Clothing Archives - Page 2 of 23

I Love It, But Will I Wear It? A Matching Shirt and Skirt

May 20, 2026 Yes, this shirt sort of feels like a pajama top... but tucked into the skirt, maybe with a belt...

I followed the same images that I showed on Wednesday, so a few outfits will look similar, and you may recognize some accessories too!

This is NOT done because I'm inherently bone-deep lazy (although I could make a case for that!), but because I really want everybody to grow accustomed to wearing things frequently. But better, buy less, wear the heck out of it!

First up - a white cardigan. Always so useful in warm weather. And pink pearl jewelry... big deep sigh of smittenness...

Roll the sleeves just a bit, and pile on the gold! If one was inclined to try to make it through a season or two without buying ... View the Post

A Two-Piece Dress in Pastel Floral – Some Ideas

May 20, 2026

So pretty! And a top that will cover bra straps, for those of us who founded our "lingerie under wraps" opinions decades ago:

I've been thinking of a system by which one could evaluate a two-piece set... Can it be worn with a light neutral? A dark neutral? Is there an accent color that will look good?

For example, this two-piece dress is just right with a light neutral (in this case white) cardigan:

The dress also looks good with an accent cardigan in orchid pink. (going to a wedding, anyone?)

The top is just the right touch with a simple linen set in light blue:

And this top can be really casual, with wild lilac shorts and a hoodie:

The skirt could be worn with a plain white tee shirt ... View the Post

Inspiration is Everywhere! Navy, White, Rose Pink and Deep Lake Blue

April 17, 2026

Our heroine was off to a good start - she was certain that navy is her favorite neutral, and she was equally convinced that white would be her light neutral. That's a LOT more progress than many of us ever make in gaining control of our wardrobe!

She started here - her favorite outfit(s):

So she started building her Spring wardrobe by digging into her closet and dresser, and found all of these things:

At this point, she realizes that her choice of navy and white is really solidly based on her preferences... But what about accent colors?

She looks at art.

She looks at nature.

She looks at brilliant wardrobe blogs...

And THEN, she sits down to watch some European rugby with her best friend, and ... View the Post

Three Ideas for Two Dresses

March 18, 2026

I'm sitting here right now in a dress and a velvet jacket, with black "sneakerinas." For no good reason - I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not going to see anybody outside of my building. (which is not to say that my doormen aren't tremendously important to me!)

So I'm in a rebelliously "wear whatever you blinkin' well please" mood. And I think that almost every woman should have a fun dress..

How about something like this?

(I know, it's sleeveless. Your arms aren't perfect. YOU HAVE LIVED YOUR LIFE, AND YOUR ARMS REFLECT THIS. IT'S OKAY!)

I'm really on a rant...

First, it's easy to wear this dress with a classic cardigan and the normal accessories. This is the kind of outfit you ... View the Post

In the Mood for Something Pretty? Start With a Pink Cashmere Cardigan from J.Crew

February 20, 2026

I think that many of us are in the mood for something to both brighten up our wardrobe, and to give us a head-start into spring - do you feel this? It's certainly true for me!

When I saw this sweater, in this color, I was immediately drawn to it. I love cables, I think it's genius that so many cardigans now have a lot of closely-spaced buttons. Wearing something like this without a shirt underneath is much easier when you don't have to worry about the dreaded (and completely unnecessary!) button gap:

I'm sticking with navy as our dark neutral; in fact, I'm keeping the navy garments from Wednesday's post. If nobody learns anything else from The Vivienne Files, I hope that someone grows to understand that buying ... View the Post

Interested in a Bright Accent for Spring? Start With a Yellow Cashmere Cardigan from Alex Mill

February 18, 2026

If you look good in yellow, treating yourself to a truly lovely yellow cardigan could be a wise move. You can wear it pretty much all year (okay, except for the dead heat of the summer!), and it's a color that brings cheer to anything you wear with it!

For today's experiment with this sweater, I've chosen navy (and dark-ish denim) as our neutral, and included both white and stone. And because a chambray shirt is among the most versatile garments you can own, I included it too!

So this is our palette - chambray isn't shown here, but I think we can assume that every wardrobe includes shades of denim blue, eh?

