The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

The Vivienne Files - Page 33 of 262 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Part 1 October 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

October 3, 2022

Time to augment these wardrobes in some intelligent way!

If you build a wardrobe outfit by outfit, you'll eventually reach a point where you have plenty of "bottoms" but not really enough tops. Since tops are more memorable, usually need to be laundered more often, and provide more of the visual interest of your outfits, it's normal for most of us to have 2 tops (at least) for each bottom. Additionally, I like to have almost as many 2nd layers as I have bottoms.

Your feeling about this can certainly be different! But for our heroines, this is a month to stock up on things for above the waist:

I debated with myself about including the Fair Isle sweater here. It doesn't really perfectly match the brown of our ... View the Post

1 Dress 100 Days: Days 30 and 31

October 1, 2022

I just got to type the word October! Hallelujah!!!

Yesterday, we road-tripped west a couple of hours to visit a LOVELY area call A Better Place Forest. It's for interring cremation remains - under trees! Brilliant...

And today, I'm mostly working. I will probably go out and wheel my mom around someplace pretty, when I get some things done... (chambray shirt is UNDER my magic dress today)

I'm still loving my dress; yesterday in the forest I managed to attract about 100,000 burrs, which I pulled off over a period of hours. No damage done - a quick hand-wash and we're all good!

love,

Janice

 

 

 

p.s. Four years ago, I filled in what were (to me) some pretty big gaps ... View the Post

Five Accent Colors with Winter White and with Beige

September 30, 2022

Why yes, Pantone found additional colors at New York Fashion Week...

Which is fine with me, because I could look at accessories 'til the cows come home! And since I live in the city, that would be forever, right?

Let's start with this classic red; yes, this scarf is an investment. But you could wear it at least once a week during cool weather, for the rest of your life. I'm finding that I have some scarves that 20+ years old, and that I still adore. 

I've chosen ivory (Winter White?) and beige as our wardrobe core colors to "test drive" this batch of accent colors. While I wouldn't wear white pumps in this lifetime, I know a LOT of women who wear them through the year and look just lovely.

And ... View the Post

1 Dress 100 Days: Days 26 and 27

September 28, 2022

I'm sorry - this is the only post I will have today. Being sedated on Monday made it impossible for me to do anything useful or constructive for most of the day! I don't remember ANYTHING before about 8 p.m.... Kind of scary, but everything went well; preventative medicine is an adventure, isn't it?

Two more days wearing my dress, both days with a tee shirt underneath. I do NOT remember getting dressed after my test on Monday; I suspect that putting on tights was not a lot of fun...

love,

Janice

 

 

  ... View the Post

Four Accent Colors with Charcoal Grey, and 1 with Navy Blue

September 26, 2022

Let's take a look at the second five "London Fashion Week" colors, as shared with us by Pantone...

You probably remember from last week that I showed the first 5 colors as accents to navy blue; I'm going to hold onto that navy for this bright green. It just seems to be the right thing to do!

This is the minimal, core navy wardrobe that I was using:

At least in my eyes, these colors are made for each other. While these outfits feel a lot like spring, let's bear in mind that we dress to flatter ourselves, NOT to match the calendar!

For the last 4 accent colors, I decided to see how they look with charcoal grey. This wee core wardrobe is more casual than the first; what you choose will depend on ... View the Post

1 Dress 100 Days: Days 24 and 25

September 25, 2022

Yesterday, I got my flu shot, so I wore my wool shirt and a scarf over my dress; the pharmacy staff needed easy access to my arm!

And today, I'm prepping for a medical test tomorrow, so I'm just going to nap as much as I can...

Still comfortable, still liking my dress. I'm surprised...

love,

Janice ... View the Post

1 Dress 100 Days: Day 23

September 24, 2022

Yesterday, I spend a HUGE portion of the day sitting at my desk (in The Vivienne Files International Headquarters - aka our bedroom!), catching up on things and working on Monday's blog post.

It's cool in Chicago, and I mostly wanted to wear something soft and cozy - hence I FINALLY have a chance to wear my sweatshirt from 4 Objects. It is a thing of beauty...

love,

Janice

p.s. I'm surprised that I'm not at all bored with this project; I'm actually thinking that my long-term wardrobe could be nothing more than "columns of black" with 2nd layers... So easy!

  ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Shūbun Autumnal Equinox

September 23, 2022

When the days get shorter, I start checking to make certain that I have a nice jacket, as well as the necessary bits and pieces to stay warm!

Today's heroines don't all have heavy, wooly scarves; sometimes a silk scarf is enough!

And all of your colors don't have to match perfectly...

Blue skies and golden leaves...

You're never too old to wear a fun hat and mittens!

And it's never wrong to stock up on navy essentials:

The angle of the sun on autumn afternoons makes everything look better, doesn't it?

If you love pink, wear pink! You don't have to match the trees...

And remember that something as simple as brown buttons can make everything look ... View the Post

Five Accent Colors with Navy

September 21, 2022

As we have come to expect, Pantone "discovered" 10 "new" fashion colors from the London Spring/Summer 2022/23 Fashion Week.

Bizarrely enough, they seem to have arranged them almost like a (weird) rainbow! So to look at these colors as suggestions for wardrobe accents, I'm going to take the first 5 colors and pair them all with a tiny number of navy pieces...

I chose navy because it looks good with all 5 colors - which makes sense. Navy is opposite to orange on the color wheel, and these colors are all on that side of the wheel!

It sounds strange, but it seems to work...

First up - how often are you looking for something in a true, "not blue, not yellowish" red color, and everything you see is really on ... View the Post