Whatever's Clean 13 Archives - Page 3 of 7

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Finishing Up

Frankly, at this point in proceedings, you could easily stop building your capsule wardrobe, and be just fine!

But it's always reasonable to stop and evaluate where you are with your wardrobe - are there things that you still need? Items that might make OTHER items more versatile, or get them used more frequently? Are you sure you're ready for whatever events might come up in the future?

The answers to these questions will be different for each of us, but they are worth asking...

The biggest lack of balance that I can see is that I'm "navy-heavy" here. This often happens - it's normal that either you simply like one of your neutrals more than the other, or that it's much more readily available, or that you want to have a solid core ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Four

October 13, 2016

This capsule wardrobe is starting to look pretty coherent! (Step 1 is here, Step 2 is here, and Step 3 is here)

After one has lived with the above wardrobe for a while, it might be time to buy an entire outfit, all at one time! Or it would also make sense to buy 3 pieces that aren't necessarily intended to worn together, but all of which are useful and integrated additions to the existing wardrobe.

Sticking with the idea that our heroine lead a pretty casual life, I thought that a pair of shorts would be handy for her. Another really pretty cabled sweater in one of her accent colors is an obvious choice, and a simple white shirt is never a bad idea...

Almost any color scheme that I use for a ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Three

At this point in our starting from scratch capsule wardrobe series, you're in a pretty good position for travel; it wouldn't be impossible to be away for a week with this collection. Toss in a white shirt and white tee shirt, and you would only need to do minimal laundry!

Our next step is to start filling in shirts and sweaters, so it's time to take a quick look at what we currently have. This would be an obvious place to pull in a beige shirt, sweater, or blouse if that holds any appeal. But I'm thinking that my imaginary protagonist is more interested in pretty accent colors, so I've chosen these:

Sweater – Lands’ End; necklace – Karine Sultan; shirt – L.L.Bean

Yes, the necklace is in a very similar vein to her ... 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

Planning my Fall Capsule Wardrobe Shopping: August 2016

August 8, 2016

Even though we're living in front of the fan, and running the air conditioner much more often than I prefer (those things EAT electricity!); I'm still already thinking about what I'm going to wear this winter. (well, I'm also thinking about what I'm going to pack for our trip to Italy next month...)First things first - you can't plan what you're going to buy unless you make a clear and complete inventory of what you already have! It's an amazing thing to read, repeatedly, about how women will buy a garment, only to return home and realize that they ALREADY OWN a very similar item. There's a big planning fail in there...

So I'm starting with my "Whatever's Clean" capsule wardrobe assortment for cool ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: The Sea Seen from the Heights of Dieppe by Eugene Delacroix

February 26, 2016 What a gorgeous image, especially in late February, in Chicago!

As much as this painting suggests a wardrobe with a LOT of gold and yellow, I'm going to have to work around that, because those clothes are NOT easy to find! So I'm going to take advantage of the boat in the foreground, the beige clouds and distant sea, and the glimpses of blue sky. Some mother-of-pearl jewelry would be logical, no?

They Met on The Internet Not that it's unusual to date someone you met online - much the contrary. Many of her nieces and nephews dated people they met on the internet, and she even knew of a couple of very successful marriages that started there. It's just not something she ever ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Portrait of Madame Lisle and Madame Loubens by Degas

January 28, 2016

A long time ago, someone asked for me to work with a painting by Degas; it's taken months, but I'm finally on it! (I really do try to get to as many requests as possible, I hope you understand...)If you just glanced at this painting, it might seem somber and sort of gloomy. But give it a minute - there's a lot of warmth and beauty here. These women appear comfortably tucked up in the lap of luxury!

So I felt that the black component was impossible to avoid, but it seemed equally inevitable that the accent colors would be warm:

No Need for Accolades Now that everything is finally accomplished, and all of the celebratory events are beginning, it would only be natural that she might want a bit of the ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting with Art – The Third Buddhist Kesa

January 26, 2016

Despite the beautiful delicacy of the fabric, the colors felt like a warm-weather travel adventure to me!

Astonishing Everyone... "Are you sure you want to go there? It's not very dressy..."

Yes, I understand that, she thinks.

"You're going to have to carry your own luggage..."

Yes, I've been working out on the treadmill for months, carrying hand weights.

"I mean, you'll be able to get laundry done, and the water's usually safe to drink, but this just isn't your style. There are no Michelin starred restaurants, or 5 star hotels..."

Does everyone really believe that I'm that high maintenance?

"Your ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting with Art – The Second Buddhist Kesa

Such lovely colors:

Perfect for spring travel!

A "Miles" 2nd Honeymoon They agreed that it was the most cost-effective thing to do, so they immediately started using their airline credit cards for EVERYTHING possible...

After a few months, they totaled up their miles, and called the airline.

Long-sleeved tee – Uniqlo; tank – Uniqlo; jersey jacket – Uniqlo;

henley – Uniqlo; dress – Uniqlo; capris – Uniqlo; jeans – L.L.Bean;

wide-leg pants – Uniqlo

The woman on the other end of the phone was lovely. She didn't mind being on a speaker phone, and she just laughed when they talked over each other. Finally, they decided to see what the longest trip possible was ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Cheval Surprise Remix Version 2

January 20, 2016 You wanted to see some purple? I found purple, and hot pink!

You could certainly do worse than to use all five bright colors, plus black and white, as the basis of your wardrobe...

How many horses have you found in the scarf? I think I can see seven...

This is SUCH a great dress - you could literally wear it all 12 months, with a range of accessories that would keep it fresh. If I needed a dress, this one could easily vault to the top of the list!

Many have mentioned their preference for white shorts, so I honor your preference. And while the paisley top isn't exactly "cleaning out the basement" casual, I thought it was too irresistible ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Toasting Friends Version 2

January 19, 2016

Many people wanted me to revisit this painting, and many of you are interested in seeing posts with warmer colors, and many of you are looking for lower-contrast wardrobes. I'm tackling a lot of ideas in one lovely painting!

One of the fun things about this painting is the range of lovely colors included. I've madly exaggerated the amount of camel included in the painting, but I'm going to use shades of camel, beige and coppery brown as neutrals...

The most difficult thing about writing The Vivienne Files (well, except for having dozens of ideas, and not enough time!) is choosing a color scheme and then realizing that the colors I love and want to use aren't necessarily available in beautiful ... View the Post