The Vivienne Files

Ready to Start Thinking Spring? Start With Art – Book Illustration by Goyo Hashiguchi

February 16, 2026

It's not quite spring here, although I hear from some of you that flowers are starting to show?!?!?

But it IS the second half of February, which, for the forward-thinking and wise heroine, means starting to look for clothes for warmer weather. The best things sell quickly, especially if you wear a common size...

Our heroine was here last summer...

First, and always most important, let's pause for just a second and appreciate this:

Our heroine has chosen these colors for her wardrobe; it might seem limited, but there's a lot of possibilities if one is patient and focused. We all might want to focus and develop a more signature, personally authentic style...

We're going to start our heroine's Spring ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

February 13, 2026

Happy Valentine's Day! I don't necessarily "buy into" the holidays like this, which seem like one more reason to buy something. Let's just all take a LONG break tomorrow to contact those that we love - not just romantically. Send an unexpected email. Call someone. Write a note. Make sure that your loved ones KNOW that you love them...

But right now, let's admire the attention to detail, the glorious fabrics and trims worn by our two favorite fashion saints:

Such an easy color palette, but one with so much potential impact:

At the end of January, our heroine had this delightfully compact but (to many of you) rather casual wardrobe:

We have to remember that - in her "down time" - when ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Common Shelduck by Dennis A. Jones

February 11, 2026

Let's spend just a moment communing with a bird. This particular bird:

Wouldn't it be nice to be this calm? And I swear that I see confidence in the gaze of this bird. Of course, once you've got your personal style all sorted out and you look this good, why wouldn't you be confident?

I particularly admire the palette:

At the end of January, our friend who works on bird censuses (I had to look this one up - I would have SWORN it would be something like "censui" or "censua") had this quite compact but amazingly versatile wardrobe. I see 18 outfits here...

Our heroine has made a big decision - if she likes something that she owns, she's going to see if she can find the same garment in another color ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Spirit of Autumn by Albert Pinkham Ryder

February 9, 2026

Let's just take a second to enjoy the calm solitude of today's painting. I don't think most of us take enough time to look at art; I always see people cruising through the Art Institute of Chicago as if they have a checklist, and not two eyes and a heart...

Our heroine, the professional listener, has chosen this palette for her wardrobe; so far she's very pleased!

At the end of January, she only had eight garments in her "new" wardrobe, but they were carefully chosen and offer her literally twelve outfit options. Twelve really repetitive options, but that's still a lot of choices for so few garments!

This month, she was delighted to find a pair of pants that go beautifully with her wool vest! And she ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Ruffled Autumn Clouds by Emile Nolde

February 6, 2026

Let's see what our heroine with her eye on the corporate ladder is doing!

First, her inspirational painting:

Our heroine made a big decision this month - upon looking more closely at her painting, she's accepted that she can include lighter shades of her four accent colors in her wardrobe. While the idea of nothing but strong, bright accents appealed to her, she realized that it was going to be a LOT easier to find clothes if she gave herself wider choices...

It's sort of difficult to see on her color wheel, but when she started shopping for clothes, she realized the difference immediately!

And this is something we all can learn - our wardrobe plans and choices don't have to be carved in stone!

For ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Winter Cottonwoods by Georgia O’Keeffe

February 4, 2026

For just a moment, let's enjoy this calm, restful painting, full of depths if you look behind the trees and into the distance...

Our heroine, lover of all wild plants, has chosen this painting to inspire her wardrobe. She's a lover of the "nuts and bolts" of nature - the roots, the cold bare stems of winter, the starkness of the branches silhouetted against the frozen sky...

At the end of January, our heroine had assembled the most gentle and subtle of capsule wardrobes:

Our heroine had no definite plans for when she would add bright flower yellow to her wardrobe, so when she saw this cashmere sweater, she had NO reason to hesitate. And then she finds the darkest brown cardigan too! While the fox ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Lonely Erika Giovanna Klien

February 2, 2026

Time flies, doesn't it? Although January did sometimes seem to be a decade-long winter challenge...

