Archives for June 2015

June 2015

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Carnation Lily Lily Rose by John Singer Sargent

Wow! When I asked for paintings, you all came through with some beautiful suggestions...

This John Singer Sargent is so lovely...

In the deepest shadows, I saw navy, although on another day, it could be deepest gray, or maybe something else - really good paintings are wonderful in the way they can have so many different aspects over time.

I'm embarking on a 4 by 4 that's particularly challenging: a casual wardrobe in soft and fluid navy and white. So VERY often, navy and white are crisp, and starched, and nicely pressed and snappy - which is pretty great. And I'm sure that at some point earlier in the fictional day, these lovely white dresses were immaculate and pristine, but NOT by this time of day! ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art Version 2: Flaming June by Sir Frederic Leighton

So how does the gorgeous, warm palette from last Saturday translate into a much more casual grouping? Beautifully!

In order to keep the feeling of softness and flow, I looked for fabrics like corduroy, which has both depth and softness, moleskin, which has a nice plush texture, and of course silk. Gathers and jacquard fabrics also give us a little bit of grace and detail... (note: I even chosen nail enamels with shimmer, which gives a sense of movement!)

When choosing items to go into this wardrobe, always ask yourself "yes, it goes, but does it have the requisite fluidity and movement that gives me my desired image?" There's lots of brown and orange in the world, but much of it is crisp or static - not right for this! (I made ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Flaming June by Sir Frederic Leighton

Someone particularly special sent me this painting, with a request for a Start With Art - what a wonderful idea!

These were the colors that I chose. While there's a ton more orange in this painting than anything else, only the rarest among us will be able to pull together any kind of a wardrobe, no matter how small, with mostly orange. So I gave the warm brown prominence...

I was really thinking about texture and flow here - draping was important!

Just enough to be able to get away for a long weekend - lots of emphasis on dining-out attire! And the budget was unlimited madness for this wardrobe - suede pants and a bank-breaking dress and sweater. But very reasonably priced shoes, and a downright inexpensive clutch ... View the Post

One Skirt, Six Ways

Sometimes, I buy something with great enthusiasm and completely confidence that I'm going to wear it A TON, but instead it just sort of... hangs there...

This has happened with my really cool black and white dotted skirt from Uniqlo (no longer available, I'm sorry to say). There's NOBODY in the world that should be able to wear a black and white skirt like this more often than I can, but it just wasn't happening.

So I decided to apply myself to planning outfits including said skirt, and I discovered that this sweetie is, in fact, a true seasonless wonder. I paid particular attention to those core tops that I try to keep in my wardrobe all the time - the Eileen Fisher tops that can be the timeless workhorses of a wardrobe. All it took was ... View the Post

The Kindness of KathKath…

Just a quick update to let you know that my lovely partners at KathKath have EXTENDED their discount offer to readers of The Vivienne Files! Through July 26th, you can get 40% off of any regular-priced scarf using the discount code VIV40.

AND... you can get an additional 10% off of any sale scarf, using the discount code VIV10.

I know that many of you have looked at these scarves repeatedly - now's your time to grab your favorite!

When I'm feeling better, I see a wardrobe based on that elephant scarf (far right, above) colors. Black, beige, dusty mauve, jade and bone.... hmmm....

Yours, recuperating slowly, with lots of love, Janice ... View the Post

Small Changes, Big Improvements

Sometimes, you have items of clothing that are perfectly fine, but lacking a certain... something...

Example, the following. I have FIVE of these white shirts (from Lands' End - highly recommended), from when I worked at the bakery. They're really wonderful shirts, but 5 is a bit over the top. And this black velvet tunic is lovely, but it falls into this difficult gap of being not really dressy enough to be dressy, but still seeming a bit over the top with jeans.

Easy, fast, relatively inexpensive update? Buttons!

These are Murano glass - it's virtually impossible to get a good photograph, but you have to trust me that they're pretty gorgeous...

And these are very simple plastic - black with white trim. Imagine ... View the Post

3 x 3 = >20; A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, White and Red

Last week, I was going out of town overnight - literally for about 18 hours, and had to pack, even though I wasn't going to be gone long at all. (this was the situation that got me started on the whole thought process of "3x3"...)

I was dressed, getting ready to leave; this is a reasonable facsimile of what I was wearing:

I knew that, since I would be home by 8 a.m. the next morning, all I really needed to pack was a clean top (as well as pajamas, and minimal toiletries), so I envisioned this:

I somewhat literally held up the top that I pulled from the closet, to make sure that it would be wearable with my white cardigan and black trousers. And then, because I'm always dreaming of packing, I started thinking of what else I might tuck ... View the Post

One Sweater, Six Ways

Sometimes I get the best surprises! The lovely people at House of Fraser send me the nicest sweater/top... a layered look, with a subtle white and grey underlayer - a great weight to wear on cool summer days, but something that will carry through beautifully into cooler weather. Thanks, House of Fraser people!

This is the lovely goodie:

I'm an avowed believer that you should KNOW how you're going to wear something before you buy it, although in this case, since it was a gift, I let myself off the hook. But, of course, as soon as I opened my package, I was scheming...

These were a few of my thoughts - everything from the dressiest silk pants or skirt, to grey jeans on weekends, or grey dress trousers for an office event. ... View the Post

3 x 3 = 45 in a Six Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe

So I was thinking about Six-Packs (the clothing kind, not beer...) and I realized that if you chose your pieces exactly right, you could get 45 different outfits from 9 total garments - six of them packed.

This isn't to say that you are going to want to take off on a six-week trip with just a few changes of clothing, but what we DO learn from this is that you can give yourself options. If the weather changes, if the level of dressiness of your activities are unexpected, or if you manage to destroy one garment during your travels (it can happen!), you can still get dressed. Some excellent accessories, and you'd be all set!

love, Janice ... View the Post

“Whatever’s Clean 13” Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Green, Navy and Beige

Soft green - not bright, not acid, not kelly. It's a hard color to describe but you know it when you see it! And remember, because your accessories are made of all sorts of different materials, they don't have to be "dye-lot" matched.

I like the looks of this - the change of cardigan really shifts the feel of these capsules, doesn't it?

The green brings a fresh, but gentle, feeling to this grouping.

Have a lovely weekend, love, Janice ... View the Post

“Whatever’s Clean 13” Capsule Wardrobe in Coral, Navy and Beige

Oh, this was FUN! It's delightful how much difference the change in accessories makes in the look of the whole capsule.

First up, a wonderful scarf, and some classic, inexpensive coral-colored jewelry. (it goes without saying that we don't wear real coral - no reefs will be destroyed to adorn us!)

And then I changed out the shoes, the rest of the jewelry, and tossed in a cute little clutch! The only clothing that I swapped was to substitute a coral cardigan for yesterday's beautiful brown one...

Just the one change in the template makes a difference!

This overview looks VERY different from the one with the leopard accent, to me. Accessories really do make a difference...

And you still have a wealth of ... View the Post

“Whatever’s Clean 13” in LEOPARD, Navy and Beige

You wanted to see this idea "warmed up", and many of you mentioned leopard... here it is!

I swapped out the beige garments for a warmer, more golden shade, and I chose a brown cardigan because it's just lovely! Some leopard accessories, and you're ready to travel...

This is how the template filled up - it looks really coherent, and you can clearly see that everything (including the striped tee shirt) will work together.

And this helps us visualize everything, including accessories. The 2nd tote bag is the kind of thing that you would smash down in your outbound suitcase, and then use to carry purchases on the return. It was SO reasonably priced that I could easily justify 2 totes in one wardrobe capsule!

I ... View the Post