Here's an example of how versatile chambray and stone can be - I don't believe that there's a ... View the Post

One Navy Sweater – A Dozen Ideas

November 28, 2025

I love this sweater, you can tell! Cables give a sweater a texture and richness that's appealing, and far from boring...

I was about to start working on this, with hunter green as the second major color, and gold as the jewelry and accessory metallic. But then I saw all of the comments about the red sweater, and made the changes:

Why yes, I'm still following the same overall structure from the first two sweaters...

This skirt is dressier than it looks at first glance - it's metallic! And the pendant is actually a wee magnifying glass. The Met Store has a bunch of pendants that are magnifying glasses - why don't I have one of these? Heaven knows I could use it...

Burgundy is such a lovely ... View the Post

One Heather Beige Cashmere Sweater – A Dozen Ideas

November 26, 2025 Please note, I'm NOT going to suggest gifts for you - I have no clue what your partner/child/best friend might want! And further, I'm NOT going to tell you where there are sales this weekend; assume that everybody in the world is marking things down...

If you wish to support The Vivienne Files as I refuse to play the Black Friday/Cyber Monday game, you can always click on the "Support The Vivienne Files" link at the top of each page (under the tiny clothes hanger!) and find links to retailers who will pay me a wee commission if you click and make a purchase. I won't get rich, but I am always grateful!

love, Janice

Okay!!! Many of you were interested in the possibility of adding a new sweater to your wardrobe, but ... View the Post

One Red Sweater – a Dozen Ideas

November 24, 2025

Many of you are wondering what - if anything - you want to purchase to wear through this holiday season. I'm fortunate, in that I never have to do anything even remotely dressy at any point in the holidays...

But if this was my dilemma, and I wanted to treat myself to one REALLY nice item that I could keep and wear for the rest of my life, it might be this:

There are quite a few different colors that go well with red, but for this iteration, I'm starting with black, white, and accents of gold:

If you're in a cold but dry spell, don't forget that your white jeans are still fabulous in the late autumn...

If you are called-upon to show up with the full dressy thing working, a matching skirt is the ... View the Post

Do You Want to Shore-Up Your Neutral(s)? Try the Four T’s!

October 22, 2025

Why yes, the internet outages on Monday WERE a headache...

Ten years ago, when I was visiting London, I noticed that a lot of women had worked out a really simple way to build outfits, and therefore their wardrobe. I called it The Four T's, because of COURSE I had some mnemonic to help me remember things!

But it's simple enough: tee shirt, turtleneck, trousers and tights. Look back ten years to see the original post...

Now that I'm (a) getting dressed each day for legitimate cool weather, and (b) considering what I might pack when I go to Paris in December, I thought that I should look at this idea again.

But not in black! My choices for myself will of course be black, but in the interests of variety let's ... View the Post

Want to Mix A Warm Accent into Your Cool Wardrobe? Another Look at a Camel Crewneck Sweater

October 20, 2025

One additional look at the camel sweater, for a heroine who wants to wear camel, but her entire wardrobe is cool colors...

Her favorite neutrals and navy and grey, and she wears white shirts regularly, so our color palette will look like this:

Jeans? Yes!

A great navy metallic skirt!

And OF COURSE navy cords....

If you want to introduce a warm color into a cool wardrobe (or vice versa), don't overlook the possibilities of "two-toned" jewelry. That combination of gold and silver can do wonders...

The right scarf can go a long way, too!

And the same lovely charcoal turtleneck and wool pants that we saw on Friday are perfect with our heroine's new sweater:

If, for ... View the Post

Considering a Classic Accent Color? J.Crew Burgundy Cashmere Crewneck Sweater

October 17, 2025

One last look at what one can do with a simple sweater! Simple is key - it's easier to layer, easier to pile on jewelry or a scarf, and much less likely to bore you as the years pass...

I think of expensive sweaters this way: starting when I finished graduate school (OMG years ago), I tried to buy one really good sweater each year.

Now, I'm sitting with almost 40 beautiful sweaters. People think I'm wildly extravagant, when I'm really just taking good care of my stuff!

This sweater is one that might appeal to almost any of us - burgundy is an easy color for many people to wear, and it goes with both warm and cool neutrals. Imagine this beauty with camel.... mmm...

The heroine who asked me to look into the ... View the Post