Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 97 of 133

How to Pack Light for the Beach

Another question that seems to come up frequently is about how to pack for a beach vacation. I love thinking about this "problem", and I've got a few older posts that you can review that might help you with your very "sad" dilemma.love, Janice

Start with Art: The Boating Party, by Mary Cassatt - a traditional navy and white summer wardrobe, with accents of turquoise and yellow. No swimsuits - I've been told that many of you have no need of swimwear.

Warm Weather Travel in Brown and Pink - Step by Step - how to decide how much to pack, including options for both a long weekend and a week-long vacation.

Dressing modestly in a hot climate: travel in blue and tan - some ideas about what to pack when you're going to a ... View the Post

Expanding Your Comfort Zone: Finding Festive Attire You Will Love

November 25, 2015 I mentioned a few days ago that I'm going to be moving slightly out of my comfort zone for my Thanksgiving attire...It all started when my contacts at House of Fraser offered to send me something - they had a list of garments that were available (I'm guessing they were buyer samples?), and let me choose. The only item in my size that really interested me was this:

Until now, I only rarely wore anything metallic, and never a dress like this. But because I am so comfortable in knit and sweater dresses, this wasn't a real "reach" for me... And it is a really cool dress!

We're going out to a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner, so I can wear this with opaque tights and low-heel dress shoes, and be both ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Brooch: Boucheron Lotus Brooch

November 20, 2015

Oh. My. Goodness....If this somehow became mine, I would wonder WHAT in the world was going on, and then I would indeed build my entire wardrobe (and that of my bodyguards!) around it. What a beautiful piece of jewelry...

But even if one is not destined to own this, it can still certainly be used as a style focal point, or inspiration. The colors are straightforward enough:

Yes, I included the black of the background; I think it serves well as a foil for the diamonds, sapphires and emeralds.

So she's heading home for a long winter holiday weekend. She doesn't wear lavish, or amazing clothes - mostly things that are readily available. But in her mind, she remembers the brooch, and ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Hermes Napoleon

November 18, 2015 This is the scarf of the day:

Falling in Love, Gradually...

She knew the scarf was beautiful - rare, intricate, quite fascinating just to look at, to pick out little details that weren't apparent when the scarf was being worn...

But it took her a while to realize how many different ways she could wear it!

Her love for Napoleon was long-standing - she has the "bee" jewelry to prove it. So she started carefully, gradually, wearing her gorgeous scarf with a simple brown dress (but NOT with the matching fabric belt!), and then with a white sweatshirt and her brown corduroy pants. Every time she put it on, she loved it a bit more...

Dress – River Island; brown earrings – Fornash; gold belt – MICHAEL ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Echo and Narcissus by Waterhouse Version 2

This is a painting that easily provides a second color scheme! Remember last week, when I used more pastel colors as the accents?)

Today we will see how a change of accent colors alters to whole mood of the "Whatever's Clean 13."

Start out - the same outfit as before - I'm still deeply smitten with this sweater....

Jacket – Damir Doma; jeans – Austin Reed; turtleneck – L.L.Bean

I changed a couple of pieces here, just to show you a little bit of variety:

Jacket – L.L.Bean; ribbed sweater – The Row; twill pants – L.L.Bean

And at this point, I still feel that some accessories are handy - at least you're going to want some shoes or boots! A scarf that pulls the colors ... View the Post

Scarf Selling Saturday: A TWO-fer: Les Instructions du Roy, and Soleil du Soie

November 14, 2015 I want to clarify that the following post was written and scheduled for publication late Thursday afternoon; had I known of the horrid news that would emerge Friday afternoon and evening, I would had written something very different.

However, I'm going to leave this post here, for comments and for beauty's sake, because I feel like defiantly living life as normal. Let's appreciate small joys, and marvel at the wonders of the craftsmanship and creativity of our fellow humans, in the face of barbaric actions that would prefer we spend our time thinking only of negative and dark things...

