The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

The Vivienne Files - Page 24 of 264 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Year 2! Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Kokuu – Grain Rain

April 26, 2023

Why yes, 2 seasons in 3 days! It's sort of like living in Chicago...

(at least if you live with me, where being forgetful is a way of life!)

Given the scattered and disorganized way I'm living these days, I thought that a really simple, comprehensive little cluster of clothes might be something useful for me; I could open my closet and find clothes that I can wear for anything from warm to reasonably cold...

It's kind of like the stress dressing that I've addressed in the past; having enough ready any time, just in case you're suddenly invited out to lunch, or for a walk, or for a meeting with your tax preparer! (THAT is stress...)

If the weather is cool, a shirt, sweater, pants and closed ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Seimei – Clear and Bright

April 24, 2023

Why yes, I've completely lost track of time; you should HEAR what I did to my mother, getting confused about an appointment and wandering around the city for HOURS... Sigh...

But let's visit this season, literally a day before I get to THE NEXT season. It's a good thing that I work for myself, eh?

Here in Chicago, we're betwixt and between - some VERY warm days were followed immediately by snow... It's hard to know what one will need from week to week...

But I think that (once your warm weather clothes are sorted through and ready to go) many of us might be wise to purchase just ONE complete outfit to wear through the spring and summer. 

After you've taken a good hard look at what you DO have ... View the Post

Wardrobe of the Week: April 16 – 22, 2023

April 23, 2023

A week that started out warm, and then veered right back into the "it might snow" temperatures overnight. So right now, I'm living with a wardrobe full of "man I need to iron!" summer clothes, and all of my favorite winter clothes too!

I'm discovering more and more that, since I wore the Wool& dress for 100 days, my need to constantly change outfits from day to day has diminished substantially. My social life is mostly limited to everybody here in my building (that's a LOT of people...), and they don't seem to care what I'm wearing. 

As it should be!

love

Janice

p.s. I think I'm going to try to aggregate all of the cold-weather clothes that I've worn since I started the Wardrobe of the Week - I'm ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet: Classic Lynx Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

April 21, 2023

Ah, the timeless beauty of pink and navy!

I think these colors are timeless and flattering to most of us too!

The Big Challenge She never knows if it will be nice and toasty warm or damp and nippy...

So she brings her swimsuits, as well as long underwear for sleeping! Best be ready for a range of temperatures...

And for non-aquatic activities, she packs this:

One really doesn't need to pack a ton of things for a weekend; you need to get dressed on Saturday and Sunday, and maybe Monday if you're really stretching your time off!

The cardigan and long pants make almost everything else in her wardrobe useful, even on cold days! Warm socks are never wrong, too!

So she has choices, warm or ... View the Post

Version 2: Start With a Scarf – Safari Square by Beatrice von Tresckow

April 19, 2023

Let's do this again, only differently!

Some different accent colors, and navy as our neutral!

She doesn't make it up to the lake EVERY weekend of the warm weather, but she is probably there at least 2 out of 3...

For no good reason she can offer to anyone, she wants to wear navy this weekend!

This wardrobe is exactly the same size as her wardrobe from Monday, but it's also entirely different! What fun...

If you like blue, this should be appealing:

As with her earlier weekend wardrobe, our heroine has plenty of options for a 3 day break...

Eventually, our heroine is going to take a couple of weeks off; maybe combining her 2 "long weekend" wardrobes will work for that?

We shall ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Safari Square silk scarf by Beatrice von Tresckow

April 17, 2023

This will brighten up your summer!

And how many accent colors could one find here? I'm starting with these 3, but I'm not finished with this scarf...

It's not that long a drive up to the beach house...

But once you're off the main highway, it seems like a different world...

Our heroine is fearless in the face of dirty clothes - she wants to wear white in the summer, and so she shall!

It's a wardrobe that strikes terror in the hearts of those of us who are messy, but she's so happy with this:

She has plenty of outfits to get through a long weekend, although if it gets TOO cold, she might find herself in a pickle...

It was over 80 here yesterday; tomorrow it's supposed to ... View the Post

Start with Art: Lake Geneva with Mont-Blanc at Dawn by Ferdinand Hodler

April 14, 2023

Isn't this lovely?

I'm realizing that it's entirely possible to use a painting (or any other image or object, frankly) as inspiration for a wardrobe even if that image doesn't include your core neutral!

I know, I should have realized this years ago...

Here's how I'm showing this; note the navy outlines in the color wheel...

Frankly, this wardrobe only includes 3 navy pieces out of the 9 total - that's a small number of neutral garments!

And this wardrobe only has a pair of jeans and a pair of shorts for bottoms; this is a heroine who's going to be spending a lot of time in her swimwear, so this works out for weekends...

But first, she has to drive up to the lake!

If you like sweater vests, ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Spring Blossom by Valerius de Saedeleer

April 12, 2023

The last of the "beige-based" wardrobes - and probably my favorite! (of course, this is the only wardrobe with any black in it...)

This is the wardrobe for our last heroine; she has a lot of beige, but her accent colors are unusual, and make quite a statement!

I suspect that this heroine will also find herself with a few pairs of colorful sandals!

Even though our heroine only has 2 black garments, I think that black sandals make sense for her; they bring a real balance to a simple outfit like this:

If you love lime green, indulge in some peridot jewelry too! You'll have it forever...

Floral earrings with a floral top seems nice to me; keep the rest of the outfit nicely muted...

Of ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Drei Häuser By Paul Klee

April 10, 2023

I really love this painting - it seems so simple, but the more you look at it, the more the colors make themselves clear and distinct...

You may remember that this heroine assembled this wardrobe for the eventual arrival of warmer weather:

I haven't yet thought of a better way to add accessories than to go through a wardrobe and put together a bunch of outfits, and then make sure that each outfit can be dressed up (or down, I suppose?) appropriately. I don't think that there's a rigid checklist of accessories that everyone should own - some women don't wear jewelry, some don't wear scarves, some don't carry a handbag... You get the idea!

I enjoyed this - these colors are beautiful and ... View the Post

The Mailing List saga….

April 7, 2023

I lost my ATM card. Everything that was being paid automatically from that account shut down. Some things came back to life immediately; some did not.

The mailing list was recalcitrant, and is still behaving badly. 

I think it is fixed, but if you don't hear from me on Monday, leave a comment; there will DEFINITELY be a post at 2:15 a.m. Central Time on Monday...

Sorry for the weirdness!

Sharing a favorite photograph with you...

love, Janice ... View the Post