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Home » Kinuko Imai Hoffman - Blue

Kinuko Imai Hoffman - Blue Archives

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

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

03.22.24 18 Comments

Tags: black, Six Pack, Start With a Scarf, warm weather
EVALUATING A CAPSULE WARDROBE INSPIRED BY BLUE BY KINUKO IMAI HOFFMAN

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of “Blue” by Kinuko Imai Hoffman

December 12, 2018

This wardrobe might be closer to my own than any blog post I've ever done! My clothes are almost all black and white, which I find very simple and calming. After scrolling through (literally) thousands of scarves, earrings, shoes, and handbags every day when I'm working on The Vivienne Files, some simplicity and clarity is welcome!

Remember our school consultant? She believes that creativity can be subtle - no shouting, no loud colors or garish details for her! Her favorite painting is simple but has a lot of subtle interest:

She maybe didn't even need to condense her ideas into words, nor her color palette into a wheel, but she did so in order to ensure that she is really focused and committed to this idea! ... View the Post

12.12.18 21 Comments

A TRAVEL CAPSULE WARDROBE INSPIRED BY BLUE BY KINUKO IMAI HOFFMAN, REVISITED FOR AUTUMN 2018

Blue by Kinuko Imai Hoffman, Revisited for Autumn 2018

October 17, 2018

Our heroine is an educational coordinator, who spends a great deal of her time visiting schools... Back in January, right after the holiday break, she was bundled up and spending a couple of days in a classroom with some issues... And then back to check on them in April! Even though there were no classrooms to visit during the summer, she continued to try to understand the students in her area by attending their favorite music festival. A bit of a fish out of water, but she had a wonderful time!

This heroine has the most disciplined of wardrobes, based on the stark but beautiful simplicity of this painting:

One thing that our heroine has never really advertised to her co-workers is the meticulous care that she ... View the Post

10.17.18 28 Comments

A TRAVEL CAPSULE WARDROBE INSPIRED BY BLUE BY KINUKO IMAI HOFFMAN

Blue by Kinuko Imai Hoffman, Revisited for Summer 2018

August 8, 2018

Remember our friend the educational consultant, who visited schoolrooms to help find ways to make things work better? She traveled for work back in January, and then again in April, wearing her signature navy blue and white wardrobe...

Her wardrobe inspiration, and all-time favorite painting, is this:

Yes, THAT Music Festival... The really big one. She's going.

She spends her work life in classrooms, and she always hears students talking about their favorite bands. She's open-minded, and can tolerate a lot, so she's decided that she's going to drive into the city for a couple of days and go to hear just a few of the bands that she has heard about the most.

It's a relaxed trip into town:

Of course ... View the Post

08.08.18 23 Comments

Blue by Kinuko Imai Hoffman – Revisiting for Spring 2018

April 3, 2018

You might remember that back in January I assembled a very simple, but (to my mind) fascinating little Tote Bag Travel capsule based on this work.

The palette suggested by this is very limited, but I think that's part of the challenge/fun - especially for someone who thrives by being creative with constraints:

When we left our heroine visiting classrooms, just after the winter holidays, this was her travel wardrobe:

Her visits continue through the school year, even as the weather warms... And she adheres to her very disciplined wardrobe. Her goal is to be a calming, familiar presence in the classes she visits...

 

The weather's getting warmer, but it's still cool enough for a long-sleeved ... View the Post

04.03.18 16 Comments

Build a Weekend Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Blue by Kinuko Imai Hoffman

January 2, 2018  

The first of the "12 Art Works of Christmas!" wardrobes - not the only time I'm going to look at this painting, though. I think I'll revisit this one every 3 months or so to expand the wardrobe to all seasons...Frankly, any paintings by this artist would be amazing sources of inspiration for a wardrobe - if you see anything that strikes your fancy, let me know! Creative Austerity She's always believed that the truly creative people were the ones who could do something original within strict guidelines...

This inspires her:

The possibilities are vast, just with these 2 shades, and a bit of texture... Maybe the occasional pattern... Anybody can wear orange tights, a green skirt and a purple sweater and ... View the Post

01.02.18 25 Comments

Tags: cool weather, navy, Start with Art, Tote Bag Travel, white

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

12.25.17 46 Comments

Tags: color palettes, Start with Art, Start With Nature

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: White Center by Mark Rothko

December 14, 2014   Not colors for the faint of heart, but another example of how combining warm and cool colors is not just possible, but potentially a striking and memorable personal style statement. 

   

 

 

 

      ... View the Post

12.14.12 16 Comments

Tags: Start with Art
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The Vivienne Files is a unique personal style blog with carefully-selected capsule wardrobes based on color palettes drawn from works of art, nature, and more. It helps women buy less clothing, and to love what they buy. Read more...
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