The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

The Vivienne Files - Page 209 of 262 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Packing for a Special Event, Urban Setting, Autumn

I get tons of questions about how to pack for various special occasions - weddings, graduations, etc. To me, this sounds like the perfect time to break out a really wonderful dress.  Nothing flouncy or bright or conspicuous - that wouldn't be comfortable, at least for me.  But something with an amazing cut, in luxurious fabric... Coupled with a drop-dead spectacular coat...   In fact, the whole trip could be an excuse to pick up a handful of the most beautiful garments: a wonderful sweater, along with the perfect jeans, another more casual but still exquisite dress, and a show-stopping skirt, along with a couple of blouses.   While grey might not be your cup of tea, many of us could travel a long, long time with just ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Navy and Green

July 24, 2013   Navy and green summer outfits - some for quite warm weather, and others that I saw in the more spring-like transitional coolness a couple of week ago.  All of them were fresh, pretty, and stood out in the crowd.  

  I don't know if anybody noticed, but if you liked the way these colors looks,replicated a few of these outfits in your own wardrobe, and were a little bit rigorous in  sticking to one shade of green, you'd have a pretty nifty capsule wardrobe, or a pretty organized suitcase full of clothes:  

    love,

Janice ... View the Post

The ABC’s of Chic Sightings – Appropriate, Balanced, Comfortable

Lots of people ask me how I choose a Chic Sighting - and I don't really do any choosing - they just happen!  But I've devoted a lot of thought to what makes (or breaks) a Chic Sighting, and in my typically orderly fashion, I've tried to assign my observations to an alphabetic analysis.

First are foremost, you have to be appropriately dressed for your environment, both physically (the weather), and socially (no strapless dresses at rugby matches).  No matter how stunning your little dress and sandals might be, if it's SNOWING and you're just wearing a dress and sandals, you are not a Chic Sighting.

Balance is an elusive concept, but the absence of balance seems to show either dubious taste, or a lack of planning. ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Black with Metallic Accessories

June 21, 2013

There were lots of black dresses on the streets of Chicago yesterday, and lots of all-black outfits. But a few really stood out from the crowd by virtual of their carefully chosen metallic accessories. From the young lady in the spikey necklace and woven flats to the executive with her Ferragamo shoes and bag, (and great silver sunglasses), black and silver caught the eye.

The first woman I saw who really got me noticing the all-black outfits with metallics was wearing a simple sleeveless top with shorts, but her accessories really elevated what might have been a very stark outfit. Right behind her was a lovely person in a sleeveless dress with gold flower jewelry - uncluttered, but very charming.

In the Loop, ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky by Emily Carr

June 20, 2013

  So very simple.  Tall, austere, lean, yet radiant. Vertical is balanced with the striations of the sky. Soft, cloudy, stormy around the edges, luminous throughout.  A lifetime of personal style inspiration could easily come from this...   A stunning dress, with simple earrings, pumps, and a structured bag.  A casual tee shirt dress, with shoes and a necklace that echo the sky in our inspirational painting.  

A cloudy grey coat, with soft suede boots and a stormy sky scarf, or a lacy dress with some dark accents, a soft and flowing wrap, and skylit shoes.  Even the earrings are lacy!

 

Another sleek dress with simple silvery accessories, or maybe a ... View the Post

Shopping and dining in Toronto

June 19, 2013   I experienced a sunscreen breakdown while we were in Toronto; I believe one of my temperature irregularities is to blame - too much blotting of the radiant visage lead to loss of sunscreen, and now I'm sporting some freckles.  While cute, they are indeed a sign of sun damage...  

