The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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A Travel Capsule in Navy and Blues: Start with Art – The Blue Garden by Lilian Muheim

November 8, 2023

This is her favorite colors, all in one painting!

If you like floral paintings, I strongly encourage you to visit Lilan Muheim's website and enjoy the range of offerings - she's got a LOVELY talent...

One of the things she loves about her favorite paintings is that it includes both navy and olive green; having two neutrals available for one's wardrobe is always useful. She's Named For a Flower... One of the less common ones for names! But she's embraced the whole idea for decades - much easier than feeling ill-used by her parents!

And her favorite colors include the colors of her name-sake flower, so that works out well. 

Her color palette offers plenty of possibilities:

For her upcoming ... View the Post

Another Pair of Capsule Wardrobes: November Six Paintings – Twelve Months

November 6, 2023

Our final heroines for November! One of them is not at all concerned with getting dressed up, but the other is overwhelmed with invitations...

Let's start with our very relaxed, earth-toned heroine:

Her wardrobe at the beginning of November was 32 pieces that were as close to fool-proof as a wardrobe can get; last month she bought a plaid cardigan that still hasn't settled into place, but she's patient...

 

This month, she doesn't have any worries (yet?) about holiday festivities, so she finds an assortment of garments that appeal - the vest will be perfect with last month's dark pants...

She now is the proud owner of TWO plaid garments, and something in tweed too! Nonetheless, her ... View the Post

Two More Capsule Wardrobes: November Six Paintings – Twelve Months

November 3, 2023

More heroines, making "festive dressing" choices...

First, our pastel-loving heroine:

Her existing 32-piece wardrobe is complete, and depending on where she spends the holidays, she may be well-equipped...

But the weather is occasionally cool where she is, so she wants a sweater, and a neutral, dressy skirt. And when she sees the classic, elegant dress, her shopping is done!

Here's how her new purchases fit into her existing wardrobe - lovely additions!

Her new accessories fit in well - although both her shoes and bag are unquestionably the dressiest ones she owns! But those 2 pieces, put with almost any outfit, will make a major difference...

 

Her new skirt can be worn with ... View the Post

Two Capsule Wardrobes: November Six Paintings – Twelve Months

November 1, 2023

As I sit here at the dining table typing, it has just quit snowing in Chicago. Bear in mind that nothing has stuck to the ground, and for all I can tell, it didn't even SNOW down there! We live on the 24th floor; we see snow that never hits the ground...

I don't care. I love snow!

Let's visit our heroines and see what they're doing to prepare for the upcoming holiday season. It might seem terribly early to begin to look at festive attire, but remember that the really good stuff ALWAYS sells out early...

First up - my favorite painting of the six. I think. Subject to change!

You don't have to choose, really! I know people who walk into a room in a museum and immediately pick their favorite painting ... View the Post

An “Unfavorite” Color: Start with Art – Euphorbia by Pae White

October 25, 2023

She loves this - it's actually a HUGE tapestry! but MUSTARD?

The colors are the colors of the sports teams on which her children play! Maybe that's why she loves it...

Except. She hates mustard! She doesn't even like the food - no deviled eggs in her life...

But sometimes, she needs to wear a mustard sweatshirt... sigh...

Happily, she adores grey and burgundy - especially together!

Maybe it's a football weekend. Maybe it's a soccer tournament weekend... 

Or just a visit to see her kids! Whatever, she's got a plan...

This is what she takes with her - sometimes she switches her outfits around, but this is always her travel capsule wardrobe:

What can you do with 8 garments? ... View the Post

Start with Art: Silence in the Night by Emilio Pettoruti

October 18, 2023

Finally! She found the perfect painting... Maybe nobody else in the world would feel this way about this work of art, but to her it's just right...

The Simplest Suitcase Possible She's got to travel. She wants to have available a range of dressiness - nothing TOO casual, nor nothing TOO dressy. But still, a sense of choice...

