Build a Capsule Wardrobe Archives - Page 49 of 89

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Portrait of a Young Woman by Henri Regnault

September 5, 2016 She caught my eye, across the room, at the Art Institute of Chicago:

Class Reunion/Homecoming Weekend

"Is she going to be here? I hear that she's a CEO somewhere..."

"I certainly hope so - seeing her is practically the only reason that I came..."

"I wonder if she still always wears blue every day..."

"Well, I wonder if she still has that hair..."

If this is how the MEN feel, imagine what the WOMEN in her class must be saying...

Love, Janice

p.s. No, I'm NOT in Italy... We've postponed for 6 weeks. Bright side? Less expensive flights, and we're staying for 12 days, rather than just a week... ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Wing of a European Roller by Albrecht Durer

August 29, 10`6 Durer was, unquestionably, a genius:

There are only about a TON of colors here (yes, ton is not a number, but you know what I mean...). I actually went back to the Internet to look at photographs of the actual bird in order to get a sense of what they really look like!

Uncompromising She knew that she had some... difficult... preferences.

shirt – Lands’ End; earrings – Aurélie Bidermann; boots – Frye; scarf – Etro; jeans – L.L.Bean; cardigan – J.Crew; watch – Nixon; tote – Allsaints; suitcase – Bric’s

Even though her wardrobe is largely black and white, she prefers brown leather. She doesn't care if anyone else thinks it's a good idea...

Shirt – Lands’ End; loafers ... View the Post

Essential Accessories for a Travel Capsule Wardrobe: What I’m Packing: Italy, September 2016

August 25, 2016 As of 6 pm Chicago time on Wednesday, I have no news about the town that I was going to visit next week. It is about 50 miles from the epicenter of the earthquakes, so I suspect that it avoided much damage. Nonetheless, we are considering the possibility of just staying in Rome for a week, and avoiding the region entirely. No decisions have been made yet, though... Of course, let's keep the earthquake victims, (and all victims, everywhere) in our hearts.

Let's jump right in! I've known for weeks what my travel outfit is, including shoes, so let's start building around that:

For what it's worth, I'd buy the same Munro oxfords again when these wear out; they're ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Approaching Storm by Eugene-Louis Boudin

August 24, 2016 I hope these ladies don't have to sprint too far to escape the storm; they're not dressed for the 100 yard dash...

But it's a beautiful painting, and it so vividly evokes that feeling when the weather is about to turn. I was particularly drawn to the simple, neutral color scheme:

Other Things on Her Mind She travels with a lot of gear...

Actually, she's ALWAYS carrying bags and bags of photography equipment, even if she's not traveling. Photography is what she does, and she does it well.

So she decided ages ago that she was going to be very disciplined in her wardrobe. Not drab. Not boring. Just in control. For example, she wears jeans. Only jeans. ... View the Post

My Travel Capsule Wardrobe Packing: Italy, September 2016

August 23, 2016

We're leaving for Italy in less than 2 weeks, which means I need to get this travel capsule wardrobe sorted! I'm notorious for having my suitcase out a month ahead of time...

But seriously, I should start setting things aside so that (a) I don't forget anything, and (b) I don't carelessly wear something that I want to pack, 2 days before we leave, and find that I have to do laundry at the last minute. There'll be quite enough laundry the last morning, because we like to return home to clean sheets, clean towels, and as little in the laundry bags as possible!

As always, I start with what I'm going to wear on the flight. I'm still undecided about accessories (probably an upcoming blog post?) but I know that I'm going ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with… Antique Ceramic Tiles!!!

August 18, 2016 An upcoming "trailing spouse" trip for one of you... and some amazing colors, inspired by ceramic tile! As if we needed a reminder that capsule wardrobe color palette inspirations can be found literally anywhere...

I'm going to assume that the little dot of red is going to be nails and lips...

Our trip is to a destination that will be cool-ish (Oslo!), so sweaters are going to be important! While I'm working with navy as the core of this wardrobe, I chose to use this cardigan, although it's a more "marled" blue. It blends well with all of the colors, and it's cozy cashmere, which could be helpful for this trip.And flying in a skirt? Well, it has a "hidden comfort waist," and it ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arlequin by Pablo Picasso, Version 2

August 16, 2016 I have to admit, when I first saw this painting, I thought of colors of denim:

Can you see it, too?

Oh, So Wrong...

