Build a Capsule Wardrobe Archives - Page 15 of 87

Travel Capsule Wardrobe for a Long Weekend? Start with an Echo 100 Scarf!

December 29, 2023

Only a few more days typing "2023!" Not quite ready, personally!

Let's look at three more scarves, and around each of them construct a 6-piece travel capsule wardrobe. Maybe you'd get sick of wearing the same 2 or 3 colors over a week or two, but for three days, it might just make things easier.

Isn't this lovely? And lots of possibilities...

The dark color might very well be navy in this scarf, but on my monitor it looks black, so that's what I've included. I'm sure you understand...

This weekend is a split between dressy and relaxed; I think she's ready for anything!

If you've ever wanted to own something designed by Romeo Gigli, here's your chance!

Red and orange together - without ... View the Post

Expanding Your Wardrobe: Start with a Bracelet – Fierce Serenity Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

December 18, 2023

Of course you remember this bracelet - it was only last week that I first shared it with you!

And this was the small wardrobe that our heroine took with her on her long weekend of serious reading!

It turns out that our heroine is headed to campus for a month for a special symposium about Changing Political Ideologies in Western Democratic Systems! Riveting, eh?

Since she was so happy with her wardrobe from her "reading weekend," she decided to use that as the base for her 4 by 4 Capsule Travel Wardrobe for the month that she's away. Sensible, I'd say...

After looking at, and remembering wearing, her core garments, she decides to add a 2nd, darker neutral. And she feels like she wants a blazer ... View the Post

Nature Colors! Start with a Bracelet: Sustainable Lynx by Fierce Lynx Designs

November 20, 2023

As soon as she saw these bracelets, she thought of water, and the sky, and grass, and leaves, and soil... all of the things of nature that she loves the most!

She wants a small, versatile wardrobe to pack when she visits branch facilities of her composting company... These are the perfect colors!

Their driver staff - who go around the city and pick up the full buckets of compostable materials from customers - wear green and brown. That's where she started, and she still feels at home wearing those colors...

She usually spends a day riding with one or two of the drivers and a day hanging out at the actual massive composting facility. The staff there wears WHATEVER THEY WANT - knowing they will shower ... View the Post

Long Weekend of Travel? Start with a Scarf – Sonny Ross Scarf by Echo

November 17, 2023

Suddenly, there are a whole bunch of new Echo 100 scarves!

For no good reason I can offer, this one really sparked my imagination - SO pretty, but also a wide range of color possibilities...

This scarf seemed like an obvious candidate for a core of denim, or ivory, or olive... But what if I just worked with the five visible colors in (more or less) equal quantities?

The Library Will be Open For the Holiday Weekend! The library at the gardens are seldom open, and when they are, you have to have reservations, and an assigned desk, and you need to tell the Preservation Society what you're going to be studying. It's a serious thing!

She's going! She loves working with heritage flowering plants in her ... View the Post

Business Travel Packing Made Easy? Start with a Scarf: Tré Seals Scarf By Echo

November 15, 2023

I've been planning to buy one (well, at least one!) of the Echo 100 Scarves, from their amazing anniversary project; I knew that something would have whappage, and be irresistible to me...

You're shocked, I know:

Okay, this might be unnecessary, but it's what we do here on The Vivienne Files!

This heroine isn't me - although it certainly could have been me in my advertising days!

Our intrepid friend today is heading to one of those cities that starts with an N - New York, Newark, Northampton, Nantes? She will only be there 3 nights, and during the day she will be training employees of her company in cool and fascinating research techniques...

The weather will be moderate - not that ... View the Post

A Warm-Hued Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – Lane Near Wormingford by John Nash

November 13, 2023

This art is on the VERY short list to be included in next year's "Six Paintings, 12 Months..."

No Black Friday for Me, Thank You! She's leaving Thursday, after an early afternoon meal with her large, rowdy, noisy, messy family....

She will help clean up the kitchen and dining room.

She will help do dishes.

She will help pack leftovers for everyone.

And THEN... She's off to her favorite quiet rural area, where her favorite small hotel is holding a room for her....

Yes, she's going to change clothes before she leaves - she wouldn't want to wear her favorite silk shirt to muck about in a holiday kitchen!