You are, each of you, very important to me. I take your thoughts and feelings very seriously, and try to be sensitive to ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Vintage Rose by Kathkath

November 13, 2015

Who wouldn't want this?

Such lovely colors....

I wanted to think more about the idea of the "Whatever's Clean 13" and different ways to go about creating a grouping that will simplify your life - at least when you're getting dressed!

So I thought I'd dig WAY back into the archives of my brain, and The Vivienne Files, for the "Not So Crazy Eights" - the idea that owning eight garments in the same color might be the smartest thing you can do.

Let's hypothesize that someone in the world is pretty committed to her black wardrobe, so the first eight aren't terribly difficult. That said, she's in a little bit of a pickle for the upcoming holiday season; her friends and family aren't the strapless sequined ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: The Golden Stairs by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones Version 2

November 12, 2015

She loved her travel wardrobe so much, she decided to gradually, carefully, and thoughtfully augment it in the same colors and mood!

Remember, this is the painting and the color scheme with which she was working. Beautiful, graceful, and evocative...

And this was the entirety of her wardrobe for her recent family trip. While the dress might be a little bit "over the top" for work, the rest of the pieces will be appropriate, if only for casual Friday.

And so, gradually, she made some purchases. She carried a wee laminated print of her painting with her, to keep her focused, and to keep her colors on point.

Eventually, she could open her closet and see this!

I pulled together 20 outfits from ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse

November 11, 2015

If I ever catch any of you pining away like this, I'll give you a very stern talking-to, and then a hug...

But it's so beautiful, in that lush, opulently colored way that the Pre-Raphaelites made so appealing. I have, in fact, another color scheme in mind for this same painting, so don't wander away in the next week or two...

Recently, I've been asked about the nuts and bolts of putting together a Whatever's Clean Wardrobe - where to start, and how to choose what to include. I'll try to explain my thought process through this one, in the hope that I can clarify how you can easily do this yourself when you're packing, or just when you want to build a small collection of clothes that will see you through your ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arrival of the Normandy Train by Claude Monet Version 2

November 10, 2015

We're back to visit our friend who made the long train trip!

This was her inspiration - the soft colors, and the strong sense of the grid patterns in the ceiling of the train station. Very beautiful!

She DID have to do some shopping when she was on the road! It was bound to rain, but it wasn't bound to stop her...

And these were the clothes that she took with her on her trip. It was a wonderful trip - well planned, and thoroughly enjoyed. If only her return to "real life" had been so pleasant...

Utter Chaos Reigns... She returned to a madhouse. Drinking at lunch, crying in the bathrooms, shouting in the halls - it had all of the elements of a bad soap opera, without the ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: The Golden Stairs by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones

November 9, 2015

This painting caught my eye, and held it for a LONG time, on my recent trip to London.

After studying this for a long time, I realized that the majority of the color tones found here fall into two distinct families, which work beautifully together.

I feel an immoderate affection for taupe, but it is a THANKLESS color to try to find in our world. I don't understand why; it's subtle, rich and elegant without being difficult to wear.

Happily, I was able to find just enough things for our heroine... Standing Out, Quietly There are always LOTS of women at these family events. But they do look to her for a certain quality of elegance or sophistication; she IS the one who lives in the city, with the cool job ... View the Post

Scarf Selling Saturday: Gucci Flora

Another Saturday, another beautiful scarf!I've read stories that this scarf was designed originally for Grace Kelly. I don't know if that's true, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me. This is so beautiful...

This is what the full scarf looks like. This is NOT my photograph, but the scarf I'm selling is exactly like this...

These are detailed photographs of the four corners of the scarf, taken by me, Friday morning the 6th. This scarf really is in excellent condition, and the details are amazing! I took picture with the scarf folded, so you can see some flowers showing through the fabric. Like little ghost flowers...

If you like to wear pretty flower colors, there's a million ways to wear this scarf. I ... View the Post