She decides to work with black inner cores - black tee shirts and other tops, with black pants and skirts. Her accent colors will be worn as 2nd layers, scarves and jewelry.

Her first outfit, for travel, is the most casual - jeans and a corduroy jacket!

Her second outfit will include her favorite denim skirt, and purple accents!

She also packs a third outfit - ... View the Post

Six Paintings, Twelve Months: October – A Peasant Woman by Edgar Degas

October 16, 2023

Today's heroine is going to try an experiment; I'm not sure that it's entirely successful, but it's interesting!

Her inspiration is the lovely painting, and these wonderful, warm shades of brown:

At the end of September, our heroine was wearing this 29-piece wardrobe; I think it's lovely and versatile:

 

It's never really occurred to her to think about buying something in a print, but she kept seeing pretty sweaters in all sorts of patterns, and she finally succombed!

Her new wardrobe (with the addition of the 3 new garments) doesn't look a lot different than it did, but she's not sure how useful the plaid cardigan will be!

And please note, she doesn't plan to wear her new scarf with ... View the Post

Six Paintings, Twelve Months: October – Arrival of the Normandy Train by Claude Monet

October 13, 2023

Happy Friday the 13th! Of course, we're all FAR too intelligent to be superstitious, right?

Today's wardrobe and heroine are tempting to me - I love the softness of the blue and green, and the range of possibilities in infinite shades of grey. These are the colors that might really flatter someone with greying hair and green or blue eyes...

Our heroine's current wardrobe is built with the assumption that she doesn't AT ALL mind blending shades of colors, be it light grey to charcoal, or the palest blue worn with a deep shade...

But this heroine is feeling like she would like some green to wear in cooler weather... She can't find green pants in a shade that fits in well, but she was able to find lovely, ... View the Post

Six Paintings, Twelve Months: Paysage Algérien by Renoir

October 11, 2023

This painting really feels just right for this time of year - we're actually on our 4th consecutive day of true autumn weather!

What do you think? To me, this feels the most like a "normal" wardrobe. Maybe it's the mix of colors, or the number of colors?

This heroine starts out thinking that she's going to get some basic, infinitely useful garments this month; many of us start out thinking this way!

A navy tee shirt? Perfect for a solid column of color with her navy pants. The polo sweater can be worn with something under it, or on its own. And a v-neck sweater is classic, and also can be layered or worn alone...

Maybe gold loafers and a sparkly brooch aren't absolutely basic!

This wardrobe ... View the Post

Six Paintings, Twelve Months: Vocal Fabric of the Singer Rosa Silver by Paul Klee

October 9, 2023

Let's visit our friend with the very pastel wardrobe!

Her wardrobe at the beginning of this month is 29 garments (as I believe all six wardrobes should be...):

There are no glaring holes in this wardrobe, but our heroine can clearly see that she could justify more yellow, pink or green clothes. And she would like to have an outfit for cooler weather, even though she doesn't live in a relentlessly wintery place...

This is what she finds; she knows that the corduroy pants aren't a perfect match for any of her other garments, but she's content with blending shades of colors. Being flexible is sometimes useful...

Her updated wardrobe doesn't really look changed - just a bit more balanced.

And yes, ... View the Post

Six Paintings, Twelve Months: Light, Earth and Blue by Mark Rothko

October 6, 2023

This is such a favorite for me to work on each month - partly because it's a challenge, and partly because I feel like this wardrobe is much more functional than I expected it to be!

So far, our heroine has this 29-piece wardrobe, which is... pretty functional, and has a lot of lovely texture in it.

But I am beginning to think that it could benefit from a bit of white - not necessarily a white garment, but something that includes white.

And some pattern! 

This heroine loves navy, and isn't worried that she may own too much of it - she's more interested in textures, like corduroy. And the idea of a "suit-like ensemble" of a vest and matching pants really appeals to her:

Why shouldn't a ... View the Post