The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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A Travel Capsule Wardrobe – Packing the Last-Minute Suitcase

Someday, the call will come:

Your Aunt Trudi is in the hospital, and nobody else can get there to be with her! or The data servers are all down in Edinburgh - get there NOW and fix them, or The Excel trainer broke her leg - you've got to go to New York tonight to teach the seminar, or Honey!  We're going to Paris TONIGHT for a long weekend!  (this is a dream we share, eh?)

  So somewhere in the back of my mind, every three or four months, I consider what I would do if I got this call.  The best defense, of course, is to have a carefully curated and deliberately distilled wardrobe, so that you just just stick your hand in the closet and grab a handful of things and you'll probably be okay.  And if ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe: sunset and sky meets the 8 blues

The ever brilliant Juhli asked what would happen if someone with a good base wardrobe (like the sunset and sky wardrobe from here) wanted to expand their wardrobe.  She pondered the wisdom of using one of the "eights" like the one in blue that I did here as a basis for acquisitions.Juhli is one really brilliant person... see the results!

 

 

 

 

  ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe – Packing for two weeks in Europe

One of the stranger joys of keeping a laptop for a REALLY long time is that you stumble across files that you completely forgot existed.  To wit, I found my old travel planning file from 2003/2004!  And thus I can tell you with a great deal of certainty what I wore on a combination business and leisure trip I took to Copenhagen and Berlin in late August and early September 2004.  What a blast from my wardrobe past it was to find this. 

 

 

 

As with all business trips I take, I grew to roundly detest all of these clothes by the time I got home.  But this trip required only a carry-on bag, and I always consider that a success!

  ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe – Packing in black, white and grey for a week in a city

Cardigan – Lands’ End, gray tee shirt – Topshop, gray sweater – J. Crew, black dress – 

Topshop, white tee shirt – Topshop, striped tee shirt – Topshop, black skirt – Topshop, 

black trousers – Oasis, scarf - Hermes  

Black cardigan – Debenhams, black top – Malo, black sequined top – DKNY, short trench – 

Galeries Lafayette,  gray dress – Tomas Maier,  gray pants – J. Crew, tweed skirt – Lanvin, 

wool tweed sweater - Acne  

Pearls – Ice.com, Black & white scarf – Fendi, Sequined scarf – John Lewis, Paisley scarf – 

Pretty Green, Shoulder bag – Sonia Rykiel, gray pearl brooch – Fantasy jewelry box.com, Drop 

earrings – Alexis Bittar, Pearl stud earrings – ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe with two suits

Gray blazer – Chloé, Striped cardigan – Aubin & Wills, Pink sweater – Ralph Lauren, Henley top – Dolce & Gabbana, Black sleeveless dress – The Row, Gray crewneck – The Row, Black & gray tweedy crewneck – The Row, Cream long-sleeved tee – The Row, Tweedy skirt – Markus Lupfer, Gray flannel skirt – Vionnet, Gray pants – Donna Karan, Black lace-trimmed tee shirt – Jason Wu, Black blazer – The Row, Black pants - Gucci

 

Square scarves - Hermes, Sequined muffler – John Lewis, Bracelet – Blu Bijoux, Black and silver balls necklace – Kenneth Jay Lane, Silver hammered disc earrings – Dorothy ... View the Post

Back to the roots of the Vivienne Files – part 8: Vivienne’s Valise, continued

I've been asked how I managed for almost 6 weeks with the very limited amount of clothing that I took with me on that trip that will live in infamy. I had a plan, believe me!

Just for reference, remember that these are the clothes that I had with me.

For flying, I pretty much always wore jeans, with the black v-neck sweater. Usually I would put either the white tee shirt or the striped tee shirt under the sweater, depending on how warm it was where I was leaving, what the weather would be where I was arriving, and what was clean!

First thing I did in the door of every new hotel in every new city/country was to give some clothing to the in-house laundry. This is always risky, because you never know when someone's going to ... View the Post

What my French friend wears to work: The roots of the Vivienne Files

Vivienne and I first got to be friends because of packing - she works in a hotel in Paris and was helping me pull together a training session I was running - and after the first or second day, she said something like "you got dressed in my closet this morning" and then we wound up having drinks, and THEN she came up to my room to eat room service (Gratis, since she works for the hotel) and hanging out with me while I did my ironing.

Bottom line, I know the girl's packing philosophy cold, since she and I have the same approach.

Start with a base of 5 garments, no matter how long or how short the trip:

Jacket or cardigan Pants that match Skirt that matches Top that goes with the above Another top that ... View the Post

An interesting exercise in priorities

  May 26, 2011  

One of the things I love about the internet is the serendipitous nature of finding interesting new ideas and information.  Recently, I stumbled across the blog The Burning House, which is now defunct.

The premise of Burning House is to photograph what you would grab to save from your home if it were on fire.  Now a big disclaimer here - I don't for a New York minute believe that the things photographed are what most respondents would REALLY grab in a pitched emergency.  But taken in a larger sense, I look at the choices the participants have made as more a "what would you grab if you had 10 or 20 minutes, and a carry-on bag?" i.e. what do you own that means the most to you? The responses are ... View the Post