The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Beige Archives - Page 8 of 57

Year 2 – Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Rikka – Beginning of Summer

May 12, 2023

Is it beginning to feel like summer where you are? (assuming Northern Hemisphere, of course; I know that some of you are moving headlong into autumn and winter!)

Chicago has finally warmed up; now that I have looked at warm weather clothing for a few days, I think we need to consider adding accents - maybe prints? - to our wardrobes...

The first interesting accent that caught my eye was this cognac sparkle tee. Sparkle! Cognac! What's not to love?

for all of us who are short-waisted (i.e. the distance from our neckline to our waist is shorter than the distance from our waist to our hipline), cropped tops might be just the right length!

the leaves on trees around here seem to have appeared ... View the Post

Second Half of Six Paintings, 12 Months – May 2023

May 8, 2023

Let's see what our second trio of heroines has been up to!

The first has decided that she would like to own something sort of like a suit, so she finds a cardigan/blazer and pants that match. She can't resist the Liberty print shirt - it goes with so much of her wardrobe!

This is her wardrobe now; it might not suit many of us, but I can see this on the right woman...

Her accessories are a soft and feminine delight:

Her new outfits show that even an unusually light and delicate wardrobe can be versatile:

Our second heroine made a pretty big decision about her wardrobe this month!

The main character in her inspiration painting is wearing what appears to be a pretty dark purple coat. ... View the Post

Year 2! Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Kokuu – Grain Rain

April 26, 2023

Why yes, 2 seasons in 3 days! It's sort of like living in Chicago...

(at least if you live with me, where being forgetful is a way of life!)

Given the scattered and disorganized way I'm living these days, I thought that a really simple, comprehensive little cluster of clothes might be something useful for me; I could open my closet and find clothes that I can wear for anything from warm to reasonably cold...

It's kind of like the stress dressing that I've addressed in the past; having enough ready any time, just in case you're suddenly invited out to lunch, or for a walk, or for a meeting with your tax preparer! (THAT is stress...)

If the weather is cool, a shirt, sweater, pants and closed ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Spring Blossom by Valerius de Saedeleer

April 12, 2023

The last of the "beige-based" wardrobes - and probably my favorite! (of course, this is the only wardrobe with any black in it...)

This is the wardrobe for our last heroine; she has a lot of beige, but her accent colors are unusual, and make quite a statement!

I suspect that this heroine will also find herself with a few pairs of colorful sandals!

Even though our heroine only has 2 black garments, I think that black sandals make sense for her; they bring a real balance to a simple outfit like this:

If you love lime green, indulge in some peridot jewelry too! You'll have it forever...

Floral earrings with a floral top seems nice to me; keep the rest of the outfit nicely muted...

Of ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Drei Häuser By Paul Klee

April 10, 2023

I really love this painting - it seems so simple, but the more you look at it, the more the colors make themselves clear and distinct...

You may remember that this heroine assembled this wardrobe for the eventual arrival of warmer weather:

I haven't yet thought of a better way to add accessories than to go through a wardrobe and put together a bunch of outfits, and then make sure that each outfit can be dressed up (or down, I suppose?) appropriately. I don't think that there's a rigid checklist of accessories that everyone should own - some women don't wear jewelry, some don't wear scarves, some don't carry a handbag... You get the idea!

I enjoyed this - these colors are beautiful and ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Wagen in Silberner Strasse by August Macke

April 7, 2023

I love the accents in this painting...

Here's a reminder of the 16-piece capsule wardrobe that our heroine has chosen for the upcoming Spring and Summer:

Let's walk through a bunch of her favorite outfits, to see how she might accessorize each:

These wee stud earrings are available in 12 different stones - all of the birthstones!

This is our heroine's only scarf, but WHAT a scarf!

I love the subtle coordination of a "denim-colored" bag:

Those of us who own a Longchamp tote bag can vouch that they're SO useful!

Would you get a green pedicure? Or would that be overkill?

