The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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By Season Archives - Page 5 of 17

13-Piece Spring Wardrobes – Rose and Chambray, Grey and shades of Purple

June 16, 2021

Oh, you all are SMART! This turned out well, I think...

Yes, there's only 1 cardigan, because I just never saw a denim-colored one that I liked. But when I saw my mother wearing my denim shirt over her tee shirt, I knew I had the answer!

Even with prints above and below the waist, this wardrobe has lots of possibilities:

Just for reference, here's the garment list. I want to remind us all that this isn't a hard and fast list - it's a guideline, just like everything on The Vivienne Files. Nobody should tell you what to wear...

I discovered something interesting, and sort of weird, when I was putting together this next wardrobe: when I searched for "purple," I got all sorts of shades of pink, and ... View the Post

13-Piece Spring Wardrobes – Black and White, Olive and Beige

June 11, 2021

I can clearly see that I want to do at least 2 more of these after today! The denim/chambray/soft pink idea MUST be investigated, as well as... what other color?

But today, we look at black, and then at my nemesis, green!

First up - a wardrobe that I could envision buying if I lost every stitch of clothing that I own... the pink skirt would be a real adventure for me, but why the HECK not try it?

This may not qualify as a completely "Whatever's Clean 13" wardrobe - I can see some of us feeling uncomfortable wearing the blue tee shirt with the pink skirt. But if one could find the right scarf, necklace, or bracelet to tie them together, or if one just plain and simply LIKES the 2 colors together, why not? (it's ... View the Post

Two Spring Capsule Wardrobes, Using the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe

June 9, 2021

Ah, you would have laughed if you could have seen me starting this post - I thought that I would just open ALL THIRTEEN of the earlier posts, and copy things from there...

Now remember, since the beginning of the pandemic, I've been blogging from a laptop!

Just as well it didn't work out - many of the garments from early weeks are long gone in many sizes...

So I've used quite a few familiar garments, and picked up some new things to fill in the blanks!

I really like to show these wardrobes to reinforce my personal conviction that these classic garments can come together to give you a great travel wardrobe, or the base of a Garde Robe du Mois.

I love the subtle elegance of these colors:

Just imagine this ... View the Post

Are You Ready? Stress Dressing for Warm Weather

June 4, 2021

Emergencies and last-minute changes of plan don't stop just because the weather gets nice, right?

So it behooves most of us to have a plan in mind in case we're called away for a day or 2 of work at a remote location, or a quick trip to a fun destination, or a quick trip to an urgent family situation...

This first wardrobe is the sort of thing you would grab if you had to go babysit for a day or two, or care for an older relative:

 

Your friends need you to go stay at their summer home for a couple of days while the windows are being repaired? You can be ready in 10 minutes...

Someone from your family needs to show up for an estate issue... You might just need to BE there, but you may have to hang ... View the Post

Stress Dressing Mini-Wardrobes for Changing Spring Weather

March 10, 2021

The weather is impossible right now - in the best way! After literally weeks of single-digit temperatures and mounds of snow, we're now experiencing lovely afternoons, with sun and noticeable warmth!

But what to wear? Especially if you've got your hands full and don't want to think too hard...

I'm sure you will notice that I changed a few things, but left some from our earlier adventures in Stress Dressing for cold weather. There's nothing like the stress of having to find ALL NEW THINGS for your emergency wardrobe, eh?

I gave some thought to what my general guidelines might be for choosing these pieces, although I'm pretty confident that you could sort this for yourself pretty easily:

These wardrobes ... View the Post

Stress Dressing Mini-Wardrobes for Cool Weather

February 12, 2021

 

We've looked back at the original Stress Dressing post, and quite a few of us realized that this might be worth revisiting in our wardrobes for this "dead of winter, middle of pandemic" situation...

I didn't include dresses this time - I think that the probability that one of us is going to need a dress isn't all that high! And since so many of us are still spending so much time at home, I didn't include a bag either...

My goals were warm, comfortable, somewhat versatile, and uncomplicated. Let's look!

