The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 138 of 153

Packing for Special Occasions: A Floral Coat, and Flower Colors

July 10, 2013

Sometimes, you have to travel for a special event to a place where the days are warm, but the evenings can be quite cool. This is a perfect opportunity to invest in an astonishingly beautiful coat, which gives you lots of colorful options around which to build a travel capsule wardrobe.

Regarding the question about the handbag color? I personally would always opt for a metallic when I'm not sure of what color. Not a blindingly shiny gaudy metallic - something more subtle and muted, in the same general color range as the clutch shown here. I find that metallic are a lot easier to blend in with a variety of colors than anything else that I see.

love, Janice

PS - For more color inspiration, check out ... View the Post

When a White Shirt is PERFECT

Sometimes, a white shirt (tee shirt, tank top) is the ideal choice for an outfit...  First and foremost, if you love the way you're dressed, then you're wearing the perfect clothes, no matter what ANYBODY else says.  In hot weather, when you're wearing other light-colored garments, or when you need the brightening effects of white near your face.And you do understand that "your" white might be ecru, or cream, or ivory, or some other variations of white?  Choose what's best for you.  Always. Every day.  Without exception.  Your happiness is really the only standard by which your garments should be evaluated.

The lighter-background tee shirt is much more in keeping with the feeling of the white jeans. ... View the Post

Signature: Hermes Clous de Trompe L’Oeil enamel bracelets

July 3, 2013   If you have the good fortune to own a pair of Hermes enamel bracelets, you may want to use them as the basis of some outfits...  

 

Cardigan –Closed, Earrings- Georg Jensen, V-neck – Closed, Silk blouse – Steffen Schraut, Blue cardigan – Massimo Alba, Wine jeans – Closed, Bag – Dolce & Gabbana, Grey tee shirt – Organic by John Patrick, Wine tee shirt – Organic by John Patrick, Slate blue pants – Massimo Alba, Tweed skirt – Dolce & Gabbana, Suede loafers = Patricia Green, Flats – French Connection    

 

 

 

  love, Janice

  ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Weeping Cherry & Bullfinch by Katsushika Hokusai

July 1, 2013   This painting is so beautiful - the first thing that struck me was the clean simplicity of it.  So I was initially drawn to cool, somewhat architectural clothes, of course in blue...  

  More blue - still simple, clean, with silver accents.  

  I loved this sweater juxtaposed with a lace skirt- it felt like it captured the balance between the simplicity of the overall painting contrasted with the delicacy of the flowers.  And there was no way I could resist chambray...  

  And even winter clothing can reflect the beauty of this painting.  Soft sweaters, tweed, suede, all capture the gentle grace Katsushika Hokusai brought to life ... View the Post

When White Shirts Fail

June 28, 2013   White shirts are an absolute classic, right?   Everybody should own one.   Everybody should pull it out and wear it whenever they're in doubt about what to wear.   Uhhhh - I don't quite agree. Yes, there are times and places where a white shirt is the most appropriate choice - a conservative job interview, for example. But many of us, on a day to day basis, might be better flattered to wear tops that are closer in color to our pants or skirts -  if not a solid color, then a darker background. See what you think...   Belovedest and I saw this woman a couple of days ago, and he asked me why she seemed  so out of proportion - the woman in question is actually tall and thin. Her white ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky by Emily Carr

June 20, 2013

  So very simple.  Tall, austere, lean, yet radiant. Vertical is balanced with the striations of the sky. Soft, cloudy, stormy around the edges, luminous throughout.  A lifetime of personal style inspiration could easily come from this...   A stunning dress, with simple earrings, pumps, and a structured bag.  A casual tee shirt dress, with shoes and a necklace that echo the sky in our inspirational painting.  

A cloudy grey coat, with soft suede boots and a stormy sky scarf, or a lacy dress with some dark accents, a soft and flowing wrap, and skylit shoes.  Even the earrings are lacy!

 

Another sleek dress with simple silvery accessories, or maybe a ... View the Post

One outfit, six different scarves

June 13, 2013  

It's tempting to starting thinking of each scarf as being "married" to (or at least going steady with) a particular outfit that you own, and moreover, to always reach for the same scarf when you put on a favorite outfit.  I do this often, and I'm trying to break out of this habit, and shake up my scarf/clothing combos a little bit.  So I took one outfit that I wear a lot  (this sweater is linen, so it can be worn through all but the hottest summer months) and tried to see how it would pair up with a variety of scarves.I show Hermes scarves here, but PLEASE bear in mind that this exercise is true of any scarves you own.  Vintage from a thrift store, hand-crafted from a street fair, or heritage ... View the Post

Integrating a scarf into A Common Capsule Wardrobe: Hermes Coup de Fouet

June 11, 2013   So one of you recently purchased a very beautiful scarf, and now you're feeling.... stuck? unsure?  It's a common situation, and one that's pretty simple to remedy.  

 

This is the lovely object in question, entitled "Crack of the Whip". Striking graphics, and an unexpected juxtaposition of yellow in the middle of the purples and blues - those Hermes people are good... First thing you have to isolate is what color or colors drew you into this scarf? If it was the turquoise, for example, you might find that you already own the following items, to complement your scarf.

  Further, let's assume that you own some version of The Common Wardrobe, a couple of simple dresses, and a ... View the Post

Choosing a scarf – Hermes, in black

June 10, 2013  

Many people ask me how I choose the scarves I buy... (I can hear my mother, replying "Veeeeery carefully!") Most important, absolutely, is that you should LOVE the scarf. Not just like it, not just think that it goes well with your wardrobe - you've got to feel strongly, and perhaps in a way that you can't explain rationally. The appreciation of beauty is a gut-level reaction that can't always be verbalized, and can never be faked. This is as true for an inexpensive scarf picked up at a street fair, just as much as it's true with an Hermes - it should be true for anything that goes into your closet, frankly...

So, hypothetically, you've narrowed your choices down to six different scarves.  All Hermes, all ... View the Post

Another DVF dress; 1 dress, 6 ways

June 7, 2013  

I thought a lot yesterday about the mystique of the Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress. I've never even tried one of these on; I'm super-skeptical about how a traditional wrap dress will work with my short-waisted, full-balconied, and generally no-waist torso. But I browsed through a lot of Diane's other dress designs, and found the beauty below.  This really calls out to me in all kinds of ways - it's got my favorite colors, a much less dangerous décolletage, and some side shirring that seems as if it would be very flattering...

Sigh...    

 

 

love, Janice   ... View the Post

One dress, six ways: A Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress

June 6, 2013  

One of my friends is very committed to her black and white wardrobe, which she accents with jade and aventurine jewelry. When she saw this Diane von Furstenberg dress, she was very tempted, but just couldn't commit - she wasn't sure that she would find enough ways to wear it.Now,I can't make the decision for her, but if she knows that she will want/need a dress in the next year or so for a number of events, she will have ways to wear it...

    aventurine pendant - Tiffany, green wrap - Faliero Sarti, black and white slingbacks - Semilla Scarpe, pearl and black crystal earrings - Majorica, pearl necklace - Slane, black cardigan - J. Crew, black pumps - ... View the Post