  So when we walked past Goorin, it seemed obvious that I'd best hasten in there and get myself a good sunhat.  The above lovely critter is now sitting on my desk.  The fact that it has Bogart in the name is just a bonus (I adore Humphrey...); it's a great hat, fits perfectly, and shades me exactly as I needed.   The weather in Toronto was a bit warmer than we had been promised by the weather ... View the Post

Toronto – how I got it all packed

We're back!  And Toronto was wonderful - what a great, vibrant, busy, diverse city.  We will definitely go back, and I have much more to share with you about this trip.   But I received a lot of questions about how I packed - so I've got snapshots of the process!  

The bag - empty.  Those are my ghastly workout shoes next to the bag, so you can see how small the bag actually is.  This is the Tumi Riggs carry-on - no wheels.  I didn't even realized that they MADE one with wheels...  Maybe Tumi should give me one of those, eh?

There's about 30% of my packing capacity already -  my shoes "bumpered" on the sides of my bag, and my pajamas rolled up and slid in between the shoes. ... View the Post

Signature: The same necklace, every day

June 17, 2013  

Among the many perks of blogging full time, I think the best so far is that I get to spend much more time with Belovedest. Particularly fun is either walking to his office with him in the morning, or walking over to meet him after work and then walking home together.  In doing this, I get to see literally thousands of women, every day, either going to or leaving their workplaces.One woman, who either lives or works very near to our home, wear the same coral, turquoise and gold necklace EVERY day.  After I saw her the third time, I mentioned to her - in passing- that I recognized her necklace, and that it seems to be a favorite.  Her reply, with a very moving and wistful smile: "I wear it every day; ... View the Post

Packing from the 333 Capsule Wardrobe, with a few essential deviations from the system

Belovedest and I are off to Toronto for a long weekend of rugby and rest.  I packed pretty easily from the Project 333, except I had to jump ship for the rugby match - nothing but jeans and a jersey will really be appropriate!So I hauled everything out and assembled it on my nifty hanging rack:

The obnoxious plaid thing is my pajamas... Far left is my black jacket - I might wear it on the plane, or pack it, depending on what the weather does.   Then you can see my jeans, and my rugby jersey, and then my sweaters and scarves, tee shirts, and pants.

Everything lays out like this:

  It is quite a bit more clothing that I would normally pack for 3 nights, but the rugby match requires very special garments, and the way ... View the Post

Six accessory “families” – groups of accessories that share an aesthetic DNA

June 14, 2013   Many people asked to see more groupings of accessories- including a scarf and a cardigan - in order to better understand the possibilities inherent in this idea.  When I choose these accessories, I don't necessarily match the colors exactly, or make sure that everything has a "theme" to it (like flowers, or dots, or stripes).  I'm going more for an elusive sensibility - the idea that all of these things could easily belong to the same woman.  To me, that seems like the most logical criteria of all for assembling any  wardrobe, or a wardrobe of accessories.  

 

 

 

 

 

  I always feel that thinking of accessories and ... View the Post

One outfit, six different scarves

June 13, 2013  

It's tempting to starting thinking of each scarf as being "married" to (or at least going steady with) a particular outfit that you own, and moreover, to always reach for the same scarf when you put on a favorite outfit.  I do this often, and I'm trying to break out of this habit, and shake up my scarf/clothing combos a little bit.  So I took one outfit that I wear a lot  (this sweater is linen, so it can be worn through all but the hottest summer months) and tried to see how it would pair up with a variety of scarves.I show Hermes scarves here, but PLEASE bear in mind that this exercise is true of any scarves you own.  Vintage from a thrift store, hand-crafted from a street fair, or heritage ... View the Post

Your Closet >Your Favorite Store

There's one place in all the world where all of the clothes were selected just for you.

They are all your size.

They are all your favorite colors.

They are all the cuts and shapes that flatter you most.

This place has the perfect accessory - the right earring, the ideal scarf, the shoes (in your size!) that complement the outfit to perfection...

This place is, of course, your closet.  If it's NOT like this, you have clear-cut goals to achieve.

And if it IS like this, why are you still out wandering around aimlessly, blindly, in stores that just don't measure up to what you've already accomplished, all on your own? ... View the Post