janice

Start with Art: Joan of Arc by Jules Bastien-Lepage - a really striking painting, and a cool-weather "Whatever's Clean 13" that uses both camel and grey, with pink and deep green accents. Unusual, and very lovely!

Start with a Scarf: Capri Scarf from Radical Chic - a summer "Four by Four" wardrobe that uses beige and white as a base, ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Echo and Narcissus by Waterhouse Version 2

This is a painting that easily provides a second color scheme! Remember last week, when I used more pastel colors as the accents?)

Today we will see how a change of accent colors alters to whole mood of the "Whatever's Clean 13."

Start out - the same outfit as before - I'm still deeply smitten with this sweater....

Jacket – Damir Doma; jeans – Austin Reed; turtleneck – L.L.Bean

I changed a couple of pieces here, just to show you a little bit of variety:

Jacket – L.L.Bean; ribbed sweater – The Row; twill pants – L.L.Bean

And at this point, I still feel that some accessories are handy - at least you're going to want some shoes or boots! A scarf that pulls the colors ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Vintage Rose by Kathkath

November 13, 2015

Who wouldn't want this?

Such lovely colors....

I wanted to think more about the idea of the "Whatever's Clean 13" and different ways to go about creating a grouping that will simplify your life - at least when you're getting dressed!

So I thought I'd dig WAY back into the archives of my brain, and The Vivienne Files, for the "Not So Crazy Eights" - the idea that owning eight garments in the same color might be the smartest thing you can do.

Let's hypothesize that someone in the world is pretty committed to her black wardrobe, so the first eight aren't terribly difficult. That said, she's in a little bit of a pickle for the upcoming holiday season; her friends and family aren't the strapless sequined ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse

November 11, 2015

If I ever catch any of you pining away like this, I'll give you a very stern talking-to, and then a hug...

But it's so beautiful, in that lush, opulently colored way that the Pre-Raphaelites made so appealing. I have, in fact, another color scheme in mind for this same painting, so don't wander away in the next week or two...

Recently, I've been asked about the nuts and bolts of putting together a Whatever's Clean Wardrobe - where to start, and how to choose what to include. I'll try to explain my thought process through this one, in the hope that I can clarify how you can easily do this yourself when you're packing, or just when you want to build a small collection of clothes that will see you through your ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arrival of the Normandy Train, by Claude Monet

November 6, 2015

She loves Paris, and she loves Monet, and she loves these colors...

Just three colors here, but WHAT colors...

Softly shaded colors, blended shades, and a few touches of a grid pattern to do homage to the glass roof of the train station. These subtle shades aren't easy to find. Happily, they can be blended, rather than having to be perfectly matched! The Trains are Essential She has a list of destinations. She's planned VERY carefully, studying train maps at length. While she understand that schedules might change, she's confident that she will make it from city to city with no problems. Taking trains is truly the only way she can make it work!

A little bit dressy, a little bit ... View the Post

Whatever’s Clean 13 FOR MEN – warm colors, warm weather

September 19, 2015

I understand that some of you are less than fascinated by the assembling of a travel wardrobe for a man; I can understand that. However, I felt that I really needed to respond to the requests that I've received, for years, for such a project. And let's not collectively forget that these wardrobes work EXACTLY like the women's version. With very little adaptation, any of these wardrobes could change gender and be really attractive. Yes, you'd want to toss in a piece of two of jewelry, and swap out ties for scarves. Maybe the 3rd pair of trousers would be better suited to be a skirt, and you don't have to pack quite so many shirts that button down the front, and have a collar. (although you could keep them just ... View the Post

Whatever’s Clean 13 FOR MEN – cool colors, warm weather

I particularly love working with menswear - their garments are so beautifully designed and well made that it's gratifying to put things together into outfits...For a warm weather trip, I'm still including a blazer, cardigan and sweatshirt. Maybe it's from living in Chicago, but I find that there's no destination that doesn't, from time to time, require something warm. At a minimum, the blazer or cardigan comes in handy when you want to be more "dressed" for some activities. And if you never actually need your sweatshirt, that's good!

This starts out like any other menswear wardrobe, but the blazer is cotton, and unstructured (i.e. unlined, but still meticulously finished inside.) The trousers are linen, and the tie is a lighter-weight ... View the Post

Whatever’s Clean 13 FOR MEN – warm colors, cool weather

September 15, 2015 Okay - let's dress up the redheads, warmly complected, freckled gentlemen that we love so much!

In the best of all possible worlds, I'd find a lovely brown tweedy blazer for this guy, but in the interests of providing a wardrobe with maximum utility, I'm sticking with a navy blazer. Navy blazers are an instant signal to the world at large that you're dressed up - even if half of the other men in the room are ALSO wearing one, it's just always the most appropriate option, short of a suit.

If your level of dressiness can step down half a notch though, look for a beautiful blazer in checks, tweeds, or plaids that will combine all of your lovely warm colors. They are available in every fabric from the ... View the Post