warm weather Archives - Page 22 of 33

3 FINAL French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring: Lavender, Coral, and Labradorite (?)

April 11, 2017

It's apparent that I could do these for a while - I'm going to have to remember to tackle this idea again the the autumn! But for now, I decided to venture into the idea of lavender, confront the controversy surrounding just exactly what color IS coral (well, in many places in the world, coral is turning white...) and then throw in a complete wild-card multi-colored accent based on one of my favorites stones!

And while I'm at it, I thought I would see if I could provide some ideas for those among us who don't want accent-colored shoes, and those who aren't in need of a cardigan!

(Where do you stand on accent shoes? I have very average-sized feet, and wear monochromatic outfits most of the time, but I can NEVER bring ... View the Post

Three MORE French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring: Blush, Red and French Blue

April 10, 2017

More accent colors! If greenery, from yesterday's French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring, is the "color of the year," then blush must be running a close second...

First up, let's see how blush works with these very classic neutral pieces:

I'd say this looks great!

Will blush look lovely with these very organic-feeling neutrals:

I admit that I'm always surprised by how very versatile olive green can be...

I'm pretty confident that black and white will work well...

It's not an expected color combination, but I think it's all the more effective and interesting for that!

Red is such a classic accent color, but it really never gets boring. Not many women wear it, frankly, because I ... View the Post

Three French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring

April 7, 2017

Yesterday, I shared with you what I consider to be the "must have" items for warm weather. (although I don't think I can say it enough - there is NO SUCH THING as a "must have" item; if someone tells you that there is, they are more interested in selling you something than they are in helping you figure out what you most need for YOU...)

Today starts the fun part - adding accent colors! I think I'm going to have to do this for at least another 2 or 3 days, because your suggested accent colors were many, varied, and lovely!

But let me start with the "Color of the Year" - another one of those fun marketing gimmicks that really don't mean a whole lot, but that remind us to focus on a color that we might have ... View the Post

How to Assemble a Warm-Weather Capsule Wardrobe – Bavarian Cream Tossed Floral Cardigan

February 3, 2017

I have no idea why it's called "Bavarian Cream." I had no idea that the cream there was in some way special...

Today is the last version of the "start with a patterned cardigan" idea, with more complete explanations of what I'm doing with these cardigans. (brace yourself - I get pretty carried away explaining my methodology here!) This cardigan was chosen because one of you who is contemplating the purchase on this one felt that the colors might prove to be too autumn-like...

For what it's worth, upon close study, I think that these colors are pretty safely seasonless; one might be reluctant to wear a pair of cream wool crepe trousers in February (nasty salt splashes = ruined garment!), but for the most part, ... View the Post

How to Assemble a Warm-Weather Capsule Wardrobe – The Burgundy Floral Cardigan

February 2, 2017

Groundhog Day! (in the US - does anybody else depend upon rodents for long-term weather forecasts?)

And you might feel like Groundhog Day, The Movie, because this idea looks really familiar. Remember the Dandelion Cardigan capsule wardrobe you just saw on Tuesday? Well, someone went wandering on the Lands' End website, and discovered this:

Bright Burgundy Floral Cardigan – Lands’ End

She was particularly interested in seeing how this worked with navy, so I thought another trip or two through this concept might be helpful...

First up, her preferred navy (which is indeed present in small doses in the cardigan) and ivory are the core neutrals, and then the vivid red (which I wouldn't have ... View the Post

How to Assemble a Warm-Weather Capsule Wardrobe – The Dandelion Cardigan

January 31, 2017

One of you has fallen in love....With a cardigan! And you're somewhat concerned that you won't wear it enough to make it worth the purchase...

This is the winsome object of her affections:

She assures me that she really loves the yellow, but has never worn it. And she's very devoted to her black and white neutrals:

I don't think she's going to have any problems at all - realistically, I think she need to maybe buy 1 thing for each of these outfits to pull everything together.In these first 2 outfits, she'll want to grab those delicious sandals, and the bracelets will be essential...

Another pair of yellow sandals might be overdoing it. Maybe. And the yellow tee shirt - assuming ... View the Post

Build a “Six-Pack” Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting With… Art? Fabric?

