The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Brown and Ivory: Start with Art – The Guitar by Juan Gris

July 10, 2023

Her favorite painting...

And her easy, classic color palette:

A Weekend Trip, For Falling in Love "If you don't get a much better guitar, you're not really going to progress a lot more. You're doing so well; I'd like to see you get a really good instrument..."

"If you go into the city, I can arrange for you to go the really GOOD guitar makers, and play as many instruments as you want."

The print tee has matching pants, a scarf, and a camp shirt...

"You'll know when you find the right one..."

So she's going away for the weekend, to do all of the usual visitor things - dine, sightsee, maybe a museum or two...

But mostly to play guitars, and to find one with which she falls in ... View the Post

Three Capsule Wardrobes: Second Half of Six Paintings, 12 Months – July 2023

July 7, 2023

Three more heroines with unique wardrobes, and unique shopping goals!

When we last visited her wardrobe, our heroine had lovely colors, and some great clothes, BUT...

She has no shorts! (yes, for some of us that isn't a problem!) She only has 5 black garments, and black is supposed to be her core neutral, and she bought a lovely pink cardigan, and did NOT buy the matching vest... (please note, Alex Mill is having a sale! That's not something they often do.)

So she shops! Black sandals and a black tote are logical items for her to have FOREVER, and a black bracelet with a heart that matches her heart earrings and necklace just plain makes sense.

Her updated wardrobe doesn't really look different - ... View the Post

Three Capsule Wardrobes: First Half of Six Paintings, 12 Months – July 2023

July 5, 2023

Our heroines are filling in gaps and rescuing wardrobe orphans this month!

Let's start with our fair and blond heroine... (at least that's how I imagine her - your may see her differently!)

When we left our heroine last month, this was her 20-piece capsule wardrobe:

Our heroine has been thinking for a while that she is overdue to add some yellow to her wardrobe! It's worth mentioning that you can change your color palette if you find that you've included an accent color that doesn't feel right to you... but our heroine is going to give yellow a try!

And she doesn't have a pair of shorts! She's not one to wear shorts frequently, but a whimsical pair might be useful for her. So she shops, and this is what ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Beige and Red – Start with Art: Black, Ochre, Red Over Red by Mark Rothko

July 3, 2023

I love Rothko - it's hard to understand unless you've seen one in person... Even then, his paintings may not be your thing!

"Skills Enhancement" A fancy way to say "we're sending you to the main office to take a cram course in new software."

The main office is somewhat dressy... So our heroine is planning...

She's starting here:

She knows that starting with a suit - even if she wears the blazer separate from the pants - is always smart for business travel:

She's pretty sure that she's okay wearing a cardigan, if she wears a skirt with it...

She's hopeful that tales of the formality of the headquarters have been exaggerated, but she's not taking any chances! If your company is willing to spend ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Beige and Blue: Start with Art – Miyajima in the Rain by Tsuchiya Koitsu

June 30, 2023

She's got to stop at the home office for a few hours, but then she's spending the weekend in the city!

Unsure of what she wanted to pack/wear, she browsed through her saved collection of paintings on her phone, and found this:

Suddenly, she's inspired!

She can wear black and blue to the office (she often feels like she's been beaten by the time she gets out of there, so black and blue is appropriate!), and then pack a few things to wear for sightseeing and dining...

She expects that it will be pretty warm, but also that she will run into some brutal air conditioning - especially in museums! 

Her wardrobe covers her for business (just in case she has to go BACK TO THE OFFICE on Saturday - ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe for a Long Weekend: Cavaliers de l’Hiver by André Brasilier

June 28, 2023

She's smitten with this...

So when her sweetheart invited her to a mystery weekend away, she has an idea...

They're calling it a mystery weekend, but she knows that they're traveling by train, so she can narrow down their destination to a couple of dozen cities...

They've agreed that they will DEFINITELY dine out somewhere nice, but not "over the top." And other than that, they will do the things that they always do when they're in a "new to them" city - walk, window-shop, visit museums and historical sites...

Her sweetheart has reminded her a couple of times to bring a sweater, because evenings will be cool. She could use this fact to try to figure out where they're going, but she's just going ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe for a Dressy Weekend: Start with Art – La Trappistine by Alphonse Mucha

June 23, 2023

Now that summer is finally here, it seems that many of us are being called upon to get gussied up!

Yes, the term "gussied" always makes me laugh...

It's always more challenging to find warm weather clothes in warmer shades...

It might be a wedding weekend, but it might also be a graduation, or an anniversary celebration - there are plenty of reasons to get dressed up and party in the summertime!

Our heroine isn't at all sure what she wants to wear when, so she's bringing an assortment of dresses with her, as well as a couple of tops and pair of bright jeans. Once she arrives, she can check with the organizers of things to see what will be most appropriate when.

And then she will wear what makes ... View the Post

A Rosy Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – Untitled by Peter Doig

June 19, 2023

Our heroine from Friday isn't the only person attending the Pollinator Conference, of course!

I can't find a title for this painting!

Lovely colors....

Our 2nd heroine is dressing in similar colors to her friend from Friday, but she's opting for brown rather than beige...

She doesn't think to find insect-themed jewelry, but she doesn't miss the chance to wear her favorite floral skirt.

her floral skirt has a matching print blouse available...

She likes to think that her wardrobe combines the rich, life-giving warmth of soil, along with its glorious floral products!

Our heroines love to pack this way - once you've arrived, all you have to do is unpack, and then be alert to what is ... View the Post

A Green Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start With Art – The Autumn Moon by Shufu Miyamoto

June 14, 2023

They Named Her Ivy... A long time ago; she always loved her name...

She saw this print, and something deep inside her clicked into place. Not a thing, really, but just a feeling. A new confidence, and understanding...

So she decided to wear green during her upcoming trip. All green. Just to see if it felt as right as she expected it to feel!

She's not worrying about matching everything. Nature doesn't worry; why should she?

Maybe people will think she wears too much green. Or that her outfits don't quite go together. She is dressing to please herself, so these thoughts mean  nothing to her anymore...

Her travel capsule wardrobe feels like home...

She loves her ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Shades of Blue: Start with Art – Woman with Crossed Arms by Picasso

June 9, 2023

I had to try this...

Our heroine is quite a bit cheerier than Picasso's subject!

She committed to wearing blue. It feels right to her, and that's what is most important, right?

She knows that a painting that inspires you doesn't have to be copied identically - so long as you are true to whatever initially inspired you, you may interpret that inspiration any way you want!

A long weekend seems like a perfect chance to try-out the idea of wearing all blue... She won't be around a lot of people who know her, so she doesn't expect anybody to actually notice that she's always in blue...

The night before she leaves for her wee adventure, she takes a good look at her planned travel capsule ... View the Post

Start with Art: Pattern Design from New Ocean of Art by Kōrin Furuya

June 7, 2023

I must remember to re-visit this art when the weather cools, and I can put our heroine in an Oxford grey outfit...

But today, our heroine is sticking with black & white, and 2 vivid accent colors!

I don't know where she's going! Clearly she's only going for a few days, because her bag is what we call a "weekender." And I assume she's going somewhere warm-ish, because she's wearing sandals...

We might be able to learn more about her upcoming adventure if we peek into her bag?

Well, we can conclude that she likes black and white. And that she's going somewhere warm, and relatively casual. She won't be gone for too long...

And there's NO wrong way to put together an outfit from this travel ... View the Post

3 Capsule Wardrobes: Second Half of Six Paintings, 12 Months – June 2023

June 5, 2023

I can't quite get used to the idea that it's already June! Time will pass, regardless of our ability to keep up...

As I've quickly learned, this wardrobe, as with all of them, is pretty well-balanced in terms of functionality:

And arranging this particular wardrobe by color is sort of fun, but again doesn't show any big gaps or problems!

So our heroine just went shopping for some useful summer garments!

Our heroine truly feels that she is comfortably prepared for most things she needs to do - what a nice way to feel about one's wardrobe!

I love the richness of these accessories!

 

When our heroine gets home, she gets onto Skype with a couple of friends to show them her new ... View the Post