The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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my wardrobe Archives - Page 7 of 11

My French 5-Piece Capsule Wardrobe for Autumn and Winter 2015. I think…

August 7, 2015  

So now that THAT is settled, let's move on to the really fun stuff - adding to and dressing up (or down) A Common Wardrobe.Just for reference, or if you still haven't printed it, this is the template from which I worked for my 12-piece Common Wardrobe.

And these are the core garments with which I'm working:

black cardigan - J. Crew; black v-neck sweater -  J. Crew; black cashmere turtleneck - Saks Fifth Avenue, white cotton turtleneck - L.L.Bean; black long-sleeved tee - Three Dots; grey long-sleeved tee - L.L.Bean; white shirt – J. Crew; black slouch pants - Eileen Fisher; black trousers - Eddie Bauer; black jeans - Eileen Fisher; black skirted leggings - Eileen ... View the Post

My Wardrobe: Revisiting A Common Wardrobe

August 6, 2015

 

Among the most popular, and among the most misunderstood, posts that I've ever written for The Vivienne Files have to be the ones about A Common Wardrobe.

I used to work in advertising. I used to travel a lot, and I used to be privileged to meet some of the most intelligent, creative, eccentric and downright weird people you could imagine. But one thing that I noticed, time and time again, was that no matter how unusual their appearance might have seemed, their clothes would invariably include at least one or two elements that were pretty normal. In fact, when I looked over large rooms full of these people, you could see a common theme of a lot of jeans, khakis, and black trousers, a lot of white shirts, a lot ... View the Post

A New Scarf from Ananda Design! or How to Wear One Item All Year

July 30, 2015  

    As you well know, I'm not the blogger who gets buried in gifts from designers, so when I do receive something, it's a special day chez nous! And not many days get more special than this for me - can you imagine a scarf better suited to the woman who lives in black, and who's favorite accent color is red???   This scarf, from Ananda Design; is cotton, which is unusual for me, and it has tassels on the corners,  which is REALLY not something I have in my closet. But I've had it wrapped around me and played with it a lot, and it's pretty wonderful. The cotton is of course a great fabric for a scarf that you use in warm weather to ward off over-enthusiastic air conditioning, ... View the Post

In Which I Try to Spend my Nordstrom Gift Card

July 15, 2015  

After I was pondering if I should write about the Nordstrom Pre-Season sale, I remembered - I just had a birthday, and one of my gifts was a gift card to Nordstrom! So I can maybe indulge some pondering about what I should buy...

First off, I have to say that if I needed lingerie, I would hot-foot it to the Nordstrom site to see if they have my favorites on sale; their sale includes LOTS of lingerie.

Similarly, if I were interested in buying new bedding at this change of season, I'd also look at Nordstrom; it's also a category in which there seem to be lots of markdowns.

But I need neither of those things - I'm not buying undergarments of any ilk until I'm quite through losing weight and getting more ... View the Post

What’s Going On in My Wardrobe

July 16, 2015

For those of you who have been wondering how I'm dressing these days, I offer up the following snapshots, taken from my Instagram account:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will get back to posting my Wardrobe Diaries, when I don't have so many other beautiful things to discuss!

But if you want to follow me on Instagram, I post about 3 or 4 times a week about what I'm wearing, or other nifty and beautiful things I see.

You can follow me hereby clicking on the little tiny navy and grey camera up in the top right corner, above my photograph, and the Google search bar. I'd love to see you there!

love, Janice ... View the Post

A Winner!!! And my new plan…

Remember that delectable scarf from Kathkath that they offered to us last week?

Well, Lorrie, send me your contact information so that I can forward it to Kathkath - because IT'S YOURS!

Congratulations to Lorrie, and thanks, as always, to all of you who hang around here with me and share my day...

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but Belovedest and I are moving, at the end of June. Just down the hall, but we've been given an irresistible offer on a REALLY irresistible apartment with a spectacular lake view, and so we're going to accept...

The new apartment is a 1 bedroom, which is a big step up for those of us who have always lived in studio apartments! But so far we've been very lucky - someone gave us an absolutely ... View the Post

A Clothing Diary: Week 11

May 21, 2015   Last week's weather was enough to cause wardrobe whiplash - one day, bare legs and sandals, LITERALLY the next day, coats, scarves and gloves. We who live in the Midwest (or anywhere else in the world!) must remember that we don't control the weather, and remain madly flexible!  

Yes, the Vionic sandals are all that everybody told me they would be! I have silver, and red, and it's a good thing I can't justify having more pairs, or I would. Very comfortable, and casual but not junky looking. You know what I mean - those flip flops that look like they're three weeks too late for the dumpster?

 

My Eileen Fisher dress! Just as perfect as I had hoped...

 

We went out early ... View the Post

A Clothing Diary Week 10

April 29, 2015   Why yes, it IS April, but we aren't seeing any weather that feels warm! I wore gloves, without exception, every time I was out - most of our highest temperatures were just around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. While I love cold weather more than most people, I have to admit to being ready to move into something just a tad warmer...   My week was filled with preparations for moving (down the hall, but it involved two different landlords for each of the apartments, a renovation about to start in the new apartment, and plans for renovations the second we're out of our current digs), visits to my doctor, and accompanying a friend to her appointments too! If there's ever a market for guided tours of Northwestern Hospital ... View the Post

A Clothing Diary Week 9

April 21, 2015   Some clarification is needed about how often I wear gym clothes, and where. Yes, I probably have gym clothes on EVERY day of the week - 6 days a week maybe at a minimum. BUT!!! I don't wear them outside of my building unless I'm running outdoors. The gym where I workout is in my basement; residents of my building see me in all of my athletic glory (ahem...), and I might stop at the grocery store in the basement of my building after I've worked out (yes, my building has a grocery store. And a dry-cleaner...) but that's as far as it goes.   Wearing gym clothes frequently is NOT an excuse to be wandering the streets in tons of too tight, too thin, or too brief clothing. Frankly, on any given day on the ... View the Post

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

My French 5-Piece Capsule Wardrobe for Spring and Summer 2015

April 11, 2015   This spring is a festival of Eileen Fisher! There's an Eileen Fisher Company Store in Schaumburg, in the west Chicago suburbs, which is a wonderful place to shop if you have both a plan and some discipline! Couple that with being able to get Eileen Fisher clothes at every department store in Chicago, and the canny shopper can often scare up some good deals!   So, for this upcoming warm weather period, I've got a new red twinset-ish sort of arrangement, as well as a pewter cardigan, a GORGEOUS silver silk jacket, and my engineering-striped dress. (the black dress I bought in New York qualifies as a neutral, if anything ever did...)  

  I'm just going to work with five simple black ... View the Post

A Clothing Diary Week 8

April 6, 2015   Because of the holidays and some family visit, I got to spend a lot of time with B and his peeps this week. It was handy to be able to just grab clothes and feel confident about putting together attractive outfits...   This skirt is fast becoming a workhorse in my wardrobe. It hangs beautifully, and has pockets!!!  

I had the immense good luck to find red Tod's loafers at a site called The Real Real. (silly name, but a great site) The price was a single-digit FRACTION of retail...

 

I will take a better photograph of the scarf when there's sufficient good lighting - it's really excellent, with strong blue and red accents on a charcoal grey and white ground. I'm finding a lot ... View the Post