The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

1 Dress 100 Days: Day 23

September 24, 2022

Yesterday, I spend a HUGE portion of the day sitting at my desk (in The Vivienne Files International Headquarters - aka our bedroom!), catching up on things and working on Monday's blog post.

It's cool in Chicago, and I mostly wanted to wear something soft and cozy - hence I FINALLY have a chance to wear my sweatshirt from 4 Objects. It is a thing of beauty...

love,

Janice

p.s. I'm surprised that I'm not at all bored with this project; I'm actually thinking that my long-term wardrobe could be nothing more than "columns of black" with 2nd layers... So easy! ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Shūbun Autumnal Equinox

September 23, 2022

When the days get shorter, I start checking to make certain that I have a nice jacket, as well as the necessary bits and pieces to stay warm!

Today's heroines don't all have heavy, wooly scarves; sometimes a silk scarf is enough!

And all of your colors don't have to match perfectly...

Blue skies and golden leaves...

You're never too old to wear a fun hat and mittens!

And it's never wrong to stock up on navy essentials:

The angle of the sun on autumn afternoons makes everything look better, doesn't it?

If you love pink, wear pink! You don't have to match the trees...

And remember that something as simple as brown buttons can make everything look ... View the Post

Five Accent Colors with Navy

September 21, 2022

As we have come to expect, Pantone "discovered" 10 "new" fashion colors from the London Spring/Summer 2022/23 Fashion Week.

Bizarrely enough, they seem to have arranged them almost like a (weird) rainbow! So to look at these colors as suggestions for wardrobe accents, I'm going to take the first 5 colors and pair them all with a tiny number of navy pieces...

I chose navy because it looks good with all 5 colors - which makes sense. Navy is opposite to orange on the color wheel, and these colors are all on that side of the wheel!

It sounds strange, but it seems to work...

First up - how often are you looking for something in a true, "not blue, not yellowish" red color, and everything you see is really on ... View the Post

Start with Art: Revisiting Portraits Theatraux by Natalia Goncharova

September 19, 2022

Remember this heroine? She was going away EVERY weekend, to visit friends who have a summer house. She was trying pretty hard not to let on to her co-workers that she was wearing the same outfit every Friday and Monday...

I've never had a co-worker who would notice such a thing! Except for Belovedest, of course...

As our heroine start to plan her autumn travel wardrobe, she realizes that she might have to be sort of... flexible... with her colors!

This is a smart thing to remember - the fashion police are NOT going to come after you because you've decided that moss green is easier to find in the autumn than mint!

So every Friday, our heroine will be wearing this; eventually she might have gloves, or ... View the Post

1 Dress, 100 Day: Day 18

September 18, 2022

A long LONG walk through the parks, and then our favorite Mexican restaurant for an early dinner! My linen shirt over my dress kept me from getting sunburned - it was really warm today...

If you're in downtown Chicago, hunt down Gordo's Tiny Tacos; it's worth the search!

love,

Janice ... View the Post

1 Dress, 100 Days: Day 16 and 17

September 17, 2022

The weather remains warm, so I'm not able to tear into my sweaters and scarves, but I'm unearthing jewelry from before the pandemic to wear with Sierra.

I am not tired of my dress - far from it! It's pretty freeing to have the bulk of my outfit already chosen, and to be able to think of nothing more than jewelry and shirt choices.

But I am eager to start wearing scarves every day! Any scarf that I don't wear in the next 83 days will probably be sold - that's a happy goal...

love,

Janice ... View the Post

I Love It, But Will I Wear It? Boden Paisley Velvet Skirt

September 16, 2022

I knew, when I linked to the blue velvet skirt on Wednesday, that someone would see this one:

 

Questions started showing up immediately in my mail box - "do you THINK that I could wear this skirt enough to justify buying it?"

Well, yes, I do!

Let's look at some possibilities, ranging from just a blouse in warmer weather, to bundling up in the dead of winter:

If you assemble everything together that I've shown here, it's a pretty neat, bright wardrobe!

But no matter how much you love that skirt, you probably can't wear it every day! So I might add just a few things:

For many of us, this wardrobe would get us through the winter with no trouble!

If ... View the Post

1 Dress, 100 Days: Day 14 and 15

September 15, 2022

Yesterday and today the weather has been warm, so I'm not wearing scarves. My linen shirt worn over my wool dress is cool and keeps the sun off of my shoulders - I'm very careful about the sun!

But I AM being reckless and put my wedding ring back on my hand; if my hands swell, they can just cut off my ring finger!

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Adding Clothes and Accessories: Start with Nature – The Spinning Pulsar of the Crab Nebula

September 14, 2022

Remember our heroine, the photographer who was going to go hang out at the observatory for a few weeks?

This is what she is using as her inspiration for her travel wardrobe:

When we left this heroine, she had decided to pack this:

She discussed her plans with a number of other science photographers, and realized that she was probably going to be at the observatory longer than she had initially planned! For one thing, a pretty well-known astronomer is going to be visiting for a few days at the end of September, and she would be insane to miss the chance to meet him.

And there are a couple more astronomic events expected, so she just decided to stay two weeks longer. There's going to be a (sort of) ... View the Post