The Vivienne Files - Page 190 of 267 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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

Start with Flowers: Daffodils

June 10, 2014

Once the "flower-based" color scheme idea is set, there are lots of variations possible. Rather than the purple shades that I used with the delphiniums the other day, I am going to look at daffodils today, and include a couple of shades of yellow. One has to be careful when mixing yellow and black - there's always a danger of looking like a bumblebee, or a Pittsburgh Pirates fan! (not that there's anything wrong with that...)

I always like to start with the core of black clothes - if you look carefully, you can see my favorite "Core of Four" showing up here. While a solid black outfit seems boring in the midst of all of this color, it might be needed for evenings or a serious business ... View the Post

The Monday Morning Giveaway #2: Hot Tips by Frances Patiky Stein

Any book that recommends this kind of travel wardrobe is going to be a fun read! Today I'm parting with one of my copies of Hot Tips - in paperback, with the iconic Gia Carangi cover. (it was her only book cover, and some big fans of her absolutely covet this photograph...)

As with so many of the style books written in the 80's, this one is a combination of timeless advice and laughably dated ideas. This is entirely illustrated with pencil sketches that aren't terribly dated, and which in many cases make it clear that a timeless garment from this era could still be chic.

Just leave me a comment - anonymous is fine - and Thursday I'll draw a random number and let you know who the winner is. I'll keep you ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Flowers: Delphiniums

June 7, 2014

I think these are delphiniums, but of course I live in the middle of a city, so my floral knowledge isn't exactly top-drawer! If you can give me a better identification on these flowers (photo taken in the Duke Gardens in Durham, North Carolina) send me a note or leave a comment and I'll update things...For this photograph, I imagined that someone has to go on a business trip, but they're going to be able to arrive early, and maybe stay a few days extra, so this is a dual-purpose travel capsule wardrobe.

These are the high-contrast colors that I chose:

For a couple of days of sight-seeing before the meetings have to begin.

Peplum top – Alexander McQueen, black ... View the Post

Who Won “French Chic”? And a great quote…

June 6, 2014

I've spent a lot of my life hanging around statistics; I used to teach people from around the world how to use Excel, and to use statistical data in market research. So I was dumbfounded when I used my random number generator...

and the answer was THIS:

Proof that it was truly random - unexpected by anybody!

Yep, everybody's favorite lovely Pam, from Over 50 Feeling 40.

Who wouldn't love this face?

And I've held onto my copy of "The Lost Art of Dress" by Linda Przybyszewski, for a while, and in re-browsing it I found this gem:

"Like home economics, dressmaking is a traditionally womanly endeavor that can explode gender stereotypes. Scientists say that the average man has a better capacity to ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Black and White Hermes

June 5, 2014

It was a great question - thanks for sending it on - "I want an Hermes scarf in black and white, but there are SO MANY of them - how do I choose?"

Note that she also let me know that she's pretty committed to a strict black and white wardrobe...

I've chosen these six scarves to use as our possible purchases. I strongly encourage you to click through and admire the details on these scarves if you have the time. There's a reason that these scarves are so terribly expensive - they are exquisite.

For illustrative purposes, I'm going to use a couple of simple outfits - a very neutral black dress, and a white silk blouse and black silk pants.

The first scarf, Fleurs et Papillons de Tissus, ... View the Post

Start with Art: Lucy Hessel at the Seashore by Edouard Vuillard

June 4, 2014 My readers have the very best taste; this painting was sent to me to consider for a "Start With Art", and I thought the colors were so beautiful!The mood of this painting - languid, soft, dreamy, relaxed - made me think of a honeymoon, or a second honeymoon...

These were my color choices:

If you wanted to pack for a second honeymoon, you could certainly do worse than this!

As always, a well-chosen handful of outfits selected with a unifying theme will give you lots of options.

love, Janice ... View the Post

Start with Flowers: Cherry Blossoms

June 3, 2014

In an otherwise extremely unremarkable outdoor mall, we found this lovely tree (proving that if you look for beauty, you WILL find it):

I'm pretty certain it was an ornamental cherry tree - I'll check back later this summer to see if, in fact, it produces cherries! But what really caught my eye was the juxtaposition of the grey/taupe of the tree bark, and the surrounding pavement, with the green, white and yellow of the flowers. So (you know me) I thought of color schemes for travel and summer...

Lots of lovely options available here! If you have some nice floral photographs, send them on - [email protected]. I'll do what I ... View the Post

The Monday Morning Give-Away #1: The Original French Chic book by Susan Sommers

June 2, 2014

I know I said I wasn't going to post on Mondays, but I think for the next few weeks I'm going to post some things that I want to give away to one of you. (somehow, I managed to have two copies of this book...)

Please leave me a comment (you can definitely comment Anonymously, but make sure you say something sufficiently memorable so that we'll know which "Anonymous" you are - blatant flattery and praise for The Vivienne Files would be great.... ahem....) and by end of day Wednesday, I'll count the comments, generate a random number, and announce Thursday who the lucky recipient will be.

If you've never read the book, it's a hysterical combination of timeless advice and ridiculously dated photographs. I still ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Bright Summer Accent

May 31, 2014

Some of us aren't going to be wearing white all summer long, nor will pastel accessories work really well for everybody. So I'm going to revisit the idea of buying a summer scarf, but this time working with a base of navy linen clothes... The idea of picking up a couple of bright accessories to update my summer wardrobe is very tempting!These are the scarves:

Red Cayenne linen blend scarf – Halogen, Blue Blithe linen blend scarf – Halogen, turquoise gem linen scarf – Halogen, gold shine linen blend scarf – Halogen, pink cyclamen linen blend scarf – Halogen, blue royal linen blend scarf - Halogen And the simple navy garments:

Top – Hobbs, shorts – Dorothy Perkins, dress – ... View the Post