Leon Spilliaert - A Forest Archives

Build a Wardrobe in 4 Colors? Start With Art – A Forest by Leon Spilliaert

August 20, 2025

Let's take one last look at this lovely painting. I had never heard of Leon Spilliaert until I found this painting; I can't imagine how much wonderful art there is in the world that I haven't seen!

As you very probably already know, the last four posts here at The Vivienne Files have been variations on this painting; let's take a last look at each of the four travel capsule wardrobes that this heroine assembled through the autumn and winter:

It looks like a lot, doesn't it? But when you aggregate it into one place, it starts to look coherent...

The accessories are always so wonderful - a coherent collection of shoes, bags, jewelry and scarves is always going to be lovely!

Getting all of ... View the Post

Avoiding Light Colors? Start With Art – A Forest by Leon Spilliaert

August 18, 2025

Ah, for the winter holidays, our heroine has plans to visit friends and family, with a particular fun twist - all of these families seem to be the ones with small children!

Now, our heroines loves children, and will spend much of her long weekend on the floor, playing with new toys, reading books for the 37th time, and just generally cuddling sleepy, grumpy tots...

But as always, her packing starts here:

She wants soft things. Dark things that show spots a bit less. a necklace or two that can be quickly tucked into a collar, to avoid the inquisitive fingers of the wee babies in the crowd...

She's even packing a pair of shorts; she spends a lot of time on the floor...

This wardrobe is darker than ... View the Post

Don’t Want to Pack Black? Start With Art – A Forest by Leon Spilliaert

August 15, 2025

Back with our heroine and her multi-faceted wardrobe, based upon this painting. Today's color palette is the one shown here, in which she eschews black and concentrates on the other colors.

Maybe your family thinks your wear too much black? Maybe it just doesn't feel right for a particular holiday, like Thanksgiving? Maybe you just want to try something different?

Of course you're not going to quit wearing black just because it bugs your sister, but you can be a bit flexible just to keep the peace. Especially if you get to wear this luscious shade of green!

Packing in this wardrobe is always so easy - enough ivory to dress up if the occasion warrants (maybe take everyone out for dinner some night, so you ... View the Post

A Warm Color, Classic Palette for Fall? Start With Art – a Forest by Leon Spilliaert

August 13, 2025

Our ongoing inspiration:

Our heroine from Monday has another trip planned; she's going to her college Homecoming!

She's not planning to attend any of the more formal, dressy activities; her agenda is more the football game, and then hanging out at the home of one of her friends who stayed in the city after graduation. Much sitting around, eating, talking, and laughing is what she has in mind...

But she still wants to look nice, and she really wants to have that autumn feel when she gets dressed. Time for some brown!

Her color palette for the upcoming festivities is this:

She starts with a lovely brown tee shirt, her black cardigan, and a different pair of black pants - somewhat warmer than the linen ... View the Post

Want a Number of Color Palette Possibilities? Start With Art – A Forest by Leon Spilliaert

August 11, 2025

Our heroine travels quite a bit - visiting friends, visiting family, vacationing, working... And she wants to start packing with a plan; she's inspired by this:

She immediately can see a color palette that would pay homage to this painting - three neutrals, with the green as an accent. Or maybe the green can be a neutral too? There are lots of possibilities:

As heroines tend to do, she keep thinking! She realizes first off that she's really not in the mood to pack brown right now. Maybe she doesn't own any yet, or maybe her brown clothes are heavier, and not suited to her upcoming trip.

So she can clearly see that she can still assemble a lovely palette without the brown.

And then she thinks ... View the Post