The Vivienne Files

Like a Base of Black and White? Start With Art – Variation on a Lighthouse Theme IV by Ida O’Keeffe

May 14, 2025

Yes, IDA O'Keeffe. Georgia's sister. Imagine how she felt, painting her lovely paintings... That had to be hard!

I quite like this painting. The colors are great, and I find the geometric qualities in it to be really pleasing. In the absence of her sister, maybe Ida would have been famous.

The color palette jumps off the painting at us:

This heroine is quite fond of a simple linen shirt, and with good reason. A linen or cotton shirt is one of the garments that you can literally wear every month of the year. It can be worn over a tee shirt and under a sweater in bitter cold, open over a tee shirt or tank top in scorching heat, or on its own (maybe with the sleeves rolled?) on all of the middling days.

Our ... View the Post

Want 2 Very Different Accent Colors? Start With a Scarf: Petal Pop Silk Scarf by Artifact.

May 12, 2025

This was the other Artifact. scarf that was requested as the inspiration for a wardrobe, and I can understand why!

The possibilities here are many - there's camel in the upper left quadrant, beige in the lower left, and even a touch of denim blue in the middle of the bottom right flower! But I'm sticking with the same black and ivory that we used on Friday, to show the range of possibilities within just a couple of neutrals.

The accent color I've chosen couldn't really be more different - a soft pink and bold orangish gold. It's easy to feel like your accent colors have to go well together, but that's not the case.

I've kept quite a few of the pieces from Friday for this wardrobe. Maybe this is the same ... View the Post

A Different Take On Scarf Colors: Start With a Scarf – Fleur Royale scarf by Artifact.

May 9, 2025

The instant Artifact. came out with new scarves, I received emails about them. This scarf is particularly lovely and an interesting mix of colors. When I first looked at this, my eyes were drawn to warm colors: orange, marigold, and olive.

And the heroine who wrote to me? She wants to work with black and ivory, and pink and olive accents!

Hmm...

So I built us this color palette reference page:

My habit with Artifact. scarves has been to build three outfits, and then add four more garments. It's one of about a billion different ways to assemble a capsule wardrobe; there's no rule about how this can best be done!

These outfits are for Spring weather, or summer days that aren't blisteringly hot. A cardigan ... View the Post

Uncertain Weather on Your Long Weekend? Start With Art – Study for Spring Madonna by Mainie Jellett

May 7, 2025

A favorite artist featured at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin? She's on the train for a weekend visit!

She's studied this painting SO MUCH - she knows the colors by heart:

Ireland's been having record warm weather recently, but this heroine is far too wise to fall for THAT! She's making certain to have a jacket and warm shoes; she doesn't have to wear these things again on her trip, but she's certainly not traveling without them.

A dress and three very summery tops, but a pair of "real" pants, and a cardigan - this give her options for unpredictable weather. And her olive jacket will look great with her stone chinos and ivory sweaters...

The night before she leaves, she takes a look at ... View the Post

May 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #6 – Eiffel Tower by Robert Delaunay

May 5, 2025

Finally, we get to the final painting in our series of six! I particularly love this painting, and this wardrobe. Three neutrals with one accent color is an unusual balance, but it's classic, and uncomplicated.

This heroine's wardrobe is pretty classic, but she has some really wonderful accessories that make a LOT of difference. Here again is a wardrobe that would see you through a world-wide travel extravaganza:

Our heroine was thinking, as she started her shopping, that she could use something kind of dressy - not strapless sequins, but something that would work for meetings, and that included a skirt that might be handy for outdoor weddings or garden parties...

Her 24-piece wardrobe, with the addition ... View the Post

May 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #5 – Street Lights by Stefan Johansson

May 2, 2025

You know, if you chose to build your wardrobe around this painting, you'd have more colors available that I show in this wardrobe. (I've got to draw a line somewhere, to avoid being completely overwhelmed!)

