The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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A dilemma, and a wardrobe math solution

So I've not done the best of jobs in cleaning out my wardrobe, and I think I finally understand what's holding me back.  Somewhere in my heart I hold onto the hope (delusion?) that I'm going to get an office job again some day, and that I therefore won't be wearing an apron non-stop.  Therefore, I think I have to hold onto ALL of my office-worthy business clothes...In order to get past this, I've tried to approach the problem the way Vivienne would.  Basically, what are the available options I have RIGHT NOW, just with the clothes that I've decided to keep in my wardrobe up to this point?

If you remember, I'm at the 32 garment point in my plan:

 

  And from these garments I've decided that the following, ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a scarf: Hermès Les Parisiens in black

Someone asked me to suggest a few outfits to go with the lovely Les Parisiens scarf.  This particular coloring is a perfect opportunity to mix warm beiges or browns with black, so I took that as my motif.Please note that I'd be more than happy to suggest outfits to go with any scarf - it certainly doesn't have to be Hermes.  Just post a comment with a link to a picture of your scarf, or email me a picture at [email protected], and I'll take a look!

Dress – Ralph Lauren, pumps – L.K.Bennett, black sweater – Steven Alan, suede jeans – Current/Elliott, boots – Nicole Ranger    

Brown pants – Burberry London, black silk & cashmere v-neck, two-toned leather flats – Sesto Meucci, black cashmere ... View the Post

my wardrobe: some pattern & texture with my black

These are the eight winter garments that I've chosen to keep, which I wear in order to leverage the all-black core items already chosen to survive the wardrobe purge  (you didn't really think that I wear unrelieved black every day, did you?)

First I show my additions to my edited wardrobe, and then below, I show all of the items that have been specifically chosen (so far) to stay, through the first four stages of the curating and distilling process.

Yes, I really love argyle...

  ... View the Post

Imaginary shopping: a wee “pick-me-up”, in pink

My last springtime adventure in imaginary shopping is the "how to experiment with a fashion color" question.  I'm totally smitten with this striped top, and my desire for it would be sufficient to convince me to introduce pink into my wardrobe for six months or a year - however long the top lasts.   Here is a case in which I would NOT spend a lot of money on jewelry, and I would buy a decent pair of shoes or sandals, but not a long-term investment pair.  This small shopping spree is designed to brighten up my wardrobe for spring, indulge in a garment which I love, and participate in the "brightly colored pants" trend, without breaking the bank.  

Tee shirt – J. Crew, cropped pants – Diane von Furstenberg, pink ... View the Post

Imaginary shopping: basics, in blue

  Today, I've scaled back my purchases a little bit, and chosen to "buy" a more trendy color - cobalt blue.  I loved cobalt when we all wore it back in the 80's, and am happy to see it back again.  But I'm not willing to make quite such a major investment in blue as I was willing to consider yesterday in my imaginary red extravaganza...   So I would look to purchase the following:

Cardigan – J. Crew, tee shirt – DKNY, pants – Piazza Sempione, skirt – Diane von Furstenberg, scarf – Givenchy for Liberty of London, lapis earrings – Astley Clarke, lapis & onyx bracelet - Nordstrom     Based on the idea that I want to leverage these core wardrobe items:

 And this is how I would wear my new ... View the Post

Imaginary shopping: extravagantly red

I'm not shopping these days, but I do LOOK at lots of things (as you well know!).  So I decided to do some imaginary shopping; sort of walking through the process of what I would do IF I were in a shopping phase of my life.     First up:  What basics do I already have in my wardrobe that I wear a lot, and want to use as a basis for leveraging my purchases?  

Now, what do I want?  I've chosen to splurge on red this shopping spree.  It's an on-trend bright color, but it's dead classic, and never goes out of style.  It's a color I wear well, I already have a couple of beautiful scarves with a lot of red in them, and it mixes brilliantly with black.  

So... a cardigan and a tee shirt (sort ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe – Packing for My honeymoon, in pink and black

Way back when, when I married belovedest, we went to Florence and Venice for our honeymoon.  It was late March and early April, cool evenings and beautiful sunny days.  And I absolutely SPLURGED on more pink clothing that I've ever worn before or since.  A blissful time...

 

 black cardigan – Ganni, earrings – Kimberly McDonald, white tee – Michael Stars,   

Scarf – Roberto Cavalli, Pink coat – Jil Sander, black pants – Donna Karan, patent loafers – Tod’s,   

black tote – Big Buddha  

 

 

sunglasses – Dorothy Perkins, pearl earrings – Kate Spade, pink lace top – J. Crew,  

 white short-sleeved button-front top – Kookai, pink ... View the Post

My Wardrobe: season-less essentials

These next eight garments are things that I wear almost the entire year - maybe not the dog days of August, or the teeth of a bitter blizzard (not that I really remember what that's like), but month in, month out, these clothes never go into storage.And the accessories - same thing.  They are my standby goodies, over and over again.

Both striped tops - L.L.Bean bot tee shirts - Lands' End both dresses - Lands' End both pair of pants - Eddie Bauer

Scarves - Hermes Flacons, and Jardins des Metamorphoses earrings - Cartier Stone necklace - J. Jill pearls - Etsy gold penny loafers - Cole Haan cross-body bag - Osgoode Marley Tote bag - Tumi

If I were to pack the eight solid black garments I chose for my last wardrobe ... View the Post

A Black Dress: From Conference Room to Cocktails

I did a "conference to cocktails" post over at Tish's last week, and quite a few people asked me to replicate the project with a neutral-colored dress.   A very near version of this LBD is in my closet already, so this was a lot of fun to put together!   Any other requests?  Pants?  A suit?  Let me know...  

   

Bracelets – 1928, Red scarf – Yves Saint Laurent, red ballet flats – Repetto, black & white beaded scarf – 

Kate Spade, black wristlet – Stella & Dot, black diamond & pearl earrings – Astley Clarke, 

slingback shoes – Robert Clergerie    

Black & white cardigan – L’Wren Scott, black diamond stud earrings – Lord ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe – Packing for 1 night in New York with no suitcase

Yes, I'll be in New York for about 24 hours - I'm flying in, having dinner, sleeping (I hope), and then running literally TWO errands the next morning, and flying back.  Because I'm going to be racing about with very little "down time", I've determined that I don't want to pack more than I'm prepared to carry with me at all times...To the rescue - the Tumi bag that I've been carrying for almost 10 years as a brief case.  It was originally a diaper bag, but it's logged more miles as an all-purpose bag than I can remember.  I've determined that I'm NOT going to wear my usual argyle cardigan - switching from black & white stripes to grey with Hermes will give me at least a different feeling on the 2nd day. Clothing, pajamas, ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe – What to pack for Paris in grey & black

This is pretty close to what I pack when I go to Paris (or most other major cities that I visit).  I always take a pair of jeans, because we try to go to a rugby match when we're there!  My suitcase would probably have even more jewelry in it, and quite a few scarves; I find that I don't mind wearing monochromatic outfits day after day if I have my favorite accessories with me.   If I had to augment this assortment for a slightly longer trip, I would add a grey cotton twinset, and another pair of capris - maybe in a black and grey paisley print.   If you ever see someone in an airport dressed like this, come up and say hello - it will almost certainly be me!

A Simple Black and Grey Travel ... View the Post