January 13, 2017 The Art Institute of Chicago currently has an exhibit of velvet fabric, tucked away in the basement rooms that seem to be reserved exclusively for fabrics. It's a small exhibit, but SUCH beauty...

Mental Health Break

It sounds terribly dramatic, but she really just wants to see her toes... with polish, if possible!

So a long weekend away, at a very un-chic beach. Renting a very un-chic suite with a kitchenette...She wants to wear something on her lips that isn't Carmex or ChapStick...

She doesn't want to "dine." She wants to walk, on sand, maybe in her bare feet!

She wants to carry a tote bag with a snack, something upon which to sit, and maybe a ... View the Post

Vacation Report, and a Few Extra Thoughts and Goodies

July 6, 2016

I'm back! Both back from my vacation, and back from Florida... both were quite lovely. I must admit that I missed blogging A LOT, which didn't surprise me; this is one of the great jobs of all time...Just as a reminder, this is what I packed for my 8 days in Central Florida. At the last minute, my black shirtdress was supplanted by a red linen dress. For the 4th of July weekend, a red dress is never a bad idea!

I was very happy with what I packed. Unlike what you might see in more "beachy" locations, central Florida is a place where you'll see quite a few people wearing black - head to toe, even! So I didn't stick out too much like a sore thumb.... And my silk shorts are perfect - absolutely perfect. ... View the Post

A Capsule Wardrobe Dilemma, and What I’m Packing for Paris, France

June 24, 2016 So I realized a couple of weeks ago that I wasn't wearing these 2 cardigans NEARLY as often as I felt that I should...

Every time I would pull out one of these sweaters, I just couldn't get an outfit together that really felt right.In a bit of a funk, I went back to my own best advice, and realized that a lot of my basic summer clothes in black were either too big, or too...faded/droopy/saggy/limp/icky for public consumption.

So I picked up these - the Original Core of Four:

After those arrived and were well-integrated into my wardrobe, I got wild and bought these 4 tops:

It turned out that I was wise to stock up on summer basics, because... well... the ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: June

June 7, 2016

These are really SUCH fun...Remember, these are our six original color scheme/inspirations for our capsule wardrobes:

Dresses this month! If you're not a dress wearer, I encourage you to reconsider; check out these... things, to wear under dresses. Your thighs will be SO much happier... They revolutionized my relationship with dresses!But if you're certain that a dress isn't for you, you could always substitute a simple top and capris or shorts, of course!

This jewelry was chosen to echo the detailed, intricate patterns in each of the garments shown on the scarf:

Earrings – Wirabhuwana; tote – Longchamp; denim dress – Dorothy Perkins; bracelet – Achara; sandals – Sam Edelman

Now ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: 2nd of the Portraits Theatraux by Natalia S. Gontcharova

May 25, 2016 I don't know how many of these Ms. Gontcharova did, but I'm going to try to find them all:

Not a color scheme we see every day! I opted to use pure white, rather than try to match that "faded paper" color. My assumption is that the original might have been on white paper - can anybody confirm or deny?

She Yins, She Yangs "Do you think she's completely... normal? I mean, sometimes she looks so aggressive, and other days she's just so calm and quiet..."

Earrings- Louise et Cie; watch- MVMT; linen pants – Boden; tank top – Uniqlo; scarf – Hermès La Marche du Zambeze; shoes – Sam Edelman; cardigan – Sarah Pacini; bag – Patricia Nash; tote – Sole ... View the Post

How to Wear a White Blazer and Navy Pants? I Have LOTS of Ideas…

May 7, 2016

A couple of you have expressed an interest in seeing a white blazer in a capsule wardrobe on The Vivienne Files, and I'm always happy to try to oblige! White blazers seem like the most obvious handy piece for warm weather, don't they? And my first instinct was to show them with a simple, timeless pair of navy pants; an easy pairing to pull on Monday morning when you don't know what to wear, but you know you have to look good!

But then I was stumped for an accent color; someone had asked for aqua, and someone else for teal...

Then I realized - this is one of the very FEW starting points in modern clothing that can lead to almost ANY accent color; the only color that might be tricky is beige, but I bet I could ... View the Post