The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

The Vivienne Files - Page 210 of 268 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

An interesting juxtaposition of timeless and trendy

September 11, 2013

So yesterday, I spent the afternoon with Slim, at an auction house here in Chicago.  They were having an extensive sale of Vintage Couture and Accessories - Vintage, using the term loosely...  Specifically, we wanted to see if it was within budget to bid on either of these two:

Turned out that things went a bit too rich for our budgets, but the contrast between the things we saw at the auction, and the contents of my email inbox when I got back to my desk, was striking:

There's nothing particularly wrong with thinking about next year's colors - if you're in the fashion industry.  But the difference between clothes that were impossible to date, and the implied "temporary-ness" of the lists of ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Fall Accent 2013: Turbulence

September 9, 2013   I've had lots of questions about the Pantone Autumn/Winter 2013 colors, and how to integrate them into a wardrobe, so I'm going to show a series of posts that might give you some ideas, or some help.     I'm starting with Turbulence, because it's easy to work with, since it's more of a neutral than a bright accent...  

 

Next, just for working purposes, I'll start with a very neutral wardrobe; 10 pieces that might be in almost anybody's wardrobe, are readily available, and easily combined with other items.

  Just off the top of my head, there are a dozen easy outfits added to your wardrobe.  Realistically, there are a lot more ... View the Post

Learning from Art: Accent Colors

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