travel capsule wardrobe Archives

Another Summer Long Weekend Wardrobe: Start With Art – Birds in Winter by Atsushi Uemura

June 26, 2026

Her experiment of packing just teal and white was so much fun, she decided to try the same idea with a different accent color.

Her painting inspiration is this:

She had always had the persimmon/berry color in mind; this is her color palette so far:

She's taking the same six pieces of white clothing, but she's changed up some of her silver accessories for gold things. These small changes can feel like they make a huge difference!

She finally found the red that she wanted - a color that Eileen Fisher calls grenadine. Accessories were a bit easier to find in this color than they were with teal!

She thinks that this long weekend travel capsule wardrobe feels both summery and ... View the Post

Would You Like a Formula for Summer Get-Away Wardrobes? Start With Art – Birds in Winter by Atsushi Uemura

June 24, 2026

She goes away a lot in the summer. Mostly long weekends with a group of friends who have homes at the beach.

The packing part drives her crazy. She doesn't need to really dress up, but she still always finds herself on Thursday nights trying to make up her mind what to pack.

Then she saw the birds:

No painting could be more "out of season" than this, but she's inspired by the teal and white. She loves teal, and she looks really great in it.

And so she ponders, what if she put together a core of white clothes, and then added teal accents? The persimmon could be nail polish (or a second accent capsule!)

This is how she's thinking:

She starts with white. Yes, it gets dirty. She doesn't care; it's ... View the Post

Love Brown, but Want A Surprising Accent Color? How About Hot Pink?

June 19, 2026

I could have titled this post "the best laid plans of mice and women...". Turquoise was going to be the accent color with brown - I was SO eager to do this. Turquoise and brown are gorgeous together...

BUT - finding a matching set in turquoise wasn't happening. I couldn't even really find individual garments from which I could assemble a decent grouping of clothes.

What to do? Think again! I looked about for a different accent color, available in enough different garments (in the full range of sizes!), with which I could pull together a variety of outfits.

I finally had surprisingly good luck at the GAP, so we're changing horses in midstream!

There's a lesson in here - of course there is! Be flexible. Stick to ... View the Post

Where I’m Going, What I’m Packing – Paris June 2026

June 17, 2026

Next Friday, the 26th, I'm going to Paris! Unless the weather is going to be unbearable hot, in which case I'm just going to CANCEL. My hotel expense might be a sunk cost, but I'm pretty sure I can do some kind of exchange things with my plane tickets.

But this is a good time for everybody to fully grasp the meaning of "sunk cost." Going to Paris and being miserable, or just being unable to do much of anything, isn't fun. On top of the expenses that I've already incurred, I would have transportation back and forth to the airport, and lots of meals, and any other incidental goodies I buy.

I literally do not have to decide until I'm about to hand over my suitcase to be checked. I don't carry a suitcase onto an ... View the Post

Tempted by All the Brown Available Right Now? Some Ideas…

June 15, 2026

I love brown. I've never worn it a ton, because it wasn't easy to find when I was younger (although I remember at least once when my parents must have turned over EVERY ROCK in Appalachia to find a brown dress for me...), and when I was building my work wardrobe, brown was ABSOLUTELY NOT ACCEPTABLE.

How things change, eh?

I was quite smitten with the many offerings from Alex Mill, like this quartet:

I had to be dragged kicking and screaming away from using turquoise as the accent color here! My second choice was light blue, but I finally settled on coral. Coral and turquoise are a "made in heaven" combination for accent colors.

I keep counting and counting, and in these six ideas that I share, I swear ... View the Post

June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Winter Cottonwoods by Georgia O’Keeffe

June 12, 2026

Our heroine the landscape architect is using this soft, subtle painting as the focus and inspiration for her wardrobe:

At the end of May, she had 24 pieces in her wardrobe. Even though grey just doesn't seem like it should fit in here, I think it's going to be okay. Time will tell, eh?

Her accessories are wonderful - her scarves seem to have been designed just for her:

This month, our heroine needs tee shirts! She doesn't spend as much time outdoors in warm weather as we might expect; her clients don't like to be out in the heat... Snowflakes!

