Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 56 of 153

Start with Art: Winter Solstice by Dame Barbara Hepworth

May 26, 2021

They're having an anniversary party... and this year, she can go!

She will leave after work, spend all day Saturday and Sunday with her relatives, and then go back to work on Monday morning!

Life got much easier once she realized that she could wear the same cardigan and skirt on Monday that she wore on Friday, and that NOBODY would notice...

Since the party is during the weekend of the Solstice (more or less!), she's using this as her inspiration:

The big constraint for her in warm weather? She will NOT expose her arms. Not to anybody, for any reason, unless it's a moment of true intimacy...

Everybody has something that concerns them, right?

But she loves to wear sandals, and she really ... View the Post

Start with a Cardigan: Birdcage Print Cardigan from Talbots

Ma7 21, 2021

Just in the last few days, 3 people have contacted me about cardigans from Talbots! These kinds of "confluences of interest" happen often - I find them fascinating...

But the cardigans are pretty amazing too! Some lovely prints...

excuse the image quality - I had to do some scary digital magic to get this together!

I love this sweater - some of us were debating the merits of using bright colors for accents, and this cardigan sets us up for a summer of black, white and brights:

Let's assume for working purposes that our heroine already has her black and white Common Wardrobe all sorted out...

Now, she decides that she's going to base her accent colors for this year on her new cardigan!

First up, ... View the Post

Start with Art: Girl with a Tinsel Scarf by William John Leech

May 19, 2021 She Knew It... As soon as she handed her 2 (very large) suitcases to the airline staff, she knew she wasn't going to see them again ANY time soon...

But she's an inspired woman!

Because she's taking SO much stuff with her, she doesn't really have a clear palette for her entire travel wardrobe, but for her carry-on, she has ideas...

After she thought about it for a few days, she realized that she could, in her carry-on bag, bring along enough clothes to get her through a few days if (when?) the rest of her bags go roaming without her...

So she started by establishing a color palette for this segment of her overall travel gear, and chose lightweight clothes and flat shoes to pack more easily.

This ... View the Post

Start with a Shirt – Fresh Mint Seersucker Popover

May 12, 2021

I'm sure you don't think about these things, but my schedule is always a mixture of looking back (at blog posts upon which you are currently commenting, but which I prepared 2 or 3 days ago) and forwards - what I'm going to post Friday, Monday, next month...

I share this, because BEFORE I EVER PUBLISHED MONDAY'S POST, I had an impassioned request for a wardrobe based on this shirt!

Our friend has her color palette selected; she's not worried about getting dirty because she doesn't live that kind of life! She's focusing on 3 pastels, with chambray/denim blue and white as her neutrals:

She's even got ONE outfit chosen - this is where she began to experience "wardrobe planning block"...

I'm VERY sympathetic ... View the Post

Can Accessories Tie Together a Wardrobe? Start with Art – Courtesans Strolling Beneath Cherry Trees by Utamaro

May 7, 2021

Ah, it looks relaxed and pretty, if being a courtesan is your thing!

You may remember the 16-piece Four by Four wardrobe that we assembled, based on the colors in this painting:

The big question from many of you was that I hadn't really mixed the rose with the neutrals in the outfits that I showed last week. I think that those "mixed" outfits felt naked to me without something to blend the rose accent with the neutrals. So that's what I've looked at first!

For example, these sandals that seem to be silver, with a gold buckle, and splotches of color on them, are perfect with this simple tee shirt and shorts:

And these next sandals have rose and black in the striped part! And yes, this is a pretty dressy ... View the Post

May 2021 – Six Scarves, 12 Months, 12 Outfits

May 5, 2021

This month, we're finally adding skirts to these wardrobes! (yes, you can easily substitute any other bottom for a skirt if they're not your thing...)

Some wardrobes are getting pretty coherent outfits with the skirt, and for a couple of wardrobes I filled in some blanks and fell prey to prettiness...

This is a pretty somber outfit, but this heroine did not yet have a black tee shirt - that's almost heresy in my world!

Not surprisingly, these garments blend in beautifully:

And each new garment lends itself to at least a couple of new outfits - I suspect I could easily find more!