But let's think of art! I particularly love this painting, and I can't put my finger on why. I think that's just fine - do you have to be able to explain your passions and dislikes?

The balance of color here could be different, but I think we're going to have a good time with these three strong neutrals and two unexpected accent colors:

At the end of January, our heroine had maybe the world's most organized and versatile core wardrobe. You could toss literally any accent color into this eight-piece capsule wardrobe and have a lot of options. It's not always fascinating to start with these neutral pieces, ... View the Post

Green Always Feels Fresh: Start With Art – In Northern Mists by Erik Werenskiold

January 30, 2026

One last visit with our traveling heroine, and the print that she uses to inspire her wardrobe:

Her color palette focused on the pastel colors in the sky, although she could easily include both black, white (stars!) and a soft grey in this palette:

They're not at all sure that the Northern Lights are still a possibility, but they do know that there are flowers starting to sprout, and leaves just beginning to show... (use your imaginations, all of us still in single-degree cold!)

So her accent color is green, and her theme is leaves!

As a reminder, this is the travel capsule wardrobe template that she's using to choose her six garments for each trip:

She knows full well that spring can ... View the Post

The Impact of a New Accent Color: Start With Art – In Northern Mists by Erik Werenskiold

January 28, 2026

Monday's very pink wardrobe was a success - except there was cloud cover the ENTIRE weekend she was with her friend.

So they're going to try again...

Remember, this is the illustration upon which we're basing all of this week's travel capsule wardrobes:

Our heroine has a denim-focused wardrobe, with three pastel accent colors:

They're trying to encourage clearer skies, so our heroine is focusing on yellow, and sunny earrings!

As a reminder, this is the Six-Pack Plan that she's going to try to select for her second weekend with her new friend:

She's not trying to convince her friend that she has an endlessly large wardrobe, so she packs a lot of the same clothing as before. People who ... View the Post

Thinking About Six-Packs: Start With Art – In Northern Mists by Erik Werenskiold

January 26, 2026

Just a quick idea - if you want to save both electricity and water (not necessarily for you personally, but for the world), when you're searching for something on the Internet, type -ai at the end of your search. Voila, NO Artificial Intelligence responses!

I've been thinking a lot about the logic of what actually goes into a Six-Pack travel capsule wardrobe. So I'm going to start with this most excellent illustration, and conjure up three travel capsule wardrobes this week...

Honestly, could this be more timely? So many people in the Northern Hemisphere have been able to see the Northern Lights for the first time in their lives. Bless the overactive solar storms, eh?

To me, this print just looked like ... View the Post

An Inexpensive Way to Try an Accent Color

January 23, 2026

One last - for now - sampling of colors!

Many of us aren't comfortable plunking down a lot of money on a piece of clothing that may not work out. So I thought that inexpensive tee shirts might be the best way to approach this...

Normally, I'm NOT going to suggest that you buy a garment that's essentially "fast fashion," but in this case it might be excusable. If you buy one of these tee shirts right now, and wear it every week or ten days until the end of the summer, you very well might wear it out! And that would be fine - you would either get the color out of your system, or have discovered a new accent that you want to wear long term.

If you're not sure about choosing a color, let me suggest that you look at ... View the Post

Maybe It’s Time for an Accent Color That Will Last Into Spring…

January 21, 2026

This post started with a BUNCH of emails in which I tried to encourage some of you to at least try a button-front shirt from Lands' End. For literally decades, I avoided button-fronts like the plague, because I'm short, short-armed, short waisted, and generous endowed...

You know how this works out - buttons that gape, sleeves that hang down to your knees. That feeling that your body is not built for this world!

These shirts might work. They do for me. I wear Petite Large, and everything is just right...

Seecond, the temperature is punishingly cold right now. A bright color or two might be nice, eh?

Finally, I realized that the clothes that stay in my closet all 12 months are my button-front shirts, which I ... View the Post