Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
March 15, 2014
If all has gone according to plan, as you're reading this, I am in Paris... but this coming week, I've scheduled posts that flash back to guest posts that I did last year for A Femme d'un Certain Age. They're all about travel... If you don't already follow me on Instagram, you might want to consider. If I take any great photographs, that's where they will be first. Just look for The Vivienne Files there! love, Janice ... View the Post
March 14, 2014
Today, we leave for Paris. To say that we're excited would be accurate, but it's more of a "warm, thrilled to be able to go away together" kind of excitement, rather than an "OMG WE'RE GOING TO PARIS" kind of thing. Because it's every-present in our minds that, a week from today, we'll be in Paris, but TWO weeks from today, we'll be back in Chicago, and the vacation will be an accumulation of beautiful memories, credit card bills, and a few gorgeous items we purchased... Travel is hard - there's no question. You're out of your usual routine, all of your normal "stuff" is either somewhere else completely, or crammed into bags, and for many people, you're someplace ... View the Post
March 13, 2014 Maybe your living room looks like this... Okay, maybe your dream living room looks like this!
But like so many of us, you have a simple wardrobe that works for your everyday life:
But if you pay attention to the details, you can incorporate that style that you love into your everyday outfits. A touch of lace, a bit of muted floral, and some silk in the place of where many of us would wear cotton.
So you have quite a few outfits that are still very low-key, appropriate for your life, but still include that touch of luxe that warms your heart.
Keep to the same philosophy for your accessories - ... View the Post
March 11, 2014 These kinds of rooms are really popular, and many of you wanted to know if this whole feeling or sensibility can be conveyed in a wardrobe.
What can we take from this photo and those of similar rooms that will help us make informed choices about what to add to our neutral wardrobe? Words that I immediately identified included wood, bone, beige, ivory, ethnic and Native America prints, warm textures, tone-on-tone layering. Starting with this base wardrobe:
Three garments that aren't a really wild stretch, but that start expressing your taste:
Lots of easy ways to wear these...
Add in some ... View the Post
March 8, 2014 Maybe this is the living room of your dreams:
But your core wardrobe is our usual:
So let's try the same exercise we did before - find three garments that reflect the warmth, the rosiness, the ornate and filigreed nature of the room...
You have to keep, somewhere in the back of your mind, the reminder that you need to work with neutrals of black, white and khaki. Otherwise, let your heart go wild... and you will have lots of ways to wear them.
If this feels comfortable for you, you can branch out and add a few accessories that also share you sensibility...
These will work beautifully ... View the Post
March 6, 2014
I think many of us wrestle with this - we really adore an aesthetic and style that just does NOT translate into our day-to-day life. For example, say this is your idea of a great room - Diana Vreeland certainly thought so:
But this is your typical wardrobe - simple, high-quality neutrals that really don't reflect that colorful exuberance above:
For starters, a red tee shirt seems like the easiest thing to slide into this closet. But consider a richly patterned cardigan and/or skirt. Remember when making your choice that you want to work with your neutral core, so you should look for elements of black and white, if possible. And more importantly, these items should satisfy that longing for ornate opulence that ... View the Post
February 28, 2014 So this is your dream:
And maybe this is your current reality:
All the more reason you should consider shopping your dream, and at least wrapping your immediate self (i.e. your body) in the calm, soft, organic and tranquil colors of which you dream. Start small - a simple silk tunic that can be worn with any pair of pants you own... This tunic, all on it's own, could raise your spirits for a few days! Maybe some blue shoes, or a bag. And your next pair of jeans could certainly be green rather than something more predictable and conformist...
So many shades of blue from which to choose - but you don't really have to choose! ... View the Post
February 25, 2014 This photograph was sent to me as a suggestion for a wardrobe - and what a great idea. This photograph prompted, in me, ideas of wood, stone, natural fabrics and textured fabrics. While I'm going to start with mostly colors in the beige/brown/grey families, there are definite hints here of green, blue and orange that would be great accent colors here.
Another question I've been asked is about the possibility of purchasing garments one at a time, so this is something we're going to try here. And the idea of not matching colors exactly - the colors in this wardrobe (with one exception) won't be identical matches... So here we go! First off, wouldn't you like to be sitting ... View the Post
February 24, 2024
Thanks so much to the reader who steered me to the New York Times Magazine article: Sign of the Times/Slaves No More by Cathy Horyn. It ends thus:
...a woman of indeterminate age who knows what she likes and has shrugged off what she no longer has any use for, and maybe never did. If that sound rather limited, that's the point. I'll stick with the same paint colors and my lovely old kilt, because, it turns out, there's a surprising amount of harmony in unremarkable choices."
(emphasis is mine)
Timeless. Elegant. Classic. Simple. Unique. Beautiful. Maybe not the words by which I live, but definitely words that inform and illuminate my style choices.
love,
Janice ... View the Post
February 20, 2014 One of my readers has been shopping with this great Van Gogh painting in hand... She's got a solid core of gorgeous gold items:
And she's picked up some light blue clothes too, which she doesn't like to wear with the gold:
And she's also picked up a few tee shirts in the accent colors of the painting:
So now, she's got this assortment of clothes. Everything, on it's own, is beautiful, but she's not finding that this is as versatile as she would like.
One of the charms of Van Gogh is that he combines difficult colors in innovating ways, and isn't terribly dependent on neutral colors. It's a glorious way to ... View the Post
February 19, 2014
What a gorgeous painting! And the colors are so perfect for warm weather... (of which I dream right now, as I watch the white-out snow storm outside my window...)
A few of you have expressed a concern about wearing light colors below the waist, and so for this wardrobe I'm going to avoid that. Also, I've been asked to include a maxi skirt in capsule wardrobes, so today I've found one!
A dark core of four - useful for most of the year, and an essential base upon which we're going to build this plan. Navy is so perfect for warm weather; if you're concerned about the colors matching, plan to buy all four items at once, and maybe from the same place.
Yes, this is the second grouping of four green garments ... View the Post
February 18, 2014 This painting has such gorgeous colors, and for a summer travel wardrobe the options are wonderful... I'm starting with a core of four - I'm a really strong believer in the usefulness of having a core of neutral garments around which everything else can revolve. The colors don't have to be dye-lot matched, but they should be chosen with an eye to being wearable together. And getting your shoes taken care of frees you up to go just a bit wild later on in your second and third waves of shopping!
For summer, shorts and capris. Then when you branch out into tee shirts, this painting gives you a wide variety of colors from which to ... View the Post
