The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Start with Art: A Travel Capsule Wardrobe based on Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Ah, remember this quite lavish and elegant heroine from this post, and this one?

She's a specialist in the symbolism around various saints in Gothic architecture. Very successful, very highly regarded around the world. And now, she's going to be traveling for 2 days every month to present a serious of lectures at the University of Paris. Tough work, eh?

Since the fire at Notre Dame, there's quite a bit of study being done all over Paris about every detail of the cathedral. She's essential to helping with some of the reconstruction...

Her hair is still a flawless crown of white braids; her lipstick never budges, and her fingernails are flawless... I believe that she has no idea what denim IS, and has never worn a stitch of ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – The August Fierce Ambition bracelet from Fierce Lynx Designs

What rich, luscious colors; there's NOTHING Halloween-ish about this beauty!

"Can You Come For a Month?" She's wanted to volunteer for them for YEARS! Finally, their needs and her computer skills overlap perfectly! And she's taking a sabbatical from her real job to go there...

"You can stay in the dorm with the other volunteers; there's laundry there, and we manage to cobble together meals that we share..."

"There's very little storage here, so don't bring your entire wardrobe! If you're going to be in a public-facing position in the office, you need to look presentable, but nobody needs to bring a tuxedo nor a ballgown... But do be advised that the offices get pretty chilly after the beginning of ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 8: Light Neutral Shirt

Wait! Don't just skip over this because you've never had luck in the past finding button-front shirts that fit properly. They DO exist... (and of course, these outfit ideas would work beautifully with light neutral blouses or tee shirts...)

Not all that long ago, I got a job working in a bakery. It wasn't exactly the job of my dreams, but I wanted to work there for a few months so that I could learn more about how everything was done. It was fascinating...

I had to wear a long-sleeved, button-front white shirt every day. Happily, I found that Lands' End Petite sized 12 fit both my strong torso and my rather short arms. So don't give up!

I've given some thought to what you need to keep in mind when you're making this ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Polka Dots!

I was out and about the other day, wearing dots... And suddenly I saw them everywhere!

This isn't precisely what I was wearing, but it's sufficiently close that you could pick me out of a crowd...

Dots are great - they're truly timeless and classic, but they're sufficiently interesting and uncommon that they bring a sense of fun and whimsy to any outfit...

I particularly love the idea of a dotted dress... How can I have managed to never have one for my entire life?

I'm pretty sure I had a dotted skirt, back in the days of my corporate wardrobe. I was pretty racy... This next skirt would be great for the entire year - can you imagine this outfit for the winter holidays, with a cozy cardigan on top?

If you don't ... View the Post

Start with Art: Portrait of the Countess de Martel de Janville by Giovanni Boldini

I've been wanting to work on a capsule wardrobe - maybe an occasional series - in which I could completely ignore things like prices, and go whole hog for lovely dressy things... Just a pretty fantasy to share... The Settlement It made the news; it was the largest settlement in the history of the industry...

Her very expensive accountant handled all of the donations and endowments, and now she's catching the train to buy that apartment... A pied a terre in her favorite neighborhood...

She's going to channel the confident look of her favorite portrait... She's been told that she strongly resembles the Countess, which is no mean compliment!

She will only be there a few days - the lawyers have handled all of the paperwork ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 7: A Second Layer

While the first 6 pieces of this wardrobe are versatile, our heroine could certainly use something to keep her a bit warmer, and give her that "finished" look that you get with a jacket or cardigan...

I'm a fan of keeping this first cardigan (or jacket) as simple as possible; simple = versatile when we're talking about clothes...

In all of the earlier weeks, we've been looking at pants, so I thought that I would show that a good cardigan is the perfect thing to wear with a dress. If you want to look more casual, or wear a summery dress when the weather cools down, a sweater is the answer!

Why yes, that handbag is absurdly expensive... But I like the way it looks here; I'm sure we can all find something a bit less ... View the Post

A Wardrobe with Multiple “Moods” or Accent Colors? Start with an Artist: Romaine Brooks

Wednesday, our heroine chose accessories and was quite well-prepared for a lengthy trip...