She's just taking her small tote; she doesn't need too much for a long weekend ... View the Post

Experimenting with Proportions by Starting with Art: Partial Eclipse of the Moon by Étienne Léopold Trouvelot

September 11, 2023

She likes things to be simple, but interesting... Anything for a good experiment!

So when she was told that she would have 2 weeks access to the data regarding the varying distances to the moon, she knew that she packing would be a chance to try out some interesting things!

There will be at least a dozen other scientists at the University, working toward an accurate measurement of the vacillations of the earth's axis. It's fascinating, really!

While she's concentrating on numbers, and distances, and appearances, she decides that she will pack a 3-color wardrobe, and experiment with how she gets dressed each day. She's hopeful that she will arrive at a firm conclusion about what "outfit proportions" ... View the Post

Choose a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Portrait of Margaretha Trip by Helen Frankenthaler

September 8, 2023

Things I learned from this post:

Shades of grey are A-okay! You might want to think seriously about your preferences for high-contrast outfits vs low-contrast...

Listening

Two weeks at a Buddhist center, participating in a workshop on listening. It's actually an event to which many companies send top executives; that's why she's going...

She won't know anyone else there, and they won't have any know each other's job titles...

Somehow, she suspects that she might be able to tell at least a few things about some of the other participants!

The environment is very casual. The weather will be somewhere between cool and almost winter - it will be interesting to see how other participants ... View the Post

Assemble an Autumn Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Lonely by Erika Giovanna Klien

August 30, 2023

Sometimes a painting just grabs your attention and won't let go; that's how she felt about this...

Yes, she has almost black hair, and eyes that are either aqua blue or green, depending on something she can't quite figure out...

So for her upcoming trip, so thought that this would be a great inspiration!

Until the last day or 2 before she leaves, she's not sure what she will wear in transit; she decides to assemble her wardrobe far ahead of time, and then just choose her travel outfit when she knows what the weather will be.

Start with the neutrals, with some essential accessories:

yes, these are the same 5 grey pieces from last week!

Now the fun starts! She's been collecting tops ... View the Post

Year 2 – Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Taisho – Large Heat

July 21, 2023

Why yes, I DID miss the previous season - July 7, Small Heat. This year, Chicago is having a VERY cool summer, unlike so much of the world. It makes thinking about warm-weather clothing sort of difficult!

But let's pick up with the current season...

At this point in the year, when major retailers are pushing cool-weather clothing at us, we can at least find nice dresses...

If I were to only own 1 dress, this might be a candidate. The dark background would make it easy to wear dark tights and flats, with a navy sweater, in cool weather:

Similarly, this dress is made to be worn with a cardigan or blazer:

I'm currently wearing the black version of this dress, with amethyst jewelry to match ... View the Post

Expanding a Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – Woman with Folded Arms by Picasso

June 12, 2023

Oh, let's look at this some more!

When we left our heroine on Friday, she had a lovely 9-piece travel capsule wardrobe all sorted out for long weekends this summer:

Wise people learn from their successes, and when your deeply-held preferences work out well, why not continue on that path?

Since the weather is warm, our heroine realized immediately that a few white garments might be useful:

And while she wasn't wild about the idea of adding denim to her wardrobe during the warmest weather, chambray is a good option!

Prints? Maybe? I admit that our heroine was strongly drawn to a couple of striped shirtdresses, as well as a plaid camp shirt and matching skirt in shades of blue.... Frankly, she ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Shades of Blue: Start with Art – Woman with Crossed Arms by Picasso

June 9, 2023

I had to try this...

Our heroine is quite a bit cheerier than Picasso's subject!

She committed to wearing blue. It feels right to her, and that's what is most important, right?

She knows that a painting that inspires you doesn't have to be copied identically - so long as you are true to whatever initially inspired you, you may interpret that inspiration any way you want!

A long weekend seems like a perfect chance to try-out the idea of wearing all blue... She won't be around a lot of people who know her, so she doesn't expect anybody to actually notice that she's always in blue...

The night before she leaves for her wee adventure, she takes a good look at her planned travel capsule ... View the Post