A simple beige outfit takes on a bit of shine with some jewelry!

This heroine seems to really like ... View the Post

Second Half of Six Paintings, 12 Months – April 2023

April 5, 2023

It's tempting to think of what one might do with a completely new wardrobe - horrible as that would be in reality. I admit that I would be really tempted to wear all different shades of grey... hmm...

So this "every shade of brown to ivory" really appeals to me - using texture and lots of accessories to keep things interesting, while at the same time always being easily recognizable!

This heroine's not all that interested in Spring, yet. But she has the good sense to at least get a pair of linen pants, and some sandals!

Many will find this boring, but I'm very drawn to the calm variations of color here:

And I'm quite smitten with her accessories!

Let's see what new possibilities our heroine's ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Windows by Robert Delaunay

March 31, 2023

Accessories make SO much difference; I think we're going to see that pretty quickly!

Remember this painting?

And this wardrobe?

Let's work our way through a bunch of outfits, to see what accessories our heroine needs...

First up - the all-beige ensemble! Some people make this look wonderful...

For this next outfit, if the weather gets too hot to wear a scarf around your neck, you can always wear it as a belt, or in your hair, or tied to your bag...

One could make a summer-long project of looking for accessories that worked with their summer capsule wardrobe!

Even a very small scarf - literally a pocket square - can add a touch of color when worn as a bracelet, or around your neck, ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Spring Blossom by Valerius de Saedeleer

March 29, 2023

I love this too!

This heroine is committed to switching to a warmer, lighter wardrobe, although it's a bit difficult; those of us who wear a lot of black might find this change a challenge!

 

She's starting with the same 8 beige garments are her 3 friends...

 

Her accent garments are a great assortment:

She's pretty happy with how her 4 by 4 Wardrobe looks...

And when she gets all of her things in her closet, she loves the way it looks; she can already see all kinds of options, from crisp black and white to warm green or rust with beige...

But as ALL clever heroines will do, she assembles a range of outfits in her mind, just to be certain that she will be able to ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Drei Häuser By Paul Klee

March 27, 2023

I love this one...

Were I to ever find myself in a situation where I was going to wear a lot of beige (it could happen!), these would be my favorite accent colors:

As is true with all 4 of our "beige" heroines, we are starting with 8 garments...

Our heroine was VERY patient in finding her accents; patience is probably the most important quality to bring to any shopping!

But it was worth it - her selections are varied, and lovely!

She takes a close look at her 4 by 4 Wardrobe Template, just to make sure that she didn't lose her discipline at some stage! 

I suspect all of us have some rogues in their closet, eh?

She then arranges all of her clothes in a more natural way to view ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Wagen in Silberner Strasse by August Macke

March 22, 2023

Our second heroine who plans to use a LOT of beige in her Spring and Summer wardrobe!

Here is the art that inspires her - she is captivated by the dark, intense lines against the neutral background...

this wardrobe would work really well with chambray/faded denim as a neutral, too!

She's excited about the prospect of wearing deep, saturated accent colors with beige; her coloring is intense, and she is confident that she will look just right in these high-contrast outfits...

For starters, she assembles the beige core wardrobe that all of our heroines will have in common:

And THEN she finds 8 garments for accent - chambray shorts and a matching cardigan, and then navy, green and cranberry shirts ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Windows by Robert Delaunay

March 17, 2023

This is pretty cheerful! And I always sense a feeling of the Eiffel Tower when I look at this...

 

So I have FOUR heroines that I'm thinking of, right now... Each of them is going to start the spring with an 8-piece core of beige - lots of linen!

And then each will channel her favorite painting to choose 8 accent garments... What colors might be chosen from our first painting?

First, let's look at what our heroines are each going to use as their wardrobe base...

Frankly, if you want a handful of linen garments for this summer (and then next 10 summers, to be honest; linen lasts a long time!), now is a good time to start looking...

I'm not going to show you the various outfits possible ... View the Post