The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

The Vivienne Files - Page 263 of 267 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Extravagance = Economy: All-Clad Slow Cooker

July 14, 2011

 

Slow cookers aren't very glamorous.  If you're like me, you might have memories from the 70's of pallid chickens in watery sauce, or grayish beef...  but this baby is nothing like what you remember.

It's biggest advantage is that it takes the place of a Dutch oven, because the insert is usable on both the stove-top and in the oven.  So you can brown something and then put it on to simmer for about a million years - no more flaccid, creepy beige chicken!

And they're good for lots of other things too - you can start oatmeal before you go to bed and have oatmeal for breakfast.  This alone has revolutionized breakfast in our home; the difference between a bowl of cold cereal and a bowl of oatmeal is ... View the Post

Accessories for the French Chic wardrobe

  One of my dear friends asked how I would accessorize the French Chic wardrobe.  While this is far from definitive, I think it's an interesting start.  

I learn more and more every day as I build these vignettes for our shared pleasure: you should be ABSOLUTELY FANATICALLY DEMANDING when you purchase anything.  There is a world of merchandise out there, and the perfect item exists, if you have the patience and the focus to find it.  Settle for NOTHING LESS THAN PERFECTION.  You deserve it. And if you fully intend to own many of your accessories for the rest of your life, you can easily justify buying the very best item being made today - support geniuses and craftspersons, and beautify the ... View the Post

Heartfelt thanks, and a humble offer…

I was overwhelmed by the kind and supportive comments I received yesterday after I told you all about my recent work debacle.  You have reminded me yet again of how truly kind and generous people can be, and I am humbled by the reassurances you so readily gave me.  I will never forget.

It's a sorry effort to repay you, but many people have indicated an interest in seeing a prototype French Chic wardrobe in different colors, so I'm making a blanket offer:  post a comment with your request regarding a preferred wardrobe, and I will build it and post it here.

Your request can be around just one color, two colors or even three.  You can ask me to use the colors from a favorite painting (I think a Marie Laurencin wardrobe ... View the Post

Vivienne Veto: Dragging Dresses

July 12, 2011

  You don't have to be an urban planner to have a pretty good idea that what might be found on the surface on a sidewalk could be... icky.  And while the dress above is quite lovely in it's "street sweeper" way, given that the model is almost certainly taller than you, you should definitely consider having your maxi dress hemmed to a less overwhelming length before wearing.   Vivienne always freaks out a little bit thinking about the microscopic critters being carried into their hotel.  Of course, shoes also carry in the same sorts of fungus, bacteria, and germs, but it just seems WORSE when it's on your skirt....  And the thought that your new dress is going to start fraying the first day ... View the Post

French Chic: Expanding on the core wardrobe

So as lovely as the garments above are, this is certainly not going to be enough clothing to even get you through a week.  Most of us would want at least five separate tops and bottoms (or a dress) to get through the week.  Even if you wear black pants repeated each week, it's nice to have more than one pair.

Thus, I decided to take it upon myself to determine what additional garments Vivienne would want in order to consider this a complete wardrobe.  Realistically, I think most of us would do this exercise twice - once for cooler weather, and once for the sweltering misery that passes for summer on much of our planet.  But for starters, let's just round out this core wardrobe with a few of the ... View the Post

French Chic: The core of the French Chic wardrobe

  One of the things about the book French Chic (Susan Sommers) which intrigued me was the list of garments which included "The seven essentials no well-dressed Frenchwoman would be without". That list included:

A black straight skirt a V-neck or cardigan sweater a suit a pair of jeans a silk shirt a couple of white tee-shirts an Hermes scarf

The idea of a list of essential clothing fascinates me; in a world that tries to compel me to over-consume, that finite-ness of a list like this, in which I could have some discipline and some structure, seems heaven-sent.  Knowing that I was going to buy a fixed number of garments would give me the freedom to determine how much I wanted to spend, in what areas I ... View the Post

You have a moral obligation to buy expensive clothes!

Lucy Siegle recent released her newest book To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World?   This book is full of chilling statistics, including the following:  

The average British female:

invests in 62 lbs. of clothing each year. has upwards of 20 garments hanging in her wardrobe that she has never worn. owns four times the amount today than she did in 1980. is expected to spend £133,640 ($217,232) in a lifetime on fashion.

When you buy this much clothing, a lot of it has to be made in conditions that are less than salubrious for the factory worker, with environmental standards which may be non-existent.  Pile on a few thousand miles of transporting the garment, and the issues around how that item will ... View the Post

Vivienne Veto: stupid shoes, part two

Unless you've come to Paris to run the marathon, or you have an enduring and severe orthopedic condition, there's NO reason to resort to this type of shoe for sightseeing.  Remember that when you go somewhere to enjoy the people watching, you have an obligation to be "watchable" yourself! Admittedly, these have NOTHING for support.  But they're certainly a step in the right direction. And if you're young enough (or hip enough) to pull these off, they'd be a great option.  Bottom line on Vivienne's ongoing shoe rant:  try to strike a balance between beauty and practicality.  There are literally hundreds of thousands of shoe designs in the world; there is unquestionably something being manufactured (Cole Haan/Nike, ... View the Post

Back to the roots of the Vivienne Files – part 8: Vivienne’s Valise, continued

I've been asked how I managed for almost 6 weeks with the very limited amount of clothing that I took with me on that trip that will live in infamy. I had a plan, believe me!

Just for reference, remember that these are the clothes that I had with me.

For flying, I pretty much always wore jeans, with the black v-neck sweater. Usually I would put either the white tee shirt or the striped tee shirt under the sweater, depending on how warm it was where I was leaving, what the weather would be where I was arriving, and what was clean!

First thing I did in the door of every new hotel in every new city/country was to give some clothing to the in-house laundry. This is always risky, because you never know when someone's going to ... View the Post

Job Hunting details – what seemed to work for me

Someone asked how I managed to get a job so quickly.  (and at my age - 51!)

My best advice has to be to use the LinkedIn website.  Create a complete profile, and ASK PEOPLE TO WRITE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOU!

LinkedIn has an option where you can change your status and be flagged as a job hunter.  It costs $29.95 per month, but it means that headhunters and recruiters can see that you're job hunting, and they can search your profile based on your qualifications or other key words.

When you profile has some recommendations on it, put a link to the profile in your cover letters.  Basically, you're letting people see your recommendations without even having to interview you.  My profile ended up with TWELVE ... View the Post

Vivienne Veto: stupid shoes, part one

It is indeed very warm in Paris during the summer.  And when you're out hiking about all day looking at the beauties that Paris has to offer, you want to stay cool.  And of course there's always that pressure that goes along with the fact that you're in PARIS; you want to look your very best - up to date and stylish.  But SERIOUSLY...

This is the time of year when Vivienne's staff spends quite a bit of time calling doctors to the hotel, or occasionally sending someone off in an ambulance to this hospital, because of shoe-related injuries.  No kidding.  Once a day, at least, right now, they'll have some absolute BIMBO IDIOT stagger into the lobby with a broken heel or torn straps, as well as broken bones and torn ... View the Post