The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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It’s Time to Quit Lying to Myself about What I Wear…

I know that I've mentioned in the past that I'm a little bit of a gym rat, but I don't think that I've ever mentioned that there are days (maybe 3 times a week) when I get out of bed and put my gym clothes on immediately. Many of those days, I don't change OUT of my gym clothes until at least mid-afternoon...

Now, back when I was a swingin' advertising chick, I used to get dressed up pretty nicely five days a week, and if i was travelling for business, that would be seven days a week. That life, however, ended almost TEN YEARS AGO...

So let's look at my current life, honestly:

There's nothing wrong with sitting at my desk in nice, well-fitting gym clothes, working on The Vivienne Files, while I'm either waiting to start a ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe for a Long Weekend in Paris, with a Blue Jacket…

April 15, 2015

It was pointed out to me that this lovely nubuck suede jacket (thanks, House of Fraser!) would also look lovely with navy... so I'm taking us on an imaginary long weekend in Paris this time...

love, Janice

Looking Back:

2014: Chic Sightings: Dots! 2013: Project 333: My First Week in "My" Uniform 2012: Packing: Brown and Turquoise ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe for a Long Weekend in Chicago, with a Blue Jacket

April 9, 2015  

I clearly am doing something wrong in the blogging world, because after blogging for 4 years, I just NOW have received my first "swag" i.e. a gift from a retailer! Other bloggers seem to be swamped with gifts, but that's not my experience... sigh... But the lovely people at House of Fraser sent me this gorgeous item, pictured below! It's nubuck suede, which is the best stuff available! Well-made, too...   When I lived in Ireland, I remember that when you absolutely wanted to buy clothes, your best option was to hop onto the LUAS tram, and take it south to the Dundrum Shopping Center, where the only House of Fraser in the area was located. Their store was like an oasis of nice things in an absolute SEA of ... View the Post

Color and Proportion – Step 3: Adding Print Scarves and 2-Tone Shoes to Solid Garments

April 7, 2015

Here's where the fun starts, for me! As an avowed fan of scarves and what they can accomplish to balance, accent, and just generally jazz up, I was happy when we get to the patterned scarf part of our experiment..

I've owned these black and white loafers a COUPLE of times in the past (literally, I believe they've been making these since the '80's) and I always wear them to death. And I'm embarrassed to confess that the Trotters loafers are, in fact, beige and dark brown. On my monitor, the trim looks black! I truly didn't know the "real" colors until I was almost finished.... sigh...

And you can always find deck shoes in a ton of color combinations...

I personally now really like the first two outfits, but ... View the Post

Start with Art: Still Life with Bottle by Samuel John Peploe

March 11, 2015   Ah, this made me think of warm weather, leisure, simplicity, being outdoors...  

  Yes, it's a cardigan, but it's relaxed, and it's linen! When choosing loafers for this trip, I would make sure that they were low enough cut over the foot so that they would look nice with shorts, worn without socks. I'd even travel without socks, although I think I'd want some sort of little socklet/footie for in the airport. Barefoot in the airport gives me the willies!  

  If you're only going away for a few days, a Six-Pack is the perfect way to pack. These clothes would fit into the smallest tote...   (No, this dress has not been made to measure for someone - the brand name is ... View the Post

Start with Art: Version THREE of Peripheral Vision 2 by Elis Cooke

March 4, 2015   More and more ideas for this particular painting continue to be suggested - today, I'm addressing the possibility of using this lovely work as the basis of a summer travel wardrobe.    

  For the travel outfit, I kept the basic idea of a cardigan "suit" and a contrasting tee shirt, but I lightened up the cardigan considerably, as well as finding a lighter short-sleeved tee.  

For the rest of the six pack, I stuck with the general theory of a "core of four" in grey, but I chose a seersucker skirt, rather than solid grey. Why aren't there more things available in seersucker???   All of the jewelry in this little vignette has an starry aspect - the necklace (this one is Libra) is ... View the Post

Start With Art: Peripheral Vision 2 by Elis Cooke, or How to Pack for a Casual Vacation in France

February 23, 2015  

A recent request prompted this capsule: lightning up burgundy/grey/forest green into brighter cranberry, light mossy green and grey - specifically for a 3-week trip to France this spring.  A lovely trip, and beautiful colors with which to work!   Just for fun, I searched (and searched) until I found a painting to complement this idea:  

  For our purposes, I isolated these colors, but there's also clearly an opportunity for white, cream, and a gentle blue, as well as a touch a deeper charcoal. This painting could generate a palette with which one could live forever.

 

  As always, our travel outfit includes closed-toe shoes, a cardigan, and a scarf. But this ... View the Post

Packing: A 5-Pack Would Have Worked…

September 30, 2014  

Or, in my world, 8 = 42...You might remember my excellent travel outfit:

 

I had this outfit on for an eternity of time, and I don't regret a thing!  It was ideal, and I will almost certainly wear something very similar for future trips.  But my suitcase was TOO MUCH STUFF...  I'd have been well-served to have just packed this:

  I understand that this seems like amazingly little, but I need to remember something really critical about my trips to Europe - especially my trips to Paris:

I SHOP!!!

I shop a lot.  I start shopping the second or third day, and I tend to wear my purchases almost immediately.  Thus, I leave things in my suitcase unworn, and I ... View the Post

A 4 by 4 Capsule Wardrobe in Lavender, Jade, Denim and Grey

September 13, 2014

 

One more visit to the denim and grey Core of Four - this time, with accent colors of lavender and jade. All of the shades are cool - some are soft and gentle, and others are almost vivid. Lots of options here!

One of the nicest things with the shades of lavender - they can easily be blended so long as you have the same basic tone.

Once you find someone who's selling a color that you love, it makes some sense to stock up!

I looked for moonstone jewelry for this collection. Moonstone has such a lovely iridescent, almost colorless quality that picks up the colors that you wear. I think it's beautiful (and it's one of the three birthstones for those of us born in ... View the Post

A 4 by 4 Capsule Wardrobe in Pink, Rose, Denim and Grey

September 12, 2014  

This color palette felt to me like it was giving you permission to indulge in a variety of shades of pink, and so that's sort of what I did. I also took this opportunity to pretend that the person choosing this capsule wardrobe had a deep and abiding passion for stripes. That sort of fondness/obsession is great in a wardrobe, if it's deeply and truly felt. You should definitely wear your heart on your literal sleeve if you know what you like, and you're happy sharing it with the world. It certainly makes shopping more focused, and you project a clear point of view to everyone around you! 

 

  Why yes, the grey and blue shirts are the same, except for the color. When you ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 14: Leisure Wear

July 10, 2014   As much as it's fun to dress up and go out into the world, sometimes we just want to stay close to home.  This does NOT mean that we shouldn't still be elegant, comfortable and beautiful...   Please, if you choose to wear leggings (and don't get me wrong, I wear leggings very often and adore them), bear in mind the extremely revealing nature of such garments around your... more... private... areas. (ahem...)  Easily the most shocking and unattractive things that I see on my daily city hikes involve inappropriate and immodest ensembles including leggings.  You know what I mean...

  As with everything else that goes into your well-considered wardrobe, your leisure apparel will be ... View the Post