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How to Combine 2 Capsule Wardrobes

April 23, 2016

Many of your mentioned that you felt that the capsule wardrobe based on the Sophie Taeuber-Arp painting (see it here) would work beautifully combined with the wardrobe inspired by the composite photograph of a lunar eclipse (see that one here). You're a bright crowd (but I knew that!); this is lovely!

First, the business capsule wardrobe with the soft mustard accent:

And then the more relaxed black and grey capsule wardrobe, spared with shades of terra cotta:

All of the clothes, in 1 place! There's really only 1 small tweak I would make to this - I would make sure that there weren't any "droopy" sleeves or armholes on the tops. Here, I would probably get a grey top that fit a bit ... View the Post

The Power of Accent Colors in the Capsule Wardrobe: Blush and Turquoise

April 20, 2016

When I was working on yesterday's post, with the yellow accent colors my mother commented (quite rightly) that any number of accent colors would work beautifully with the black, white, and tweed pieces of clothing.So...

At a loss as to how to choose the colors to use for my capsule wardrobe experiment, I grabbed my brand new color analysis book that I bought it Paris, and I opened it with my eyes closed. Twice!

First, I found peachy, pinky, blush:

The whole feel of this outfit changes completely, with just a different scarf and earrings! Think of the relatively inexpensive possibilities...

Here, four more pieces are changed: a blouse, a sweater, a scarf and a bracelet. This feels so spring-like to ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Composition a Cercles a Bras et Rectangles by Sophie Taeuber-Arp

April 19, 2016 Another painting that I saw last week in Paris. That vacation seems so long ago now...

At first this seemed like a pretty straightforward color scheme, but there are a LOT of possibilities here:

She Does Modeling...

Square scarf – Isabel Marant; shoulder bag – Allsaints; cardigan – Simply Be; yellow diamond hoops – JCPenney; watch – Isabel Marant; tee shirt – J. Crew; pants – J. Crew; suitcase – Longchamp; loafers – Patricia Green Financial modeling, that is. The hardest work in the office, in many opinions.

Yellow silk shirt – Theory; leather bracelet - Bottega Veneta; silver square earrings – Gurhan; blazer – Nina Ricci; ivory top – ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Marguerite au Chat Noir by Henri Matisse

April 18, 2016

Yes, I saw this in Paris last week!

Aside from the charm and beauty of Marguerite, I was immediately attracted to the colors:

Quietly Rebellious

Cardigan – J. Crew; pants – Boden; tee – J. Crew; skirt - A.P.C.

She seems like the most conventional of women. Very pretty, always very nicely dressed.

Cardigan – Stella McCartney; jeans – L.L.Bean; tee – L.L.Bean; denim skirt – A.P.C.

She's rather quiet, a bit shy, and well-suited to her work in the library...

Blue top – Part Two; ivory shimmer tee – Mint Velvet; soft teal tee – L. L. Bean; salmon sweater – Odeeh

And yes, she owns a cat!

Tie dye tee – ... View the Post

What Women were Wearing in Paris, April 2016

April 13, 2016

Well okay, not what everyone was wearing, but what caught my eye...

Belovedest OF COURSE knows what I'm doing when I'm looking at people in Paris, and he's turned out to be an invaluable partner in spying patterns and noticing the garments that seem to be worn by 10% of the people we see.

First up - grey jeans! We couldn't tell if these were black jeans that were well faded, or if they were jeans that were grey by design. At any rate, we saw them often, and generally they weren't skin-tight. We saw virtually nothing cropped, but quite a few jeans were rolled neatly at the ankles, exposing jazzy socks...

Toothpick - J. Crew; blue/grey – MM6 Maison Margiela; tapered – H&M; classic – ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Saints Genevieve and Appolonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

April 9, 2016

Normally, I try really hard to make sure that the things that I show on The Vivienne Files are realistic, and not appallingly expensive. Well, from time to time I'll see something irresistible, but I try to make those pieces the exception, rather than the rule.But today, I'm throwing away all of the rules...