But now, she's really going to travel!

Just to recap, she built her initial travel wardrobe around this stark but captivating painting:

Her initial travel capsule wardrobe is quite complete...

She's made a very tidy start to a quite large travel (or seasonal?) wardrobe:

And her accessories are similarly well planned:

But now, she's going away for 13 weeks! A guest teaching post? A short course at a foreign school? Who could guess...

She knows that there are plenty of women who could travel forever wearing nothing but black and grey, but she's thinking that she wants to introduce some accent colors... Maybe ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a Travel Wardrobe; Start with Art – Ida Rubenstein by Romaine Brooks

When we last visited this intrepid heroine, a week ago, she had her clothing well sorted for her trip, but still needed accessories!

Her first wardrobe cluster is black - of course! But it's not completely somber; printed tops make a difference, as does a striped skirt...

Accessories... I personally feel that you need a few more accessories than you need items of clothing! Of course, you may not agree, but this template will give us some guidance as we get this solo traveler packed and ready to go...

Six accessories for each cluster... hmm....

Yes, these shoes can be worn with everything! If she remembers to pack black opaque tights, she will be all set... Of course, you could bring 2 pairs of shoes - 1 for the ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 6: Dark Trousers

Tee shirts and jeans will get many of us a long way in life, but it's about time we started dressing a bit more... not casual!

These pants can be pretty much anything other than jeans! (and no, I do not consider leggings, nor yoga pants, to be what we're looking for; they have their place in your wardrobe, but this isn't it...)

If I were only going to have 1 pair of pants that were NOT jeans, I'd definitely get a pair of cotton twill pants, similar to the summer dress pants that men wear. They're appropriate for almost the entire year - maybe not the screaming dead of summer, but any other time. If the overall design is simple, you will find that you can wear these pants with anything from a cashmere sweater to a rugby ... View the Post

August 2019 – 12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

This file is getting insanely big! I live in terror of having it becoming corrupted; I've got it backed up EVERYWHERE...

Now that the stores are beginning to look legitimately autumn-ish, it might be a good time to check the condition of your boots. If you're picky, of if you wear a difficult size, don't hesitate to start looking now, even though it might feel insanely early...

A plain white shirt or blouse would certainly work well here, but I love these dots...

As always, if we choose a new outfit based on the same scarf, the garments will pretty much by definition work with the rest of the wardrobe:

And as always, these new pieces add a lot of new possible outfits to your small wardrobe!

Purple!

Why ... View the Post

Start with Art: Ida Rubenstein by Romaine Brooks, or the Power of 5-Garment Clusters

She loves to travel alone....

She carries her own luggage, thank you! And she can lift her bag into the overhead bin, too. It's a point of personal satisfaction that she's strong enough to be self-sufficient... (it's an accomplishment to hold onto as long as possible, isn't it?)

In the course of planning what to pack, she grew to see that working in clusters of 5 garments would be easy to sort out in her head, and also gives her plenty of outfit possibilities! The right 5 garments can translate into 8 outfits...

It's not that she plans to travel forever, and must never EVER repeat an outfit; that's kind of silly...

But what if something is stranded at the laundry? What if the weather gets warmer (or cooler)? What if ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 5: Jeans or a Denim Bottom

I think it's about time we found something to wear below the waist, don't you think? For most of us, jeans or something similar seems the most logical place to start. When I was young, jeans were mostly for the young, and even up until about 5 years ago, when I traveled to Paris I seldom saw anybody over the age of 30 wearing jeans. But now? Jeans, in good condition - no holes, clean but not crispy pressed (no creases!) are seen on almost anybody...

As always, I have some thoughts about what to look for.... And as always, these are GUIDELINES, not hard-and fast rules. Nobody is entitled to tell you what to wear unless you're somewhere that requires a uniform. Otherwise, we're all on our own! (which makes building a wardrobe ... View the Post