The Vivienne Files - Page 18 of 267 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Expanding Your Wardrobe: Start with a Bracelet – Fierce Serenity Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

December 18, 2023

Of course you remember this bracelet - it was only last week that I first shared it with you!

And this was the small wardrobe that our heroine took with her on her long weekend of serious reading!

It turns out that our heroine is headed to campus for a month for a special symposium about Changing Political Ideologies in Western Democratic Systems! Riveting, eh?

Since she was so happy with her wardrobe from her "reading weekend," she decided to use that as the base for her 4 by 4 Capsule Travel Wardrobe for the month that she's away. Sensible, I'd say...

After looking at, and remembering wearing, her core garments, she decides to add a 2nd, darker neutral. And she feels like she wants a blazer ... View the Post

Accent Color Ideas! Pantone NYFW 2024 Spring colors – Part 2

December 15, 2023

Have you reached the point in the autumn/winter (or spring/summer, depending on where you are!) when you've worn ALL your clothes for the season, and feel the need for something to brighten up or refresh your wardrobe?

Or maybe you've been thinking that a different accent color in your wardrobe might bring something delightful to your mornings...

Pantone's ALWAYS got ideas - I'm finishing our look at their New York Fashion Week colors today, but in the next week or so, I will visit the London colors too! I'm never quite sure how they choose these colors, and I certainly can't explain how they name them. But I can find lovely things to give us inspiration, and ideas:

I think this Watercress green is lovely, ... View the Post

Fresh Accent Colors! Pantone NYFW 2024 Spring colors

December 13, 2023

So, Pantone decided that Peach is going to be next year's color. I'm not sure how that will work out - generally speaking, I never see the "color of the year" show up in the urban wilderness any more often than any other color!

But their choices of colors always give us an opportunity to consider adding a new accent color to our wardrobes...

I've divided their 10 "New York Fashion Week" Spring/Summer colors into 2 posts, because they take a while to find!

editorial note - I'm VERY fussy about getting these colors to match as closely as possible, because I know that you're going to view them on a relatively small screen; items that are only a few inches apart need to look good together! In real life, on a ... View the Post

A “Six-Pack” that Starts with a Bracelet: Fierce Serenity Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

December 11, 2023

She's got FOUR books to read before the term starts in January. These aren't lighthearted novels - these are serious studies of political philosophy...

She can do this!

And she's not even nervous about it, because she has a plan.

She's going away for the weekend, to someplace beautiful, but otherwise not the kind of place where there are lots of things that she likes to do! She's not going to hike, or cross-country ski; she's going to sit in her room by her fireplace (yep!) and read. 3 hours in the morning, 3 hours in the afternoon, at least...

She will dine, beautifully, in the dining room of the hotel, and then make an early night of it! Maybe more reading in bed?

She's not going to stay in ... View the Post

Our Final 2 Capsule Wardrobes: December Six Paintings – Twelve Months

December 8, 2023

I didn't have any coffee yesterday (physicals with fasting blood tests are the worst...), and today I'm getting all weepy and sentimental about all sort of things! Not the least? Saying goodbye to these 6 paintings...

For the rest of our lives, if we happen to see an image of any of these anywhere, we will recognize them, and remember them well! What a way to learn art...

First, my very favorite. In the end, I'm true to black and white!

Our heroine ended November with a tidy 35-piece wardrobe, well-suited to most of life:

Before you buy ANYTHING, you should be able to state clearly to yourself why you either need or want the item in question. If you neither need nor want it (beyond the simple lust for ... View the Post

2 More Capsule Wardrobes: December Six Paintings – Twelve Months

December 6, 2023

Is anybody else surprised by the appeal of this next "all brown" wardrobe? I wasn't at all sure what I was getting into when I chose this painting, but I must admit that if I were to start my wardrobe from scratch (as in "I have nothing left in the world except my long-underwear pajamas and grey sweatshirt robe!"), I might do this...

Except I don't look great in brown. I don't know if that would stop me!

Let's pay this heroine one last visit...

Her wardrobe at the end of November was lovely and versatile - one could manage with just these pieces for quite a while:

But our heroine has decided to emphasize the darker shades of brown, this time of year. And she found a blazer she particularly loves!

