The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

13-Piece Spring Wardrobes – Black and White, Olive and Beige

June 11, 2021

I can clearly see that I want to do at least 2 more of these after today! The denim/chambray/soft pink idea MUST be investigated, as well as... what other color?

But today, we look at black, and then at my nemesis, green!

First up - a wardrobe that I could envision buying if I lost every stitch of clothing that I own... the pink skirt would be a real adventure for me, but why the HECK not try it?

This may not qualify as a completely "Whatever's Clean 13" wardrobe - I can see some of us feeling uncomfortable wearing the blue tee shirt with the pink skirt. But if one could find the right scarf, necklace, or bracelet to tie them together, or if one just plain and simply LIKES the 2 colors together, why not? (it's ... View the Post

Two Spring Capsule Wardrobes, Using the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe

June 9, 2021

Ah, you would have laughed if you could have seen me starting this post - I thought that I would just open ALL THIRTEEN of the earlier posts, and copy things from there...

Now remember, since the beginning of the pandemic, I've been blogging from a laptop!

Just as well it didn't work out - many of the garments from early weeks are long gone in many sizes...

So I've used quite a few familiar garments, and picked up some new things to fill in the blanks!

I really like to show these wardrobes to reinforce my personal conviction that these classic garments can come together to give you a great travel wardrobe, or the base of a Garde Robe du Mois.

I love the subtle elegance of these colors:

Just imagine this ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #13 – a summer dress

June 7, 2021

Dresses! I wear a LOT of dresses in the summer time, because they're fast, easy, and modest but still cool...

I know that the list of garments that I wrote years ago specifically says "shirtdress," but we can be flexible... I like shirtdresses because you can wear another top under them, or use them as a swimsuit coverup, or as a duster jacket over another outfit etc.

Let's look at some ideas!

For those of you who are saving the individual garment images, here's the glorious dress all on its own:

I often see women wear button-front dresses with a contrast top underneath, and the dress itself unbutton down to mid-torso. It's a nice look...

And I'm picturing this scarf tied around a pony ... View the Post

Are You Ready? Stress Dressing for Warm Weather

June 4, 2021

Emergencies and last-minute changes of plan don't stop just because the weather gets nice, right?

So it behooves most of us to have a plan in mind in case we're called away for a day or 2 of work at a remote location, or a quick trip to a fun destination, or a quick trip to an urgent family situation...

This first wardrobe is the sort of thing you would grab if you had to go babysit for a day or two, or care for an older relative:

 

Your friends need you to go stay at their summer home for a couple of days while the windows are being repaired? You can be ready in 10 minutes...

Someone from your family needs to show up for an estate issue... You might just need to BE there, but you may have to hang ... View the Post

June 2021 – Six Scarves, 12 Months, 12 Outfits

June 2, 2021

In building these wardrobes, I was trying to follow the Starting from Scratch guidelines... but the next items in order would include a jacket...

So I'm skipping over THAT step, and moving on to the "complete outfit" step. With warm weather coming, I could neither find nor face jackets!

And I'm introducing some prints into these wardrobes - not a moment too soon, eh?

This wardrobe only had the lone gold tee shirt to represent the yellow/gold accent color, so when I saw these pants, I knew this heroine might want to branch out in this direction:

This wardrobe offers 2 distinctive accents - the brightness of gold, or the gentle prettiness of pink...

And her new garments blend seamlessly with her ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #12 – a warm weather skirt!

May 31, 2021

Let's get dressed up - just a little bit!

yes, I know some of you will never wear dresses or skirts - imagine that these skirts are shorts, or cropped pants, or long pants...

When I started thinking about the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, it never occurred to me that this skirt should be in a neutral color. I think I realized somewhere in my cluttered mind that a skirt isn't going to be worn as often (maybe?) and thus can be the standout part of an outfit!

You could take a simple navy skirt and dress it for work - imagine dashing into the loo at the end of the day and changing into shorts and sandals, but keeping your tank top and cardigan on!

