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Whatever's Clean 13 Archives - Page 6 of 8

How to Pack Light: Uncertain Weather, and the “Whatever’s Clean 13”

May 30, 2015

Something everyone struggles with is having to pack when the weather is iffy, or when you're going to be moving around through different weather conditions. So I thought I'd take our "Whatever's Clean 13" template as a guide to making this easier.

I've laid it out this way:

A simple navy, white and turquoise palette is the order of the day. (and starting with the Kathkath scarf, I've loosely adhered to a theme of waves and water...)

No matter what the travel plan is, I like to make sure that I'm traveling with long trousers, closed-toe shoes, and a cardigan. Depending on your mode of travel, you want to be prepared for too much air conditioning, or a rotten heating system. And it's always easier to take off your ... View the Post

How to Pack Light: A Mystery Business Trip, and the “Whatever’s Clean 13” Capsule Wardrobe

May 29, 2015  

This can't be good.... Your boss comes into your office: "I need to you to go to Des Moines (or Dusseldorf, or Dublin), because they've already spent 80% of their year's budget for widgets! Get out there and see what's going on!!!"

Nobody in your office has ever been to "The D City Office", and so you have no clue what to expect. Who buys and uses the widgets? The C-Suite guys in 3-piece suits? (I can personally verify that men in Dublin still wear vests with their suits...)  Or is it Jen, Roy and Moss, down in the basement? Is some moron executive treating widgets as if they're disposable? Or did a genius in Procurement find widgets at 80% off, and buy a 5 year supply? Your plate is full...

So, in ... View the Post

How to Pack Light: The ‘Whatever’s Clean 13″ in black and beige

May 27, 2015   I really love the "Whatever's Clean 13"...   I love travel, and I love packing light, and I love the idea of being able to just stick your hands into your bag and pull out things that will come together in a beautiful outfit.   Today, I'm looking at warm weather, but prepared for some coolness. I know that trips to the south of France, ranging into Cinque Terre and Venice, will give you some hot, lavender-scented days in Provence, but then in Venice, after dark can be positively damp and cool... You can't be prepared for every last possible need, but you can be intelligent, and beautiful...   Lace is the unifying theme today, starting with this beautiful (and outrageously expensive) lace top. ... View the Post

How to Pack Light: The “Whatever’s Clean” 13 Capsule Wardrobe

May 22, 2015

 

One of the interesting things about writing The Vivienne Files is that I can see what posts are continually revisited, and what images get Pinned (and re-Pinned) on Pinterest. And without fail, every week, the "Whatever's Clean" wardrobes are at the top of the list.

That makes sense to me - there's really nothing in the world easier than being able to reach into your closet without looking and know that you can grab a coherent ensemble.

So I've been thinking a lot about how "Whatever's Clean" can transfer to travel - it's an obvious fit. Especially for all of you who have to travel through a variety of climates, knowing that all of your clothes will work together makes it possible to relax about at least one ... View the Post

Start with Art: Version 2 Steamboat leaving Boulogne by Edouard Manet

April 1, 2015 I really love the combination of blue and grey! (I often consider including blue as an accent color in my wardrobe...) So I decided to look again at this painting, with an eye to warm weather. I brightened up the blue a little bit - Manet gives you a whole range of blue possibilities - and I equalized the proportions of the four colors:

 

  I haven't built a Four by Four wardrobe for a while, so I thought this would be an interesting project. First up, the core dark neutral charcoal, in linen:  

One of the reasons I wanted to do a summer leisure wardrobe - I found this gorgeous blue at L.L.Bean. A perfect secondary color!

The Expansion Four is usually four tops of some sort, since tops ... View the Post

Start With Art: A Shelf of Books -> a Summer Wardrobe

November 7, 2014   You really, seriously, can get inspiration anywhere, if you keep your eyes and your aesthetic heart open to what's out there.  This absolutely wonderful picture was sent to me - what a delightful mix of softly faded colors.  

    It wasn't at all hard to come up with a color scheme.  Many of you ask about how I build color wheels - I use the graphing gizmo in PowerPoint.  I use PowerPoint for all of my vignettes, because it does everything I need.  Just insert a graph into a slide, and then change the colors and sizes of the various wedges to suit your preferences. You have a new, beautiful mnemonic for your wardrobe colors, AND you have a new skill to put on your ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 18: One last review, considering Whatever’s Clean, and A Common Wardrobe

July 16, 2014  

Many of you have been following the concepts of A Common Wardrobe, or a Whatever's Clean wardrobe, and you've expressed great curiosity about how those ideas work with this much larger capsule wardrobe-building concept.  So let's see if we need to make any last tweaks to our wardrobe to be as inclusive and versatile as possible...First off, remember this bad boy?  This was the original Common Wardrobe - garments that I saw day after day on my co-workers from international advertising agencies. These garments and accent items were combined in all sorts of different ways, and accessorized like mad:

I threw my analytic brain at this, and defined each of these garments functionally, i.e., the first is ... View the Post

What If I Only Want to Wear Solid Colors?

June 14, 2014  

What if you don't WANT to wear printed garments, or scarves? More power to you, and congratulations for knowing what you really prefer! I'm going to recommend some coordinating small solid earrings in semi-precious stones, bracelets in enamel or stone, and solid scarves to keep your ensembles looking "intentional."  I'm not sure, but I think this could qualify as a "whatever's clean" wardrobe...

Starting with the dark neutrals we've seen before:

And then the light neutrals:

And some solid neutral tops:

Finally, the accent colors.  We haven't seen pastels for a while, so let's go pink and blue!

This is your sixteen-piece wardrobe:

Plenty of ways to pull this together ... View the Post

Transition: Phasing out a secondary neutral

I repeatedly make the questionable choice of including beige or khaki in my summer wardrobe... sigh...  it's not a great color for me.  So here, in addition to addressing the idea of moving toward warmer clothes, and buying with a purpose, I'm also showing a move from one color in a wardrobe to a different one.Remember, this was the summer Whatever's Clean wardrobe:

 First, because I'm starting to really feel like beige isn't working well, the 2 beige pieces are going to take a back seat. And of course white linen pants aren't going to go too far into the fall...

 Here's where grey takes the place of beige, and a pair of jeans will replace the white linen pants.

 Second step:  the ... View the Post

Transition Summer to Fall: Tan and Brown Accessories

August 10, 2013   A few simple accessories will help you get into the autumn mood...  While the tote bag I show is technically supposed to be a beach bag, it's so incredibly well designed that I wanted you to see it!  It could easily be used through most of the year - where did we get the idea that we could only use certain materials at certain times of the year?  If you're not a scarf person, you might want another necklace or two; if jewelry isn't your thing, then you can go nuts with scarves...  To each her own very personal and beautiful preferences!  

  love, Janice

  ... View the Post

Transition: Whatever’s Clean in Brown and Beige

Quite a few people have asked me to show how to move from a beige and brown wardrobe into something with more brown.     

The Whatever's Clean Summer Wardrobe in Brown, Beige and White

The first three garments to phase out are the sleeveless beige linen top, white linen pants, and the shorts.  Remember, you can do these in whatever order you prefer, and that "phase out" does not have to mean "put in some inaccessible place for the next six months".

[/caption] In October, we can choose to find replacements for the white tee shirt, the beige linen dress, and the beige linen skirt.

[/caption] And in November, the last of the linen "bottoms" are due for a rest, and the white tunic is ready to take a ... View the Post