The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Five Accent Colors with Five Neutrals

October 12, 2022

Ah, the last 5 Pantone colors from New York Fashion Week! Just to make things interesting, I brought along five different neutral color "clusters" to test-drive with these VERY varied colors...

To me, this peachy color cried out for some camel...

And I think these are perfect together!

For about the ten thousandth time, if you look good in yellow - WEAR IT! It's not easy to wear for some of us, and it's such a great accent...

I'm picturing this heroine living somewhere that's warm most of the year, so her favorite neutral is white:

I think this is lovely - the top outfit, on a rainy day, with the right coat and umbrella, would cheer up everyone you saw!

I'm tempted to wear ... View the Post

Four Accent Colors with Charcoal Grey, and 1 with Navy Blue

September 26, 2022

Let's take a look at the second five "London Fashion Week" colors, as shared with us by Pantone...

You probably remember from last week that I showed the first 5 colors as accents to navy blue; I'm going to hold onto that navy for this bright green. It just seems to be the right thing to do!

This is the minimal, core navy wardrobe that I was using:

At least in my eyes, these colors are made for each other. While these outfits feel a lot like spring, let's bear in mind that we dress to flatter ourselves, NOT to match the calendar!

For the last 4 accent colors, I decided to see how they look with charcoal grey. This wee core wardrobe is more casual than the first; what you choose will depend on ... View the Post

1 Dress, 100 Days: Day 1

September 1, 2022

Today's the day! I'm excited to see how I feel wearing the same dress for 3+ months...

I'm meeting a friend for lunch today - she started her 1 Dress 100 Day adventure in the middle of August. We're wearing the same dress, but we will NEVER look very much alike!

Here's my first day - a lot of necklaces, and a shirt to protect my shoulders...

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Indulging in Jackets and Sweaters

July 20, 2022 I think this might qualify as a "Sometimes Extravagant Wednesday"... Treating Yourself... I know that dressing in a solid column is somewhat controversial, but it's also so popular that I wanted to see what possibilities could be found for both navy and olive...

Getting dressed is easier when you wear a solid column every day, but if you're looking for things like matching loafers, you might find that shopping can be challenging!

For a heroine committed to wearing her column, she might have tiny wardrobe of pants and shirts, and then TONS of sweater and jackets, scarves, and nifty shoes...

There are so many color possibilities - I can't think of any color that she couldn't wear with navy!

Everything from relaxed ... View the Post

A Few of My Favorite Things – April 2022

April 6, 2022

I've never done this, in the 12 years (!!?!!?!!) that I've been writing The Vivienne Files - just show you a bunch of stuff that caught my eye!

But I realized a few days ago that my "cool things to remember" file was getting stupid big, and so I thought that I could just show you items outside of the context of a wardrobe. You're adults - you'll figure out how these could be worn!

Everything here is from 1 website: wolfandbadger.com. I've been to their stores in New York and London, as well as ordering things from them. Their service is excellent...

And since all of these things come from small designers, you really could email a designer to ask questions! For example, if you madly admire a pair of red earrings, ... View the Post

Dresses – Accessorizing Them A Little Bit Differently…

March 25, 2022

Are you getting ready to wear dresses again? Now that the weather teases us with hints of spring, I begin to ponder what dresses are lurking in my stored warm-weather clothes, and how I will wear them...

I know some women prefer to wear dresses in colder weather, because they can wear tights! Fair enough, but don't discount the comfort and versatility of a "below the knee" dress in a light fabric and a roomy cut!

Today, for no good reason, I wanted to accessorize dresses in a way that's NOT the first thing one would expect; if you can find more than 1 way to wear a dress, you'll have a good reason to wear it even MORE often. That's always smart!

For example, this most excellent black dress would be an obvious base ... View the Post

How do you choose accessories for a LONG trip?

