The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

The Vivienne Files - Page 113 of 261 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Well, THIS is Embarrassing…

I'm not being idle - I promise! But my computer IS being evil. Or possessed. I'm not quite sure. At any rate, I should be working on a really beautiful summer travel (road trip!) wardrobe for you. It's navy and beige, with deep rust shades, and olive green...

Instead, I'm doing virus-ish things, and scans, and I think I'm going to have to pour cough syrup into a slot on my monitor somewhere.

Technical problems stymie me, can't you tell?

So I can only offer my apologies, and assure you that I'm hopeful of having everything back to normal very quickly. Bear with me...

love, Janice ... View the Post

Can I Pack Just 11 Pieces for a WEEK at the Beach? Absolutely…

July 7, 2017 It's a Very... Weird... Beach House... (based on a real beach house I've seen...)

It has a dead-end hallway, with a big window... All of the 10, 11 and 12 year old's sleep there, in their sleeping bags. Well, "sleep..."

  And there's 1 room that really must have been meant to be a walk-in closet. It's that small...   It's been her room, for years.  

  She has a twin bed, a rocking chair, and a shelf attached to the wall that serves as a nightstand. There's no closet - just pegs stuck into the shadiest wall...  

  But her room has its own bathroom! It's tiny, but still... in a house with over 2 dozen people, it's a luxury!  

  And ... View the Post

How to Shop Your Wardrobe, or Why I Own Wooden Hangers

July 6, 2017

We've all read this advice - when you see an outfit in a catalog or magazine that you really like, you should (rather than purchase said outfit) "shop your closet."

I suppose we all know, in some way, what that means - don't buy something, but find something in your current clothes that will do the trick. Sounds logical, doesn't it?

But I suspect that a lot of people don't manage to make this work very well. There's something fundamentally backwards about this advice. I'm not lusting for something that I already own - I'm filled with desire for something NEW. Something FRESH. Something... different.

Frankly, there's no way to get around that desire for novelty; it's hard-wired into our psyche, and no little tip ... View the Post

Red and Bright Sky Blue – Accents for a Navy and Beige Capsule Wardrobe

June 5, 2017

 

These colors are classic:

They've Changed ALL of the Rules... She worked from home for years... She had to go into the office once a quarter, just to prove that she was the same person that they thought they had originally hired!

But NOW, she's got to go in once a week. Generally for meetings. And she's determined that she's going to assemble a small, tight, well edited work wardrobe that is both relaxed and sufficiently "show-offish" for those guys from Boston...

The sweaters are simple cotton, but the accessories are quite nice quality, and a bit bold, too!

She is absolutely to wear her favorite bright colors; if she has to be in the office, she's going to be seen...

And sometimes, a ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – June 2017

June 2, 2017

I hope that this was worth the extra day's wait!

First off, all of the scarves are sold out at Hermes. If you're really madly eager to have one of them, let me know and I'll see if I can help you to find it in the secondary market.

In this month's wardrobe building, everybody's shopping for a dress (not necessarily something really "dressy") and the necessary accessories...

First up, I'm mad tempted by this simple black dress! I can see myself wandering around downtown in this... sigh...

And kindly notice the linear quality of the sandals, echoed by the striped tote! My days are made when such discoveries fall into place...

Halfway through the year, this is our heroine's wardrobe:

And just to ... View the Post

NEVER Wear Pink and Orange Together??? Humbug… Accenting Navy and Beige with Unexpected Bright Colors

June 1, 2017

Big important notice - the "Six Scarves, Six Wardrobes, over 12 Months" post for June will be here tomorrow! I hope! The Internet in my building (yes my entire building!) has been off and on, as they work on it... Don't they know that we have important blogging to do? Knuckleheads...

In case you haven't seen the earlier versions of the navy and beige summer wardrobes, you can find the one accented with dark camel and moss green here, and the first one with accents of mint and lavender here.