Maybe this scarf is tied in your hair, or arranged in an ... View the Post

May 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Desert Lynx

May 28, 2021

They Might Buy a Camper... But they're renting one for a long weekend first, to see if it's what they're hoping for...

Limited clothing space, for sure! So she's planning carefully...

There's no point in calling just 1 outfit "In Transit," since quite a bit of their time will be on the road! But one must start somewhere, and this is where our heroine is starting:

She's sticking with cropped pants - no shorts because she does NOT want the back of her thighs sticking to the seat!

And driving shoes, because she might get to drive. Maybe...

So for the 3 or 4 days that they're away, our heroine will have this wardrobe from which to choose; frankly, it's difficult to put together a bad outfit ... View the Post

Start with Art: Winter Solstice by Dame Barbara Hepworth

May 26, 2021

They're having an anniversary party... and this year, she can go!

She will leave after work, spend all day Saturday and Sunday with her relatives, and then go back to work on Monday morning!

Life got much easier once she realized that she could wear the same cardigan and skirt on Monday that she wore on Friday, and that NOBODY would notice...

Since the party is during the weekend of the Solstice (more or less!), she's using this as her inspiration:

The big constraint for her in warm weather? She will NOT expose her arms. Not to anybody, for any reason, unless it's a moment of true intimacy...

Everybody has something that concerns them, right?

But she loves to wear sandals, and she really rather ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #11 – neutral lightweight 2nd layer

May 24, 2021

This is timely - this morning when I put on my long linen tank top, and linen cropped pants, I realized that I was going to need a cardigan if I was going to go out for lunch, or to the grocery store, or almost anyplace indoors! Air conditioning around Chicago woke up yesterday, with a VENGANCE...

If the heroine wearing this lovely linen dress hangs around the garden party 'til after the sun sets, she may want her beige cardigan too!

This isn't a category where you have to stock up, so you can go ahead and buy a couple of really NICE cardigans... I have 2 - a black and a white - and they serve me well!

What if you're still occasionally required to look like an adult - at least from the waist up?

Your ... View the Post

Start with a Cardigan: Birdcage Print Cardigan from Talbots

Ma7 21, 2021

Just in the last few days, 3 people have contacted me about cardigans from Talbots! These kinds of "confluences of interest" happen often - I find them fascinating...

But the cardigans are pretty amazing too! Some lovely prints...

excuse the image quality - I had to do some scary digital magic to get this together!

I love this sweater - some of us were debating the merits of using bright colors for accents, and this cardigan sets us up for a summer of black, white and brights:

Let's assume for working purposes that our heroine already has her black and white Common Wardrobe all sorted out...

Now, she decides that she's going to base her accent colors for this year on her new cardigan!

First up, ... View the Post

Start with Art: Girl with a Tinsel Scarf by William John Leech

May 19, 2021 She Knew It... As soon as she handed her 2 (very large) suitcases to the airline staff, she knew she wasn't going to see them again ANY time soon...

But she's an inspired woman!

Because she's taking SO much stuff with her, she doesn't really have a clear palette for her entire travel wardrobe, but for her carry-on, she has ideas...

After she thought about it for a few days, she realized that she could, in her carry-on bag, bring along enough clothes to get her through a few days if (when?) the rest of her bags go roaming without her...

So she started by establishing a color palette for this segment of her overall travel gear, and chose lightweight clothes and flat shoes to pack more easily.

This ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #10 – short-sleeved textured top

May 17, 2021

I know that I describe this top as "textured" in order to be consistent with the way that I described things like cabled sweaters... What I'm looking for here is a warm-weather top with some visual interest - something more than just a tee shirt...

A print makes perfect sense for spring and summer, so don't be terribly bound by the idea of texture!

A simple pleated top in a pretty color can change the look of anything with which you wear it!

I actually saw a man on the street the other day in a seersucker suit, white shirt, pink madras tie and pink pocket square. Pink socks and white bucks.... He looked amazing!

 

Even if you're wearing shorts, a sweater can be about a million times more ... View the Post