The Vivienne Files - Page 103 of 267 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Flowers in a Crystal Vase by Edouard Manet – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 10, 2018 She's a soil conservation engineer... a job nobody understands...This is what inspires her - the richness of brown, and the beauty of what the soil can produce:

Just after the 1st of the year, she attended a conference of soil professionals. She packed carefully, and within her plan; she was delighted with the results:

One of the people that she met at her conference has invited her to speak to some of the classes at the University where they teach. THE University, as far as environmental issues are concerned.... She's thrilled, but doesn't want to go too "over the top." They will be walking through a bunch of plowed fields, after all. (yes, they have boots for her to borrow!)

The professor ... View the Post

Shallow Deep by Wassily Kandinsky – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 9, 2018 She loves simplicity, clarity, things that are explained and can be learned...

So she became a teacher! Her last trip to New York was with a group of her students, and her travel wardrobe reflected her need to be bright, cheerful, mobile and ready for anything!

This time, shes going ALL BY HERSELF! Just for a couple of days, but a couple of days among adults...

She's not taking very much AT ALL with her. She's going to concentrate on spending as much time with a work of art as she wants, without worrying about keeping her class on schedule. She's going to eat, slowly, savoring every bite and not caring one whit about the table manners of anyone around her. She's going to sleep late...

Yes, her ... View the Post

Trojan Gates by Helen Frankenthaler – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 6, 2018 The quiet translator... Meticulous, and attuned to subtleties that are almost wordless... She won an award for a very difficult project, back in January... This is her unifying wardrobe inspiration:

With these words and colors as her... disciplining structures?

Back in January when she went to the awards ceremony, she was delighted with what she packed... (well, getting the award was pretty nice, too!)

and now has been chosen to translate HIS biography from French to English. He's coming to New York for a couple of days, and she has 2 meetings scheduled with him! They'll probably have dinner, his publicist assures her. Not a fancy restaurant, but a nice place, where they talk ... View the Post

L’Oiseau Forestier by Max Ernst – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 5, 2018 Back in January, her jealous co-workers were fuming because she never wears blazers, not pantsuits...They have no clue. This is her style inspiration:

From this, she developed her style guidelines and color palette:

Back then, when she was going out of town to lead some negotiations, this was her wardrobe - not what one might expect from someone who is supposed to be hard-bitten with brass... knuckles...

"She's heading the overnight retreat? She's such a prissy little mouse... would it kill her to wear some high heels?"

"Have you ever seen her wear makeup? And she doesn't even polish her nails... I don't know HOW she can be so successful..."

of course the men in their office ... View the Post

Paysage de Niege by Renoir – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 4, 2018

She went away for a weekend, to a snowy, very quiet resort. Her friends and family thought that she was crazy...This peace and quiet is what inspired her:

She found the tranquility of the soft colors relaxing, yet somehow elegant, even though her plans were very casual!

When she traveled back in January, she has the smallest of travel wardrobes:

Now, she's going back! She found... much... there to enjoy. It was warm when she left, but she knew that temperatures could be all over the map - warm days and cool nights... She loves that!

She was pretty excited about this trip, so she had a little bit of trouble focusing on her packing... Especially with the uncertain weather! So she went very ... View the Post

Blue by Kinuko Imai Hoffman – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 3, 2018

You might remember that back in January I assembled a very simple, but (to my mind) fascinating little Tote Bag Travel capsule based on this work.

The palette suggested by this is very limited, but I think that's part of the challenge/fun - especially for someone who thrives by being creative with constraints:

When we left our heroine visiting classrooms, just after the winter holidays, this was her travel wardrobe:

Her visits continue through the school year, even as the weather warms... And she adheres to her very disciplined wardrobe. Her goal is to be a calming, familiar presence in the classes she visits...

The weather's getting warmer, but it's still cool enough for a long-sleeved ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – April 2018

April 2, 2018 It SHOULD be Spring, but it's iffy, at least here in Chicago...So we'll go with an outfit for warmish weather - capris that are primed for warmer weather, but (with 1 notable exception!) tops that still cover us up a bit...For those who are new to this adventure, it works like this: I start the year by choosing six Hermes scarves (for no good reason except that they're beautiful, and have amazing color combinations!) and then each month I add another outfit to six wardrobes - each based upon the colors and overall "feeling" in one of the scarves.

First, the simplest of colors and styles, with classic jewelry and snazzy shoes!

This is what this heroine now has in her wardrobe - a few options available, I'd ... View the Post

Revisiting a Start With Art: Edith and the Kingpin by Jack Vettriano

March 30, 2018 When we left Edith, she was deeply smitten with a gentleman that she had... encountered... at the resort to which she had been sent to recuperate from a recent illness...So when one of her friends wrote to her that the resort was looking for a new hostess for the luncheon salon, she determined that she was going to get the job!"You're going to do what?"

"Well, it's only 5 hours of work (10 to 3) five days a week, AND I get a room at the resort for the season, and I get all of my meals provided, AND I get paid. It will be almost like being a guest there, except that I'll get to meet everyone, and I'll get paid to get a bit of exercise..."

Her parents are not convinced, but they recognize that expression on her ... 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

Can I Make a Capsule Wardrobe with my Gym Clothes?

March 28, 2018

It's a frequent question - does the idea of a capsule wardrobe work when we're talking about clothes for athletic activities? Heck yes! If you like black, it's really difficult to avoid a capsule wardrobe, because so MANY athletic garments are black. But even if you source out different colors, there's no reason at all not to have a plan and a structure for the purchase of your sports apparel...And this works for any sport - golf, yoga, running, weight-lifting...

So let's start with a favorite outfit - a tee shirt and capri athletic pants, with a cropped sweatshirt to top it all off. I'll assume that you have the appropriate shoes and socks, as well as any sort of sun protection or hair control ... View the Post

Daisies! The Birth Flower for April

March 27, 2018

I think that daisies are popular for lots of reasons - in real life, they're a great cut flower to buy because they're generally very inexpensive, last a REALLY long time, and the buds will actually open after you buy them...

For ornamental purposes, they're simple in design, familiar to almost all of us, and for many people have associations that make us smile...

So if you want to add a daisy or five to your wardrobe, you have options:

If you don't want the actual daisy - but the "feel" of the daisy, you could wear white with any color in the world (I don't think I need to show you how to do that!), or you could choose to add a dash of yellow to your wardrobe... (yes, this is indeed the 2nd month in a row ... View the Post

How to Pack Just Enough Accessories

March 26, 2018 So, while Friday's travel capsule wardrobe looked pretty good, it's really not complete! Without at least shoes (and maybe a bag) you're not probably going very far... (and yes, some people don't ever wear shoes; there are ALWAYS exceptions...)

Let's do some planning, before we add accessories to that wardrobe - first, by remembering and building on our color palette.

It's worth considering if these colors will give you sufficient guidance for your choice of accessories. I like to - at a minimum - add a metal color, so that I don't just willy-nilly toss all of my jewelry into my bag! You might want to also be certain that you've got a dark neutral that's going to work for things like shoes ... View the Post