navy Archives - Page 27 of 41

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Rose Garden by Ute Laum

July 29, 2015

I am really glad that I asked you all to send me painting suggestions - otherwise, I would never have seen this gorgeous thing!

The Rose Garden by Ute Laum is an example of a painting in which the camel/cognac plays a very small, but absolutely essential, role. None of the other colors would have nearly the same impact if the golden touches were missing.

Today, I'm sorry there's no story, but I've received so many requests for travel wardrobes that I feel like I should address the overall logic or philosophy of putting together a travel capsule wardrobe. There's probably no way that I'm ever going to be able to answer all of the travel questions I receive, so I think an overview of how I think about travel ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Edith and the Kingpin by Jack Vettriano

July 28, 2015

"Edith," they told me, "make sure you rest when you're at that beach resort, and get your health back."

"Uh huh..."

I never go swimming within an hour of having a meal, so when the luncheon salon closed, I went over to sit on the window seat in the lounge, to watch the activities outdoors. I hadn't been there more than a minute when he sat down next to me.

He was really quite familiar, especially since we hadn't been introduced! But he knew the names of absolutely everyone staying at the resort, and he told the funniest little stories about each of them...

His conduct was far from gentlemanly; he kept his hat on (Father would have been appalled) and he was wearing those funny two-toned shoes that ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Untitled, 1953 by Mark Rothko (revisiting navy and cognac)

July 27, 2015 Wow! When I ask for help finding art, you all jump right to the rescue! And isn't this a great version of navy and cognac, with a striking pink accent?

I snuck in a touch of white... and if you look really closely, our celadon green from last week is present, just a slight touch, along the bottom of the painting.

I kept the navy garments, but changed out everything else here. In honor of the block-like angularity of the Rothko painting, our accessories are now going to be square, or include a square motif if possible. (even the tote bag here has an embossed texture with a square feeling to it...) I took the cognac accessories down a notch darker, to show the options that are available ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Mulberry Tree by Vincent Van Gogh (revisiting Navy and Cognac)

July 25, 2015 I thought this would be pretty easy - take yesterday's navy, cognac and light green wardrobe, and just substitute yellow as the accent color. But I wanted to use some sort of art or craft as a focal point - to keep us honest, and to help focus the color palette. I didn't really think through the project of looking for a painting that included navy and cognac, as well as a pronounced accent color! Happily, I found this glorious work!

The color scheme is very straightforward - substitute a range of shades of yellow for the green from yesterday.

I got really lucky with tee shirts - my friends at L.L.Bean make beautiful butter ... View the Post

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: 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: 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

3 x 3 = 45 in a Six Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe

June 15, 2015 So I was thinking about Six-Packs (the clothing kind, not beer...) and I realized that if you chose your pieces exactly right, you could get 45 different outfits from 9 total garments - six of them packed.

This isn't to say that you are going to want to take off on a six-week trip with just a few changes of clothing, but what we DO learn from this is that you can give yourself options. If the weather changes, if the level of dressiness of your activities are unexpected, or if you manage to destroy one garment during your travels (it can happen!), you can still get dressed. Some excellent accessories, and you'd be all set!

love, Janice ... 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

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

June 12, 2015 Oh, this was FUN! It's delightful how much difference the change in accessories makes in the look of the whole capsule. First up, a wonderful scarf, and some classic, inexpensive coral-colored jewelry. (it goes without saying that we don't wear real coral - no reefs will be destroyed to adorn us!)

And then I changed out the shoes, the rest of the jewelry, and tossed in a cute little clutch! The only clothing that I swapped was to substitute a coral cardigan for yesterday's beautiful brown one...

Just the one change in the template makes a difference!

This overview looks VERY different from the one with the leopard accent, to me. Accessories ... View the Post

“Whatever’s Clean 13” in LEOPARD, Navy and Beige

June 11, 2015 You wanted to see this idea "warmed up", and many of you mentioned leopard... here it is!

I swapped out the beige garments for a warmer, more golden shade, and I chose a brown cardigan because it's just lovely! Some leopard accessories, and you're ready to travel...

This is how the template filled up - it looks really coherent, and you can clearly see that everything (including the striped tee shirt) will work together.

And this helps us visualize everything, including accessories. The 2nd tote bag is the kind of thing that you would smash down in your outbound suitcase, and then use to carry purchases on the return. It was SO reasonably priced that I could ... View the Post