But she still has to dress for warmer weather...

When she takes a look at her 28-piece wardrobe template, she's pretty pleased:

But it's ... View the Post

June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Lonely Erika Giovanna Klien

June 10, 2026

Lonely indeed! Thanks to a brilliant reader, we all know that the German word "einsam" is (not tremendously well) hidden in this painting. The Vivienne Files community is the best!

Our heroine is a pro with typefaces, fonts, and constructing documents with a combination of legibility and creativity. Sounds perfect - clear, but fun!

Sort of like her wardrobe at the end of May:

While her garments are all simple and classic (albeit with some snappy color), her accessories are where things get interesting. It's easy for all of us to wear similar clothes, so long as we have accessories to put our personal touch on things...

This month, our heroine's shopping was a bit of this and a bit of that!

She ... View the Post

June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

June 8, 2026

So what is our glamorous Gothic researcher up to?

Let's enjoy her favorite painting for a moment; it's easy to just skip right past the paintings to get to the wardrobes, and that's a pity. I take AGES to choose these paintings, and they all have something to offer us each time we look again...

At the end of May, our heroine had a 24-piece capsule wardrobe that definitely leans toward the dressy! But she also has a pair of jeans, so she's not entirely a princess... If I had the joy of a trip for weeks and weeks, to all kinds of different weather conditions, I would try to pack something along these lines:

Her accessories at the end of May are pretty nice...

Although this particular heroine marches to ... View the Post

June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Common Shelduck by Dennis A. Jones

June 5, 2026

Our bird-data expert is back, and she has travel plans...

Remember, she takes her wardrobe inspiration from this handsome guy:

At the end of May, our heroine had a pretty lovely 24-piece wardrobe:

And her accessories were pretty nifty too! I have to share with you that I've started loving these narrow silk scarves; enough time has passed since we HAD TO WEAR THEM in the office, with our white shirts, dark suits and sensible pumps...

Later in June, our heroine will be leaving for six weeks on a college campus in VERY rural New England. The campus is going to be completely cleared of anybody except essential support staff (cafeteria workers are ESSENTIAL...) and a band of avian ... View the Post

Revisiting Start With Art – Wall of Light Orange Yellow by Sean Scully

May 18, 2026

We first visited this painting, and this heroine, back in February. I think my plan is to look at this painting four times over a year, and see what happens...

If you used a painting like this for your wardrobe, there are at least eight colors here to inspire you. Enough to have abundant neutrals, and a couple of snappy accent colors too...

This is the current color wheel - I need to update it! There yellow to be included, and gold, and a true grey, and a great shade of putty taupe...

Our heroine's first travel wardrobe, back in February, was muted, warm and versatile:

Our heroine is anticipating warm but not scorching hot weather for her next trip. And, inspired by her jewelry from ... View the Post

May 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Lonely Erika Giovanna Klien

May 15, 2026

Our last painting in our "Six Paintings" series - an enigmatic image, with maybe a message inside? It's certainly one of the most interesting color palettes we've ever seen:

Three timeless neutrals, and two accents that are unexpected, and sometimes difficult to find. The best things can require some patience...

At the end of April, our heroine's 20-piece wardrobe took her to work with ease, as well as lots of other places! Since our heroine works at home a lot, jeans and tops can go a long way...

Even though the weather still isn't delightful and warm, our heroine decided that she was going to dress as if spring had truly arrived:

If our heroine is going to be faithful to her wardrobe template, ... View the Post

May 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

May 13, 2026

A favorite of so many of us, and such a rich and striking painting:

And a bright, cheerful palette:

Our heroine came into the month of May with this 20-piece wardrobe; I could live with this for months...

This is a DRESSY heroine! And she started her May shopping with the idea that she would find a pretty floral dress...

Only to realize that she can grab the skirt that matches her printed blouse, and have her dress and separates, too! The rest of her purchases are relatively simple and classic - although green shoes and a green handbag aren't on just everybody's shopping list:

Of course, she didn't add a second layer to her wardrobe this month - that might be something she needs to address next ... View the Post