A ... View the Post

2 Capsule Wardrobes: December Six Paintings – Twelve Months

December 4, 2023

Ah, the last visit to these wardrobes! I'm going to look at two of them today, two on Wednesday, and then the final pair on Friday.

I confess that I will miss these six paintings! But I think that this exercise is both interesting and useful - we all need to learn to live with fewer new garments, and to wear what we own frequently. The level of waste on our planet that comes from clothing is shocking...

Let's start with this most evocative painting; imagine what trains and train stations meant to cities, back in Monet's time. They were new, definitely faster than anything that had come before, and changed their view of distances...

Let's take a quick glance at our heroine's wardrobe before she heads ... View the Post

Need an Accent Inspiration? Start With a Scarf – Shepard Fairey by Echo

December 1, 2023

OH dear! I'm supposed to be working on the "Six Paintings, Six Wardrobes" posts today! But once I saw that Shepard Fairey had done a scarf for Echo, I was thoroughly distracted... You know his art; remember the Obama posters from way back when...

This nice thing about scarves (well, one of the many nice things about scarves!) is that even if you don't much love the image when the scarf is flat, nobody but you will probably EVER see the scarf spread out and fully visible...

Our heroine today is one of us who mostly loves to wear neutrals - especially black and beige! But she's going to be attending a couple of "medium dressy" events this winter (some including children), and she needs to maybe brighten up ... View the Post

Need to Dress Warmly? Japanese 24 Seasons: Shōsetsu, Small Snow

November 29, 2023

Through much of the time that I was searching for these items, it was snowing in Chicago. It wasn't actually landing on the ground, which seems like an oxymoron, but from the 24th floor, we can see snow that doesn't survive its final descent!

I love big snow drifts, so this wasn't ideal. But we also have to be able to get out and about, so I'd best just be quiet, eh?

today's photographs are all of Chicago...

if you like photographs of Chicago, look for Barry Butler on Instagram!

For today's outfits, I was thinking about those early days of snow, when it's not really bitter cold, but you still need some kind of boots, as well as a warmer jacket or coat, and a scarf!

To make these outfits easy, I ... View the Post

Ready for the Week? Start with a Scarf – 3 “Echo 100” Scarves

November 27, 2023

This is supposed to be the time of year when our schedules are busiest, and when we have the most challenges taking care of everything that we want to do...

I'm not sure; I suspect that some of us run into these kinds of pressure at any time of year!

My suggestion? Every Thursday evening, and Sunday evening (your choices may vary), assemble a Wardrobe Cluster of 4, 5 or 6 garments that all go nicely together. Make sure you've chosen accessories, and that the appropriate shoes are clean and in good repair, too!

This might make weekends, and early days of the work week, a bit easier...

I see this color palette as being perfect if you're not expecting bitter cold weather, or if you just look lovely in ... View the Post

Festive Attire in Untraditional Colors? Start with a Scarf – 3 Limited Edition Echo Scarves

November 24, 2023

Today's heroines are all going to be doing something for the upcoming winter holidays - nothing overwhelmingly dressy, just events for which they wish to look nice...

And they don't want to wear the traditional colors that everyone else will be wearing! Blending in with the crowd just doesn't suit these heroines that well!

So let's start with more lovely scarves:

Our first heroine is particularly smitten with this scarf for lots of reasons, but especially because it includes brown, which is her #1 favorite neutral!

So these are the colors that she isolates from this scarf - she could have chosen at least 3 more that I can see...

This little cluster delights her - she's got Christmas red and ... View the Post

Wardrobe Clusters? Start with a Scarf! Three “Echo 100” Scarves

November 22, 2023

For many of us, this is the time of year when we are often called upon to be away from home for just one night - family meals, downtown activities that include a night in a nice hotel, quick work jaunts...

These kinds of trips only require the smallest little cluster of clothes - I firmly believe that we can wear the same pants two days in a row!

Let's use 3 of the lovely new Echo scarves as our inspiration, eh?

This scarf could SO EASILY be the inspiration for an entire life-long wardrobe; heaven knows that there are plenty of men who live in navy and grey!

While I didn't include any light blue in this wee cluster, I envision that color showing up as nicely faded denim, or a beautiful sweater, and ... View the Post