There's some lovely blue in the water here, for example:

This wardrobe would serve one well for much of the year, or for a range of weather conditions. I wouldn't want to go somewhere blisteringly hot with this, but anything short of that would be just fine:

With upcoming hot weather in mind (in the Northern Hemisphere!), our heroine grabbed a pair of shorts and another pair of sandals, as well as two summer tops. And a really cool sweatshirt, with a quilted cable pattern in it. I love a good ... View the Post

May 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #4 – Pines by the Sea by Bertha Lum

April 30, 2025

Every time I work on this wardrobe, it appeals to me more! I could easily see the merits of having clothes that were all earthy or leafy colors...

A wardrobe with everything from boots to sandals, and from tee shirts to warm sweaters... If I wore a uniform most of the time, this might be a nearly complete wardrobe for my "real" life.

Our heroine found a scarf that's perfect for her wardrobe! After that, she decided that maybe this is a good month to fill in gaps in her wardrobe, and stock up on basics.

Maybe these aren't the most exciting clothes one can buy, but when you have these kinds available, it's SO much easier to get dressed.

And that pointelle cardigan isn't really boring!

Here again, ... View the Post

Black, White and Brights! The Mondrian Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

April 28, 2025

Classic, colorful, and so versatile! These are timeless for sure:

The colors here are obvious, but it's always worth the effort to picture your plan as clearly as possible:

Our heroine already has her good core of black and white things, upon which she will build with her accent colors!

These colors are so much fun to look for in stores! And our heroine couldn't resist a black & white striped shirt; if you have a bracelet with a striped bead, a striped shirt seems essential...

Imagine traveling with this for a few days! Maybe you'd want to look for a pair of black & white spectator loafers, too?

Let's take a moment to imagine a few of the possible ways our heroine could get ... View the Post

May 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #3 – Sun, Water Maine by Georgia O’Keeffe

April 25, 2025

If all goes as planned, I will be in Ireland when you read this!

Let's look for a moment at this quintessential summery painting:

When we last visited this heroine, her 20-piece wardrobe looked pretty great - this is another one of those collections with which one could travel for a really long time!

This heroine is SO ready to be outdoors, but she's also smart enough to realize that it's not all that warm, yet. A sweatshirt is always handy, and a long-sleeved shirt is almost 12 month clothing. Sleeves can be rolled!

And is the bracelet perfect for her?

Her 24-piece wardrobe feel exactly the same. More garments, more functional, but the same personal style!

And her accessories are - as is ... View the Post

May 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #2 – Of by Elizabeth Magill

April 23, 2025

I often wonder about having a wardrobe that is essentially just two colors; for literally decades, I wore only black and white. That might be a bit stark now, but shades of grey, and shades of burgundy/pink? Hmm...

This heroine's 20-piece wardrobe from the last installment is the kind of thing that I would pack and run with for months... Sigh...

When our heroine saw that Eileen Fisher was offering graphite linen pieces, she was sold! Although the vest and pants are linen, there's really NO reason (except warmth) that they can't be worn all year. The vest has a lot of potential over shirts, tee shirts, on its own...

And who could resist the French lilac top and the floral scarf?

Her wardrobe doesn't ... View the Post

May 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #1 – The Swan No. 24 by Hilma Af Klint

April 21, 2025

Well this feels weird, doesn't it? We just finished these paintings a few days ago, and now we're back with them.

Realistically (we can do realism once in a while, can't we?), this might be more the way a normal person would pull together a capsule wardrobe after cleaning out closets, or changing their life dramatically. It would be interesting to have just four garments for a month, then eight, then twelve garments in the third month, but most of us couldn't function very long that way!

So let's visit this heroine with her most enigmatic, yet alluring, painting inspiration:

When we just saw this heroine with her April wardrobe additions, she had a 20-piece wardrobe that looks as if it could get you through ... View the Post

Five Final Colors from Autumn/Winter 2025/26

April 18, 2025

The last five colors, until the next batch of colors appears!

I'm thinking of assembling all of the Pantone images that I've ever done - well, all the ones that I can find - and putting them into a big file that you could download. My ideas it that being able to see a LOT of these colors all together would give us all a broad base for figuring out favorites...

Let's (very carefully!) jump in:

Who doesn't look good in teal? I remember that it was always one of the four accent colors that were suggested when you needed a color that was at least neutral on most people. (the other three were coral, true royal purple, and a clear pink)

I'm becoming a big fan of Chili Oil - I could break down and buy ALL of ... View the Post