The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Daffodils – the Birth Flower for March! How perfect…

After watching the Six Nations rugby yesterday, and seeing daffodil hats, and lots of daffodils pinned to coats, it seemed only perfect that today we look at them as the March birth flower...(Daffodil Days are a Cancer Society fund-raiser...)

For many of us, yellow feels like an inherently difficult color, but never discount the impact (and the fun!) that you could have with a yellow pedicure, or yellow sandals... but you can always wear the image of the daffodil in silver - no worries about unflattering yellow!

And I'm convinced that the flower in the middle of that very bright scarf is a narcissus...

Disclaimer - Yes, I'm using the same pants and shoes for most of these outfits. This is NOT because I'm bone-deep lazy (although ... View the Post

Adding Just Enough Accessories

February 21, 2018   Yesterday she managed to wrestle her wardrobe into shape, so today she want to be certain that she has enough accessories. She's not mad about having tons of stuff, but it is pretty important to have at least some appropriate shoes! Her color palette looked like this when she was finished:

She thought for a bit, and chose gold as the metal color for her jewelry (maybe just for this season - who knows?)

And she's going to rely a bit on navy as a "cooling" influence on her wardrobe, as she moves away from those warm olive-ish greens that made her feel drab. So she drafted a 2nd color palette, like this:

Now that her colors are all settled, she things for a minute about what she's going to look for in ... View the Post

What If I Don’t Really DO Accessories?

February 8, 2018  

Some people just don't wear a lot of jewelry; they don't want to collect handbags, nor shoes, and they find one scarf suits them quite well...(okay, they're nuts...)

Actually, that's their right. Of course it is! But it does suggest that they're going to want to plan a bit to make certain that they have what they want and need when they get dressed.

Let's start where we were yesterday, with this nicely tidied leisure wardrobe:

When we finished this wardrobe yesterday, we had a lovely color palette for our heroine's clothing. Working from that, we can easily devise a corresponding palette for her accessories - add a choice of metal (if you're not going to have a lot of jewelry, what you do have can ... View the Post

How do I Know That I Have Enough Accessories?

February 6, 2018

Our heroine ended yesterday's adventure with a color scheme that felt right, and a spring capsule wardrobe that she found really comfortable; it gave her great pleasure, every time she opened her closet door...

But she still needs to wear shoes! And carry a bag. And maybe wear some earrings, or a bracelet, from time to time. How to plan THAT?

Well, I pondered this for a while, and I think that she should think about what outfits she's going to wear, from her wardrobe, and then make certain that she has the accessories that are right for each of those outfits. What else would she want, if she knew that she had a dozen outfits ready to go?

To keep choices balanced, I'm going to see if I can fill in this ... View the Post

Ultraviolet? or is it ultra violet?

January 29, 2018

 

I have to admit my age; when I hear the word (or words) Ultra Violet, I think of her...

She was the only one of Andy Warhol's gang of friends to really capture my imagination...

But of course ultraviolet - is it all one word?, with no capitalization - is the "color of the year" for 2018! Which usually means that you can't find a garment in that color for love nor money... but this year, the always lovely Eileen Fisher came through!

I could be VERY tempted by that dress... and if the idea of a deep red appeals, the tunic and the dress are available in "claret," as well as muted teal and a lovely electric blue...

But back to my practical thinking - how might one actually WEAR this color with ... View the Post

What Accessories do I Want for a Trip to Bermuda?

January 26, 2018  

Not just a trip to Bermuda, but a trip in March, when the weather is still cool, and the crowds aren't pressing...We're working with this color palette:

And these are the accessories that our heroine has already chosen to pack for her romantic get-away...

And this is her wardrobe that she's planning to have with her - 3 pieces to wear and a lucky 13 to pack:

Here's the accessories that she has included with her two core outfits... With the exception of shoes, she could of course travel with just these pieces and manage just fine. But in the interests of fun, let's expand her options...Please note that I'm not suggesting that this is going to be all of the accessories that one owns - unless ... View the Post

What Accessories Should One Pack for an Italian Vacation?

On Friday, I pulled together a wardrobe for one of you who has a fun trip planned with adult children:

This was the color scheme with which I was working:

There are already some accessories in her wardrobe...

So let's start with my new template for accessories, and plug in the pieces that we already have:

For me, earrings are VERY important - I'm choosing an accent pair in aqua, and then a really simple pair of gold studs that can be worn for days without thought... Similarly, both an accent striped bracelet and some classic gold bangles are being added to her accessory wardrobe...

I ALWAYS believe in a good brooch! And necklaces don't take up much space, but can really change the feeling of an ... View the Post

Can You Plan Your Accessory Wardrobe? Madame Paul Escudier by John Singer Sargeant

December 28, 2017  

Our heroine from yesterday has a tidy and very well-planned wardrobe, after her few additions to what she used for business travel. But she's in pretty serious need of some accessories, I'd say!First off, let's remember what her inspiration is for her wardrobe:

Our heroine finally got her well-deserved (and long overdue!) promotion, and picked up a few more garments to finish up her wardrobe. She's going to be traveling a LOT...

But she didn't buy anything BUT garments - no more shoes, scarves, nor jewelry. That's just not fun!

Although she's made her reputation at work for her empathy and her ability to provide coaching and correction in a warm and constructive manner, she is at heart also a ... View the Post

Accessories Can Make ALL the Difference! Monet Water Lilies…

December 26, 2017

Our heroine has this lovely wardrobe...

But she's really going to need some accessories! She already has 1 scarf, but because so MUCH of this wardrobe is solid navy, more than 1 scarf can come in handy...

Please understand that any (or ALL) of the accessory suggestions that I make would be great with this wardrobe - this isn't some sort of "guess the "best" accessory" game... I personally could easily make a case for this heroine to own at least a handful of scarves!

I wanted a pretty, floral pendant for her now - something that echoed both the floral motifs of her original painting, and also had a "water-ish" feeling. (no, that's not really a word, but you know what I mean...)

And a bracelet - I ... View the Post

Essential Accessories for a Pretty but Casual Wardrobe: Start with a Scarf – Vintage Rose by KathKath

December 13, 2017  

Update - I did NOT go to Paris - a very last-minute fibromyalgia "interlude" suggested that the wiser course was to stay home and try to reschedule. Happily, I have a bunch of blog posts ready for you, so I can still rest for a few days! hugs - Janice When I left this wardrobe last week, the clothing portion was pretty well-organized, with lots of possible combinations, so let's choose some accessories for this heroine!

It seems that the first outfit is always a very simple one that kind of cries out for a necklace or something at the neck...

 

As far as a woman can get with a good briefcase, at some stage she's going to want a handbag instead...

 

I'm not even ... View the Post

Do Accessories Really Make a Difference?

December 4, 2017

I think you already know my answer to this one! But let's revisit the Van Gogh seascape, and the 4 by 4 Wardrobe for cooler weather that we based upon the colors and overall style of that painting:

I didn't actually try to figure out how many outfits are possible from these 16 garments, but I'm pretty comfortable asserting that there are at least a couple dozen... Some will have a "balance" that you like more than others, but it would in theory be really tough to put together an outfit that was completely unacceptable to the general public!

To show how much accessories can add to this wardrobe, I've put together 10 outfits - 2 for each of the "bottoms." I've made the clothes somewhat small, and the ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – December 2017

December 1, 2017

The last month of these wardrobes! Although these outfits might not be exactly what our assorted heroines most need, we're going dressy - just because we can...

There's a world of lovely velvet around this year - take advantage of this chance to stock up! I'm particularly taken with the idea of a black velvet skirt - Lands' End has one that's lovely...

This wardrobe has a unique character - just those few pieces of that rusty color make so much difference!

As always, the new pieces we've added work well with what was already in the closet:

Oh, these pants are SO lovely.... sigh....

This woman has such a distinctive style; is she blonde, you imagine?

The sleeves on this sweater ... View the Post