Cardigan – L.L.Bean; tote – Nine West; earrings – Made Sudiari; boots – Munro; scarf – Stella McCartney; watch – Fossil; jeans – L.L.Bean; tee – L.L.Bean; suitcase – Zero Halliburton

"She never wears anything but jeans..."

cardigan – Jardin des Orangers; scarf – Horo; earrings – Nyoman Rena; ring – Nyoman Rena; bag – Foley + Corinna; grey tee – Aeropostale; jeans – L.L.Bean; tie-dye sweater –Raquel Allegra; white cardigan – Vince; sunglasses – Dior; patchwork scarf – Fatface; bracelet – ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arlequin et Femme au Collier by Picasso

August 15, 2016 Ever since I saw this in the Centre Pompidou, I knew that it was going to be on The Vivienne Files. This is really just a combinations of neutrals - faded denim for the blue, and then black, white, and grey.

Note the very round details of "la femme." Some angularity, of course - it's Picasso - but the circles are key!

Always Nobody notices for months, if ever...

When she was a very small child, someone once complimented her on her necklace. That remark stuck with her forever, and wearing a necklace became her signature.

Small, large, fancy or simple, she always wore one. Even when swimming, she would wear a simple, inexpensive little ... View the Post

A Capsule Wardrobe in Beige, Bright Blue and Orange: Expanding Your Accessories

August 12, 2016

Oh, how I love accessories....As a reminder, this is where we left the capsule wardrobe when we finished the 4 additions to it yesterday:

floral shirt – Barbour; orange earrings – Kendra Scott; watch – Skagen; ring – Savvy Cie; hoop earrings – Madewell; necklace – Bleu; bracelet – Danielle Nicole; blue earrings – Kate Spade; tee – L.L.Bean;blue tee – Uniqlo; orange cardigan – Joseph; floral tee – Atos Lombardini; tank - Missoni; orange tunic – Jaeger; scarf – Eloise Bricka; blue cardigan – Betty Barclay; field jacket - L.L.Bean; wrap – Goyo; pants – L.L.Bean; skirt – L.L.Bean; ballet flats – SoftWalk; loafers – Aerosoles;jeans – L.L.Bean; bag – Ted Baker London; ... View the Post

A Capsule Wardrobe in Beige, Bright Blue and Orange: From Travel Wardrobe to Whatever’s Clean

August 11, 2016 Yesterday's travel capsule wardrobe looked like this:

floral shirt – Barbour; orange earrings – Kendra Scott; watch – Skagen; ring – Savvy Cie; hoop earrings – Madewell; necklace – Bleu; bracelet – Danielle Nicole; blue earrings – Kate Spade; tee – L.L.Bean; blue tee – Uniqlo; orange cardigan – Joseph; orange tunic – Jaeger; scarf – Eloise Bricka; blue cardigan – Betty Barclay; wrap – Goyo; pants – L.L.Bean; skirt – L.L.Bean; ballet flats – SoftWalk; loafers – Aerosoles;jeans – L.L.Bean; bag – Ted Baker London; tote – James Perse

A few people asked me if a travel wardrobe could be expanded into "Whatever's Clean 13;" of course, almost anything is ... View the Post

Packing Light: A “Six-Pack” Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Beige, Bright Blue and Orange

August 10, 2016 Let's start today with two scarves:

Archivist Everybody wanted to know answers - why do we have to bill the Prosidion Group on the 8th of every month? Why do we have to call the head of the Alblomilon Corporation exactly 10 minutes before we send the invoice? Why does the entire invoice for the Habestrate Manufacturing Consortium have to be sorted alphabetically by street address???

Well, everybody had always archived the emails that explained these things...

But until she got there, NOBODY organized the archives!

So she worked. Carefully, methodically, attentively, for months...

In her ... View the Post

A Capsule Wardrobe in Navy, Hot Pink and Ivory: Expanding Your Accessories

August 9, 2016

When we last saw this travel capsule wardrobe, it had some accessories - probably enough for a short period of time:

It would be great if I can figure out an Accessory Template, but right now I'm still pondering how that's going to work; it might take me a few weeks, or months!

But I was thinking about the role of accessories in our lives, and I was able to conclude that there are realistically very few that you actually NEED; most of them are for fun.

Of course, if you live in a warm climate, you're not going to need gloves, nor a hat:

That said, we're still going to add a BUNCH of accessories to this wardrobe! When I was scanning this one, the first thing that really jumped out at me was ... View the Post