The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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travel capsule wardrobe Archives - Page 10 of 26

Start with a Scarf: King Charles III Coronation

May 3, 2023

Regardless of your feeling about royalty, or coronations, let's suspend judgment and enjoy this beautiful scarf!

Shamrocks, daffodils, roses and thistles!

And you KNOW how nice the scarves are from PJ Studio Accessories...

I decided that our heroine is going to use navy as her packing neutral, and draw all of her accents from her lovely scarf:

A Dilemma, of Sorts... Our heroine's still not sure how long she will be able to travel for the Coronation - at this point, she may only be able to be away for 1 night!

And we don't have to assume that she's going to London - there will be lots of places where she could meet up with friends, watch a lot of festivities on television, and then celebrate around ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet: Classic Lynx Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

April 21, 2023

Ah, the timeless beauty of pink and navy!

I think these colors are timeless and flattering to most of us too!

The Big Challenge She never knows if it will be nice and toasty warm or damp and nippy...

So she brings her swimsuits, as well as long underwear for sleeping! Best be ready for a range of temperatures...

And for non-aquatic activities, she packs this:

One really doesn't need to pack a ton of things for a weekend; you need to get dressed on Saturday and Sunday, and maybe Monday if you're really stretching your time off!

The cardigan and long pants make almost everything else in her wardrobe useful, even on cold days! Warm socks are never wrong, too!

So she has choices, warm or ... 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

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet: Forget-Me-Not Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

March 24, 2023

Inspired by FLOWERS!

Our heroine is happy wearing muted colors, unless it's a day during which she wants to wear something bright! You can have both in your wardrobe, of course.

A sweatshirt for travel, as well as a cozy scarf, is rarely a bad idea - especially if you're traveling in an air-conditioned vehicle...

She's only going away for the weekend, but she never knows ahead of time if she's going to be in the aquamarine, subdued, calm mood, or in the bright yellow, outgoing and active mood. Not a problem - she's prepared for both:

Kindness Gems has those lovely necklaces available in a bunch of different stones, and in gold...

Her travel wardrobe is both an homage to her favorite flower, ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Signature Peacock Print Scarf by Luna & Avery

February 13, 2023

Our heroine didn't even TRY to resist this scarf!

She knew, with a long weekend trip ahead, this would be a great inspiration:

For travel, she mostly wants to be comfortable! She chooses to wear her short boots, rather than try to pack them. And her scarf is the perfect accent for her navy "suit" and lavender tee shirt...

She knows that she wants to bring jeans, and her favorite navy cashmere crewneck sweater. Then she hesitates... her lavender cardigan and shirt? They will be perfect with either jeans or navy pants, and the cardigan can also be worn over the tee shirt in which she is traveling.

Hmmm, what else? She knows that she is going to a dinner that's going to be crowded and noisy - she ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: In Vaudeville (Dancer with Chorus) by Charles Demuth

February 10, 2023

Everybody dance!

Options! She Wants Options...

She's not sure that she'll stay in the city for more than a day or two. She may stay longer...

Or she might get on a train out to some smaller town by her 2nd or 3rd day. She doesn't want to decide until she actually arrives in the city and get a feel for things...

Just to complicate things further (or simplify things?), she isn't sure how long she's going to travel. If she is good to keep going, she will keep going! But if home begins to beckon, she will return...

So she wants to have very little luggage. But she wants to be able to dress both up and down. AND she wants a range of colors - not all black...

She feels like she's ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Story! Travel Capsule Wardrobe inspired by The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

February 6, 2023

Hercule Poirot receives a letter from France, begging for his assistance. He tells his friend Captain Hastings that they can pack "a small suitcase each" and be on the way to France within an hour!

This is my dream life...

The oddest things will cause me to ponder what I might pack...

Of course, Captain Hastings is a man, but I've made the mental adjustment that I would want to appear conservative, somewhat unobtrusive, and appropriate for a range of activities - including lengthy conferences with incompetent police, attending inquests, and swimming in the Channel off the north shore of France...

I am in no way being guided by the cover of the book! But I'm making sure that our heroine has a suit - ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Two Geese in the Snow by Komori Soseki

January 25, 2023

Plenty of Firewood... She agreed to go up to the cabin for the weekend, with the understanding that (1) they would stop at the deli on the way out of town and get enough food, (2) there is enough firewood up there for at least 5 days, and (3) there are NO chores for her to handle!

Oh yes, and there are birds about...

In all fairness, she has 2 books she really NEEDS to finish in the next few days (for work!), so it's not all just hanging about reading gossip magazines...

She will, of course, walk outdoors from time to time, to catch some sun (if it's out!), visit with any animals that are about, and take a break from her work.

In addition to using a favorite painting as her inspiration, ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet: Winter’s Dawn by Fierce Lynx Designs

January 16, 2023 It was a beautiful sunrise...

The colors that they saw were subtle but stunning...

They turned to each other and agreed that if they saw ONE MORE sunrise over snow, they were going to lose their minds. 

They don't want to go to the beach, just someplace where it's warm enough not to wear boots and a parka!

It's a romantic long weekend - a bit early for Valentine's Day, but they are NOT people to be bound by that kind of thing!

Museums, some shopping, some nice but not posh dining. Maybe a movie...

Mostly, just time together. A chance to see their ankles on a regular basis. No hats!

Are you ready for a break from winter? 

I - personally - would LOVE to see some real ... View the Post

Analyzing the Six-Pack – Start with a Scarf: Royal Tulips by Katchmagic London

January 13, 2023

She's going to be really methodical about this...

And we are going to listen in to her brain, to see what we can learn...

First, she chooses her current favorite scarf as her inspiration, and then isolates what her accent colors will be:

Hmm... packing six garments and wearing 3 on the train/plane/bus means that she will have a total of 9 garments with her on her trip. She pictures it like this:

Her first outfit is straightforward - dark pants to avoid the mini-drama of spills. A warm cardigan that's pretty bulky to pack, so she chooses to wear it. And a bright tee shirt to bring color and life to her face...

She will almost certainly wear her inspiration scarf too!

Next, she chooses the ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Waterfall by Morris Graves

January 11, 2023

Do you think maybe I'm drawn to green because I was sick, and green feels like renewal? Hmm...

  Not Blending In... She's going to the conference too. Not presenting, but she will be attentively listening, and taking notes, and learning...

She doesn't know for certain, but she thinks it possible that someone else from her corporation will be there. They probably don't know her, and she certainly doesn't know them!

Frankly, it doesn't matter. She's not attending this conference to meet and greet, or to grab some handle on some higher rung of the professional ladder.

She's just there to learn, and to meet interesting people. They don't have to be positioned to help her advance - she can ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Photograph: Infinite by Mikko Lagerstedt

January 9, 2023

Yes, it's been a lot of green this last few days, but I couldn't resist this photograph!

Perfect for this time of year:

Our heroine saw her color palette for an upcoming trip:

Bringing Light to the Darkness... Well, the darkness of a room full of navy suits!

She is tasked with being the presentation coordinator for the entire 2nd day of the conference. Which means introducing each presenter, sitting on the stage during each presentation, and then coordinating the questions that follow.

She doesn't mind - she's got zero stage fright, and she would watch all of the presentations anyway!

But she's quite well-enough established in her career that she does NOT need to wear all navy, or all ... View the Post