The Vivienne Files - Page 72 of 262 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

I’m SO SORRY, but a Change of Schedule…

Yesterday, I had a colonoscopy. Everything was fine, EXCEPT I had an atrociously bad reaction to the sedative. I won't share the gruesome details....

But normal service on The Vivienne Files will be restored tomorrow, and the Friday post will very possibly not be finished until Saturday.

I didn't expect this; I should have planned for a worst-case scenario! I always assume that I'm bulletproof...

love,

Janice

p.s. The painting of lilacs? My favorite flowers! I'm just trying really HARD to be cheerful... ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 36: Textured, printed or patterned short-sleeved top

March 9, 2020

It's starting to feel (some days!) as if spring is on the way; I'm trying to have my wardrobe primed to go from the first hint of warmth...

A sweater with a bit of sparkle might be a fun little wardrobe update, eh?

As with last week, the only real goal here is to provide an additional "top" that gives you some variety. It's much harder to really find something with texture in warmer weather, but there are always interesting options like stripes, prints or maybe a touch of shine...

Even if it starts to become too warm to wear your silk scarf, you can always continue to build your wardrobe around the colors! (and don't discount the idea of tying your scarf to your handbag...)

Yes, the mint green ... View the Post

Accent a Tan and Brown wardrobe with Sandstone and Amberglow

March 6, 2020

These are the last of those crazy accent colors from Pantone New York Fashion Week 2020/21, along with some restful, timeless warm neutrals... It's the Only Color Palette She's Ever Known...

She has hair the color of the last hot coals in the fireplace... Freckles of a warm caramel brown that look good enough to eat... And dark brown eyes...

Nobody else in her family had coloring ANYTHING like hers, when she was a child. So her mother very wisely just dressed her in the ivory of her skin, the rosy tan of her freckles, the subdued fire of her hair and the grounding darkness of her eyes...

As she grew older, it never occurred to her that there were other colors she might want to wear; she was busy playing, ... View the Post

March 2020 Six Scarves, Twelve Months, Twelve Outfits

March 4, 2020

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to wear a skirt! As the weather begins to flirt with spring, I become more and more eager to take my knees out for an airing...

So for March, I thought I would add skirts to these gradually growing wardrobes. Of course, if you don't wear skirts, you could easily substitute pants, shorts, capris, clam-diggers, etc etc...

Let's get started!

Most of the wardrobes this month are going to see a new neutral skirt and an accent sweater!

Adding an accent sweater to a growing wardrobe gives a fresh new look:

The 2 new garments this month blend in seamlessly, to give our heroine some fresh options:

Ah, THIS scarf screams spring to me...

And I'm finally ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 35: short-sleeved print or patterned top

March 2, 2020

Ah, sitting here in Florida with the sun streaming into my mom's kitchen is the PERFECT time to think about a pretty new top...

Stripes, flowers, tiny little sailboats or lady bugs... They're all cheerful and bring some fun to a disciplined and well-planned wardrobe!

To get started, let's look back at our 6 silk scarves around which we are building wardrobes, and see what tops might be lovely with each of them:

The following six outfits are a gradual evolution from week to week... this week I'm adding sweatshirts to each outfit. I find that I will wear a sweatshirt a LOT if it's clean and close at hand. If you live in a warm climate, keeping 1 in the back seat of the car for shopping or dining might ... View the Post

Accent a Black and White wardrobe with Magenta Purple and Green Sheen

February 28, 2020 She Doesn't Want to Go... to this week-long "professional development" seminar. She's made it clear that she's not the right person to go, and that there are other members of the staff that are MUCH better suited to attend.

Worse yet, the weather there is uncertain, and nobody seems to know how dressy this whole shebang might be...

So she has her own plan... She's going to very quietly do her own thing, in colors that might daunt a less annoyed woman!

She will be perfectly appropriate, and will behave impeccably. But a little bit of acid green from time to time is going to be her way of showing a bit of... ire, shall we say?

She understands that she will, in fact, probably have a great time. ... View the Post

Accent a Bone and Tan wardrobe with Rose Tan and Classic Blue

February 26, 2020

I'm currently in Florida, and the weather is changing every few minutes, it seems! So I thought that I'd share a wardrobe that spans a range of warm-ish weather...

Let's start with some pink!

Some days it's plenty warm enough to go swimming, and other days you definitely want "real" shoes, socks, and a sweater! If you're traveling to a destination like this, you've GOT to plan ahead...

It makes sense that the bone garments will be for the warmest weather...

These last 4 pieces offer a lot more options...

I have a blonde friend (or 10!) who would be beautiful in this wardrobe. These aren't my colors, but I could travel for a long time with this in a bag:

When I started looking at ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 34: short-sleeved neutral shirt

February 24, 2020

I thought that shirts like this would be EVERYWHERE by now... Silly me!

But after I thought for a minute about the overall plan, I realized that any lightweight shirt in which one can roll their sleeves is what we really want. This shirt covers the back of your neck when it gets too sunny, protects you from vicious air conditioning, and covers anything that you'd like to keep under wraps! (these shirt can make great swimsuit coverups...)

First up, remember our 6 scarves? There are, of course, nice summery shirts that are perfect with these scarves:

A shirt like this is perfect is you work in 1 of those "no shirts above the elbow" environments (I promise you, they exist!), but you want to go ... View the Post

Accent a Navy and Gray wardrobe with Fire Brick & Peach Nougat

February 21, 2020

This next mix of colors is interesting - the brick, navy and grey could come together in a pretty conservative wardrobe, but the addition of the peach changes the whole feel of things!

Here's where I broke down and added a simple white top - I was struggling to find a really nice item in this color, and I just began to think that we might need a break from colors! Sometimes?

I kept the same navy clothes - partially just to show how versatile simple garments can be when you mix them with accessories and accent pieces! I changed the scarf though; I couldn't believe how hard it was to find a burgundy and navy scarf. This coming autumn, in the Men's Department... That's where they'll be!

And gray, or ... View the Post

Accent a Navy and Stone wardrobe with Ultramarine Green & Samba

February 19, 2020

I thought that I'd try something slightly different with these most recent Pantone colors; start with a "2-Neutral" wardrobe base, and then add in 2 of the accent colors to pull together a 4 by 4 Wardrobe...

My theory (correct me if I'm wrong!) is that most of us have 2 neutrals in our wardrobes, and would like to have more than 1 accent color.

The only hesitation I have here is that there's no light neutral tee shirt or top; I'd be tempted to toss in a simple white tee and white button-front shirt into this wardrobe too!

Let's see how this works...

First up, the accent pieces in Samba:

A different heroine might want a red dress - why not? But this heroine is working now 3 days a week in an office ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 33: dark neutral lightweight cardigan

February 17, 2020

I always find it a real milestone into warmer weather when I swap out wool or cashmere sweaters for something in silk, cotton or linen! It's the baby steps that add up to a change of season...

As usual, I want to share with you what I have in mind when I'm choosing these sweaters. I know that some of you really DON'T like sweaters that are just open in the front, so you can of course substitute a buttoned sweater in your wardrobe!

Before I show you some outfits, I thought I'd visit the 6 scarves that are part of our growing "One Outfit per Month" series, along with the cardigan that seems to be best suited for that scarf. (wait 'til we get to accent colors!!!!!)

First up - my favorite black and ... View the Post

Revisiting A Start with Art: Winter Scene in Moonlight by Henry Farrer

February 14, 2020

A couple of my friends have asked me to revisit this color palette for spring and early summer - that transition time of year! It's not quite right for this snowy day in Chicago, but it's a beautiful daydream...

We first saw this heroine when she went on vacation at the farmhouse, in the dead of winter! Her wardrobe was then expanded into a true 16-piece "Four by Four" wardrobe. And THEN, our heroine added on some essential accessories to make this a more complete winter wardrobe...

Now, the weather is warming up at the farm - the tenant farming the land told her that she was seeing crocus and some daffodil sprouts! She's got to go up and investigate.

This is the painting that inspires her color ... View the Post