Now, the color palette that just screams Spring - to me at least!

This is a lovely outfit for warming weather - ... View the Post

Start with Art: Courtesans Strolling Beneath Cherry Trees by Kitawaga Utamaro

April 30, 2021

This post is for those among us who are deeply smitten with a particular color for their spring and summer wardrobe; I think that one can wear quite a bit of their favorite color without sacrificing a coherent wardrobe!

OH, she's got cherry trees...

She's got all KINDS of trees under which she plans to sit; she has a STACK of books that need to be read this summer!

And she has her eye on a particular color that she wants to wear this summer; when she saw this painting she began to formulate her plan:

She eschews the almost green shade of beige, and she chooses to believe that the darkest kimonos are black (while it's possible that they're navy...)

This is what she's starting with:

And this is her ... View the Post

April 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Gentle Lynx

April 23, 2021

She just wants to be calm. Quiet. To walk the streets and admire the architecture and the window displays. Rain or shine...

Her colors are simple - her favorite navy, with the pastels that reflect her desire for peace and harmony:

It will rain. The sun will shine. The temperature could be all over the map. She doesn't care! She can always sit in a cafe until the rain lets up...

She starts with her navy cardigan and skirt, so she knows that she has her neutrals covered! Then she adds a few tops, and her favorite yellow dress...

And why NOT 3 pairs of ballet flats? They're comfortable, they're flattering, and they make her happy - what else might anybody want?

It's not a wardrobe for everybody, ... View the Post

Start with Art: On the Train by Jacqueline Osborn

April 21, 2021

We've spent a lot of time together looking at the colors in paintings and other photographs, and building little wardrobes around those colors.

But what if a painting gives you a feeling - an urge - that's not really related to the colors in the art?

This painting has given one of us the desire to travel.... She hasn't been alone in over a year, but by the same token, she hasn't been out around strangers, in crowds, people-watching for over a year.

She wants to go, for a long time, alone!

She's going in the autumn; she will start in London or Paris, and as the weather cools, she's going to hop a train and go to the next city to the south! Lyon, Marseilles, Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples... It will depend on ... View the Post

Accessories! Revisiting Dance Dance by Jacqueline Osborn

April 16, 2021

Who doesn't love this painting?

Our heroine from Wednesday has assembled a really lovely, warm-toned and warm-weather travel capsule wardrobe:

Now she needs accessories! She knows that her color palette for her accessories will be the same as for her clothes, with the addition of gold for anything metallic:

She takes a look at the 24-piece accessory wardrobe that has been used before on The Vivienne Files; it seems like a LOT of things for a trip...

And she also looks at the suggestions that I made once upon a time:

And then she realized that if building her wardrobe 1 piece at a time worked so well, it might be a sensible way to assemble her accessories too!

She started with an ... View the Post

Start With Art: Dance Dance by Jacqueline Osborn

April 14, 2021

She's Been Cold... for over a year. Not really physically cold, so much as missing the "chaleur humaine" - the human warmth of society...

So when she knew that she was going to finally go on vacation, this was her heart's desire:

okay, just feel free to pause right here and go admire this artist's work - I will forever be grateful to readers who send me links to new artists!

After a year of stress and tension, she's determined to be in complete control of her travel wardrobe! She decides that a "one piece at a time" approach to packing will suit her just fine...

After she gets that essential 2nd top in her bag, she starts with the easiest of packing - a dress!

She knows that she will be ... View the Post

Start with Swimwear: Paradise Aqua Space Dye Tankini from Lands’ End

April 7, 2021 This Year, She's Going to Swim...

She read last year on her favorite blog that these swimsuits were so flattering that any self-consciousness about being seen in public in swimwear will change forever! So true, and after a missed year at the beach house with her extended family, she's not going to skip anything...

This is her planned palette:

Most relatives will drive to their MASSIVE shared beach house, but she's going to take the train... Experience has taught her that she really needs a cardigan; those trains can be FREEZING in warmer weather!

She's thrilled to see a long-sleeved swim tee! And a swim skirt - now she has 4 swimwear pieces, which gives her 4 combinations... She could even be tempted by ... View the Post