The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Home » Utagawa Hiroshige - The Plum Garden at the Kameido Shrine

Utagawa Hiroshige - The Plum Garden at the Kameido Shrine 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

Start with Art: The Plum Garden at the Kameido Shrine by Utagawa Hiroshige

September 2, 2020

I've received some requests to add accent colors to grey - I'm always happy to try to oblige!

ROAD TRIP!!! Yes, they're going to visit a BUNCH of gardens... For about 2 weeks or so! They're going to rent a camper (oh my...) and go to all of the places they've talked about visiting for years.

It's quite casual - touring these gardens doesn't require getting dressy! But she loves her color palette so...

She's going to stick with her core of grey garments, and then add 2 clusters of color...

She packs some warm teal tops, and then decides to include her tee shirt with floral prints... Why not?

Her coral garments vary from very soft and pastel to deep, almost rust. And she decides to pack a ... View the Post

Building a BUSINESS CASUAL Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Bridge in a Snowy Landscape by Utagawa Hiroshige

September 11, 2015

Yesterday, I put together what I thought was a pretty casual wardrobe, based on this painting. It wasn't the MOST casual thing imaginable - it included skirts and nice sweaters - but it would certainly be appropriate for most non-work activities that didn't include garage cleaning, painting, or basement mucking...This is our art, and our color scheme:

 

In order to take yesterday's wardrobe to work, I upgraded the skirt and the pants from the more casual cotton to nicer wool pieces. Depending on how casual your office actually is, you might easily have been able to wear yesterday's pieces to work too!

For the off white - same thing; the tops were keepers, but the skirt and pants were moved to slightly ... View the Post