The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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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

A 4 by 4 Wardrobe for a Vacation to Bermuda in March

January 25, 2018  

This is similar to the very recent wardrobe about traveling to Italy, but sufficiently different that I thought it was worth a look...First off, I'm going to take a clue from yesterday's thoughts about accent colors and include some muted, pretty colors with the same navy and beige that we've already used... (navy and beige are on purpose - I'm pretty sure that this reader is a navy/beige person; if I'm wrong, I apologize!)

This is the easiest possible way to dress for travel - a "suit" in your dark neutral, with a contrast blouse, shirt or tee shirt, and a pretty scarf to tie everything together! I'm re-using a lot of the accessories from the earlier post to show how versatile they are... I changed the ... View the Post

How to Focus and Refine a Pretty Good Wardrobe

I am asked this question more frequently than I might have expected - it goes kind of like this: "I really like my wardrobe, for the most part, but I feel like I don't really have a good focus or defined style...."That's tough to address, but I'm going to give it a try!

Let's start with this wardrobe; frankly, it looks pretty nice just like this!

My first thought is to sort all of the clothes by function, to see if maybe our heroine doesn't have enough pants, or needs a couple of tee shirts - that sort of solution would be pretty straightforward! But this wardrobe seems pretty well-balanced for functionality...

My next thought is to see if we can gain some insights into our heroine's preferences by sorting her wardrobe by ... View the Post

Study in Verticals (The Cathedral) by Frantisek Kupka – Start with Art for a Tote Bag Business Travel Capsule

January 12, 2018 She Never Knows...

They send her out for as the mediator for meetings - sometimes between really big, powerful clients - and she never knows what the experience will be...

She tries, when she arrives, to be a forceful but feminine presence, striking a balance between pushing toward a decision and encouraging compromise. It's a narrow line to walk...

So, even though she's going to be there for only 2 or 3 days, she tries to be prepared for any sort of "personality" that she needs to bring to the table...

She tries to travel light, but offer herself a lot of options!

Happily, she finds these adjustments pretty easy, because she's a woman of many facets...

love, Janice ... View the Post

A Colorful Moon by Alain Paillou – Start with Nature to Inspire a Tote Bag Travel Wardrobe

January 10, 2018 Once in a .... She almost didn't pick up the call when it came in; she didn't recognize the number, but something told her that it was important...

It was the Probate Court down in the capital... She needed to come down because she was a beneficiary of her great-aunt's estate...

And - oh yes - there was a check being FedEx'ed to her to offset her expenses. She was planning to take the train down, so she didn't really expect to have expenses...

A REALLY BIG CHECK! With a note from her great-aunt telling her to spend it ALL on herself, and to really be silly about it...

Well okay, if that's what she really wants, I must respect her wishes, right?

If this is the expense money, ... View the Post

Trojan Gates by Helen Frankenthaler – Start with Art for Tote Bag Travel

January 5, 2018 Le Mot Juste* They never give awards to the translator...

Yes, it had been a particularly difficult project...

And as always, she took great pride in putting in the time and effort necessary to find the perfect word - the one that conveyed not just the meaning, but also... the nuance. The subtlety. The suggestions, and hints, and overtones that were apparent in the original language.

That's just the way she is. Others can settle for what falls to hand quickly and easily, for the "it will do fine" way of working. That's not her style...

(a close look at her travel earrings will show you just HOW much she looks for subtleties...)

She was surprised to be invited to the awards dinner; it's a ... View the Post

Paysage de Neige by Renoir – Start with Art to Assemble a Weekend Capsule Wardrobe

January 3, 2018  

It isn't  what you think of when you think of Renoir - which is good! Expanding your horizons is never wrong...

Quiet... She was smitten with the painting from the first time she saw it. Others looked at it and saw cold, or sunshine, or the homes in the distance. She saw peace, quiet, silence... And that's what she craves!

"You know that there won't be anybody there... You'll probably have to eat all of your meals by yourself!"

Oh, she knows....

"I guess you probably got an amazingly good deal on your room - they'll be so grateful that there's anybody there that they'll give you the best room in the hotel dirt cheap..."Why are her friends so obsessed with "anybody?" And is it wrong to ... View the Post

Brown with Blue – Start with a Scarf! Hermes Electrique

December 29, 2017  

Recently, someone asked me to re-visit a post that I did over 5 years ago, in blue and brown...After 5 years, absolutely NOTHING shown in the original post was still available - I know that's not a surprise. So I have recreated the original outfit, and what was packed, as best I could - it's a rough approximation...

The hardest thing was that I could NOT find a trench coat in the same turquoise blue that was used originally, so I've migrated the entire capsule wardrobe into a more "brown and blue" color scheme, starting with a wonderful scarf!

I isolated the colors with which the wardrobe will be built; I didn't really define the style because I'm somewhat duplicating an existing ... 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

Can You Build a Casual Wardrobe from a “Dressy” Work of Art? Water Lilies by Monet

As much as the dressy wardrobe based on Monet's Water Lilies was a lot of fun, most of us don't dress quite like that on a regular basis!

So our heroine, who was so overwhelmed with invitations through the holiday season, decided to build an entire 4 by 4 Wardrobe around her favorite art inspiration, to take her through the rest of the winter...

One day when she was racing around shopping for holiday gifts, she realized that the outfit that she was wearing would fit perfectly into her "dream" color scheme; it has the right colors, as well as a floral watch and scarf, and some very "fluid" earrings:

She had been really organized when she built her holiday party wardrobe, so she thought that staying with a plan would make ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe – How do the “12 Months, 12 Outfits” Wardrobes Do?

December 15, 2017

 

What makes a wardrobe work? And how can you tell if a wardrobe is going to be functional and versatile? Not the headiest questions in life, but still important, if you like to get dressed and enjoy the process (as well as the results!).

Ultimately, your wardrobe works if you can get dressed every day with ease and pleasure. It doesn't matter what's in there, how tidy or messy it is, or how many different colors and/or styles of things you own. It's the most subjective thing in the world...

That said, if you're struggling, I have a few ideas that you might want to consider!

First up, let's start with the black, white, grey and rust wardrobe that I finished up on December 1st:

Since I built more ... View the Post