Capsule Wardrobe Plans Archives - Page 36 of 62

A Warm Summer Common Capsule Wardrobe + Water and Pearls

August 17, 2015

Yes, I promised a capsule wardrobe with turquoise and purple. I should have taken a look at what's still available for summer before I spoke so precipitously! It's kind of an unwritten policy when I'm working on The Vivienne Files that, if I show a piece of clothing, it should be available in the full range of sizes in which it was originally sold. It's no fun for anybody to go look at something that really appeals, and see that it's only available in one really peculiar size. (my favorite being 00...) So, plan B. Stick with blue, but go softer, and to a more seasonless offering of denim and chambray. That gives us another nice "seaside" feeling, and is beautiful when paired with the mother-of-pearl jewelry that ... View the Post

A Warm Summer Common Capsule Wardrobe + Seaglass

August 15, 2015

We have looked at soft and warm accents, and strong warm accents, so now it's time to look at some really beautiful soft, cool touches in a capsule wardrobe. Someone mentioned sea glass as an inspiration, and so I chose a bracelet to anchor my color wanderings, and then went looking!

(I have the very BEST job....)

When I was looking about, I kept in mind that I wanted organic, soft items, that held onto the warmth of the summer sand (I mean the beige neutral clothes...)

As with all accent color purchases, the colors don't have to be perfect matches. If you keep wandering around the same general color(s), you will find that things either match or blend pretty well without a lot of effort. This is supposed to be ... View the Post

Twin Posts: What to Pack to Visit Chicago, Labor Day Weekend

This is really exciting for me; as a blogger who seems to be under most radars, to have been asked by Susan of Une Femme d'un Certain Age to partner up for a pair of posts was unexpected, and pretty thrilling.

Susan's blog was one of the very first I ever followed, and her style and élan are qualities that I try to emulate in my own way. I can't encourage you enough to get to know her and appreciate the charm and elegance that she brings to her life, and in turn, to ours!

So today, Susan's going to give us some guidance about what to pack if we're off on a voyage to her neighborhood, in Los Angeles. I'm really eager to see what she has to say, since that's an area to which I've only traveled ONCE, and I'm sure I have a few things I ... View the Post

Olive, Wine and Gold join A Common Capsule Wardrobe, warm tones for summer

August 13, 2015

In honor of the season (in the Northern Hemisphere) of the ripening of all delicious things, I give you the "Tuscan inspired" capsule wardrobe of wine, olives, and gold that was sent to me a few days ago.This reader really goes all out - she finds photographs and paintings that illustrate the colors that she likes, and builds me a little collage that is my reference material. I need to find out if she'd mind if I showed the illustrations here - they're really beautifully chosen and constructed, and serve as a glorious inspiration to my already hyper-drive imagination!

And yes, I did choose that bracelet because it reminded me of olive trees and grape vines...

For easy reference, here are the original ... View the Post

A Warm Summer Common Capsule Wardrobe, with Seashell Accents

August 12, 2015

Yesterday's comments were wonderful - thanks so much for sharing all of your ideas!

Someone suggested soft pink and peach in a capsule wardrobe, and described it as feeling like being inside a seashell... HOW was I going to resist that idea?

Let's add these accents, shall we?

As a reminder, this was the original Common Wardrobe:

And these were the original accessories. These are still going to be used, and be important!

I think I've paired each new top with each of the bottoms from the original neutral wardrobe. I confess that I was getting a little bit muddled, but you get the general idea - there's everything here from very casual to "nice evening out" dressy. The long cardigan will really ... View the Post

A Summer Common Capsule Wardrobe, In Warm Tones

August 11, 2015

What fun this was - the same general idea as my personal mostly black Common Capsule Wardrobe for warm weather, but in warm tones!

There aren't quite as many accessories here as there were in my wardrobe - but for anyone who is going to wear this wardrobe, you certainly already own LOTS of pieces that will work beautifully here.

So very many different ways to put this together:

And just for reference, the template for Your Common Wardrobe.