Loosely speaking, this is a list of what I might look for when I build this for myself:

Even though we're home most of the time, there's still no guarantee that our wardrobes will be ... View the Post

Is It Time for a Cold Weather Wardrobe Treat? A Whole Rainbow of Cashmere Sweaters…

August 25, 2020

A few people are still longing for summer clothes - I'm sorry, but they're getting to be SO hard to find in stores. As I may have mentioned in the past, I don't like to show you anything that isn't available in the full range of colors and sizes - why taunt you with things you can't have if you really want them? Thus, summer clothes are becoming difficult to share...

And a LOT of retailers are only bringing into stock the bare minimum of styles and colors for cooler weather - WHAT FUN IS THAT? We're stuck inside for most of our time, and we need cheer. Color! Brightness! Variety!

With that in mind, I'm sharing some lovely cashmere sweaters with you, along with a few other accessories to give you little accessory ... View the Post

Rescuing a Forgotten Garment: Print Sleeveless Tunic

June 4, 2020

Today's interesting warning - if you're wearing a mask frequently, be ABSOLUTELY sure that you're washing both the mask(s) and your face every 5 minutes or so. I currently have a really painful broken-out face from mask irritation. It's both ugly and sore...

But let's look at helping one of our friends get some good use from a beautiful garment, eh?

This isn't the exact tunic, of course, but it's sleeveless, and includes the colors royal blue, black and white, just like our friend's tunic. So I'm hopeful that any advice I can think of will be useful!

With a little bit of thought, this top could be worn for most of the year - I know it's odd to think of wearing sleeveless things in cooler weather, but stick with ... View the Post

Adding Pastel Wardrobe Accents! Expanding a Beige & Olive Weekly Timeless Wardrobe

April 22, 2020

She, too, has a wardrobe core of olive and beige, just like that of her friend from Monday's post. But her inspirations for accent colors of quite different!

She saw this painting in Paris, years ago, and took a photograph of it. She has, since then, found a poster of the painting, and hung it in her bathroom! Why not... It reminds her, and keeps her focused.

While there are quite a few possible accent colors hidden in this wonderful work of art, our heroine made her choices:

Of course, she's going to start with her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe 13 core garments, in her 2 neutrals:

She knew in her heart that she was craving light, and softness, and prettiness. She decided to listen to her heart, and ... View the Post

Adding Wardrobe Accents! Expanding a Beige & Olive Weekly Timeless Wardrobe

April 20, 2020

After being indoors for AGES (I'm in my 6th week...), I find that paintings full of "nature" colors really appeal...

Today's heroine realizes that she's going to need to move toward some navy, maybe by the time summer rolls in... Her current Weekly Timeless Wardrobe for Spring is lovely beige and green, but she understands that the green is just too difficult to find.

This is her inspiration:

She's going to indulge in some accent colors, before she starts gradually working on her 3rd neutral...

Here's where she's starting:

For so long, she's been comfortable with muted colors. But now that she's free to be out and about, she is really in the mood for something bolder and brighter!

After much ... View the Post

Dressing for the Winter Holidays – Festive but not Foolish

November 15, 2019

 

It's an indelible memory: a corporate holiday party, back in the 80's. Most of the women were wearing those silk jacquard dresses that were so easy to find back then. (mine was red, with a dropped waist, and a big bow on my left hip, at the dropped waist; the skirt was a bit flared below the dropped waist, so that it moved when I danced. And THE SHOULDER PADS were a thing of wonder...)

One women showed up in strapless sequins. Oh my. I felt bad for her...

Since then, dressing for holiday events has been stressful for me; I've always been frightened that I would make that kind of "career limiting move," or otherwise just not fit in.

So let's be sensible, and intelligent in this planning, eh? Since many ... View the Post

April Showers Bring May Flowers…

May 8, 2019

And sometimes, flowers are what inspire you to update your warm-weather wardrobe...

Many of us have a pretty decent core wardrobe to carry us into the warm weather...

Many people could get through quite a bit of the summer with just these 9 garments - especially if you have to dress for work every day, and this is your leisure wardrobe.

But maybe you want to brighten up your core wardrobe with some pretty colors?

Even just one "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" in an accent color can give you quite a few new outfit options:

Maybe you're in the mood for orange?

Lace is fun for summer - not insanely dressy, just a pretty way to update a tee shirt...

The nice thing about getting a ... View the Post