Today's colors just jump off of the screen:

Just for the benefit of those among us who are joining this adventure in progress, this is the neutral starting point - a half-dozen core pieces around which I will try to build a ... View the Post

Warm Neutrals Camel and Mossy Green Accenting Navy and Beige

May 31, 2017

Let's see what happens when we start with navy and beige as our neutrals, and then incorporate two MORE neutrals, in warm hues, to act as accents.

This is the color scheme as I see it; I've made 1 small alteration in that I've given us a range of the accent colors, from lighter to darker, in order to open up the possibilities a bit. These aren't easy colors to find this time of year!

And this wardrobe I'm working with an assumption that we're going to be packing for a more changeable climate - needing both sandals and a sweatshirt, so to speak...

As before, we'll start with six neutral pieces...

Just to keep us mentally organized, let's continue to work with a 13-piece wardrobe template:

The first ... View the Post

Memorial Day with Belovedest and Me…

Let me say first off that in my ideal world, these holidays would be true holidays in that EVERYBODY would get the day off. At least in the United States, most holidays are great for those of us who work in offices or are self-employed, but if you work in food service or retail, it's just another day. I wish that could change, and that those people could also have holidays... sigh...

That said, Belovedest and I slept late, and then roused ourselves and walked out to get on the Metra train south, in the train station just 2 blocks from us:

In 20 minutes, we were in Hyde Park. Home of the former president. Home of the University of Chicago. Home of the best bookstores in Chicago, no possible competition imaginable. (I've walked most ... View the Post

What Accent Colors go with Navy and Beige? I Have a Dozen Ideas!

May 29, 2017    

Today's a holiday, but you get a blog post because I write these in advance - this was completely last Friday! So what I'm saying is that TOMORROW, you're just going to get something short and sweet about my holiday weekend...

It's probably the most common question I get in my email: How can I pick accent colors?

Couple that with lots of questions about the most versatile neutral colors, and I've got a lot to think about!

But I've got to admit that more and more, I'm beginning to suspect that starting with navy and beige in a wardrobe might be the very easiest choice. Only if you have the luxury of starting from scratch, of course, or if you're in a position to build a capsule wardrobe of over a ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Spa Weekend? Start with Art: Dans le Parc by Maurice Denis

  May 26, 2017  

Doesn't this make you want to just sit somewhere and watch the world go by?

Someone driving up with friends for a spa weekend is using this color scheme to inspire her packing... (well, it inspires her entire wardrobe, not just one weekend!)

Since they're driving, she can be super-casual and relaxed, but she still has her favorite leaf-motif jewelry - the painting strongly suggests that she's a nature lover.

Once they're at the spa, they'll be living in their robes, but she's going to need an outfit to get home in, and maybe something other than a robe in which to dine. Just because they put you in a robe doesn't mean that you're not allowed to get dressed!

 

It's a tiny ... View the Post

10 MUST HAVE ITEMS for Spring and Summer 2017?

May 25, 2017

I get dozens of these lists, and once in a while I actually take a look to see if there are any fresh ideas I can learn, or at a minimum some insights into the fashion zeitgeist that I can observe... In all fairness, this list was written by a young lady half my age, so her insights might be very different from mine!

In finding examples of these trends, I've tried to stick to relatively inexpensive pieces (with 1 exception I can remember). If you're tempted by a trend, it only makes sense not to spend the monthly grocery budget on an item that you might not want to EVER see again after Labor Day. (aka early September...)

As always, some aren't bad ideas, some are ridiculous, and many of them depend on the individual. ... View the Post

How to Pack a Foolproof Travel Wardrobe, All in Neutrals

May 24, 2017

If you're in Chicago, you of course must go to the Art Institute of Chicago, our very deservedly famous art museum. But when you're there, make sure not to miss the fabric exhibit. It's small, it's in the basement, it changes every few months, and it NEVER disappoints...

Seen there last weekend, included in a really stunning exhibit of batik fabrics:

This fabric is maybe 9 or 10 feet long, and 4 feet wide. It's really kind of breathtaking...

Seeing these neutral colors working so beautifully together, our mythical heroine was able to solve her packing dilemma...

I've got it all arranged...

We'll just go from city to city by train; I've already purchased the train passes....

Well okay, she ... View the Post