The Guest Lecturer She's an expert in the symbolistic representation of saints in Gothic architecture. Her writings on the variety of interpretations of the legend of Saint Michael was groundbreaking. (well, groundbreaking if that's your thing!)

I was so afraid that when I was meeting her at the airport, I wouldn't be able to find her, or recognize her. But I needn't have worried; as soon as ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories: Turquoise, Coral, Black and Ivory 1 at a Time

April 8, 2016

Yesterday's "1 Piece at a Time" capsule wardrobe is a great base for accessories - although trying to find turquoise and coral that are the same shades can make you a bit daft...This is our starting outfit:

Shoes are critical, and I thought that a simple ballet flat would be pretty with the swing and movement of the black skirt.A small-ish bag is my next accessory choice. I'm particularly smitten with that octagonal bag...

I love earrings, so they're next! While I'm not usually a big fan of "matchy-matchy" accessories, I think there's some wisdom to purchasing the earrings that were manufactured in the same batch as your necklace; you know that they're the same overall mood and ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe in Turquoise, Coral, Black, and Grey: 1 Piece at a Time

April 7, 2016

What beautiful summer colors, and what exciting accessory possibilities!

Coral was a specific request...

Normally, I would build solid columns and suits, but just to show you a different way to go about building a wardrobe, I'm adding an accent tee shirt first. This can be a wonderful idea if you're still "on the fence" about a color scheme; if you buy an accent piece and find that you don't reach for it every couple of days, it might mean that you need to rethink your choice of colors.

Okay, NOW we're putting together the black suit. These kinds of monochromatic outfits really come into their own when the accessories show up!

Since we're fast moving into summer, I thought ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: A19 by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy

April 6, 2016

I see this painting every week or two - it's a definite favorite, and it creates a clear mood of strength and confidence.

At first glance I thought that this painting was almost monochromatic, but when I started looking at the colors, I saw a pretty nice range of possibilities.

"It's a Good Idea..." "An amazing idea, actually. But you do realize that you're going to have to visit every branch office and show them how to do it..."

Well yes, actually, she did know that. She was PLANNING on it...

"We're going to need to reserve the auditorium closest to each branch, so that the presentation can be made to as many people as possible simultaneously." Happily, she ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Still Life by Cornelia van der Mijn

April 5, 2016

These aren't just flowers, they are a tour de force of power and beauty!

And while the composition is certainly classic, those accent colors are just a little bit unusual...not quite a red red, and the blues are just a wee bit teal-ish...

Organically Sourced They'd seen it for months; they would run out of Queen Anne's Lace, but still have long-stemmed roses... The arrangements with Black-Eyed Susans would outsell the ones with gardenias...

yes, the watch is PERFECT!

So the 3 co-owners decided that she should take off for a full work-week of visits to regional greenhouses, and those eccentrics who keep land completely undeveloped, to see what kinds of windflowers and local ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Lunar Eclipse Montage by Dr. Robert Vanderbei

April 2, 2016

Yes, I'm currently in Paris. (!!!!!!!) But there are posts here, queued up in advance, for 6 days a week while I'm on vacation. Just because I go away doesn't mean that you don't need your almost-daily dose of The Vivienne Files!

Now, back to the beauty:

Sometimes, scientific documentation of natural phenomena is executed so perfectly that it becomes art:

Two colors, but WHAT colors:

Connected She spends almost all of her time in her studio, alone. Her work is such that she wears only the most disposable of casual clothing, usually purchased from thrift stores. The materials with which she works, and the abandon with which she uses them, precludes neatness; an apron will NOT be ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: April

April 1, 2016

What fun! I was really eager to get to these outfits, and see how the assembled capsule wardrobes continue to grow. For April, I was thinking of an outfit that provides a transition between seasons, and gives us a couple of solid basic garments (and some fun jewelry!).Capri or cropped pants are the kind of garment that can be worn twice a week for the next six months, so it's important to get these into your wardrobe early. I chose really basic neutrals for all six wardrobes, so there's lots of different ways for them to work for you.

A sweater might seem sort of counter-intuitive going into warm weather, but these sweaters are all either linen or cotton, so they can be tossed over your shoulders as necessary, without ... View the Post