The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Variations on a dress: black & white

One of my dear readers asked me for suggestions about accessorizing this very lovely Talbot's dress. Since the dress is uncomplicated and classic, a variety of ensembles is easy to envision!

And the dress is no longer available from Talbot's, but that does NOT matter; the lessons here apply to any dress that is simple enough to provide a background for the accessories.

Dress – Talbots, cardigan – Valentino, pumps – Bottega Veneta, bag – Christian Louboutin, pink jacket – River Island, hand-painted bag – Les Envers, & black flats – Marc by Marc Jacobs  

Dress – Talbots, silver hoop earrings – YooLa, clutch – Dareen Hakim, sandals – Onex, bracelet – Lee Angel, backpack – Studio Harlen, sandals – Matt ... View the Post

A Column for All Seasons: Black

You KNEW I was going to do this in black, right?  

Sunglasses – Monki, bracelets – Asos, black sandals – Valentino, Black tee – Splendid, pants – Chloe, earrings – 1928, tote – Rag & Bone, espadrilles - Soludos  

Black tee – Splendid, pants – Chloe, ivory cotton cardigan – Jack Wills, scarf – Marc Jacobs, ballet flats – Toms, red cardigan – Milly, red clutch – Miller and Jeeves, black loafers - Debenhams  

chambray brazer – Paul Smith, scarf – Barneys CO-OP, shoes – Fred Perry, Black tee – Splendid, pants – Chloe, leather & knit jacket – Rag & Bone, bracelet – Zelia Horsley, boots – Maison Martin Margiela  

Jacket – Barbour, Scarf – Dominique Mosley, boots – Acne, ... View the Post

Variations on a dress: black, with sleeves

June 26, 2012        

Black dress – Bruuns Bazaar, earrings – Katie Diamond , bracelet – Aspinal of London, cognac bag – Balenciaga, cap-toe flats – Elizabeth & James, scarf – Aspinal of London, nude bag – JosephM, two-toned cuff – Etro, nude flats – Christian Louboutin  

Black dress – Bruuns Bazaar, blue jade bracelet – Tess van Ghert, patchwork bag – 3.1 Phillip Lim, blue ballet flats – Giuseppe Zanotti, striped earrings – Dorothy Perkins, dotted clutch – Sergio Rossi, striped slingbacks – Manolo Blahnik  

Black dress – Bruuns Bazaar, knot earrings – Anna Beck, woven bag – Kate Spade, gold woven ballet flats – Dorothy Perkins, pearl & black crystal earrings – Azaara, clutch bag ... View the Post

Variations on a tee shirt: black, short-sleeved, with skirts

Tee shirt – Topshop, flower earrings – Blue Nile, skirt – Orla Kiely, flowered flip flops – Debenhams, bangle bracelet – Alexis Bittar, gold skirt – P.A.R.O.S.H., gold & black flats – Marc by Marc Jacobs  

Tee shirt – Topshop, turquoise earrings – Kenneth Cole, dotted skirt – Jil Sander, blue sandals – Wallis Fashion, bracelet – Dexter Jewelry Collection, chambray skirt – Preen, leather & denim sandals – Dolce & Gabbana  

Tee shirt – Topshop, garnet stud earrings – Macy’s, color-blocked skirt – Jason Wu, red shoes – Nine West, black diamond earrings – Deborah Pagani, black & white skirt – Marni, black & white sandals – Matt Bernson  

Tee shirt – Topshop, red skirt – J. ... View the Post

Variations on a tee shirt: Black, short-sleeved, with pants

Chic sightings of black tee shirts abound - especially in New York!  

Tee shirt – Topshop, bracelets – Chamak by Priya Kakkar, black & white cropped pants – Marni, sandals – Debenhams, leopard earrings – Belle Noel, camel cropped pants – Blumarine, leopard flats - Madewell    

Tee shirt – Topshop, turquoise earrings – Ippolita, flowered pants – Romwe, pink flats – Roger Vivier, olive bag – Barbour, pants – Haider Ackermann,  olive loafers – Thierry Rabotin    

Tee shirt – Topshop, orange flower ring – Kate Spade, gold pants – Elie Saab, flowered pumps – Tropic of Dancer, black & white necklace – Whitney’s Designs on etsy.com, white linen pants – CP Shades, black & white ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a scarf: Tallyrand Scarf

  This scarf beautifully illustrates the flags of the 17 participating countries of the Marshall plan, and architectural details from the State Apartment of the Hotel de Talleyrand.  The border of the scarf features a quote from General Marshall regarding the necessity of the Marshall Plan.  The Hotel de Talleyrand served as headquarters of the Marshall Plan from 1948 - 51.

