The Vivienne Files - Page 184 of 262 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

The Monday Morning Giveaway #4 – Carry-on Toiletry Bags & Bottles

June 23, 2014 Last week's Le Monde de Hermes was won by Lynne in North Carolina - Lynne, send me your mailing address to theviviennefiles at gmail dot com!You know that I'm in a constant state of trying to reduce how much I carry when I travel; recently I went through another round of cutting back my toiletries. When I went to my favorite store Flight 001 to buy a new "3 1 1" bag, I found that they had a BOGO - buy one, get one free - offer on these bags. So I have a brand new set of two bags and a set of empty bottles!

Same as always - leave me a comment telling me your best light packing tip, and I'll let you know Friday who wins these. I'll ship anywhere in the world, so any reader anywhere is welcome ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 4: Jeans and a Shirt

June 21, 2014

From the very beginning of this capsule wardrobe project, some of you have been clamoring for a pair of jeans. (actually, someone sent me a shockingly rude email when I didn't start with jeans; nobody should care so very much about what a blogger suggests...)

So now we're going to find a wonderful pair of jeans in our first neutral - yes, this gives us a core of four, which I consider to be a great starting point for a wardrobe.

When you're looking for jeans, try on lots and lots of them. And don't worry about price - more expensive jeans aren't automatically anything special, and inexpensive jeans might fit you beautifully. Just don't compromise on the quality of the denim, nor on the construction. After ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 3: A cardigan and tee

June 20, 2014

After much consideration, I decided NOT to start our capsule wardrobes with a suit, but I'm going to now pull in a second layer garment that can give you "suit-like" utility if you want it to. These two pieces could certainly be purchased as a true twinset (I personally adore twinsets), or you can find pieces that are closely related in color but not matchy-matchy.

You can buy a cardigan without any buttons - a waterfall style - but make sure that it's nice quality, and doesn't look like "the cardigan that I keep on my desk chair all the time in case it gets cold in the office". And do bear in mind that a cardigan that buttons can be worn without anything under it - as a sweater in its own right. A handy ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 2: Shoes

June 19, 2014

Now that you're in the process of having your new and wonderful trousers altered to fit perfectly, it's the ideal time to make sure that you have the right shoes in our capsule wardrobe.

Let me vent. If you're one of those people who has a stack of shoes under their desk at work, or piled into a file cabinet drawer, it's about time to stop that. Trust me, the CEO does NOT keep a wardrobe of cheap shoes in their office. In fact, I'm willing to wager that absolutely nobody on the executive committee keeps an assortment of footwear under their desk. If we're in an office environment, let's measure up to the highest standards we can manage.

Whew! thanks for letting me get that off my chest...

Now, choosing excellent ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step One: A Nice Pair of Pants

June 18, 2014 Many people would tell you that you should start building your capsule wardrobe with a black suit. And there's an undoubted crowd who would vote in favor of a little black dress. (for me, personally, that's where I would start...) But after wrestling with this question for weeks, I've finally decided that most of us might find the most utility, and the most immediate transformation of our wardrobe, could come from investing in a really NICE pair of pants. Trousers. Even (very unpopular word) slacks... If you've changed sizes, a new pair of trousers that fit you perfectly will immediately elevate all of your old blouses and shirts. If you want to improve the overall quality of your ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch: Choosing Color Schemes

June 17, 2014

It's a question that's as old as The Vivienne Files - if you're starting a capsule wardrobe from scratch, how do you start?

What an ambitious question! But after thinking about it for three years, I'm going to give it a try - a step by step approach to rebuilding your wardrobe from the ground up.

Before you buy any garments at all, you've got to make a couple of decisions. One thing you'll have to work out for yourself - which silhouettes suit you best. I'm really not qualified to answer this question for every woman, but I encourage you to address this question on your own; you know better than anybody else in the world what shapes and sizes of garments suit you best...

But the next question - truly critical - is ... View the Post

The Monday Morning Giveaway #3: Le Monde d’Hermes Automne-Hiver 2012

Twice a year, Hermes comes out with the most COOL magazine/advertising vehicle/objet d'art... And for a year or two I've had this idea that I needed to keep them. In all fairness, you can flog these on ebay for a bit of money, but it's not worth accumulating a big stack of them! I'd much rather share this with you. These magazines combine a bit of poetry, some exceptional fashion photography, and a general aesthetic of tranquility and beauty that's hard to match...

Same as before - leave me a comment - I don't care WHERE in the world you are, I'll figure out a way to ship it to you. Thursday night I'll generate a random number and announce the winner.

On ... View the Post

Looking Back: June 15th

2011 - It's an adventure that many of us have experienced: The Voyages of Vivienne - sleeping in airports.

2012 - Most of us would prefer to forget this part of preparing for travel, but I personally feel that the key to travel is to be in good shape, physically fit with some endurance. Yet another good way to coax yourself into the gym!

2013 - Belovedest and I were headed to Toronto for a long weekend, so I showed you my Packing from the 333, with a few essential deviations from the system. ... View the Post

What If I Only Want to Wear Solid Colors?

June 14, 2014

What if you don't WANT to wear printed garments, or scarves? More power to you, and congratulations for knowing what you really prefer! I'm going to recommend some coordinating small solid earrings in semi-precious stones, bracelets in enamel or stone, and solid scarves to keep your ensembles looking "intentional." I'm not sure, but I think this could qualify as a "whatever's clean" wardrobe...

Starting with the dark neutrals we've seen before:

And then the light neutrals:

And some solid neutral tops:

Finally, the accent colors. We haven't seen pastels for a while, so let's go pink and blue!

This is your sixteen-piece wardrobe:

Plenty of ways to pull this together ... View the Post

A Little Bit of Travel Math

June 13, 2014

So this morning when I woke up (late...) I decided, for no apparent reason, to check prices on plane tickets to Paris... (my next trip, in September, is already booked, but I like to see what's available!)Then, just for the sake of comparison, I looked for one amazing personal style purchase that cost almost exactly the same amount:

This is a bag that would last the rest of your life, even if you're a newborn infant...

But Paris... sigh...

These are the kinds of decisions that define our lives.

Love, Janice ... View the Post

Can Anyone Wear Floral Prints?

June 12, 2014

You really can't swing a dead handbag these days without finding racks and racks and RACKS of floral garments, bags and jewelry. Normally, there are always at least some floral items available at any time of the year, but this summer it seems that it's easily the dominant theme. And many of us are wondering if this is something we should consider; is this a trend that's worth pursuing? Good question...

It's important to remember that there are a wide variety of floral prints, and you might want to evaluate the options before you discard the whole idea of flowers. Consider these various views of the "floral" theme:

For many of us, this is what we consider when we think of floral - big, glorious, ... View the Post

A Floral Blouse in A Common Capsule Wardrobe

June 11, 2014 Floral garments are everywhere this summer - any sort of skirt, blouse, tee shirt or dress your heart may desire is out there somewhere... But I receive emails every day asking how a floral garment can be incorporated into The Common Capsule Wardrobe. Let's look at this problem in some detail. First off - the gorgeous blouse with which you fall in love - is it in colors that bear at least a passing resemblance to the rest of your wardrobe? Or does it include a substantial portion of a neutral (or two)? This blouse might be the first glimpse of rose/dark pink that your wardrobe has seen in decades, but at least it has a lot of neutral khaki in it, and enough black details that it can be worn ... View the Post