The Vivienne Files

October 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Ruffled Autumn Clouds by Emile Nolde

October 7, 2026

Our aspiring bank employee is our heroine today! I particularly love this woman; she's doing things MUCH more cleverly than many of us did 40 years ago when we were trying to take over the world...

Her inspiration is this lovely painting:

At the end of September, our heroine had a 40-piece wardrobe. She's never had any sense that anybody at her office every notices that she wears a lot of navy, a few accents colors, and nothing else. Clothing isn't nearly the most important thing at work!

This is her current collection of accessories. She knows that her co-workers have noticed these - especially her scarves! There are occasional questions about where she found something, and also occasional ... View the Post

October 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Winter Cottonwoods by Georgia O’Keeffe

October 5, 2026

Let's drop in our landscape designer, and on her favorite Georgia O'Keeffe painting:

At the end of September, as the weather began to turn grey and misty, our heroine had this 40-piece wardrobe:

and these accessories:

Our heroine has decided that she needs to go visit a couple of ongoing work sites; heretofore, she's only met with clients in the company offices. But she's been asked, and she will go!

And she really wants to get into the mood of the season - grey mist and fog with bright sunshine breaking through.

And she's seen a scarf that really calls her name. At a distance, the scarf seems mostly soft greenish-blue, but up close, there are lots of sunshiny details. The heart will ... View the Post

October 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Lonely Erika Giovanna Klien

October 2, 2026

OCTOBER! I don't know why the very sound of the word fills me with relief - it's not as if I absolutely hate hot weather...

Our heroine this month is travelling to New York two weeks out of four, for the foreseeable future. And those New York types do a LOT of dining out, so she's thinking about hitting the holiday clothes early this year!

I'm almost nauseated by how much new clothing just hit the stores in the last two days; does EVERY store need to bring in literally hundreds of new garments each month? Sigh...

First and foremost, let's admire, yet again, the beautiful painting that is the inspiration for our heroine when she goes shopping for clothes and accessories:

Our heroine's current 40-piece ... View the Post

Combining a Pair of Classics: Chic Sightings – Burgundy and Denim

September 30, 2026

I don't know why I never think of combining these two colors - they're both classic, and they go together beautifully. Sometimes, I have to see someone really eye-catching and elegant (but NOT expensive or dressy!) to get my brain started!

First - of course I found a painting! There is always a painting...

The first woman I saw was wearing the MOST simple jeans and chambray shirt, but her cardigan and boots were both burgundy, her scarf was perfection incarnate, and I have no idea what earrings she was wearing!

I like to think that she would approve of my earrings choice for her:

Plenty of women in my neighborhood wear denim skirts on a regular basis. Burgundy brings a certain loveliness to a ... View the Post

Chic Sightings – Combining Two Neutrals: Black & Brown

September 28, 2026

I've been seeing a lot of black with brown in my neighborhood, and I've been meaning to share it with you...

And then I stumbled across this painting! I've been having quite the run of good luck with paintings corresponding with my "real life" sightings; I think that's a good sign.

The first brown and black sightings I made were of women wearing a brown skirt or pair of pants with pretty much everything else in black. A scarf with the two colors, or a pair of earrings in onyx and tiger's eye, served to pull together everything and make it look intentional:

I particularly admired this dressy version:

A brown dress might be a fun way to experiment with brown; add a scarf and earrings, and your ... View the Post

I Love It But How Will I Wear It? Seasalt Cornwall Fair Isle Cardigan

September 25, 2026

Some of you have been over the Seasalt Cornwall website with a fine-tooth comb! There have been questions about how to incorporate Fair Isle sweaters into a wardrobe, so I'm going to address one of the (at least) three Fair Isle sweaters I see there.

This sweater is lovely, and the colors are unusual:

Our friend who wants to buy this sweater is interested in using it as the fulcrum around which she will assemble a small autumn wardrobe. She only needs clothes for weekends, and an occasional week night, so she feels like the Slot Machine will work for her...

Just as a reminder, this is our plan:

Pants are pretty straightforward - taupe, olive, and my favorite ivory cords!