Dress – Alberta Ferretti, cardigan – Jil Sander, sweater – Junya Watenabe, red jeans – Marc by Marc Jacobs, ballet flats – J. Crew   

Tee – Rag & Bone, pants – Emporio Armani, Red loafers – Gucci, tunic – Monki, beige capris – Maxmara, espadrilles - Debenhams  

Dress – Alice and Olivia, cardigan – Tory Burch, ... View the Post

Packing out of the 333 Capsule Wardrobe

June 11, 2012  

For the next few days, I'll be running around the eastern US, and so I got to pull together a quick suitcase out of my new 333.  (for those of you unfamiliar with Project 333, start here). My priorities for this trip are small, light and uncomplicated.  I'm going to be travelling with others, so I wanted the world's smallest piece of luggage, and I wanted to be able to be appropriately, but simply dressed.  My bag is an 18 inch nylon duffle, and it is NOT full...  In fact, my briefcase and my luggage are about the same size!

After you've read the REAL Project 333, you'll see that I'm really cheating by not including my accessories in the "count".  Maybe the NEXT 3 months, I'll ... View the Post

New jobs, the shopping fast, and Capsule Wardrobe Project 333

So the new work environment is "business casual", with jeans on Friday.  Piece of cake...In honor of the Project 333 crew, but NOT in strict adherence with their guidelines, I've whittled down my wardrobe to the following 33 garments, which will be all that I wear for the months of June, July, and August.

Unlike Project 333, I'm going completely, wildly unlimited with accessories...

Outfit updates will follow!

 

 

 

  ... View the Post

Variations on a dress: Black, sleeveless

This started out as a "chic sighting", since I was seeing a lot of women in simple dresses, with great accessory choices.  But I grew to see that there was a bigger lesson here; all this week, you're going to see variations on five different neutral summer dresses.  Enjoy!  

Dress – Mango, hat – Topshop, bag – Marc by Marc Jacobs, sandals – Ralph Lauren, 

earrings – Kenneth Jay Lane, belt – Maxmara, red sandal – Stuart Weitzman    

Dress – Mango, hoop earrings – YooLa, pashmina – Forzieri, gold sandals – Steve Madden, cardigan – See by Chloe, orange sandals – Collection WEEKEND    

Dress – Mango, necklace – Dorothy Perkins, sunglasses – Ray-Ban, brown sandals – ... View the Post

Packing: start with a favorite cardigan

A great question: I KNOW I want to take this cardigan, and use it as my "base" for my packing plan.

This sweater let me branch out in two distinct directions - brights, and black & white.  Lots of choices, and quite a bit of versatility, while still all in one carry-on bag!

Cardigan – Oasis, pearl & ruby earrings – Macy’s, red tote – Lulu Guinness, tee – Debenhams, scarf – Pashmina Art, pants – Donna Karan, loafers – Tod’s  

Tee shirts– Madewell, pearl & red agate necklace – Blue Nile, bracelet – Dream Mullick, teal earrings – Amrita Singh, black and white earrings – Kate Spade, crossbody bag – Marc by Marc Jacobs, cardigan – Mango, flowered tee – Minuet, sunglasses – Ray Ban, White capris – ... View the Post

Visualizing French Chic: 7 in black

May 19, 2012   One of the sections of the book French Chic, by Susan Sommers, which I read repeatedly, was one in which she listed seven items of black clothing, and then set out a little grid of how you could combine these items, and how they would be accessorized.   I could never visualize this.   So I decided to put together her suggestions in images.  Some of the accessories ideas just scream "early '80's", and so I didn't stick to all 12 plans exactly as written...   This is an interesting approach to wardrobe-building, or to packing.  The vest is, to me, a difficult garment, and I would probably be tempted to substitute a leather jacket, denim jacket, or second cardigan.  And if you're not ... View the Post