September 7, 2026
Our bank employee has stumbled into a perfect bunch of things for her wardrobe… It’s nice that colors come and go, so all of us get a chance to buy what we most love!
Our heroine’s favorite painting is this beauty:
She had assembled a 36-piece capsule wardrobe for work by the end of August. She’s so busy studying everything she can find about banking and finance that she’s not interested in spending a lot of time worrying about what to wear!
She’s delighted that she’s taken the time to find excellent accessories! Having these things in her wardrobe make her morning much simpler:
Shopping was stressful for our banker this month, because she found SO MUCH that fits her wardrobe really well! Eileen Fisher dedicated much of her September release to shades of blue and green, and then Seasalt Cornwall shows up with THREE pieces in this amazing print. (it would have been possible to spend thousands from their new offerings…)
She’s a bit irked that the top looks SO crinkled, but she also understands that she can give this a good steam and it won’t look quite so… squished.
And perfect earrings. Well, they’re clip-ons, but she can have that changed pretty simply. There are people in any city who will add posts to earrings for a reasonable fee. Bless people who do these finicky but SO helpful projects!
Sailor blue cardigan – Eileen Fisher; CLIP-ON earrings – Michael Nash Jewelry; scarf – Seasalt Cornwall; blouse – Seasalt Cornwall; teal cotton sweater – Eileen Fisher; skirt – Seasalt Cornwall; loafers – Rothy’s
The 56-piece template is our heroine’s guideline. So far, she’s adhered to it quite faithfully, and her wardrobe shows her planning:
But woman does not dress from a template! When she puts her clothes into her closet, they look both coherent and inspiring – what better could you say about your wardrobe?
Of course her new accessories blend in beautifully, but they also stand out just a bit – how could you NOT want green loafers?
When this heroine goes shopping, she has clear goals in mind, and she already knows HOW she’s going to wear her purchases. But she still comes home and tries on complete outfits – you can miss something that’s a real deal-breaker if you don’t put clothes ON YOUR BODY. Photographs are great, but they aren’t the same…
I wish I had been this disciplined, back in the early days of my career! So much money could have been put to better use than clothing…
love,
Janice
If you are curious about how this heroine got to this point in her wardrobe building, you can look back at every step! The earlier posts are all here: Christmas Eve Preview, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August
p.s. Ten years ago, we started with a painting of a cow’s skull. Ah, that Georgia O’Keeffe… she could make anything interesting!
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I just love this colour palette and the level of dressiness of this wardrobe.
Love those green loafers. And I’m pleased that such nice clip on earrings are available. I only wear clip ons, so I wish more contemporary jewellery manufacturers made them. As it is, I rely a lot on ‘vintage’.
The link for the earrings isn’t quite right?!
Oh, I love all the new arrivals.
Such a great color.
Thank you Maria! It was indeed all wrong…
love,
Janice
No! Don’t steam the shirt. Those Larissa shirts are my absolute favourite. They are soft and silky but tough as nails. You NEVER have to iron them so they are great for travel. Just wash (machine is fine, in a bag) and twist to dry. They don’t look wrinkled, just elegantly crinkly. I can’t recommend them enough. Organic cotton. Made in India. Fantastic.
So much to ponder in this! Two-piece “dress”, green loafers! and gorgeous earrings. I love shoes that add color pops to neutral outfits. One hopes younger women today shop with more intent than we did!
I *love* these new pieces. I have never heard of Seasalt Cornwall before. Do they have an American presence? If not, I’ll admire them from afar, as I used to with Boden…but am thrilled that they offer American shopping now too. Seasalt Cornwall looks like a phenomenal, classic (and classy!) company that fits many of us TVF-ers aesthetics.
Happy Labor Day to all my other US friends here. This is an important holiday that gets lost in the fun of barbecues and beach days. Let’s pause and honor the people who fought for safety and rights in the workplace. And, then enjoy a cold beverage and a burger. :-)
Nordstrom carries Seasalt Cornwall. I didn’t look for all of the items, but I did see that they offer the skirt.
Thank you for the tip!
i love the navy and green together. i used to have green in my wardrobe but got rid of it years ago. i recently began to add in some pieces in a blue green like this and also in a much lighter clear spring green. i think i just dislike olive or grey greens but these are great. PS: i thrifted an amazing blue leaning dark green tunic and that’s going to be the core of my ‘green accessory mini capsule’
My 22 year old daughter just started her first full time job as a teacher and we gave her some clothing money as a grad gift to help her set up a “teacher wardrobe”. She has been asking me about how to make a capsule wardrobe work so I am sending all my Vivienne Files advice her way! She is a red head and has been thrilled with all the brown clothing items this year. She found a sweater in brown that she bought and said, “one new sweater a year seems like a good idea”. Janice it made me think of you because I’m pretty sure you’ve said that in posts before. So some of the next generation are getting it! :)
Hurrah! One new sweater before the holidays, and a second one when things go on sale (or received as a gift) means she would have 16 sweaters by the time she turns thirty…
I wish I had known this sooner – I wasted SO MUCH MONEY. Sigh…
love,
Janice
My daughter is 22 as well.
We swap, give away, and receive a lot of clothes within the family. She really only buys new shoes.
I’d love to see a few items in the the deep pink in the picture. People often think of pink as a summer colour but it looks great in winter with navy.
Blue-green is my color and I found the Eileen Fisher items just last night, in time for the 50% off sale. Being petite, I love that many of the shirts lately are “short”.
I got several items (I find I have to jump on my color when I see it), but I did pass on that cardigan. The button band looks like it’s pulling up strangely in every photo, on both models. Probably a design choice, but as a knitter, I can’t help thinking “that looks like they chose the wrong pickup ratio”. It may actually be genius for showing you have a waist without having to tuck it in and I’ll be sorry I didn’t get it 🤦🏻♀️.