capsule wardrobe Archives - Page 21 of 26

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Vase: A Qianlong Vase, and packing for China

July 24, 2015 One of you is taking off soon for a trip to China, and you have asked me for some ideas about what to pack. I did quite a bit of reading about travel to China, and one thing that was stated repeatedly was that it's important not to take too many clothes, because (a) it's extremely easy and inexpensive to get laundry done in China, and (b) there are quite a few non-clothing items that you need to pack, so you want to reserve space for those kinds of items. (OTC medicines etc. - PLEASE do some research before a trip like this, to be certain that you have with you all of the recommended necessities.) Now, for some aesthetic inspiration. Sotheby's assessed this vase at around ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Amethyst by Alfons Mucha

July 22, 2015 I always love Mucha; what an idealistic view of women he had! And a master of colors.... sigh....

Clearly I will have to revisit this painting, because it was almost impossible to find anything in this shade of green.

President of the Association, FINALLY They used to say that no woman would ever be President of your association. Then they said that if you wanted to be President, you had to "man up", and not wear feminine stuff - no pretty colors, no amazing jewelry, no unruly curly hairstyles. You always thought that was nonsense. Members of your profession are able to see past personal style to the essence of competence and character.

So tomorrow you fly ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Coast Road by Fanny Brennan

July 21, 2015 Thanks a ton to the reader who sent this suggestion to me - I wasn't familiar with Fanny Brennan. It's particularly interesting that these paintings are tiny - the size of postcards. Her sense of humor is very appealing!

The colors in this painting are wonderfully striking and clear. I'm going to use black as the base here, but a summer wardrobe using white, with these bright colors would be lovely. And the hills in the distance are colors that suggest shades of denim.... lots of possibilities here.

Going Alone You have planned this trip for a long time. You bought athletic shoes and started walking every evening, after work. Longer and longer, faster and faster. You understand that being in ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: The White and Green Hat by Georgette Agutte

July 17, 2015

How did I make it so far into my life without knowing about Georgette Agutte? She was French, and she painted some really wonderful paintings; I encourage you to look her up. You're going to be seeing more of her on The Vivienne Files, I can promise! Someone suggested this lovely painting - she seems like she would be a kind and gentle friend, doesn't she?

As with most paintings, there are a variety of ways to approach the colors, but I've gone this direction:

"Doesn't she look like Grandma?" Your sister said, and just like that, the whole idea got started... So now, you and your older sister are going on a road trip, starting with ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Version 2, Bright Women in Front of the Hat Shop by August Macke

July 10, 2015 I was going to wait a few weeks to do this for autumn, but I found myself thinking about these colors so much last night that I thought I'd best just go ahead and jump into it! For cooler weather, I swapped out the pink for that strong green, and I darkened all of the colors a bit; I particularly wanted to make sure that the navy on the left of the painting was included, since that's a pivotal neutral for me here.

The last weekend at the lake, for this year As soon as you can escape from work, you're headed to the cabin. There's always work to be done to make sure things are ready for winter, and this may be the last non-snowy weekend you can all get there. So even though you had to wear a suit ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti by Tamara de Lempicka

July 8, 2015 Yesterday, after I worked on Camposanto, I was thinking about the inherent utility of a wardrobe that had a khaki and white core, and how virtually any accent color would work well with those 2 neutrals. And of course, I'm thinking about tossing black into the mix... So in the comments, someone mentions this MOST elegant and compelling painting!

White would also work beautifully here:

In the interest of showing how versatile a simple, solid core of clothing can be, I kept yesterday's Core in camel, or tan, or whatever you wish to name this color.

When looking for the black Core, I tried to find pieces that had some swish to them. Tamara has always looked like ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Carnation Lily Lily Rose by John Singer Sargent

June 30, 2015 Wow! When I asked for paintings, you all came through with some beautiful suggestions... This John Singer Sargent is so lovely...

In the deepest shadows, I saw navy, although on another day, it could be deepest gray, or maybe something else - really good paintings are wonderful in the way they can have so many different aspects over time.

I'm embarking on a 4 by 4 that's particularly challenging: a casual wardrobe in soft and fluid navy and white. So VERY often, navy and white are crisp, and starched, and nicely pressed and snappy - which is pretty great. And I'm sure that at some point earlier in the fictional day, these lovely white dresses were immaculate and pristine, but NOT by this ... View the Post

“Whatever’s Clean 13” Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Green, Navy and Beige

June 13, 2015

Soft green - not bright, not acid, not kelly. It's a hard color to describe but you know it when you see it! And remember, because your accessories are made of all sorts of different materials, they don't have to be "dye-lot" matched.

I like the looks of this - the change of cardigan really shifts the feel of these capsules, doesn't it?

The green brings a fresh, but gentle, feeling to this grouping.

Have a lovely weekend, love, Janice ... View the Post

How to Pack Light: A Mystery Business Trip, and the “Whatever’s Clean 13” Capsule Wardrobe

May 29, 2015

This can't be good.... Your boss comes into your office: "I need to you to go to Des Moines (or Dusseldorf, or Dublin), because they've already spent 80% of their year's budget for widgets! Get out there and see what's going on!!!" Nobody in your office has ever been to "The D City Office", and so you have no clue what to expect. Who buys and uses the widgets? The C-Suite guys in 3-piece suits? (I can personally verify that men in Dublin still wear vests with their suits...) Or is it Jen, Roy and Moss, down in the basement? Is some moron executive treating widgets as if they're disposable? Or did a genius in Procurement find widgets at 80% off, and buy a 5 year supply? Your plate is full...

So, in addition ... View the Post

A Red Handbag: Integrating a New Accent Color in a Capsule Wardrobe

May 11, 2015

Red seems to be a color that a lot of us want to incorporate into our lives; I've received a few emails asking specifically about what to do with either a red handbag or red footwear (check out my post on integrating red cowboy boots)! Maybe a red sweater or dress is too bold, but smaller doses of red can be beautiful with literally any neutral color. I don't know of another accent that can be used as widely, and as universally, as red.

So I found a bag I really like; while this bag is styled very much like a tote bag, it's really just a medium-sized barrel shaped handbag or shoulder bag:

And I'm going to work with a VERY modest assortment of grey clothes this time. In addition to being a great way to illustrate ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Project 333: Combining 2 Color Schemes from the Capri Scarf

May 9, 2015

SOMEONE had a brilliant insight, in yesterday's comments - why not combine these two wardrobes from the last 2 days? This is a perfect Project 333 - it actually comes in well below 33 items...

And a long summer travel wardrobe? Perfect. The two neutrals give you plenty of "non-white" core pieces for travel days, and the neutrals play quite nicely together, too.

Here's our expanded color scheme:

And you recognize all of the clothes and accessories from earlier posts:

But here's where the fun really starts - LOOK at this wardrobe!!! You might need to toss in a pair of shorts (grey sweats, or white linen?), but otherwise, I can't think of much for which you ... View the Post

A Four by Four Whatever’s Clean Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Beige, Marsala and Natural

April 18, 2015 As soon as I launched the newest Pantone Spring and Summer 2015 color scheme file, someone asked me to do some work with the color of the year - Marsala. She had honed in on the black and khaki, and after a bit of discussion we agreed that the best 2nd accent color would be an unbleached linen/natural color. This is the palette we finally chose for a capsule wardrobe.

I started with black, of course! Sleeveless and short-sleeved, cropped pants and "normal" pants, and all from 3.1 Phillip Lim, just for ease of matchy-matchedness. You can, of course, find your four pieces from a different, less pricey, company, or mix them from a few different places.

In fact, in order to ... View the Post