The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Part 3 December 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

December 7, 2022

Our last 2 heroines! I grow attached to these projects...

First, let's visit our heroine with the Chrysanthemum scarf:

This heroine isn't planning to dress up much this season - she's more interested in warm and casual!

Her wardrobe of 40 garments looks coherent and very versatile:

And her accessories are wonderful - accessories make so much difference...

Her new garments can be worn more than 2 different ways (each), but she makes certain that she has at LEAST those options...

And now to my favorite heroine - the one who figured out that wearing brown and black together is magical!

THE BLAZER. Oh great shiny chocolate-coated Buddha on a bagel, THE BLAZER...

If I could wear ... View the Post

Part 1 December 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

December 2, 2022

I always think of "finishing" these wardrobes for the December posts - but I'm realizing (after a TON of these posts!) that there is never a finished wardrobe. You might well be at a point that you have everything you need for the foreseeable future, but things will wear out. You will change your tastes. Your body will change. Oh, how things wear out...

So for this last post, I'm adding jeans to EVERYBODY'S wardrobes, as well as a couple of tops...

This wardrobe has been a lovely study in a couple of things:

How you can bring an accent color into your wardrobe without matching every piece (both the green and the pink here have garments that don't match!) How many pairs of pants you can have in your ... View the Post

Start with Art: A Peasant Woman by Edgar Degas

November 30, 2022

 

Why yes, it suits her to a T...

The Confectionary Rep...

She goes to all of those gigantic food conferences - she's responsible for over a dozen of the booths that showcase small chocolate and caramel makers...

She doesn't have to actually be IN the booths - she hires lovely staff for that! But she does get to wander around, offering samples to people, and chatting with customers who seem to be legitimately interested...

She loves dressing in "chocolate and caramel" colors, with a touch of ivory whipped cream!

One company has mentioned that they might started making chocolate-covered cherries!

She sees a beautiful red sweater in her future...

love,

Janice

p.s. ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Shōsetsu – Small Snow

November 25, 2022

No, you are not getting a Black Friday post from me.

You're not getting a gift guide, nor anything that bosses you around about spending money. 

Let's think about the absolute beauty of snow. One flake at a time, or piled up making everything pristine and lovely...

(I don't drive, nor do I shovel - I have the love of snow that a small child has!)

If you admire the geometric beauty of individual flakes, Alexey Kljatov is your man. Follow him on Instagram for an occasional dose of awe...

Let's bundle up!

I understand that wearing a range of 1 color is quite the "in" thing right now. Have you heard that?

Nordstrom Rack has a ton of really nice cashmere accessories - Portolano is very ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet: Subtle Lynx Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

November 21, 2022

The Easiest Job Ever...

She arrives at the café as soon as they open - there's always a table by the windows available...

After she orders breakfast, she takes out her fresh new notebook and her favorite pen:

She eats her breakfast, stopping every now and then to note down something that she sees...

Some days, she orders a second cup of coffee, because she's going to be sitting there until about 10 a.m. Second cups of coffee aren't always "the thing" with breakfast, but she doesn't mind being different!

Around 10 or so, she pays for her breakfast, tips generously, and walks back to her hotel room...

She brushes her teeth, refreshes her sunscreen, and gets ready to go out for ... View the Post

Part 3 November 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

November 9, 2022

Let's see what our last 2 heroines are doing...

The first decided to do her shopping at Nordstrom; she figures she's got a ton of choices there! 

Here's where our heroine starts:

With Daylight Savings Time giving our heroine a big dose of gloomy darkness, she decides to get a few tops in lighter, brighter colors...

When she gets her things home and into her wardrobe, she's pretty pleased with how they seem to bring a bit of light to everything:

She's not 100% sure about a pink scarf, but she always can re-gift it to a family member or friend if it really doesn't work out!

