Archives for April 2021

April 2021

Start with Art: Courtesans Strolling Beneath Cherry Trees by Kitawaga Utamaro

April 30, 2021

This post is for those among us who are deeply smitten with a particular color for their spring and summer wardrobe; I think that one can wear quite a bit of their favorite color without sacrificing a coherent wardrobe!

OH, she's got cherry trees...

She's got all KINDS of trees under which she plans to sit; she has a STACK of books that need to be read this summer!

And she has her eye on a particular color that she wants to wear this summer; when she saw this painting she began to formulate her plan:

She eschews the almost green shade of beige, and she chooses to believe that the darkest kimonos are black (while it's possible that they're navy...)

This is what she's starting with:

And this is her ... View the Post

Be back soon

Today's regularly scheduled Vivienne's Files post will be delayed.

Janice will be back ASAP but until then, here's a gorgeous painting of Paris to admire. ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #7 – Dark Neutral Cotton or Linen Cardigan

April 26, 2021

Ah, let's start with a version of my FAVORITE travel outfit...

Even though it gets to be quite hot here in Chicago, I find that I often need a cardigan or jacket when I'm indoors - because of air conditioning, or outdoors in the evenings when the wind turns and blows in off the lake...

This week I chose this black cardigan at least in part so that I could introduce you to COS - a store that I discovered a few years ago in Paris. They now have locations in a lot of countries, and they also do mail order...

My all-time favorite tweed dress came from COS, as well as a couple of tops and a jacket that I quite thoroughly love - I've had excellent luck with buying from them!

We all know how versatile a ... View the Post

April 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Gentle Lynx

April 23, 2021

She just wants to be calm. Quiet. To walk the streets and admire the architecture and the window displays. Rain or shine...

Her colors are simple - her favorite navy, with the pastels that reflect her desire for peace and harmony:

It will rain. The sun will shine. The temperature could be all over the map. She doesn't care! She can always sit in a cafe until the rain lets up...

She starts with her navy cardigan and skirt, so she knows that she has her neutrals covered! Then she adds a few tops, and her favorite yellow dress...

And why NOT 3 pairs of ballet flats? They're comfortable, they're flattering, and they make her happy - what else might anybody want?

It's not a wardrobe for everybody, ... View the Post

Start with Art: On the Train by Jacqueline Osborn

April 21, 2021

We've spent a lot of time together looking at the colors in paintings and other photographs, and building little wardrobes around those colors.

But what if a painting gives you a feeling - an urge - that's not really related to the colors in the art?

This painting has given one of us the desire to travel.... She hasn't been alone in over a year, but by the same token, she hasn't been out around strangers, in crowds, people-watching for over a year.

She wants to go, for a long time, alone!

She's going in the autumn; she will start in London or Paris, and as the weather cools, she's going to hop a train and go to the next city to the south! Lyon, Marseilles, Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples... It will depend on ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #6 – Dark Neutral Lightweight Pants

April 19, 2021

It's not quite summer yet - you don't feel like wearing corduroy pants, or fleece-lined jeans, but you still need a "real" pair of pants...

yes, I wore a cashmere sweater all day yesterday; we're supposed to get snow on Tuesday!?!?!?

These are the kind of pants that you can wear during Spring and Autumn - not too warm, not too cool:

Any accent color goes with navy, I'm convinced!

These pants and a nice sweatshirt give you the option to use any color of the rainbow as your accent:

You can still look like spring, even if you're wearing 2 shirts and shoes with closed toes!

Navy and red were made for each other!

Sometimes, your tote bag will dictate what your accent color will ... View the Post

Accessories! Revisiting Dance Dance by Jacqueline Osborn

April 16, 2021

Who doesn't love this painting?

Our heroine from Wednesday has assembled a really lovely, warm-toned and warm-weather travel capsule wardrobe:

Now she needs accessories! She knows that her color palette for her accessories will be the same as for her clothes, with the addition of gold for anything metallic:

She takes a look at the 24-piece accessory wardrobe that has been used before on The Vivienne Files; it seems like a LOT of things for a trip...

And she also looks at the suggestions that I made once upon a time:

And then she realized that if building her wardrobe 1 piece at a time worked so well, it might be a sensible way to assemble her accessories too!

She started with an ... View the Post

Start With Art: Dance Dance by Jacqueline Osborn

April 14, 2021

She's Been Cold... for over a year. Not really physically cold, so much as missing the "chaleur humaine" - the human warmth of society...

So when she knew that she was going to finally go on vacation, this was her heart's desire:

okay, just feel free to pause right here and go admire this artist's work - I will forever be grateful to readers who send me links to new artists!

After a year of stress and tension, she's determined to be in complete control of her travel wardrobe! She decides that a "one piece at a time" approach to packing will suit her just fine...

After she gets that essential 2nd top in her bag, she starts with the easiest of packing - a dress!

She knows that she will be ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #5 – Denim Capri or Cropped Pants

April 12, 2021

Before we go anywhere, I MUST tell you about Red Thread... They make just a handful of garments - mostly black pants. But they make them BASED ON YOUR BODY... no sizes!

When you start an order with them, they send you a link that guides your phone through the process of taking 2 photographs of you - pull on your swimsuit, or leggings and your swim top (that's what I did...) and the phone tells you what to do. It's sort of weird, but fun!

And in 2 weeks or so, you have a pair of pants that fit amazingly well. I ordered the ankle pants, which are styled a lot like ski pants - they have stitched creases in the front and back, and deep pockets of sturdy fabric, with zippers on the pockets. The fabric is ponte knit - one ... View the Post

Accessorizing a Swim Suit-Centered Wardrobe

April 9, 2021 She's Going to Swim, This Year On Wednesday, we started with this:

Our very happy heroine's travel capsule wardrobe is this:

But she can't travel - and she certainly can't go to the beach - with only 1 pair of shoes, no sandals, no hat, and no sunglasses!

So let's work our way through getting her travel wardrobe completed!

This is 2 of the most important things to pack; surely by now we all understand the need for covering up from too much sun, right?

If she's outdoors a lot, she may not need a mask constantly, but we're all going to want to have masks with us for the foreseeable future. Of course she wants a towel, and good sandals... I couldn't resist a cover-up too!

Simple earrings, the ... View the Post

Start with Swimwear: Paradise Aqua Space Dye Tankini from Lands’ End

April 7, 2021 This Year, She's Going to Swim...

She read last year on her favorite blog that these swimsuits were so flattering that any self-consciousness about being seen in public in swimwear will change forever! So true, and after a missed year at the beach house with her extended family, she's not going to skip anything...

This is her planned palette:

Most relatives will drive to their MASSIVE shared beach house, but she's going to take the train... Experience has taught her that she really needs a cardigan; those trains can be FREEZING in warmer weather!

She's thrilled to see a long-sleeved swim tee! And a swim skirt - now she has 4 swimwear pieces, which gives her 4 combinations... She could even be tempted by ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #4 – Accent Color or Print Tee Shirt

April 5, 2021

Ah, if I were assembling a wardrobe from scratch, this would be when I start grabbing striped tee shirts - you don't even want to THINK about how often I wear a black and white shirt...

But I couldn't find a print that really blew my hair back, so I went with a favorite color of many of us, just to see how well it would work in a range of outfits. For starters, it looks pretty cool with olive green:

Note that I tried to keep quite a few items from last week, just to see how versatile our accent color might be. Generally it worked pretty well!

This color is called Beach Glass - something that makes me think of ghastly gashes in the sole of one's foot, and copious bleeding! This is much prettier, isn't ... View the Post