The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

The Vivienne Files - Page 88 of 262 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of “Passion Flower with Hummingbirds” by Martin Johnson Heade

December 26, 2018

Ah, this most enigmatic of heroines! Her favorite painting is this darkly beautiful wonder:

After studying it's depths and details for a while, she found her signature style and color palette:

Back in January, she took a trip (we don't know where!) for which she planned her travel wardrobe around these colors:

Our mystery heroine traveled again in April, and she again used her signature painting and color palette to inspire her travel wardrobe:

In July, she went into the city for a couple of days, so that she could go to a couple of baseball games! I said that she was enigmatic...

In October she traveled for what we suspected might be romantic motivations...

After all this ... View the Post

Let’s Celebrate the Day with a Look at Paris Holiday Decor!

December 25, 2018

To those of you who celebrate today, I sincerely wish you peace and happiness, today and in the new year. And to all of the rest of us, we can still enjoy the day with our friends who celebrate, and enjoy the beauty that the winter holidays offer to us all!

Paris goes somewhat over the top decorating for Christmas and New Years, and I say HALLELUJAH to that. Chicago feels quite drab in comparison...

The top left photograph below, with the adorable little reindeer, was in the window of a store that sells light bulbs! Yes, bulbs. They used their merchandise nicely to give this window an old-fashioned feeling.

One of the last days that I was in Paris, I found a shop that sells ANY kind of blown glass ornament ... View the Post

Fun Stuff I Saw in Paris

If you've been reading The Vivienne Files for a while, you might have noticed that when I go to Paris, I don't seem to do any of the "normal" things! Nor do I take the normal photographs...

For example, I was amused, and really impressed, to see that a lot of the utility boxes on the streets in Paris were painted with cool, stylized portraits of writers! I'd never heard of Victor Schoelcher - had to look him up... And there was a LOT of attention being paid to Simone Veil - new books about her, re-releases of books by her, etc.

If you come into Paris from the airport in a cab, you will perhaps be startled by how much graffiti there is along the highway. It's all that usual "tagging" kind of thing - big balloon letters spelling out ... View the Post

What They’re Wearing in Paris in December 2018

December 21, 2018

Yes, my trip was lovely...

I made 1 serious miscalculation when I packed - my coat that I wore wasn't quite warm enough! But I knew that Uniqlo carries quite nice long underwear, so I dashed in and grabbed another couple of shirts; that's not really an extravagance when you live in Chicago - I'll be able to use them a lot through the winter.

I had packed the printed top and the black pants to wear as pajamas - they worked out really well. The morning that I left, I had already packed everything except my backpack. I was able to smash my pajamas into a tiny ball and cram them into the bottom of the bag - my toiletries went in on top, and I was good to go!  I had purchased the tights in Chicago before ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of “A Colorful Moon” by Alain Paillou

 

december 19, 2018

Ahhh, our heroine, the heiress... Her favorite image is a really amazing photograph of the surface of the moon:

She has used these colors for years as the inspiration for the colors in her wardrobe - not always easy to find, but she doesn't need to own THAT much...

When we first met her back in January, she had just fielded a call from Probate Court, who needed her to come sign some papers... She was a bit stunned to receive a quite large expense check to cover the cost of her 2 hour train trip!

In April she went to Mexico for a few days, thinking that she would visit at least a couple of towns to consider for her newly possible retirement!

The great-aunt who left her all this money ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of “Dame au Chapeau” by Natalia Gontcharova

December 17, 2018

Ah, this heroine... The unintentionally conspicuous college professor who never seems to fade into the background! That's just the way some people are..

Her favorite painting? This unique beauty:

From this, she was able to derive the most uncommon of color palettes for her wardrobe, as well a few phrases to help her keep focused:

Back in January, she traveled (for reasons we still don't know!) with this very unconventional travel capsule wardrobe:

When she was away for a long weekend at a symposium, she packed the following travel wardrobe. She didn't plan to speak or be on any panels, but I suspect she was called upon to contribute...

She's also been invited to other schools to speak to ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of “Flowers in a Crystal Vase” by Edouard Manet

December 14, 2018

Remember our friend the soil conservation engineer? The woman who is constantly reminding people that the brown stuff in which plants grow is SOIL and not just DIRT...

She's inspired by the potential inherent in healthy soil, the potential for things like flowers! So when she was choosing a theme and focus for her wardrobe, she chose this painting:

She thought about her priorities - softness with brown, feminine and timeless - and she isolated her favorite colors:

In January she got to go to a conference of soil engineers, which was a delightful chance for her to talk to people who deeply and truly understand and share her professional passion.

Her contacts at the conference worked out well - in ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of “Blue” by Kinuko Imai Hoffman

December 12, 2018

This wardrobe might be closer to my own than any blog post I've ever done! My clothes are almost all black and white, which I find very simple and calming. After scrolling through (literally) thousands of scarves, earrings, shoes, and handbags every day when I'm working on The Vivienne Files, some simplicity and clarity is welcome!

Remember our school consultant? She believes that creativity can be subtle - no shouting, no loud colors or garish details for her! Her favorite painting is simple but has a lot of subtle interest:

She maybe didn't even need to condense her ideas into words, nor her color palette into a wheel, but she did so in order to ensure that she is really focused and committed to this idea! ... View the Post

Narcissus! The Birth Flower for December

December 10, 2018

These feel SO out of season right now - I wonder why they are the flower for December? I'm really happy that it isn't poinsettias (!) but I was expecting to find that December's flower was something... wintery?

What this flower does give us is 3 possible accent colors (orange, yellow and white) to brighten up neutrals during these shortest days of the year. (Northern Hemisphere, of course; for those of you south of the Equator, just hold these ideas for a few months!)

There are some lovely pieces of jewelry available with narcissus - or narcissus-ish flowers:

If you would really like to splurge on a brooch in your birth flower, check out the Joseph Giovanni site. They have three different levels of ... View the Post

Packing for Paris – Oddly Stars and Stripes…

December 7, 2018

Every time I'm leaving Chicago, I check my pockets (mentally); if I have my passport, my wallet, and my prescriptions, I figure that I'm good for almost anything!

I then look down at what I'm wearing and wonder what I would do if my luggage were to absolutely, positively, forever disappear...

When I'm going to Florida, I resign myself to probably borrowing clothes from my mother, except for buying some gym clothes and shoes.

But going to Paris? That would be an entirely different story! (yes, I'm leaving Monday, for a week...)

So what if I packed in the same way that I might shop for a few bits, to get me through a week in Paris in December?

First, the very important travel outfit! One must remember - if ... View the Post

Accenting Black with 3 Pantone Spring 2019 Colors

December 5, 2018

Of course I wanted to see how a couple of these colors would look with black! I also really wanted to revisit that cool Turmeric color, so I got a different scarf for that little wardrobe...

First, let's start with the world's simplest 4-piece cluster of clothes - the absolute most neutral, versatile clothes for a holiday season:

With these 4 pieces, our holiday heroine has 4 basic outfits, that she can then use as a base for any kind of scarf, cardigan, jacket...

First up, how will this Jester Red look with black? (seriously, as if we haven't all seen a million red and black outfits...)

The boots really make a difference, if you can manage the "accent shoe" thing...

Any of us who lived ... View the Post