The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

You are here: Home / Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art in Orange and Red: Nature Morte by Georgette Agutte

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art in Orange and Red: Nature Morte by Georgette Agutte

This color scheme had to be revisited one last time, because there’s an eccentric aunt lurking in the background who wants a bit of attention. (just for the record, I’m the eccentric aunt in my family’s tree…)

She persists in believing that orange and red are meant to go together! They’re side by side in the color wheel, they’re both in flowers, and fruits, and lots of beautiful prints. Why not pair them – it’s a singular style statement that you don’t see every day!

You would see this woman… on a plane, train, you name it, she’s going to be visible. Happily, her sunny personality is equal to the level of high-intensity color.

Orange
jacket – Lauren Ralph Lauren; sweater – Uniqlo;
boots – Munro; 
 earrings –
Kendra Scott; cuff bracelet – Alexis Bittar; scarf – Echo; 
tote – Le Sport Sac



For reference purposes, and to give credit where artistic credit is due, let’s take a last look at our beautiful painting, and one of the color scheme that I took from it.

The eccentric aunt must be onto something, because it’s not really difficult to find beautiful garments that use both orange and red in them, to beautiful effect.

dress
– J. Crew; flower earrings – Ying; bracelet – Khun Boom; evening
bag
 – Natasha Couture; sandals – Pelle Moda; red wrap
– Nordstrom;  sleeveless 
top – Kenzo; red
earrings – Kate Spade; garnet bracelet – Astley Clarke; faux 
wrap skirt –
Eileen Fisher; sweater – Yakshi Malhotra; black 
pumps – Sam Edelman



For such a small assortment of clothing, there are quite a few options here. The turtleneck with the skirt would be lovely with opaque tights and flats, and you could easily pull the red sweater over the sleeveless blouse, and then wear either pants or a skirt… If you tossed a black cardigan into here, and maybe a pair of orange jeans (!!!!) you could go for a long time and be well-dressed.

Since she’s a member of the family, EA (eccentric aunt) gets to come to the rehearsal dinner…

She’s pretty funny, when she starts telling stories about the various mishaps that occurred at her weddings…

love,
Janice

Annoushka
Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares
<<>>

Comments

  1. I love the colours and want to be the EA. I like orange so I am attracted to the orange scarf and the wondrous dress. What I really want is the clutch – one in every colour – and they come in three glorious colours! Carol S

    Reply

  2. Wow, I'm the eccentric aunt in my generation. Fortunately I have an eccentric aunt myself as a role model. In June my eldest nephew graduated from high school and I wore a brilliantly orange dress. Joyous occasions deserve festive clothes, right?

    Reply

  4. LOVE this! I think I'm the eccentric aunt in my family, because in amidst all the lawyers and psychologists and heavy-duty professionals, I'm the one who does crazy things like knit… and write… how strange! My mom was definitely the eccentric aunt in her generation – she wore head to toe hot pink (with my blessing) to my wedding!

    Reply

  5. Hi, Janice you have influenced how I look at art and other designs/colours. I was in an art gallery today with a variety of painters. I realized I switching from appreciating the technique, the effect, my emotional response to "would this be a wardrobe inspiration?

    Deb from Vancouver in Barcelona

    Reply

  6. Wow! I love this beautiful and unusual combination! I could never wear it, but certainly do enjoy looking at it. Perhaps you could explore adjacent colors a little more? I'm sure there is loads of potential there. Mary

    Reply

  8. While I have found most of your art_based wardrobes bland and boring, I completely love this colour scheme and am reminded yet again how.clever you are.

    Reply

  9. It was not lost on me that EA had "weddings" in that last sentence 🙂 I'm guessing she hasn't met a man yet that can keep up with her. This is a lovely wardrobe for someone who looks good in those colors.

    Reply

  10. My orange ankle boots would work fabulously with this wardrobe. Great job (as usual!), Janice. Thank you for all of your hard work and for continuing to inspire us.

    Reply

  11. I love this, colors of the sunset, for an irrepressible wit. Personally, I go for orange and magenta when feeling fiery, a combination I fell in love with while traveling in India.

    Also, at suzyn's suggestion above, I set up a polyvore group that everyone is welcome to join: "Friends of The Vivienne Files"
    (http://confluence.polyvore.com/ – I think you can click on my name and it will also take you there.)

    Reply

  13. There are two color combos I just can't wrap my head around–Orange with black and green with red, except for the appropriate holidays, of course. But the red with orange looks fantastic! Maybe I CAN find something for the beautiful orange sweater languishing in my closet.

    Reply

  14. Definitely the eccentric one in the family! Thank you for today's vocabulary word, although your great-nephew thinks you are beautiful, he found this word to describe you – pulchritudinous. KiKi just likes looking at the colors!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *