The Vivienne Files - Page 96 of 267 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Shallow Deep by Wassily Kandinsky Revisited for Autumn 2018

October 12, 2018

Remember this heroine - the intrepid teacher who took 20 of her 6th grade students to New York City for a few days? She went back to NYC by herself in the spring (and spent quite a bit of time in The Met Shop...) During the summer she applied for, and was interviewed for, a position that would help organize field trips for students all over the state...

Her style inspiration is a whimsical, colorful painting:

So With Her New Job... of course she got the position - who else could begin to understand these projects as well as she does?

She has to travel back and forth between the city where she lives (and where she has an desk in the local offices) and the state capital, where the State Board of Education is ... View the Post

Fonds Marins by Lee Ungno Revisited for Autumn 2018

October 10, 2018

Our retired heroine likes wearing black with pastels - she knows that it makes her iconoclastic, and she loves that! Back in January she took a long weekend trip for which she packed linen shirts, lots of scarves and lots of bracelets. In the spring she took a road trip - she packed a variety of tee shirts that she loved... And during the summer she was invited to a family wedding - her favorite colors worked out just fine (with a little attentive shopping!).

What up with her this fall? You Got WHAT? Yes, her dear friend got season opera tickets - including tickets to the opening night gala!

Before she does a bit of shopping for her weekend, she takes a long, hard look at her inspiration work of art, just to make ... View the Post

L’Oiseau Forestier by Max Ernst Revisited for Autumn 2018

October 8, 2018

Our negotiator heroine was made head of her project back in January, which drove her co-workers absolutely crazy! It didn't get any better when she was chosen to present at the corporate overnight retreat - not that she cared. One of the reasons that she gets these kinds of accolades is because she's good at what she does, and that she's very flexible - she recently attended a function with a client and their union, at which absolutely NOBODY knew what to expect. She didn't flinch...

She's inspired by this lovely painting, and this timeless color palette:

"She's wearing a blazer!"

"Yeah, but it's velvet, so it's not really a serious business outfit..."

"And did you see that her office is all cleaned out? I ... View the Post

Trojan Gates by Helen Frankenthaler – Revisiting for Autumn 2018

October 5, 2018

Our heroine is a translator! She won an award back in the early part of the year, after which she was chosen to translate the autobiography of a very important and elegant Frenchman... Her new gig required her to travel to Paris to meet with the author and to finalize some legal paperwork. She's been hard at work ever since, and she finds this the easier assignment she's ever had; she understand the author's writing on so many levels - not just language, but also the thought and emotion that he conveys...

They've spent HOURS on the phone together, so she wasn't entirely surprised when he suggested that she come back to Paris for another long weekend...

Her autumn wardrobe budget gets tapped-out, but ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a Grey and Pink Perfect 10 Travel Wardrobe

October 3, 2018

Last week I left you with a (what I thought was) lovely wardrobe, but it didn't have any accessories! Well, I was trying to share a new idea about how to choose what to pack, so I didn't want to throw too much out there at one time...

So let's accessorize now!

First, let's remind ourselves of the clothing that we had in this 13-piece (Perfect-10 to pack) wardrobe:

In order to make certain that we have enough accessories, I'm going to take a handful of outfits that I previously assembled, and accessorize them. When it's all collected, we're going to have a few too many pairs of shoes (well, unless you like to pack lots of shoes...) and quite a few handbags. One could of course reuse any or all of the ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – October 2018

October 1, 2018

It's the most fun day of the month, here at The Vivienne Files! Because I'm working on a smaller-than-normal computer monitor, I decided that I was going to make some deliberate wardrobe choices for our heroines, this month. I took a critical look at the various wardrobes, to date, and made some selections for October that fill in some (to me) pretty critical gaps! Let's see how it worked out:

This heroine didn't have a white shirt! To me, that's an easy choice to fill. A simple black cashmere sweater, and tan pants that pick up the color of the border of her scarf make a classic outfit that's perfect as a background for her scarf.

So her overall wardrobe, and accessories, look like this:

One of the ... View the Post

A 10-Piece Packing Plan, and a Wardrobe for a Week in Chicago in the Autumn

September 28, 2018

I'm still out of town, and working on a laptop - if the images here need some work, please let me know!

love,

Janice A 10-Piece Packing Template Let's imagine that our heroine is coming to Chicago for a week, and is planning to pack 10 pieces of clothing. She doesn't necessarily know why, except maybe the idea of having 13 total garments feel about right to her... It's the way she's packed for years, and she has a pretty clear plan!

First, she chooses what she's going to wear for travel. It seems rather monotone, but a pretty scarf makes a lot of difference!

Next, she pulls out her template for the 10 garments to pack:

Because grey has been her wardrobe signature neutral for a long time, and ... View the Post

Marigolds! The Birth Flower for October

September 26, 2018

author's note - I'm working from Florida, on my laptop. Any drop in the quality/resolution of images is a result of that - I apologize profusely! It's quite the change from working on the monster monitor that I have in Chicago... If you see anything egregiously in need of repair, please don't hesitate to let me know. Love, Janice

Marigolds! So bright. So cheery. Such a nice step into fall... I'm a little bit stunned that someone would use them in a fragrance, but I'm not a "nose," so I might easily be missing something, eh?

Many of us might find this a tough color to wear, but remember that you don't necessarily have to have a ton of bright orange/gold in your outfit to pay homage to the flower, or ... View the Post

What Are You Buying for Autumn? I’m All Finished…

September 24, 2018

(yes, I know it's soon to be Spring in the Southern Hemisphere - I'm interested in that too!)

This is difficult for me - I'm not all that comfortable talking about myself! But I think we should all have a deliberate plan for the changing seasons, as far as being prepared in our wardrobes. So I'm sharing my purchases...

I've been gradually picking up things for... six weeks? Maybe longer! As soon as I saw a black and white flannel shirt, I KNEW it was coming home to me. And a new black velvet skirt was imperative - my old one is too big! My rain coat was chosen to see me through those wet but not terribly cold days - I don't have anything truly waterproof that covers the seat of my pants... Other things caught my ... View the Post

A Color Palette for All Seasons? Start with an Earthenware Plaque by John Bennett

September 21, 2018

I saw this at the Art Institute of Chicago last weekend, and was instantly smitten...

Our heroine saw it too, and noted immediately that, even though the colors here are all beautiful together, they also offer a range of possibilities for choosing garments for every season! First, she identified her "overall" color palette:

She then started thinking about what she would choose for autumn, from these colors. All of these colors, in their darker and richer incarnations, are perfect for the approaching cool weather...

She pulled together a perfect outfit without a lot of work... An entire wardrobe capsule in colors from this art wouldn't be tough at all!

With this success fresh in mind, she ... View the Post

Another “Gentle” Project 333 Wardrobe – 30 Garments based on Navy & Grey

September 19, 2018

Our heroine works in an office, where she is the real power behind... well, everything! She works from home part of the time; she only has to go into the office 2, maybe 3 times a week, in order to kick boxes and take names...

So she wants to strike a balance of authoritative, approachable (sometimes), and beautiful (she does have a private life!).

This is her template:

She likes to this of her first cluster as The Navy with a Twist Cluster

Yes, if she was feeling particularly full of beans she would indeed wear the striped tee shirt with the printed skirt!

Next, she wants something a little bit less assertive - something she could wear on Casual Friday. (hers is one of the offices that observes ... View the Post

Project 333 For First-Time Participants – 30 Pieces of Clothing!

September 17, 2018

Lots of us are used to having at least 40 or 50 garments available for the current season, so the idea of limiting all of our clothing AND accessories to 33 pieces seems daunting! But 1 thing that I'm pretty sure the creator of Project 333 would agree with - you should just start somewhere, and move on as you feel comfortable!

Therefore, I decided to build a wardrobe template that includes 30 garments - still fewer than many of us are used to seeing in our closets, but a pretty comfortable number...

When I look at this template, it seems like a huge number of pieces! But once you start pulling items out of your closet, it could fill pretty quickly.

I'm planning this wardrobe more or less on what ... View the Post