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Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Alain Paillou - A Colorful Moon Archives

Dressy Weekend? Start with a Scarf – The Raven Garden of Happiness by June Hunter

March 22, 2024

It's a dressy weekend - the weather will probably be warm... but there is always a chance of a cool snap!

But how to be dressy without bringing everything you own? Well, a tight color palette and planning ahead is always the way to go.

And how about starting with black and pretty accents?

Before you go down this path, you want to be ABSOLUTELY certain that wearing black isn't a problem. This wardrobe is actually designed for someone who's a prominent figure in a wedding, at which the bridesmaids will be wearing black dresses; I think she's okay with this!

She's wearing a very "normal" travel outfit - closed-toe shoes, and a cardigan for the inevitable freezing air conditioning... but she's rocking ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of “A Colorful Moon” by Alain Paillou

 

december 19, 2018

Ahhh, our heroine, the heiress... Her favorite image is a really amazing photograph of the surface of the moon:

She has used these colors for years as the inspiration for the colors in her wardrobe - not always easy to find, but she doesn't need to own THAT much...

When we first met her back in January, she had just fielded a call from Probate Court, who needed her to come sign some papers... She was a bit stunned to receive a quite large expense check to cover the cost of her 2 hour train trip!

In April she went to Mexico for a few days, thinking that she would visit at least a couple of towns to consider for her newly possible retirement!

The great-aunt who left her all this money ... View the Post

A Colorful Moon by Alain Paillou, Revisited for Autumn 2018

OCtober 24, 2018

Our oh so lucky heiress! She found out about her inheritance back in the late winter, and began searching around for a 2nd home. She visited Mexico, and loved it, and then she visited Paris, and really loved it! But she's still undecided...

Friends suggest that she stop by Ireland for a few days... THIS is a great idea...

So she studies her signature painting, while she thinks about packing for a few cool, damp days:

She knows that she should plan for cool, rainy, sunny, breezy - basically anything's possible!

She's just setting the stage to go back for a longer visit, so she doesn't need to pack much... But when you're going to Ireland, it's always wise to have warm pajamas, a hat and gloves or ... View the Post

A Colorful Moon by Alain Paillou Revisited for Summer 2018

July 20, 2018

Oh, the lucky lady with the inheritance from her great-aunt! She first found out about this back in January, and by April she was traveling to Mexico to look into maybe buying a home there...

Even though she has more than enough money now, she still sticks closely to her favorite photograph of the moon as her style guideline:

It turns out that, in addition to leaving our heroine a tidy nest egg, her great-aunt also left her quite a few letters! Many of the letters are full of advice, and suggestions about how to spend her windfall. So how she's off to look at the possibility of living in Paris for a year or two!

She's going to stay in a couple of different short-term rental apartments, so she can get a feel ... View the Post

A Colorful Moon by Alain Paillou – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 11, 2018   She's always loved the moon... And found this unexpectedly colorful photograph to be the perfect inspiration for her wardrobe:  

 

She was bowled over when she was told she needed to travel to the capital because of an issue with Probate Court! But when she received the expense check to cover her travel (and a bit of shopping), she was prepared to make some smart choices. This is what she packed for that most life-changing adventure:

She's still getting used to the idea of being able to retire... She just worked the last day of her 4 week notice to her employers, and she's heading away for a couple of days, to a city in Mexico of which she has heard a great deal...

She's not meeting a ... View the Post

A Colorful Moon by Alain Paillou – Start with Nature to Inspire a Tote Bag Travel Wardrobe

January 10, 2018 Once in a .... She almost didn't pick up the call when it came in; she didn't recognize the number, but something told her that it was important...

It was the Probate Court down in the capital... She needed to come down because she was a beneficiary of her great-aunt's estate...

And - oh yes - there was a check being FedEx'ed to her to offset her expenses. She was planning to take the train down, so she didn't really expect to have expenses...

A REALLY BIG CHECK! With a note from her great-aunt telling her to spend it ALL on herself, and to really be silly about it...

Well okay, if that's what she really wants, I must respect her wishes, right?

If this is the expense money, ... View the Post

The Twelve Art Works of Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of those who are celebrating today, and a warm and wonderful day to everyone!

Today I've got 12 works of art for you - 11 paintings and 1 pretty amazing photograph, along with color palettes, and a sense of how the colors might be made to work in a wardrobe.

I've chosen almost all "modern" works of art - for what we do here on The Vivienne Files, I need to have a relatively limited color palette. Paintings that are completely realistic tend to have every color of the rainbow in them, and THAT would make a carefully edited wardrobe almost impossible!

So, if you have time, and if you have an opinion (or 12!), tell me if you'd like to see any of these developed into a wardrobe. If you've a preference for warm ... View the Post