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How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe 1 Piece at a Time: Brown, Khaki and Pink

July 22, 2016 No More "Dress For Success" Every day, every year, the same....

Navy suit, white shirt. Grey suit, white shirt. Navy grey white navy grey white....

It served her well - she was very successful. She worked 7 days a week; she really didn't have a leisure life - her idea of being dressed down was to wear an old work shirt with old pants from a pantsuit. Jeans? Not in her vocabulary. A cardigan? Would get you a visit from the chairman of the firm...

But now that she was leaving the office world, her heart cried out for brown. The color of dirt. The color of chocolate. And khaki - sand, and stones, and natural things....

And PINK. Because she would never have dared to wear pink in her old, very conservative, work ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories 1 at a Time: Black and Beige

July 19, 2016  

Ah, let's add some accessories to yesterday's black and beige travel capsule wardrobe, shall we? Remember, we started with this outfit, to which we MUST add shoes. There aren't a lot of wardrobe essentials in the world, but shoes, for most of us, when traveling, might qualify:

And I always like earrings for travel - they can be out of your way, but still add a nice touch of ornamentation to your outfit, and draw some attention to your smiling face.

 

Oh yes, and a scarf can be very handy if you're going to be on an airplane or train which might be freezing cold!

 

Some people never wear watches, and many of us wear some sort of step-measurement device. But I think ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe in Black and Beige: 1 Piece at a Time

July 18, 2016  

It seems that there are some among us who are struggling to pull together what they want to pack. This isn't particularly surprising - travel is stressful enough, and the unknown factors of weather and activities can throw almost anyone into a small panic. So I'm going to approach the "1 Piece at a Time" idea with the thought that we're packing a suitcase, rather than assembling a capsule wardrobe.

Let's assume that you know what you want to wear for traveling - you've got a gloriously beautiful cardigan that MUST go with you:

  Based on this outfit, it will be really easy to work with a core of black neutrals, and then add in some beige, too. There's enough white in the cardigan to make white ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories 1 at a Time: Shades of Beige and Brown

May 23, 2016  

These subtle colors in this capsule wardrobe really appeal to me...Remember, this was our first outfit, to which one MUST add some shoes. Unless you live somewhere that doesn't require shoes?

  Tee – Uniqlo; pants – Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L. Bean; top shoes – Tamaris; middle shoes – Seychelles; bottom shoes – Robert Zur  

 

And simple earrings! I particularly like that bottom pair because they're simple, but they aren't...

 

Tank - Uniqlo; pants – Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L. Bean; top earrings – Uno de 50; middle earrings – Lauren Ralph Lauren; bottom earrings –Alexis Bittar  

There weren't hundreds of scarves in this very subtle color scheme, ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe 1 Piece at a Time: Beige and Brown, for Leisure

May 21, 2016  

You wanted to see a leisure capsule wardrobe in warm colors? Here it is....I found that I could stick exclusively to shades of brown, tan, and cream and put together a really nice, workable capsule wardrobe. The accessories (which will be here on Monday!) are going to have a big impact on this very subtle collection.

I started with a simple beige column (although the tee shirt has a bit of a stripe) and found a cardigan that contained all of the shades that I wanted to consider:

  The gold is included here as a very clear hint about accessories:

 

With warm weather coming (theoretically, where I live!), I thought that a light-colored top would be a good starting point. This top ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe with Accessories 1 at a Time: Blues, Grey and Black

May 19, 2016   Casual, but really nice...Remember, we started with a simple black column of clothing, with a great blue cardigan; of course, we need shoes:  

And I usually have earrings added pretty early in the process. For this wardrobe, I tried to stick with a feeling of linearity, to echo the subtle stripes in the cardigan:

 

Scarves! I love scarves...

