The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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What are Good Accent Colors for Denim and Khaki? How about Teal and Camel?

June 26, 2017

 

Denim and khaki go with everything - I'm convinced! - but some of you wanted to see a capsule wardrobe with a very different feel than the relatively soft and cool pastel version that used mauve pink and dark pastel blue...

How about this for colors?

I don't have any really exotic travel vision for this heroine - she's more someone who wears a uniform most of the time, and only needs a relatively small wardrobe to accommodate her "not work" activities outside of her home.

So I'm starting with the six neutral pieces that were in last Monday's wardrobe, and I finally grabbed a pair of dark navy loafers for her. (although with brown in a wardrobe, don't discount the gorgeousness of beautiful brown ... View the Post

Can You Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe Around a Piece of Jewelry?

June 21, 2017

 

I'm thinking that these kinds of posts could be known as "Wildly-Extravagant Wednesday..." A Ridiculous Business Trip She loved the ring from the moment she saw it, and now she wears it every day...

So when they told her that she had to fly to headquarters on Friday JUST TO DELIVER A FOLDER... she decided that she was going to stay through the weekend and go all-out. See an opera, do some serious dining, and people-watch...

She's got to go straight to the office when she lands, so she's going to fly in "grown-up" clothes. The flight's not all that long, so this will be fine - not a lot different from sitting at her desk for the morning. (except she doesn't have to do anything any more taxing than ... View the Post

Warm Neutrals Camel and Mossy Green Accenting Navy and Beige

May 31, 2017

Let's see what happens when we start with navy and beige as our neutrals, and then incorporate two MORE neutrals, in warm hues, to act as accents.

This is the color scheme as I see it; I've made 1 small alteration in that I've given us a range of the accent colors, from lighter to darker, in order to open up the possibilities a bit. These aren't easy colors to find this time of year!

And this wardrobe I'm working with an assumption that we're going to be packing for a more changeable climate - needing both sandals and a sweatshirt, so to speak...

As before, we'll start with six neutral pieces...

Just to keep us mentally organized, let's continue to work with a 13-piece wardrobe template:

The first ... View the Post

How to Add Accent Colors to Your Capsule Wardrobe – Hot Pink and Green

Remember this beautiful painting, and intriguing color palette?

And of course you remember this wardrobe from last week...

In and of itself, this is a pretty good assortment of clothes:

But for most of us, for the entire summer, we're going to want more than 16 pieces... So let's have our heroine start out her shopping by adding some hot pink, as well as a bit more black and white. For many of us, these shorts might be a big longer (like capri pant length!), or one could also find a skirt in this color...

This is how her wardrobe now looks with the additional pieces. The hot pink definitely doesn't blend in with everything else, but since it's meant to be an accent color, it really doesn't have to go with everything ... View the Post

How to Wear Emeralds – the May Birthstone

April 27, 2017

 

Emeralds were TOUGH to work with here on The Vivienne Files - they're very rare, I suppose, because they're quite expensive and not available in the mad range of designs that you can find with most other precious stones. Nevertheless, we're more than able to find a lot of lovely ideas...

Given their price, you might not be wearing "authentic" emeralds (that's fine...) and you might just use emeralds as an accent with a larger, less-expensive semi-precious stone. It's your birthstone - wear it the way you want! Finding a beautiful scarf with a bit of bright green in it will draw attention to your beautiful jewelry, and make it all look wonderfully intentional and well-planned.

 

  Don't ... View the Post

Three French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring

April 7, 2017

 

Yesterday, I shared with you what I consider to be the "must have" items for warm weather. (although I don't think I can say it enough - there is NO SUCH THING as a "must have" item; if someone tells you that there is, they are more interested in selling you something than they are in helping you figure out what you most need for YOU...)

Today starts the fun part - adding accent colors! I think I'm going to have to do this for at least another 2 or 3 days, because your suggested accent colors were many, varied, and lovely!

But let me start with the "Color of the Year" - another one of those fun marketing gimmicks that really don't mean a whole lot, but that remind us to focus on a color that we might have ... View the Post

How to Wear Denim and Khaki with a Variety of Accent Colors: Start with Art – Saint Bride by John Duncan

March 31, 2017

I love this painting... What a wealth of details, and vivid colors - plus being carried across the sea by angels sounds like a most privileged (and hard-earned) way to travel!

