The Vivienne Files - Page 105 of 263 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

L’Oiseau Forestier by Max Ernst – Starting a Wardrobe with a Tote Bag Travel Capsule

January 4, 2018 Assertiveness, Channeled "Why is SHE going?"

"Well, she was just named chief negotiator - didn't you hear?"

"She IS? She always seems so... ladylike... I don't see her as the arm-wrestling for the last dime kind of negotiator..."

"Don't get me wrong - I know that she's as smart as a whip..."

"Shouldn't she be wearing some serious pantsuit with shoulders out to HERE?"

"She doesn't even wear blazers!!!"

always trust the jealous rivals to focus on how you dress, eh?

As in all things, the details matter...

If anybody ever troubled to look, they would see that her jewelry looks like the weapons and body-armor of a Barbie-sized warrior race... Even her ... View the Post

Paysage de Neige by Renoir – Start with Art to Assemble a Weekend Capsule Wardrobe

January 3, 2018

It isn't what you think of when you think of Renoir - which is good! Expanding your horizons is never wrong...

Quiet... She was smitten with the painting from the first time she saw it. Others looked at it and saw cold, or sunshine, or the homes in the distance. She saw peace, quiet, silence... And that's what she craves!

"You know that there won't be anybody there... You'll probably have to eat all of your meals by yourself!"

Oh, she knows....

"I guess you probably got an amazingly good deal on your room - they'll be so grateful that there's anybody there that they'll give you the best room in the hotel dirt cheap..."Why are her friends so obsessed with "anybody?" And is it wrong to ... View the Post

Build a Weekend Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Blue by Kinuko Imai Hoffman

January 2, 2018

The first of the "12 Art Works of Christmas!" wardrobes - not the only time I'm going to look at this painting, though. I think I'll revisit this one every 3 months or so to expand the wardrobe to all seasons...Frankly, any paintings by this artist would be amazing sources of inspiration for a wardrobe - if you see anything that strikes your fancy, let me know! Creative Austerity She's always believed that the truly creative people were the ones who could do something original within strict guidelines...

This inspires her:

The possibilities are vast, just with these 2 shades, and a bit of texture... Maybe the occasional pattern... Anybody can wear orange tights, a green skirt and a purple sweater and ... View the Post

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

January 1, 2018

It's that time again! I looked and LOOKED at the Hermes scarves for this year - I wanted to find some unique color combinations... I kept changing my mind until literally the last possible minute!

This year's focal points for gradual wardrobe building are these lovelies:

A word to the wise - these scarves are selling FAST this year - I had to go to the sites for 3 different countries to find these colors, literally just 3 days after I started working on this post! Your best option for finding a fast-selling scarf is to call an Hermes store and ask THEM to find it and send it to you. Their staff is usually delightfully helpful and nice, and it will save you the legwork of trying to mail-order a scarf from a ... View the Post

Brown with Blue – Start with a Scarf! Hermes Electrique

December 29, 2017

Recently, someone asked me to re-visit a post that I did over 5 years ago, in blue and brown...After 5 years, absolutely NOTHING shown in the original post was still available - I know that's not a surprise. So I have recreated the original outfit, and what was packed, as best I could - it's a rough approximation...

The hardest thing was that I could NOT find a trench coat in the same turquoise blue that was used originally, so I've migrated the entire capsule wardrobe into a more "brown and blue" color scheme, starting with a wonderful scarf!

I isolated the colors with which the wardrobe will be built; I didn't really define the style because I'm somewhat duplicating an existing ... View the Post

Can You Plan Your Accessory Wardrobe? Madame Paul Escudier by John Singer Sargeant

December 28, 2017

Our heroine from yesterday has a tidy and very well-planned wardrobe, after her few additions to what she used for business travel. But she's in pretty serious need of some accessories, I'd say!First off, let's remember what her inspiration is for her wardrobe:

Our heroine finally got her well-deserved (and long overdue!) promotion, and picked up a few more garments to finish up her wardrobe. She's going to be traveling a LOT...

