The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Archives for May 2014

May 2014

Choosing a Scarf: A Bright Summer Accent

May 31, 2014

Some of us aren't going to be wearing white all summer long, nor will pastel accessories work really well for everybody.  So I'm going to revisit the idea of buying a summer scarf, but this time working with a base of navy linen clothes...  The idea of picking up a couple of bright accessories to update my summer wardrobe is very tempting!These are the scarves:

And the simple navy garments:

Never discount the merits of a cool pair of sunglasses, or a snazzy summer bag...

love, Janice Looking Back:

2011 - To establish the historic background I take us Back to the Roots of The Vivienne Files, Part 4.

2012 - Bright blue and summery - let's ... View the Post

What I Packed for Florida

May 30, 2014 I completely missed the backpacking around Europe experience - I never took a year off of school, and I never even WENT to Europe until I was 35... But I'm still fascinated by the whole experience of being THAT light on your feet - that self-contained.  So when a really nice Patagonia backpack made it into our home, I decided that I was going to give it a try.  At least once, just to know what it's like, I'm going to be a backpacker...

I loved it.  The incredible lightness of putting all of your luggage under the seat in front of you, and being able to walk for miles without wheels, was memorable.  I don't know that I'll ever do it again, but it was wonderful.

There were a few factors that made this possible.  First and ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Soft Summer Pastel

May 29, 2014

Even in the warmest weather, a lightweight scarf can be useful - last weekend, in the heat of Florida, I used my simple gauze scarf to keep the frigid breezes off of my neck and shoulders more than once!But what color to choose?  You know you want to wear your new scarf with your white summer clothes, but there are so many options...

These white clothes have been digitally "tarnished" a bit so that we can actually see them on the screen. In real life, they would be sparkling, crispy white.

When you're tempted by a variety of colors, it might help to think about what ELSE you have (or might want to purchase) in that color that would help give your outfit a "planned" look when you wear the scarf.  I'm ... View the Post

The Vivienne Files bookshelf: The Lost Art of Dress by Linda Przybyszewski

March 28, 2014

It's one of those questions that confounds the observant person - there are more clothes, and often more attractive clothes, in stores than ever before, but you see fewer well-dressed or just generally attractive people about.  Why are all of these appallingly bad clothing choices being made, and why (at least when I was a child) did women seem to be able to avoid making these mistakes and dress themselves flatteringly?

Linda Przybyszewski attempts to answer this question in this book - a very well-written and interesting look at the Home Economics teachers, Department of Agriculture Extension employees, and other women who used to help us choose our clothing.  I realize now that if I had never taken a Home ... View the Post

Looking Back: May 26th

2011 - A now defunct website called The Burning House caused me to consider An interesting exercise in priorities.

2012 - In another variation on the seminal French Chic wardrobe, I tried Visualizing French Chic: olive, and young, and casual.

2013 - Choosing patterned scarves, and some jewelry, in Part 2, Accessories Step by Step: Khaki and Green. ... View the Post

Looking Back: May 25th

2011 - A wee lesson in a new way to tie a long scarf: Decoding the mysterious "weave knot."

2012 - The weather warms up and I had a bunch of Chic Sightings: three pairs of ideas.

2013 - Getting dressed is hard enough, but choosing accessories?!?!?  Check out Accessories, step by step: Khaki and Green. ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: Hermes in Orange

May 24, 2014

 About a year go, I wrote a pretty popular post about how to isolate the perfect scarf from among a range of similar items.  My thesis is that your new purchase should feel as if it's coming home to be among it's relatives...Someone sent me a question - they love this particular scarf design, and they've got a few orange garments. But how do you make the final choice?

You've got garments kind of like this to wear with the scarf that you finally choose.

Are you fond of the high contrast between the orange and cooler tones of greens and blues?

Or is the base of your wardrobe mostly subtle beige and ivory tones?

Maybe you love orange because you love bright, vivid and high contrast ... View the Post

How I’m Currently Storing my Necklaces and Bracelets

I've found that storing my jewelry hidden away just isn't working well for me - I forget what I have, and then I have a really bad habit of buying duplicates.  So I bought myself a couple of dozen pretty taffeta drawstring bags (from here), tucked all of my necklaces into their own bags, and tossed them into a pretty Spode serving dish.  Now they sit on the corner of my desk looking ornamental, and keeping me from doing more shopping... Makes packing jewelry quite simple, and cuts down on tangling and scratching too!

2012 - Sometimes, you want to take a particular garment with you when you travel, and thus I shared Packing: start with a favorite cardigan. 2013 - There is no way to get out of exercising; my method ... View the Post

Start With Art: Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte – Version 2

May 22, 2014 A second look at this great painting - focusing on the left half of it, and picking up the lovely periwinkle/chambray blue details...

It is interesting that such a drizzly and cold painting lends itself so beautifully to hot-weather clothes.

I love this dress...

A couple more garments, some accessories, and shoes:

Soft and pretty - a great travel capsule wardrobe!

love, Janice

Looking back:

2012  - What to wear with a necklace: dragon pearls

2013 - We look at a whole bunch of ways to wear One Dress: Six Ways in Black, White and Pink ... View the Post

Start With Art: Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte

May 21, 2014

 

This wonderful work is back in the Art Institute of Chicago; it was being restored and was not available to view for a while.  It's such an amazing work - the asymmetry, the subtle powdery colors, the juxtaposed angles...

Even though this is a chilly winter scene, I'm going to look at some warm-weather clothes...

I love this coral color, so that's going to be the primary accent color in this wardrobe.

And the taupish grey that suffuses this painting is a perfect base for some simple summery tops.

A few more lovely coral items...

These should get you through at least a long weekend in style!

 I could easily be persuaded to do multiple versions of wardrobes with ... View the Post

My Version of Une Annee de Style – A Common Capsule Wardrobe

May 20, 2014

After thinking a while about last week's book (Une Annee de Style), I realized that this book was basically just a variation of my old standard Common Capsule Wardrobe - a small collection of neutral, simple garments upon which one can build all kinds of personalized styles and outfits.Let's say that you get a wild inclination to buy a fantastic tee shirt...  You find some pretty outrageous sandals that go with your tee shirt, and also a beautiful, solid scarf...

If you start with that simple core of garments that we all should own (in some variation or another)...

You have all of these ways to wear the fabulous new tee shirt, as well as the cool green sandals and the beautiful scarf:

There are all ... View the Post