Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 110 of 157

What to Wear with a Navy Cardigan and White Skirt

May 12, 2016

This is just a "flipped over" version of the white blazer and navy trouser, but quite a bit more casual and relaxed. And I chose all button-front shirts, just to show the range of possibilities available!

Our very simple starting point:

You can wear any possible shade of red, pink, coral, blush, or whatever else the fashion people name these colors:

All kinds of orange are equally lovely:

If you like yellow, this is a good, classic base with which to wear it!

I really like the looks of both the mint and the dark olive here - very different colors, but equally at home in this ensemble.

Turquoise, because... well, ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Around An Art Jacket: 1 Piece at a Time

May 10, 2016

Because one of you asked for my help with something, I'm breaking a long-standing rule here at The Vivienne Files...

Normally, I only show garments that don't include a model; I find that I'd rather see what the clothes look like, without being pinned and taped and yanked around to suit the model. But in this case, the jacket was key...

The request was for a travel capsule wardrobe for a 2 month work trip, over a number of climates, and built around this jacket:

This is a wardrobe that will really come into its own with accessories, I'm sure you can see. But I felt that it was important to start with a very neutral base. It gives us this color scheme:

Sticking with the idea ... View the Post

How to Wear a White Blazer and Navy Pants? I Have LOTS of Ideas…

May 7, 2016

A couple of you have expressed an interest in seeing a white blazer in a capsule wardrobe on The Vivienne Files, and I'm always happy to try to oblige! White blazers seem like the most obvious handy piece for warm weather, don't they? And my first instinct was to show them with a simple, timeless pair of navy pants; an easy pairing to pull on Monday morning when you don't know what to wear, but you know you have to look good!

But then I was stumped for an accent color; someone had asked for aqua, and someone else for teal...

Then I realized - this is one of the very FEW starting points in modern clothing that can lead to almost ANY accent color; the only color that might be tricky is beige, but I bet I could ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Hermes Geologie, for 12 Months

May 6, 2016

This was difficult.... It's hard enough to find wintery clothes this time of year, even though the weather is still decidedly cool. But when you try to find clothing in warm colors, with decent photographs, that don't cost the absolute EARTH to buy... well, it explains a lot of the weirdness that I exhibit from time to time...

But I persisted, and I'm pleased with these results. And I realized a couple of very important things, for those who wish to wear these VERY difficult to find colors:

Work with the idea of colors that blend rather than those that match identically. Cousins, rather than identical twins, of the clothing family. This will save you a lot of headaches, while at the same time giving you the ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe in Olive, Tomato and Mustard: 1 Piece at a Time

May 4, 2016

It's been quite a while since I've done any capsule wardrobes using the "1 Piece at a Time" scheme, and it seems to me that this is a great time of year to get back to this. If my experiences are any indication, some of you might still be stuck wearing warm-ish clothing, but thinking daily about how you're going to gradually evolve your closet when (if?) the weather gets warmer...

So let's start with this - a cheery tee shirt, neutral pants in an already summer-weight fabric, and a linen cardigan. Although this outfit would be reasonably comfortable on a cool day (with a pair of socks - maybe bright yellow ones?), it's also composed of good building blocks for moving into warmer weather. And while beige or brown ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: May

May 2, 2016

Warm weather's coming! (I type, as I'm sitting in fleece running tights and a sweatshirt...)When I was pondering what we needed to add to these capsule wardrobes for May, I kept coming back to the idea that we need to be prepared ahead of time for the first warm days. Even if it's no more of an event than going to watch your neighbor's kids play soccer, you don't want to be caught off guard and unprepared. That's how badly conceived impulse purchases make their way into your closet!

First up, a reminder of the 6 scarves that we're using as our unifying themes for the capsule wardrobes, through the 12 months:

Navy– Hermes Voyage en Etoffes; camel – Hermes Tyger Tyger; beige –Hermes Le Voyage de Pytheas; ... View the Post

A 3-Dress Travel Capsule Wardrobe

April 29, 2016

My 3-dress capsule wardrobe worked so well in Paris that I thought I would experiment with some different ways to pack with dresses as the primary garments...

