The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Accent a Black and White wardrobe with Magenta Purple and Green Sheen

She Doesn't Want to Go... to this week-long "professional development" seminar. She's made it clear that she's not the right person to go, and that there are other members of the staff that are MUCH better suited to attend.

Worse yet, the weather there is uncertain, and nobody seems to know how dressy this whole shebang might be...

So she has her own plan... She's going to very quietly do her own thing, in colors that might daunt a less annoyed woman!

She will be perfectly appropriate, and will behave impeccably. But a little bit of acid green from time to time is going to be her way of showing a bit of... ire, shall we say?

She understands that she will, in fact, probably have a great time. And she's going to ... View the Post

Accent a Bone and Tan wardrobe with Rose Tan and Classic Blue

I'm currently in Florida, and the weather is changing every few minutes, it seems! So I thought that I'd share a wardrobe that spans a range of warm-ish weather...

Let's start with some pink!

Some days it's plenty warm enough to go swimming, and other days you definitely want "real" shoes, socks, and a sweater! If you're traveling to a destination like this, you've GOT to plan ahead...

It makes sense that the bone garments will be for the warmest weather...

These last 4 pieces offer a lot more options...

I have a blonde friend (or 10!) who would be beautiful in this wardrobe. These aren't my colors, but I could travel for a long time with this in a bag:

When I started looking at outfits, I thought I ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 34: short-sleeved neutral shirt

I thought that shirts like this would be EVERYWHERE by now... Silly me!

But after I thought for a minute about the overall plan, I realized that any lightweight shirt in which one can roll their sleeves is what we really want. This shirt covers the back of your neck when it gets too sunny, protects you from vicious air conditioning, and covers anything that you'd like to keep under wraps! (these shirt can make great swimsuit coverups...)

First up, remember our 6 scarves? There are, of course, nice summery shirts that are perfect with these scarves:

A shirt like this is perfect is you work in 1 of those "no shirts above the elbow" environments (I promise you, they exist!), but you want to go outside during lunch and ... View the Post

Accent a Navy and Gray wardrobe with Fire Brick & Peach Nougat

This next mix of colors is interesting - the brick, navy and grey could come together in a pretty conservative wardrobe, but the addition of the peach changes the whole feel of things!

Here's where I broke down and added a simple white top - I was struggling to find a really nice item in this color, and I just began to think that we might need a break from colors! Sometimes?

I kept the same navy clothes - partially just to show how versatile simple garments can be when you mix them with accessories and accent pieces! I changed the scarf though; I couldn't believe how hard it was to find a burgundy and navy scarf. This coming autumn, in the Men's Department... That's where they'll be!

And gray, or grey! I was originally ... View the Post

Accent a Navy and Stone wardrobe with Ultramarine Green & Samba

I thought that I'd try something slightly different with these most recent Pantone colors; start with a "2-Neutral" wardrobe base, and then add in 2 of the accent colors to pull together a 4 by 4 Wardrobe...

My theory (correct me if I'm wrong!) is that most of us have 2 neutrals in our wardrobes, and would like to have more than 1 accent color.

The only hesitation I have here is that there's no light neutral tee shirt or top; I'd be tempted to toss in a simple white tee and white button-front shirt into this wardrobe too!

Let's see how this works...

First up, the accent pieces in Samba:

A different heroine might want a red dress - why not? But this heroine is working now 3 days a week in an office which she has seen ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 33: dark neutral lightweight cardigan

I always find it a real milestone into warmer weather when I swap out wool or cashmere sweaters for something in silk, cotton or linen! It's the baby steps that add up to a change of season...

As usual, I want to share with you what I have in mind when I'm choosing these sweaters. I know that some of you really DON'T like sweaters that are just open in the front, so you can of course substitute a buttoned sweater in your wardrobe!

Before I show you some outfits, I thought I'd visit the 6 scarves that are part of our growing "One Outfit per Month" series, along with the cardigan that seems to be best suited for that scarf. (wait 'til we get to accent colors!!!!!)