Before she starts washing and ironing and putting her new things away, she pulls together a couple of ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Rittō – Beginning of Winter

November 7, 2022

If it's REALLY the beginning of winter, we will need something warm! I have to admit - I have 2 vests (pink and black) and I wear them a LOT - they're just enough warmth to get me down the block to the drugstore or other "near" errands...

If it hasn't snowed or rained, there's no reason that you can't still wear white jeans. I'm sure someone, somewhere, still feels the prohibition of "white after Labor Day," but we don't accept those limitations!

This next outfit has just a hint of the holiday season...

These really EARLY sunsets can be hard to take...

If you have a favorite accent color, a vest in that color can be both useful and fun!

Maybe if you lie in a snowdrift wearing a white ... View the Post

Part 2 November 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

November 4, 2022

I think this is my favorite...

This imaginary heroine had the exceptional good luck to wander into Banana Republic to do her shopping this month!

One might say she went a bit overboard, but if she's reasonably careful, she should have some of these things for the rest of her life! (I would buy a black suede shirt...)

Everything she's purchased goes beautifully with her existing wardrobe:

And her accessories are gorgeous:

Camel and black look wonderful together, as do camel and ivory. This heroine is going to love her new pieces:

Let's look at our next scarf:

 

 

 

Today's 2nd heroine had the equally good fortune to be in J.Crew when she decided that it ... View the Post

Start with Art: Man in a Café by Juan Gris

October 19, 2022

She Prefers Neutrals...

She likes to play with the proportions - sometimes her coat is the darkest color, sometimes the lightest. And sometimes it's the color in the middle!

And when you wear neutrals, you can have other interesting signatures, like two-toned shoes, or corduroy pants...

They're planning a few trips this autumn and winter...

 

For this first one, in the truest heart of autumn, she has chosen to emphasize the brown in her wardrobe:

 

This is a small travel wardrobe - a Six-Pack... but she can get a lot of mileage from it:

She's quite sure that she will be packing a grey, denim blue and black wardrobe soon...

love,

Janice

p.s. Six years ago, ... View the Post

Some Pretty Things aka Have You Written Your Holiday Wish-List?

October 14, 2022

Let's just look at some pretty things, eh?

I ended up arranging things by color/mood, because they seemed to look good on the page like that!

Something like this, assembled with appropriate links or information, might make gift shopping easier for those who want to get you something that you really love this winter...

My first love here was the scarf. Or maybe the bracelet. It could have been the ring, too...

 

I have one of these little rectangle necklaces from Carved. They're lovely - very well made, and VERY affordable. And they come in dozens of colors... Take a look!

This scarf delights me - I could imagine folding and tying it in a couple of different ways to show the purple/pink ... View the Post

Part 2 October 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

October 5, 2022

What do you do if your planned color scheme needs to be edited in some way?

EDIT. Move on!

You'll notice that Ruskin's Meadow color scheme has received a necessary update...

Mauve was the request; mauve is the addition! It's interesting to see how 3 tops and a pair of earrings bring a very different look to this wardrobe:

It's all much brighter now, which means that our heroine has new options for getting dressed:

Her accessories are still mostly green, but she's now got those lovely pink earrings...

How might this heroine wear her new mauve tops?

Now on to what might be my favorite scarf, and is growing to be my favorite wardrobe!

I wore this scarf last week; it's ... View the Post

Part 1 October 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

October 3, 2022

Time to augment these wardrobes in some intelligent way!

If you build a wardrobe outfit by outfit, you'll eventually reach a point where you have plenty of "bottoms" but not really enough tops. Since tops are more memorable, usually need to be laundered more often, and provide more of the visual interest of your outfits, it's normal for most of us to have 2 tops (at least) for each bottom. Additionally, I like to have almost as many 2nd layers as I have bottoms.

Your feeling about this can certainly be different! But for our heroines, this is a month to stock up on things for above the waist:

I debated with myself about including the Fair Isle sweater here. It doesn't really perfectly match the brown of our ... View the Post