The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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When Starting With Art goes Haywire: Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles

February 20, 2014   One of my readers has been shopping with this great Van Gogh painting in hand...  She's got a solid core of gorgeous gold items:  

  And she's picked up some light blue clothes too, which she doesn't like to wear with the gold:  

  And she's also picked up a few tee shirts in the accent colors of the painting:  

  So now, she's got this assortment of clothes.  Everything, on it's own, is beautiful, but she's not finding that this is as versatile as she would like.  

  One of the charms of Van Gogh is that he combines difficult colors in innovating ways, and isn't terribly dependent on neutral colors.  It's a glorious way to ... View the Post

Start With Art: Jackpine by Tom Thomson

February 18, 2014   This painting has such gorgeous colors, and for a summer travel wardrobe the options are wonderful...   I'm starting with a core of four - I'm a really strong believer in the usefulness of having a core of neutral garments around which everything else can revolve.  The colors don't have to be dye-lot matched, but they should be chosen with an eye to being wearable together.  And getting your shoes taken care of frees you up to go just a bit wild later on in your second and third waves of shopping!    

   For summer, shorts and capris.  Then when you branch out into tee shirts, this painting gives you a wide variety of colors from which to ... View the Post

Wearing a Celtic Knot Scarf – July through December

February 6, 2014   As is usual in the hottest weather, you might only be able to use your scarf to tie up your hair, or to decorate the handle of your bag, but the colors can still be the guiding inspiration for your wardrobe choices. These four garments clearly give you four outfits for the summer months.  

  Even though September is still warm, it always puts me in the mood for a sweater - and warm gold seems so perfect for autumn.  For October, olive is a perfect neutral for a jacket, and a suede skirt in deep russet will have lots of mileage through the colder months.  

  Many of us need a dress during the winter months for family and holiday events.  If you wear warm colors well, ... View the Post

Wearing a Celtic Knot Scarf – January through June

February 5, 2014   One of my dearest readers sent me a couple of photographs of this scarf, and asked me for some suggestions...  This scarf has great possibilities - the gold, turquoise, carnelian and olive drab colors, with some white, offer tons of possibilities.   If anybody can tell me who designed this scarf, or where it's available, please let me know ASAP - I hate showing something this beautiful without giving credit where credit is due!  

    Cold weather requires sweaters and boots - and olive and carnelian are both exceptional colors for this.  All of the major colors in this scarf go really well together, so you can combine them pretty much at will and the scarf will pull everything ... View the Post

Start With Art: The Breakfast Room by Childe Hassam

January 30, 2014   My life - wardrobe-wise - is now an interesting contrast between being in gym clothes, or leisure clothes, for much of my time, and then every now and then I have to look like I belong in a business meeting or a dinner party...   Apparently I'm not at all alone, because many people have asked me about how to have a coherent wardrobe strategy when you dress for such a wide variety of activities.   So I chose one of the very beautiful paintings suggested to me, and went to work.  This painting is an innovative combination of accent colors, some interesting asymmetry, and a wide range of grey through beige and taupe neutrals.   First up - the gym!  Being able to use grey as a neutral is ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting With a “Difficult” Scarf: Sepia and Light Grey

January 24, 2014   One of my friends asked me specifically to suggest some ways to wear this scarf - Musique des Spheres, from Hermes. The scarf came out... at least 10 years ago? And thus is only available on the secondary market, but as you can clearly see, it's a stunner. There is NOT a pink patch in the upper left corner... I struggled to find the best image of this scarf I could, and this was what I found.   Identifying the adjectives that convey the aesthetic of this scarf is difficult - I had to think and study for quite a while. But I found that I kept coming back to the ideas of contrast (the clarity of the lines against the background), balanced with an overall sense of muted coloring (the scarf is not pure white, ... View the Post

From Desk to Dinner Party: Take off a Cardigan, and Add Some Bracelets!

December 27, 2013  

I don't see a lot of bracelets in the world, and I think that's too bad.  Bracelets elevate any outfit to something much dressier, and they're particularly effective at the dinner table.  Make sure that you're choose bracelets that aren't too bangy or clinky or clanky - you want to be beautiful, but not to the point of distraction!For all of these outfits, I've shown a very simple 3/4 sleeve ("bracelet" sleeve) top, in a color matching the pants, and for day I've topped them with a cardigan that makes sort of a statement, and some simple loafers.  Then after work, in addition to pulling on your bracelets, I'm suggesting some shiny shoes - always flat and comfortable though!  A change of ... View the Post

From Desk to Dinner Party: More Silk Blouses

December 18, 2013

When combing through your wardrobe for something to use as the "key" piece in a day-to-night transition, remember that most of the focus will be on your face, especially if you're sitting at a dinner table.  Look for the key ideas of shine, sparkle, shimmer, any kind of texture-y interest, and don't forget that sleeveless often conveys a sense of occasion...Velvet pants are among my favorite garments - I wear them all fall and winter, for regular days as well as festive moments.  This mix of brown and black is a great opportunity to wear smoky quartz jewelry...

  A beautiful lace blouse is comfortably businesslike under a knit blazer, but can stand alone with feminine dash after business ... View the Post

Two Neutral Colors – Dozens of Options

I get a lot of emails from people who are concerned about building a wardrobe around neutral colors, because they're worried that they will end up looking like everybody else.  If you devote yourself to black, and you live in a major city, that is certainly a valid concern!  But I think that there are more neutral colors around than you immediately think of, and that if you can focus on two colors as your predominant theme, you have dozens of options.   First off, let's choose a palette of possible neutral colors.  This palette is NOT exhaustive, and the colors as they are shown here are NOT intended to reflect the beauty and the depth that the color actually exhibits in three-dimensional garments and accessories. ... View the Post