First up - my favorite black and white. It's worth ... View the Post

Revisiting A Start with Art: Winter Scene in Moonlight by Henry Farrer

A couple of my friends have asked me to revisit this color palette for spring and early summer - that transition time of year! It's not quite right for this snowy day in Chicago, but it's a beautiful daydream...

We first saw this heroine when she went on vacation at the farmhouse, in the dead of winter! Her wardrobe was then expanded into a true 16-piece "Four by Four" wardrobe. And THEN, our heroine added on some essential accessories to make this a more complete winter wardrobe...

Now, the weather is warming up at the farm - the tenant farming the land told her that she was seeing crocus and some daffodil sprouts! She's got to go up and investigate.

This is the painting that inspires her color palette:

It's a lovely spring ... View the Post

New (?!?) Colors – Pantone New York Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2020/21 colors

So after the fashion shows in New York end, Pantone get their heads together to choose 10 MORE "new" colors...

Humbug.

But this is always fun to look at, and to imagine updating a Weekly Timeless Wardrobe of simple neutral clothes with these pretty, and sometimes VERY noticeable colors. This is a great time of year to indulge in a few pieces that give your existing winter wardrobe some life, and that bring a smile to your face!

This first color, which I call ORANGE, would be nice any time of year - this would be lovely and warm with beige, grey or navy in the middle of the winter:

This next color is SO PRETTY. It's a notch off of a "true" red, or something warm and tomato-y. With the classic loafers, and the feminine ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 32: dark neutral lightweight pants

They're regular long pants, but they're NOT denim, nor corduroy, nor velvet - they're a lovely seasonless (and often no-iron!) cotton pants. The perfect thing to wear on all but the most steamy, or shivery, days...

It's good to remember how versatile these can be; having more than 1 pair wouldn't be a silly extravagance if you wore them a lot!

 

I kept some of the accessories from last week, and the cardigan... Imagine if you had last week's and this week's clothes (and probably the week before) in black and white, or any of the evolving "color stories" in this series. Options make getting dressed (and thus life) easier...

Of COURSE you can wear hot pink espadrilles with a flower on them! They're perfect with ... View the Post

How to Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet – February

THIS is just perfect; what a great way to bring some cheer into your day, and some Mardi Gras spirit to your outfit throughout the year:

I was sorely tempted to dress our heroine in creamy silk with bright accents, but alas, creamy silk is not yet available from anybody I could see...

But there are ALWAYS options, if we think long and hard enough!

She Thought She Was Going to Mardi Gras for her vacation. But just a few days before she was to leave, the head of the Engineering Department told the Sales Manager that SHE should go to their biggest client for the launch of a number of system modifications. After all, she designed all of the carbon-neutral adaptations for the client operations - who better to explain it ... View the Post

February 2020 Six Scarves, Twelve Months, Twelve Outfits

A new month!

I'm still quite smitten with this color palette; it's pretty classic, with the navy and camel, but the accent colors keep it from being too predictable:

I'm making a big change this year from the outfits that I included in previous years in February. I used to feel that this was a good time to include a dress - mostly because I'm a total Valentine's Day sap. But I'm going to try to be a LOT more strategic in my choices this year, and to me that means another sweater, another pair of pants, and another shirt. It makes a lot of sense when you see the January and February outfits on the same page.

I could NOT resist this shirt. I feel like it was made for this color palette...

Here's where I love the way ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 31: Cropped Pants or Capris

Oh, this really feels like preparing for warm weather! That said, with boots and tights, these pants could be worn most of the year...

I like these pants because I feel a LOT more modest in them than I do in shorts. I also feel that I'm appropriate for a wider range of places and activities than I might be in something above my knees; you might feel differently! As with all garments, you have to know what you find most comfortable (both physically and mentally/emotionally) and fully honor your preferences.

The example outfits that follow are gradually changed from last week's outfits, which in turn evolved from the outfits of the week before that. My goal is to show how gradually adding carefully-chosen garments can give you ... View the Post