The Vivienne Files - Page 204 of 262 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Chez nous, we do jigsaw puzzles. Big scary 1000 piece puzzles, mostly of fine paintings.

While Belovedest attacks the border, I always try to grab pieces that seem to be relatively uncommon, and figure out how I can fit them together. In a 1000 piece puzzle, there might be 30 or 40 pieces that are bright red, for example, in a sea of earth tones...

My mistake - every time - is assuming that there will only be ONE red "area" in the entire picture. Accent colors ALWAYS appear multiple times...

So what in the name of joyous happiness does this have to do with getting dressed?

Remember how I'm always encouraging you, when you wear an accent color shirt or blouse, to also include earrings, or socks, or some little ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Turquoise and Navy

September 5, 2013 This first outfit is what got me looking for turquoise - the pieces are all really simple, but the color combination was striking, and the proportion of the long tee shirt, the cropped cardigan, and the modestly longer shorts was both pretty and unique. Once I started to focus on looking for turquoise with navy, I saw it quite a few times!

Tee shirt – Proenza Schouler, navy cardigan – Dorothy Perkins, shorts – Jil Sander, flats- Splendid, dress – Diane von Furstenberg, cardigan – Fedeli, scarf – Hermès, pumps – Trotters

Jeans – 7 for All Mankind, tee shirt – Proenza Schouler, earrings – Barbara Rybarova, canvas shoes – Keds, blouse – ... View the Post

My Dream Wardrobe, Autumn 2013

September 4, 2013

Dream Wardrobe - DONE! I chose my twelve favorite outfits, and then broke out the various pieces into a total wardrobe.I know I want jeans, and I KNOW I want my black turtleneck. Last winter's favorite outfit of the black and white cardigan, black top and skirt, and pearl jewelry is definitely still going to be here. And I've got a new grey dress, that will be amazing with my luscious feather-print scarf from Paris.

My denim shirt is going nowhere! With a velvet skirt and my natural cable sweater, I'll wear it all winter. And my new loves - the skirted leggings - will be great for autumn with a long-sleeved black tee and my asymmetric Eileen Fisher sweater. ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Grey and Teal/Petrol blue

September 3, 2013

Scarf – Hermès, Sweater – Stella McCartney, Corduroy pants – John Lewis, sneakers – Superga, sweater – Paul and Joe, jeans – 7 for All Mankind, scarf – Artillerylane, loafers – Burberry

Dress – Issa, necklace – Alexis Bittar, pumps – Nina , blouse – See by Chloe, labradorite bracelet – Sikara, skirt – Ermanno Scervino, marine blue flats – VC Signature

Tee shirt- Sandwich , scarf – Antagoniste, cropped trousers – Moschino Cheap and Chic, flats-Adrienne Papell, blouse – Damir Doma, earrings – Alexis Bittar, skirt – Marc Jacobs, cardigan – Miu Miu, pumps ... View the Post

Paris – planning again!

September 2, 2013

We're going to be staying at the lovely Hotel des Grandes Hommes (Hotel of the Great Men, NOT Hotel of the Big Guys), which is in the Place du Pantheon. It's the hotel we stayed in on our very first trip to Paris, back in 1995 or so. It's very lovely, and it is impossible to get lost getting back to the hotel because you can see the Pantheon from almost anywhere in Paris. There is, however, that pesky bit about walking uphill at the end of a very long day...

We're delighted to be able to secure a room here, because the first THREE hotels we tried were all booked full. Six months in advance. Gotta plan ahead, eh? This is a neighborhood we know like the back of our hands, and the hotel is only a 10 minute ... View the Post

The ABC’s of Chic Sightings: Well-tailored, Xenophilic, Yourself, Zealous

Once upon a time, I was sitting in the lobby of a temp agency, and overheard a conversation between a very well-qualified applicant and the employment consultant who was about to send the applicant out for an interview.

"Why are the legs of your trousers safety-pinned?"

"I want to wear these pants later with high-heels..."

"Go home and change; I'll try to reschedule your interview."

Was everybody dying to know how I was going to handle the letter X? I've sort of cobbled together a word which is the opposite of xenophobic - frightened of unfamiliar people, places or things. Chic should have about it some sense of embracing the unusual, the different, and the just plain weird. Not necessarily going to work dressed ... View the Post

Dream SPECIFIC Wardrobe Dreams!

What's your dream wardrobe?

Be specific. Imagine that the first cool fall day has arrived (if you're in the Northern Hemisphere), and that you open your closet/armoire/cupboard door and you see it: the Dream Wardrobe.

How many outfits?

What are they? A grey mini-skirt with a grey tunic sweater, grey tights, and silver flats? A simple black wool dress with an amazing paisley scarf and low-heeled black suede pumps? Dream specific dreams.

And then write them down, or draw them...

Now distill these various outfits down to their necessary component parts and pieces.

Now figure out what you already own...

Your shopping list then looks like this:

For me, personally, my autumn purchase plan is the ... View the Post

The Travel Toiletries Test Drive – this is a good time to prepare!

August 29, 2013

I think the hardest part of travelling is getting all of one's toiletries and personal care products sorted out and ready to roll. For years, I would pack a lot of things that I never used, or that I only used a little bit. Finally, I decided that there had to be a better way.So I got all of my products assembled and into their appropriate bags, and starting on the first of the month, I used NOTHING but what I had packed. NOTHING. In fact, I found that this was a particularly good opportunity to sort through all sort of cosmetics and other items that were... languishing... in my bathroom.

I found, after a few weeks, that I had been carrying enough shampoo with me, on every trip, to ... View the Post

Your best color, and a Signature Scarf

Back in the dark ages of the 80's, when I was in graduate school, I worked for a department store. (very un-glamorous, I assure you). This was back when department store inventories were NOT driven by individual "designer" boutiques; we had separate departments for suits, for sportswear, for formal wear etc.

For a while, I worked in the area which sold tee shirts, blouses, shirts and sweaters. We carried at least a dozen styles at any point in time, depending on the season, and each style was available in a couple of dozen "cosmetic" colors. In other words, we always had tops available in every possible shade of coral, peach, plum, pink, berry, cherry, crimson, scarlet or whatever other lipstick-like color you ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Grey and Yellow

August 27, 2013 I saw a couple of these outfits late last winter, and then didn't see the color combination again until this week, where I spotted it a handful of times. This is a great look to collect if yellow flatters you...

Sweater – Jules B., Shorts – Trussardi, sneakers – Superga , sweater – Stella McCartney, jeans – 7 for All Mankind, earrings – Linnie McClarty oxfords – BC Footwear

Sweater – Tom Scott, cropped trousers – Moschino Cheap and Chic, flats-Adrienne Papell, earrings – Dorus Mhor, blouse – Chloe, skirt – Marc Jacobs, cardigan – Miu Miu, Bracelet – Eleanor Bolton

Dress – L’Autre Chose, scarf – ... View the Post

Four pack: Tan, with THREE printed items

August 26, 2013

The travel outfit is always the most important decision when packing a tiny suitcase. In the worst travel outcomes, you can be stuck wearing this outfit for a REALLY long time. Even if everything goes perfectly, this is the outfit in which you arrive - your first impression at the branch office, or the hotel, or with the relatives. As much as I adore textured and patterned cardigans, for the Four Pack, I'd stick with a solid-colored cardigan. This amazingly beautiful sweater might get a lot of action, if the weather proves to be cool, and a solid makes it easier to coordinate other items.

Now you have a variety of choices! This doesn't exhaust the ... View the Post

Sprezzatura!

Learning from Art: Accent Colors