Imagine, if you will, someone who buys a cardigan that they love. Bright colors, a print she adores, and excellent quality. So when she's invited to a wedding weekend out of town, it only makes sense to build EVERYTHING around this sweater:

She knows that there will be a dinner party 2 days before the wedding, and then the rehearsal dinner (to which she is invited), and the the wedding and reception. THREE days of events which have been described to her as "dressy."

She's a bit uneasy about just exactly what is meant ... View the Post

How I Pack Light – My Secret Weapons in a Travel Capsule Wardrobe

April 25, 2016

First up, I have to let you all know that the "3 dress" packing experiment worked out beautifully! I felt comfortable and well-dress everywhere we went... I'm going to explore the idea of packing this way quite a bit more in a separate blog post or two, but if you're interested in giving it a whirl, I have 2 important pieces of advice.

Check the weather maniacally up until the very last minute before you leave, and be certain that you're packing the most appropriate dresses possible for the weather you anticipate. Dresses make layering a little bit harder, and nothing could be more miserable than the wrong dress on a beautiful day. (think of wearing a beautiful sweater dress on a day when the temperature ... View the Post

How to Wear A Navy Cardigan for Spring – 8 Outfits!

April 22, 2016

This started out as a Chic Sighting post, but after I saw the first woman, I didn't see ANYONE else... But I really like the idea of buying a new cardigan for spring and summer wear (counter-intuitive as it seems, a lot of us that are in and out of buildings during the hottest weather have to carry a cardigan or jacket at all times, to keep from freezing to death!).Here I'm working with 4 different possibilities for below the waist - white linen pants, beige linen pants, navy linen pants, and dark-wash denim pants. This gives choices that range from cool-ish spring days, to pretty doggone hot dead of summer!

I've still got lots of "1 at a time" color ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Hermes Jardins d’Hiver in Navy

April 21, 2016 A friend received this as a gift, and doesn't know where to start... I have some ideas; I ALWAYS have ideas!

The red in this is actually a hair closer to rust, but since we're moving toward warmer weather here, and rust is IMPOSSIBLE to find, I'm working with a more poppy red. These accent colors don't have to be a flawless match to the color in the scarf, nor to each other. Unless you plan to wear pieces together, you needn't be madly rigorous in making the colors perfect in a capsule wardrobe.

Of course, when building around a single accessory, 1 outfit at a time is a good approach:

I reused a skirt in a couple of outfits, ... View the Post

The Power of Accent Colors in the Capsule Wardrobe: Blush and Turquoise

April 20, 2016

When I was working on yesterday's post, with the yellow accent colors my mother commented (quite rightly) that any number of accent colors would work beautifully with the black, white, and tweed pieces of clothing.

So...

At a loss as to how to choose the colors to use for my capsule wardrobe experiment, I grabbed my brand new color analysis book that I bought it Paris, and I opened it with my eyes closed. Twice!

First, I found peachy, pinky, blush:

The whole feel of this outfit changes completely, with just a different scarf and earrings! Think of the relatively inexpensive possibilities...

Here, four more pieces are changed: a blouse, a sweater, a scarf and a bracelet. This feels so ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Composition a Cercles a Bras et Rectangles by Sophie Taeuber-Arp

April 19, 2016 Another painting that I saw last week in Paris. That vacation seems so long ago now...

At first this seemed like a pretty straightforward color scheme, but there are a LOT of possibilities here:

She Does Modeling...

Square scarf – Isabel Marant; shoulder bag – Allsaints; cardigan – Simply Be; yellow diamond hoops – JCPenney; watch – Isabel Marant; tee shirt – J. Crew; pants – J. Crew; suitcase – Longchamp; loafers – Patricia Green Financial modeling, that is. The hardest work in the office, in many opinions.

Yellow silk shirt – Theory; leather bracelet - Bottega Veneta; silver square earrings – Gurhan; blazer – Nina Ricci; ivory top – ... View the Post