The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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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

First Half of Six Paintings, 12 Months – June 2023

June 2, 2023

One of my favorite days!

I thought that before our heroines went shopping today, they should each take a good look at what they currently own. This might direct their shopping in some way...

First, let's look at this heroine's wardrobe by showing all of her garments arranged by function:

I frankly don't know that any heroine will see too many gaps in her wardrobe when arranged this way, because she's been really careful to be certain that anything she has purchased so far can be worn in a variety of ways.

Maybe let's see how things look when arranged by color:

This is actually pretty great, but I think maybe she wants something else in denim blue? Yes, it's not a color in her palette, but I think ... View the Post

Start with Art: Sport Coat by Pierre Mourgue

May 26, 2023

Okay, this is NOT at all in season, but I couldn't resist! I suspect that we will take a look at more of this artist - I'm quite smitten... Family, and Sport

Once upon a time, when a woman was attending a sporting event in the autumn, she would dress like the women in this lovely painting. Now, our heroine is using her colors, and her calm confidence, as her inspiration!

From time to time, one will be invited to see a family member do something sporty - a niece or nephew who plays football, or American football. Or any other number of sports - there are a lot of possibilities!

Our heroine wants to appear calm, relaxed and pretty. Not such bad goals, eh?

She can absolutely bet her entire retirement ... View the Post

Start with Art: Cherry Branch by Bror Lindh

May 17, 2023

I've never heard of Bror Lindh - what fun to find new (to me) artists!

Our heroine chose to include the darker green of the grass under the tree, rather than the more yellowish green out in the sunlight. Good move, I would say!

Garden Tour Weekend A group of her friends are going along - but the weather is expected to be unseasonably cool! Annoying, but not something that will keep them from attending...

They've been assured that there will be NO walking in grass or soil, so they can just wear comfortable shoes without worrying about bringing waterproof boots with them! (they have been on tours that felt more like trekking through the deep forest...)

She wants to be warm, but also have a variety of ... View the Post

Second Half of Six Paintings, 12 Months – May 2023

May 8, 2023

Let's see what our second trio of heroines has been up to!

The first has decided that she would like to own something sort of like a suit, so she finds a cardigan/blazer and pants that match. She can't resist the Liberty print shirt - it goes with so much of her wardrobe!

This is her wardrobe now; it might not suit many of us, but I can see this on the right woman...

Her accessories are a soft and feminine delight:

Her new outfits show that even an unusually light and delicate wardrobe can be versatile:

Our second heroine made a pretty big decision about her wardrobe this month!

The main character in her inspiration painting is wearing what appears to be a pretty dark purple coat. ... View the Post

First Half of Six Paintings, 12 Months – May 2023

May 5, 2023

Our heroines are branching out - their lives are different from each other, and their wardrobes will also be different... Seems obvious, except for those times when we're all told to get a beige trench coat, or a little black dress...

Our first heroine is experiencing some REALLY warm weather, interspersed with days when it pours rain and is chilly!

She decided to just forget about the cool interludes, and jumped onto a beautiful warm-weather outfit in soft shades of green and blue:

She doesn't have a third of her wardrobe in each of the 3 colors, but this still feels balanced:

And her accessories are spot-on! How fun to find the perfect light blue sandals...

As always, her new clothes bring her ... View the Post

Start with Art: Lake Geneva with Mont-Blanc at Dawn by Ferdinand Hodler

April 14, 2023

Isn't this lovely?

I'm realizing that it's entirely possible to use a painting (or any other image or object, frankly) as inspiration for a wardrobe even if that image doesn't include your core neutral!

I know, I should have realized this years ago...

Here's how I'm showing this; note the navy outlines in the color wheel...

Frankly, this wardrobe only includes 3 navy pieces out of the 9 total - that's a small number of neutral garments!

And this wardrobe only has a pair of jeans and a pair of shorts for bottoms; this is a heroine who's going to be spending a lot of time in her swimwear, so this works out for weekends...

But first, she has to drive up to the lake!

If you like sweater vests, ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Spring Blossom by Valerius de Saedeleer

April 12, 2023

The last of the "beige-based" wardrobes - and probably my favorite! (of course, this is the only wardrobe with any black in it...)

This is the wardrobe for our last heroine; she has a lot of beige, but her accent colors are unusual, and make quite a statement!

I suspect that this heroine will also find herself with a few pairs of colorful sandals!

Even though our heroine only has 2 black garments, I think that black sandals make sense for her; they bring a real balance to a simple outfit like this:

If you love lime green, indulge in some peridot jewelry too! You'll have it forever...

Floral earrings with a floral top seems nice to me; keep the rest of the outfit nicely muted...

Of ... View the Post