The range of accent color possibilities here is pretty vast, but I narrowed us down to just four:

She Really IS In Charge... Although you might find her sitting on the floor, happily coloring with a group of 4-year-olds...

Yep, she runs that HUGE day care facility. Inspections, regulations, paper work and MORE paper work...

If she's going to have time for the fun stuff, she's got to be meticulously organized:

Because she's ALL about the fun, especially when there are little children involved!

Happily, it's ... View the Post

How to Accent Khaki and Denim with Softer Colors – Start with Art: Hafen mit Segelschniffen by Paul Klee

Just plain pretty:

A wardrobe full of denim and khaki would still have a lovely feminine feeling with these accent colors!

She Builds Flowers All Day... ... using cake frosting! Some may think that this is just a routine grocery-store kind of job, but she loves it...

Just because her work is very temporary in lifespan doesn't mean that she can't be meticulous, and filled with pleasure at the sight of her finished products!

She's given quite a lot of freedom to choose her own color schemes and other design elements...

So she spends quite a bit of her spare time learning how to construct new flowers - if a customer wants a cake decorated with something specific like hydrangea, or lilacs, she can happily ... View the Post

Accents for a Denim and Khaki Wardrobe – Start with Art: L’Ombre by Pablo Picasso

March 29, 2917

Could be a dream, could be a nightmare, could just be a sweetheart - the enigmatic nature of this image is striking:

When I saw L'Ombre in the Picasso Museum last year, I knew that I would want to share it with you all!

Her Work is Complicated Enough, Thank You... She's a psychiatrist. A shrink. She sits, quietly, and listens to people. Takes notes. Tries to formulate the perfect, pithy question to open up the hidden pain in her patient's mind, and help the healing start...

She's always watching people, listening to people, learning from people. So she doesn't really want to spend a ton of time worrying about what she's going to wear - it just plain and simply isn't all that interesting to ... View the Post

How to Accent a Denim and Khaki Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – The Stairs of the Asylum by Van Gogh

March 28, 2017

 

I'm sure there's a story here, and I'm afraid it might be a sad one:

Even in difficult circumstances, van Gogh captures the exuberant energy of nature, in a very limited palette:

Celebrating Nature is Her Profession Landscape architect - it was the title that she always wanted. So she started out working as a landscaper with a successful female manager, and she went to school in her spare time...

For a long time, she wore a uniform of khaki pants, and a bright green polo shirt with a logo, and a matching bright green jacket when the weather demanded. So when she finally wasn't in a "uniform" position anymore, she didn't feel the need for a wildly extensive wardrobe. She found that her simple ... View the Post

Part 2 of How to Gradually Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Start with a Scarf – Ted Baker Enchantment

March 24, 2017

After you've had a bit of time to process the outfits for the first 4 months of the year, which I shared here yesterday, it's time to dive back in and finish the year, and the capsule wardrobe!

First, let's refresh our memories about what our "inspiration scarf" is, and the color palette that I drew from the scarf:

She Loves Flowers And she has no better explanation for it than that - she loves them. Yes, she grew up helping her parents in their flower beds - that certainly played some role in her affections...

So when she didn't have to go to the office any longer, she decided to remake her wardrobe in the image of her dreams and desires - flowers, and flowery colors!

Sometimes, when the weather ... View the Post

How to Gradually Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Start with a Scarf – Ted Baker Enchantment

March 23, 2017

A normal blogger would wait until this was finished to share it with you, but nobody's ever accused me of being normal!

I freely admit that I think Ted Baker London makes some of the most beautiful scarves, and that they are an excellent starting point for a well-chosen capsule wardrobe. This just screams spring to me... and if you're a pansy person (or you love someone who is) this would be a beautiful "no reason at all" gift:

This beautiful floral is available in such wide-ranging lovelies as ballet flats, bags, 2 swimsuits, a cover-up, cropped trousers and a matching sleeveless top, a blouse, a tee shirt, a couple of skirts, a couple of dresses and of course other shapes and sizes of scarves. I have to admit ... View the Post