What accent colors would you put with this? Peach is the first and most obvious, to me. What else? I'd like to revisit these pieces with some accent colors, if you're interested.

love, Janice ... View the Post

A Summer Common Capsule Wardrobe

August 8, 2015

It was a great question, and one that I'm sorry I didn't think of sooner - what about A Common Capsule Wardrobe for warmer weather? It's not like the concept doesn't work when the weather's above 20 degrees...

For me, of course the neutral is black. You can't imagine how I DON'T want to wear bright clothes after a day of wrestling with the nuances of color for The Vivienne Files! Also, I go in and out of stores, offices and restaurants that have absolutely frigid air-conditioning, so I include both a cardigan and a jacket. If you spend your time in less wasteful environments, you might not need these...

So I start with my cardigan - sheer, and very light. A jacket in silk... Three sleeveless tops, which can be in ... View the Post

My French 5-Piece Capsule Wardrobe for Autumn and Winter 2015. I think…

August 7, 2015

So now that THAT is settled, let's move on to the really fun stuff - adding to and dressing up (or down) A Common Wardrobe.Just for reference, or if you still haven't printed it, this is the template from which I worked for my 12-piece Common Wardrobe.

And these are the core garments with which I'm working:

These aren't all of my accessories, but they give us a good starting point:

Going into this autumn, my foremost wardrobe goal, such as it is, is to get more use out of two of my most treasured scarves. The top one is from Etro, and I bought it for our honeymoon. It was, in fact, the leitmotif from which my pink, white and black color scheme was drawn.

And then 2nd scarf ... View the Post

My Wardrobe: Revisiting A Common Wardrobe

August 6, 2015

Among the most popular, and among the most misunderstood, posts that I've ever written for The Vivienne Files have to be the ones about A Common Wardrobe.

I used to work in advertising. I used to travel a lot, and I used to be privileged to meet some of the most intelligent, creative, eccentric and downright weird people you could imagine. But one thing that I noticed, time and time again, was that no matter how unusual their appearance might have seemed, their clothes would invariably include at least one or two elements that were pretty normal. In fact, when I looked over large rooms full of these people, you could see a common theme of a lot of jeans, khakis, and black trousers, a lot of white shirts, a lot ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Hermes Cavaliers du Caucase

August 3, 2015 She never thought she'd be a mom of teenagers in her sixties. But life intervened in the form of two precious and adoptable kids. She has a more casual lifestyle now, but she still loves beautiful clothes. Call her style casual luxe. Her life is all about her children, but she does allow herself a few treasured indulgences...

Every plan she ever had for her life has fallen completely apart.

She's never been happier....

This, by the way, is a true story; the first 4 sentences are a direct quote from the wonderful woman herself!

love, Janice

... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting With Art: The Boating Party, by Mary Cassatt

August 1, 2015 "Mom wants us all to come down for the Regatta... I know we said that after the kids quit sailing we wouldn't go, but I think it would really mean a lot to my mother." Well, that's a loaded invitation, isn't it? But that's okay, you know she misses her only child, and that she cherishes her memories of Regattas from years past... "Of course we can go. I'm assuming that we'll be there for the entire week?"

yes, you're a saint...

While navy isn't the color that covers the most area of this painting, it's definitely the "anchor" ***cough, cough*** color here.

Same thing with white - especially when you're thinking nautical, ... View the Post

How Many Pieces of Clothing do You Need?

July 14, 2015

The question I'm asked the most often: How many pieces of clothing do I need to have in my wardrobe?

Nothing like a simple question to keep me thinking!

But I've figured out, finally, that if you can answer four questions (two easy, two more difficult), I can tell you EXACTLY how many pieces should be hanging in your gorgeous vintage armoire.

1. What is the time period for which we are planning?

For planning out your completely wardrobe (not including gym clothes or leisure attire), you'd start with the number 365 - we're planning a wardrobe for a year. But the nice thing about the formula I figured out is that you could also answer 180, if you wanted to know how many pieces of cold-weather clothing you ... View the Post