The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Archives for 2013

2013 - Page 8 of 27

The Role of Texture in the Monochromatic Wardrobe

When you get a look at my upcoming Project 333 for Autumn, you might be terribly concerned that I've fallen into a deep depression, because a LOT of my clothes this autumn are grey...But if you look carefully at the photograph above, you can see that my wardrobe's not going to be boring.  The dotted fabric is my skirt, the grey ribs are a dress, the absolutely WONDERFUL sequined sparkly thing is a cardigan, and the seed and ladder stitched garment on the right is a crew neck sweater.  I'm not at all sure how I'm going to wear these various garments, but as Project 333 moves forward, I will be sure to let you know.

Simple outlines or photographs of clothes don't always show the true depth of beauty in the garments; texture can ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe Packing for a Book Tour: Leaf Green and Black

September 16, 2013   After I finished today's post for Tish at A Femme d'un Certain Age, I looked around at some other possible colors with which the black items could be worn... and stumbled upon some beautiful green options.  Not something which you might want to wear every day, but an interesting choice if you want to be remembered and make a statement of originality!  

Blouse – Uniqlo,  earrings – Annette Ferdinandsen,  Black slouch pants – Helmut, black cardigan coat – Ann Demeulemeester,  scarf – Nordstrom,  watch – DKNY ,  flats – Delman , tote – Victorinox  

Peridot and blue topaz earrings- Ippolita, green asymmetric sweater – Allude, earrings – Arunashi, green tank ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Fall Accent Color: Deep Lichen Green

September 14, 2013   This is another Pantone seasonal color that feels a lot like a neutral to me - and a beautiful neutral!  There are lots of items available in this color; if you aren't comfortable wearing this near your face, there are still a lot of options for shoes and pants...  

Scarf – YuhOkano,  cardigan – Bark, earrings – Nikki Baker, Buddha bracelet – Eastern Mystic, loafers - Munro  

 

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Fashion Fairy Tale #1

Have a wonderful Friday,

love,

Janice

And come visit A Femme d'un Certain Age today, where I make a few suggestions for a book tour wardrobe for her. (what excitement!!!)

                        ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Fall Accent 2013: Vivacious

September 12, 2013   I'm always amazed when a bright shade of fuchsia or hot pink is considered a "special, seasonal" color, because it seems to me that it's always available in some shape or form...    

Drop stud earrings – Dorus Mhor,  Blouse – Maison Martin Margiela,  scarf – Pucci ,  clutch – Poupee Couture, flats – Adam Tucker  

  love, Janice                        ... View the Post

An interesting juxtaposition of timeless and trendy

September 11, 2013

So yesterday, I spent the afternoon with Slim, at an auction house here in Chicago.  They were having an extensive sale of Vintage Couture and Accessories - Vintage, using the term loosely...  Specifically, we wanted to see if it was within budget to bid on either of these two:

Turned out that things went a bit too rich for our budgets, but the contrast between the things we saw at the auction, and the contents of my email inbox when I got back to my desk, was striking:

There's nothing particularly wrong with thinking about next year's colors - if you're in the fashion industry.  But the difference between clothes that were impossible to date, and the implied "temporary-ness" of the lists of ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Fall Accent 2013: Turbulence

September 9, 2013   I've had lots of questions about the Pantone Autumn/Winter 2013 colors, and how to integrate them into a wardrobe, so I'm going to show a series of posts that might give you some ideas, or some help.     I'm starting with Turbulence, because it's easy to work with, since it's more of a neutral than a bright accent...  

 

Next, just for working purposes, I'll start with a very neutral wardrobe; 10 pieces that might be in almost anybody's wardrobe, are readily available, and easily combined with other items.

  Just off the top of my head, there are a dozen easy outfits added to your wardrobe.  Realistically, there are a lot more ... View the Post

Learning from Art: Accent Colors

Chez nous, we do jigsaw puzzles.  Big scary 1000 piece puzzles, mostly of fine paintings.

While Belovedest attacks the border, I always try to grab pieces that seem to be relatively uncommon, and figure out how I can fit them together. In a 1000 piece puzzle, there might be 30 or 40 pieces that are bright red, for example, in a sea of earth tones...

My mistake - every time - is assuming that there will only be ONE red "area" in the entire picture.  Accent colors ALWAYS appear multiple times...

So what in the name of joyous happiness does this have to do with getting dressed?

Remember how I'm always encouraging you, when you wear an accent color shirt or blouse, to also include earrings, or socks, or some little ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Turquoise and Navy

September 5, 2013   This first outfit is what got me looking for turquoise - the pieces are all really simple, but the color combination was striking, and the proportion of the long tee shirt, the cropped cardigan, and the modestly longer shorts was both pretty and unique.  Once I started to focus on looking for turquoise with navy, I saw it quite a few times!    

Tee shirt – Proenza Schouler, navy cardigan – Dorothy Perkins,  shorts – Jil Sander, flats- Splendid, dress – Diane von Furstenberg,  cardigan – Fedeli, scarf – Hermès, pumps – Trotters  

Jeans – 7 for All Mankind,  tee shirt – Proenza Schouler,  earrings – Barbara Rybarova,  canvas shoes – Keds,  blouse – ... View the Post