But she didn't buy anything BUT garments - no more shoes, scarves, nor jewelry. That's just not fun!

Although she's made her reputation at work for her empathy and her ability to provide coaching and correction in a warm and constructive manner, she is at heart also a ... View the Post

Brown with Teal & Cream – Expanding a Successful Travel Wardrobe

December 27, 2017

Remember when we visited this gorgeous painting?

Our heroine was sent off to visit a corporate service center because of a major client complaint... and this is (an approximation of) what she packed for that trip:

Global Service Director? Well, of COURSE she'll take the position! She's been doing the work for months, so it's about time she was given the title, the office, and the SALARY...

When they called her into the Executive Suite to give her the news, they cited her ability to get along well with people at all levels of the organization, without being abrasive or seeming to be too much "home office-ish."

She attributes at least a tiny bit of her success to her image - warm and ... View the Post

Accessories Can Make ALL the Difference! Monet Water Lilies…

December 26, 2017

Our heroine has this lovely wardrobe...

But she's really going to need some accessories! She already has 1 scarf, but because so MUCH of this wardrobe is solid navy, more than 1 scarf can come in handy...

Please understand that any (or ALL) of the accessory suggestions that I make would be great with this wardrobe - this isn't some sort of "guess the "best" accessory" game... I personally could easily make a case for this heroine to own at least a handful of scarves!

I wanted a pretty, floral pendant for her now - something that echoed both the floral motifs of her original painting, and also had a "water-ish" feeling. (no, that's not really a word, but you know what I mean...)

And a bracelet - I ... View the Post

The Twelve Art Works of Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of those who are celebrating today, and a warm and wonderful day to everyone!

Today I've got 12 works of art for you - 11 paintings and 1 pretty amazing photograph, along with color palettes, and a sense of how the colors might be made to work in a wardrobe.

I've chosen almost all "modern" works of art - for what we do here on The Vivienne Files, I need to have a relatively limited color palette. Paintings that are completely realistic tend to have every color of the rainbow in them, and THAT would make a carefully edited wardrobe almost impossible!

So, if you have time, and if you have an opinion (or 12!), tell me if you'd like to see any of these developed into a wardrobe. If you've a preference for warm ... View the Post

Carnations! The “Birth Flower” for January…

Did you know that each month of the year has a flower associated with it, which is supposed to then be "the flower" for people born in that month?

I didn't know until just a few weeks ago...

So let's look at this! It's not going to be as easy as finding birthstones, but what the heck - let's see what's out there...

If you're patient, there are, in fact, quite a few different items that have a carnation "motif," or that are carnation pink in color... If you look really closely at many brocade fabrics (especially those of antique design) you'll see "gilly flowers" which are either going to be carnations, flat out, or close enough to work... This isn't an exact science!

Were I born in January, I'd be madly tempted to make the ... View the Post

Traveling from Cold to Warm?

She has no explanation, nor does she feel that she needs one. She loves her denim culottes, and she wants to wear them as much as possible...

Thus, she is wearing this when she leaves, from her snowy home:

But she realized that she didn't want to pack very much - she's really only going to be there for 5 days! But how to take her travel outfit and translate it into a travel wardrobe?

How about breaking out the colors, and working around that? She's not really sure about how the final wardrobe proportions will be, so she just assigns each of the 3 colors an equal share of the palette...

First up, what does she do when she lands, and the temperature is in the 70s rather than the 20s? Duck into the restroom, peel off ... View the Post

Just a Few Pretty Things…. and an Excellent Book!

December 20, 2o17

I have a couple of delightful things to share. First up, my dear friend Scottie has created 4 limited-edition scarves which are well worth your attention. Her scarves are unlike anything else in the accessory world, in that they reflect very personal stories and experiences in her life... And they're beautiful! I've seen all four of them "in the silk," and I can attest that the colors are amazing, and the silk is lustrously soft and supple. You will not be disappointed!This first scarf features a little girl with a hula hoop... And a helicopter. The juxtaposition is striking!

A vintage postcard, and a photograph from the Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands NM are superimposed on this next scarf. The ... View the Post