January 26, 2022

Okay, our heroine has a great color palette chosen for her quite long trip to Europe:

And all of her clothing is chosen too:

Because our wise heroine has already figured out what she wants to wear for travel, and what she's taking with her in her tote bag for that quick change in the airport, she has some of her accessories already chosen:

But she will need more accessories, almost certainly! (well, technically, she could get by with just these things...)

And there's so much to consider:

My favorite approach to choosing accessories when I travel is to pick out a LOT of outfits - making sure that I've included all of my garments at least once. Then I accessorize each of the ... View the Post

Accessorizing a Camel, Ivory and Brown Capsule Wardrobe

November 5, 2021

Remember this lovely wardrobe from last week? I could be so tempted to just chuck everything I own and wear these colors, if I was feeling crazy and reckless...

I thought that I would try to start with 4 pairs of shoes - as I have done before. Simple flats can be worn with your skirt, or in somewhat warmer weather with pants. Loafers go with everything; leather athletic shoes are GORGEOUS and look lovely with pants, and of course short boots can be worn with everything...

Does anybody else remember back in the day when we would NEVER have worn boots that didn't come up to meet the hem of our skirt? That gap was SO off limits... Things have changed!

For my view of life, a small clutch, a cross-body bag, ... View the Post

Accessorizing a Navy, Ivory and Pale Pink Capsule Wardrobe

October 27, 2021

As nifty and attractive as this wardrobe is, it's really the accessories that make it work!

You may remember from last week that when I chose 2 pink garments to add to this wardrobe, I also added these accessories:

Lovely as these are, they will NOT be enough for any normal person!

For years, I've been trying to come up with a "Master List of Accessories" that everyone should have; for years, I have not succeeded!

And I think this is okay - accessories are far too personal to be structured in this way. One of my closest friends wear a TON of jewelry - literally at least 10 pieces at any one time. Another of my friends wear earrings - maybe - every now and then. I'm not going to give either of ... View the Post

Are You Thinking of Autumn? A Rainbow of Sweaters…

August 20, 2021

For much of the Northern Hemisphere, the weather is still decidedly summer. But (I know I've said this before!), if you have a specific desire for your cool weather wardrobe, this is the time to look!

I think that this is especially true this year, because so many retailers are keeping inventories very small; I've been interested in items that - literally a day or 2 after my first look - will be sold out.

So let's dream about sweater weather!

This first ensemble has my name written ALL OVER IT... sigh...

For those among us who are eager to cuddle up in something warmly brown and gold, this might do the trick:

If you live in jeans, you can still look amazing!

Some of us try to avoid things ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a Wardrobe for a LONG Trip

July 28, 2021

It's fun to look at cool weather accessories when the upper Midwest of the US is under a heat bubble...

Let's flash back to Friday, when this wardrobe, for a multi-month trip to Poland, was our focus:

We were told specifically that our heroine already has silver slip-on sneakers, and intends to pack short boots. The conversation in the Comments made it clear that she would also need warm, waterproof boots...

So to get enough accessories, chosen to go with this wardrobe, let's look at a bunch of outfits and see what might be pretty with each of them!

Starting - I'm ALWAYS going to suggest a watch. I think it's not lovely to constantly look at one's phone - and I'm a big offender at this...

So she has ... View the Post

Accessorizing a Swim Suit-Centered Wardrobe

April 9, 2021 She's Going to Swim, This Year On Wednesday, we started with this:

Our very happy heroine's travel capsule wardrobe is this:

But she can't travel - and she certainly can't go to the beach - with only 1 pair of shoes, no sandals, no hat, and no sunglasses!

So let's work our way through getting her travel wardrobe completed!

This is 2 of the most important things to pack; surely by now we all understand the need for covering up from too much sun, right?

If she's outdoors a lot, she may not need a mask constantly, but we're all going to want to have masks with us for the foreseeable future. Of course she wants a towel, and good sandals... I couldn't resist a cover-up too!

Simple earrings, the ... View the Post