I grabbed my favorite ... View the Post

Looking for a Bright, Cheerful Accent Color? Pantone New York Fashion Week Colors, Spring/Summer 2027

September 23, 2026

Always a favorite post for me! It takes HOURS and HOURS to find things that even come close to the "new" colors, but it's always weirdly fun...

I'm a weirdly fun woman!

First, a painting that I've seen a few times in the last few weeks, which reminded me of these colors:

Just a random art gift, from me to you!

What's the point of an accent color, anyway?

For me, when you have all of the core colors of your wardrobe chosen, and you own sufficient neutral things to be able to get dressed every day without effort, it's time for accent!

Maybe you already own a single item or two in a color that you've always liked, but never really made a focal point.

Maybe it's a color that you loved as a ... View the Post

I Love It But How Will I Wear It? A Liberty Floral Skirt from J.Crew

September 21, 2026

Autumn shopping - so much fun, so much stress!

When in doubt, don't.

Take the time and effort to figure out what you need, what you REALLY want, and how it can be happily integrated into your wardrobe.

One among you is longing for this skirt, to use as a "keynote" item for a quick weekend trip with her sweetheart. She's a big fan of crewneck sweaters, button-front shirts, and flowers...

So first let's admire this lovely thing:

She likes the Slot Machine approach to packing for a long weekend, so let's start there:

First - the sweaters! Simple, classic, in her three main wardrobe colors. And to make it just a bit romantic - a beautiful rose brooch and pink pearl earrings:

Now that she ... View the Post

I Love It But How Will I Wear It? Brown Striped Sweater from Seasalt Cornwall

September 18, 2026

I finally remember why Seasalt Cornwall ISN'T a strange brand to me - there's one on the main shopping street where my uncle lives in England! I'm occasionally crazy, but I'm not completely gone. Yet...

So one of you - at least - has a longing for this sweater, and isn't at all certain if it will work for her. My first instinct: if you have brown in your closet already, this sweater is going to fit in like it was born there!

THE LINK IS WORKING! AND YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT THE FIVE COLORS IN WHICH THIS SWEATER IS OFFERED...

Maybe our heroine is headed to Garrett County Maryland, for the Autumn Glory Festival?

At any rate, she's got a long weekend of "leaf peeping" ahead, and wants to build a tiny ... View the Post

I Love It But How Will I Wear It? Black Floral Print Cardigan from J.Crew

September 16, 2026

Oh, so MANY of us right now are seeing lots of things that tempt us - my email is full of queries about what to buy, what to ignore, and what's not to be missed!

How did Monday's heroine miss this cardigan? If it's still around by mid-October, when she next shops, I suspect she may have to have it!

This particular heroine is heading to her college homecoming - just for Friday night arriving late, and then Saturday night, departing Sunday after brunch.

Yes, her college's "colors" are black and red...

She knows she doesn't need to pack much, and so she decides to go with a foolproof approach to packing:

She starts with pants and skirts - no jeans, but cotton twill pants, and corduroy pants, are ... View the Post

September 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

September 14, 2026

Almost halfway through September, and in Chicago, we're still wearing linen...

But our most elegant heroine, the architectural historian, is preparing to spend the autumn semester in Paris, teaching!

She shops VERY carefully, and bases her personal style on this most gorgeous painting of two saints:

She currently has this 36-piece wardrobe, which she could just toss into a (really big) suitcase and be just fine!

She will need another bag for her accessories, but they're what really makes this wardrobe sing:

She would like another skirt, and a couple more sweaters. When she saw this classic black jacket, she knew what her plan would be for the month:

Her wardrobe tucks neatly into the ... View the Post

September 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Common Shelduck by Dennis A. Jones

September 11, 2026

Before we visit our heroine the wildlife statistical analyst, let's spend just a second admiring her favorite photograph:

One of the things that our heroine really likes about Common Shelducks is the high-contrast juxtaposition of colors on their body. She's keeping that in mind this month when she shops!

Right now, after her August shopping, her current wardrobe looks like this - certainly a wardrobe that would get you through quite a bit of time, or a VERY long trip:

These accessories are delicious...

Maybe it's because it's September, and maybe there's some magical, hidden fashion reason, but there's a lot of brown clothing available right now! Our heroine decides to take a look at where she ... View the Post