 

For those who do not want to wear sandals, a simple low-heel or flat casual shoe will be just as suitable:

I love wearing an inexpensive watch sometimes - the look on someone's face when they admire your watch, and you tell them it's a Timex, is priceless. And it's an important reminder that good design can be ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe 1 Piece at a Time: Black, Blue and Grey, for Leisure

May 18, 2016   This is in response to a specific request to incorporate more leisure wear into a capsule wardrobe (without breaking the bank), based on the same simple black column I've used before, but including a great cardigan:  

Tee – Lands’ End; pants – L.L.Bean; cardigan – Hallhuber  

The request also wanted to incorporate some grey into their leisure wardrobe, so this was the color scheme that I developed:

 

  Tee – Lands’ End; pants – L.L.Bean; cardigan – Hallhuber  

 

I need to mention also that this person isn't in a really hot climate, so a lot of super-lightweight clothing wasn't going to be necessary...First, we need to break up that black column and introduce a ... View the Post

What to Wear with a Navy Cardigan and White Skirt

May 12, 2016  

This is just a "flipped over" version of the white blazer and navy trouser, but quite a bit more casual and relaxed. And I chose all button-front shirts, just to show the range of possibilities available!

Our very simple starting point:

  You can wear any possible shade of red, pink, coral, blush, or whatever else the fashion people name these colors:

 

All kinds of orange are equally lovely:

 

If you like yellow, this is a good, classic base with which to wear it!

 

I really like the looks of both the mint and the dark olive here - very different colors, but equally at home in this ensemble.

 

Turquoise, because... well, ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories 1 at a Time: Black, Ivory and Russet Business Wardrobe

May 11, 2016

This capsule wardrobe looks so much more interesting with just a few simple additions!

Remember, we started with this gorgeous jacket, and I put a simple black column of clothing under it. So shoes will be an essential first step:

Tee – Lands’ End; pants – L.L.Bean; jacket – Babette; top shoes – Robert Clergerie; middle shoes – Frye; bottom shoes – Kate Spade Since the jacket pattern is so striking, I thought that a simple, solid scarf would be a good choice: Shell – J. Crew; pants – L.L.Bean; jacket – Babette; top scarf – Jimmy Choo; middle scarf – Gucci; bottom scarf – Nordstrom  

And I can never go too long without earrings; to me, they give a touch of shine and a feeling of polish ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Around An Art Jacket: 1 Piece at a Time

May 10, 2016  

Because one of you asked for my help with something, I'm breaking a long-standing rule here at The Vivienne Files...

Normally, I only show garments that don't include a model; I find that I'd rather see what the clothes look like, without being pinned and taped and yanked around to suit the model. But in this case, the jacket was key...

The request was for a travel capsule wardrobe for a 2 month work trip, over a number of climates, and built around this jacket:

This is a wardrobe that will really come into its own with accessories, I'm sure you can see. But I felt that it was important to start with a very neutral base. It gives us this color scheme:

 

  Sticking with the idea ... View the Post

My Capsule Wardrobe, and Starting From Scratch

December 15, 2014   My wardrobe is in kind of a mid-season funk right now. My arms are getting a little bit girthy from my workouts (hurrah!!!), and a few things that used to be capsule wardrobe stalwarts are going to have to move on to someone else's wardrobe. I'm losing sight of what my "big picture" wardrobe plan is... and that makes getting dressed time-consuming and tiring. Plus, since I don't have to go into an office any more, my wardrobe is long on "business-ish" garments that could be donated or sold. So it's time for me to Start From Scratch!

Step 1: Pants - easey peasy - my black pants from J. Jill. Perfect fit, and a 12-month fabric.

Step 2: Shoes - Stuart Weitzman "creampuff" style. They're long discontinued, ... View the Post

Jewelry: How to Dress Up a Starting From Scratch Capsule Wardrobe

November 28, 2014  

Jewelry is the most obvious, and the easiest, way to dress up basic garments. If you look around at some of the less "expected" stores, you can find things that you've never before seen - nobody at your event will be wearing an identical item! These items can easily be worn with a number of different Starting From Scratch Capsule Wardrobes, and many of these pieces could be used during the day, as well. And don't forget that the Starting From Scratch Wardrobes already had quite a few pieces of jewelry in them - many of those pieces are well-suited for evening wear, just as many of the pieces shown below could be worn during the day.   I've opted to include brooches instead of necklaces, just because ... View the Post