The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Personal Uniform Archives

The Simplest Packing I Can Devise! England March 2026

March 16, 2026

Cross your fingers that I'm in London while you're reading this! We're flying into London, hanging around for a couple of days, then driving around Suffolk for a few days, then returning to London for a last night, and coming home. It's going to be pretty whirlwind - four hotels in 8 days. So I'm not going to be seeing people over and over again, not that this really matters!

One of the towns we're visiting:

Changing subjects: what was your closest friend wearing the last time you saw them? Do you remember? What will you think if they're wearing the same thing the next time you see them?

See? Repeating outfits isn't going to make you a pariah. If you know people for whom this is a "thing," don't cater to their ... View the Post

Accenting Olive Green with Other Neutrals

July 31, 2023

Olive! Oh, do I have advice...

If you really want to build a core wardrobe in olive green, be prepared to work with colors that blend, rather than match perfectly. Couple the difficulty of even FINDING olive clothes, with the way that different companies call all sorts of different colors "olive," and you've got a project on your hands!

My approach would be to buy a couple of rolls of packing tape, and then mail order a BUNCH of olive garments, and then return anything that didn't work.

And get some paint swatches, or lengths of embroidery floss, and keep them with you at all times! You never know when the unexpected craft show will offer up the perfect scarf, or necklace...

But I finally managed to get some ... View the Post

Accenting Black with Your Favorite Color

July 27, 2023

So after we determined on Wednesday that it's possible to accent black with just about any other neutral, I want to see if it's possible to accent black with your favorite color...

There are, of course, lots of colors that I'm not including here! All colors are not easily found in this current "in between" season of clothing - not enough summer clothes, and not enough fall clothes... sigh...

But I always feel confident that a pretty shade of blue will look great!

Burgundy isn't a color that one expects with black, but the scarf makes ALL the difference... And adding a 2nd accent color with turquoise earrings... why not?

Hot pink? This scarf is irresistible! You don't have to have the earrings AND the ... View the Post

Wardrobe of the Week: June 11 – 17, 2023

June 18, 2023

This was a challenging week - I'm still wearing a brace on my right wrist 24/7, on my left wrist at night, AND I got a cortisone shot in my left foot! I was left unable to put on any sort of shoe over the top of my foot for the entire week; it was cool enough that I would have preferred sneakers or loafers...

Also, I'm sharing a snippet of the fabric of my 2 pairs of pants - they're both black and white, but quite different. Note that my black and white dress is made of the same tic-weave fabric as one pair of pants. In that fabric, I also have the tunic, and the sleeveless top, and a dress... When something is just exactly what you love, you stock up, right?

Maybe the most interesting thing about looking at what I ... View the Post

Wardrobe of the Week: June 4 – 10, 2023

June 11, 2023

I think that warm weather is here - today it's legitimately over 80 degree Fahrenheit for the 2nd or 3rd time this year! A few days this week, when I was frequenting doctors, I wore jeans and a jacket over a tee shirt or top - NOT early summer...

And note the lovely purple-strapped arm brace that I'm wearing every day! I wear my amethyst earrings most days now, and my purple Converse high-tops, just to tie together my wardrobe with my orthopedic!

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Wardrobe of the Week: May 21 – 27, 2023

May 28, 2023

It's STILL not particularly warm in Chicago - it may get up into the 70s by Monday!

Thus, I am still wearing long-sleeved shirts (in linen, though!) and sweaters or sweatshirts.

Note - I bought my linen shirts from J.Jill at LEAST 10 years ago, and they're still going strong. Linen is tough...

Happily, our apartment is like a wee greenhouse, and warms up tremendously in the morning, when the sun streams in over the lake and into our huge windows! A great view, AND heat...

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Wardrobe of the Week: April 30 – May 6, 2023

May 7, 2023

A doctor appointment, a couple of long walks through the city and a couple more long walks through the parks near our home to admire the flowers. Maybe next week, with the promised arrival of warm weather, I will wear more linen and less wool... Not that I don't like wool in warm weather - it's surprisingly comfortable...

love, Janice ... View the Post

Wardrobe of the Week: April 23 – 29, 2023

April 30, 2023

Two days out - two blazers with brooches! End of the week was quiet, as I'm wrestling with something - maybe flu? In April?

I'm going to try to assemble all of the clothing that I've worn since I finished the "1 Dress, 100 Days" challenge last autumn; it will be fascinating to see what got worn a ton (like my blazer from 4, or my three shirts from them?) and what never got out of my closet...

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Wardrobe of the Week: April 16 – 22, 2023

April 23, 2023

A week that started out warm, and then veered right back into the "it might snow" temperatures overnight. So right now, I'm living with a wardrobe full of "man I need to iron!" summer clothes, and all of my favorite winter clothes too!

I'm discovering more and more that, since I wore the Wool& dress for 100 days, my need to constantly change outfits from day to day has diminished substantially. My social life is mostly limited to everybody here in my building (that's a LOT of people...), and they don't seem to care what I'm wearing. 

As it should be!

love

Janice

p.s. I think I'm going to try to aggregate all of the cold-weather clothes that I've worn since I started the Wardrobe of the Week - I'm ... View the Post