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A Wardrobe with Multiple “Moods” or Accent Colors? Start with an Artist: Romaine Brooks

August 9, 2019

Wednesday, our heroine chose accessories and was quite well-prepared for a lengthy trip...

But now, she's really going to travel!

Just to recap, she built her initial travel wardrobe around this stark but captivating painting:

Her initial travel capsule wardrobe is quite complete...

She's made a very tidy start to a quite large travel (or seasonal?) wardrobe:

And her accessories are similarly well planned:

But now, she's going away for 13 weeks! A guest teaching post? A short course at a foreign school? Who could guess...

She knows that there are plenty of women who could travel forever wearing nothing but black and grey, but she's thinking that she wants to introduce some accent ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a Travel Wardrobe; Start with Art – Ida Rubenstein by Romaine Brooks

August 7, 2019

When we last visited this intrepid heroine, a week ago, she had her clothing well sorted for her trip, but still needed accessories!

Her first wardrobe cluster is black - of course! But it's not completely somber; printed tops make a difference, as does a striped skirt...

Accessories... I personally feel that you need a few more accessories than you need items of clothing! Of course, you may not agree, but this template will give us some guidance as we get this solo traveler packed and ready to go...

Six accessories for each cluster... hmm....

Yes, these shoes can be worn with everything! If she remembers to pack black opaque tights, she will be all set... Of course, you could bring 2 pairs of ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 6: Dark Trousers

August 5, 2019

Tee shirts and jeans will get many of us a long way in life, but it's about time we started dressing a bit more... not casual!

These pants can be pretty much anything other than jeans! (and no, I do not consider leggings, nor yoga pants, to be what we're looking for; they have their place in your wardrobe, but this isn't it...)

If I were only going to have 1 pair of pants that were NOT jeans, I'd definitely get a pair of cotton twill pants, similar to the summer dress pants that men wear. They're appropriate for almost the entire year - maybe not the screaming dead of summer, but any other time. If the overall design is simple, you will find that you can wear these pants with anything from a cashmere sweater to a ... View the Post

August 2019 – 12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

August 2, 2019

This file is getting insanely big! I live in terror of having it becoming corrupted; I've got it backed up EVERYWHERE...

Now that the stores are beginning to look legitimately autumn-ish, it might be a good time to check the condition of your boots. If you're picky, of if you wear a difficult size, don't hesitate to start looking now, even though it might feel insanely early...

A plain white shirt or blouse would certainly work well here, but I love these dots...

As always, if we choose a new outfit based on the same scarf, the garments will pretty much by definition work with the rest of the wardrobe:

And as always, these new pieces add a lot of new possible outfits to your small ... View the Post

Start with Art: Ida Rubenstein by Romaine Brooks, or the Power of 5-Garment Clusters

July 31, 2019

She loves to travel alone....

She carries her own luggage, thank you! And she can lift her bag into the overhead bin, too. It's a point of personal satisfaction that she's strong enough to be self-sufficient... (it's an accomplishment to hold onto as long as possible, isn't it?)

In the course of planning what to pack, she grew to see that working in clusters of 5 garments would be easy to sort out in her head, and also gives her plenty of outfit possibilities! The right 5 garments can translate into 8 outfits...

It's not that she plans to travel forever, and must never EVER repeat an outfit; that's kind of silly...

But what if something is stranded at the laundry? What if the weather gets ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 5: Jeans or a Denim Bottom

July 29, 2019

I think it's about time we found something to wear below the waist, don't you think? For most of us, jeans or something similar seems the most logical place to start. When I was young, jeans were mostly for the young, and even up until about 5 years ago, when I traveled to Paris I seldom saw anybody over the age of 30 wearing jeans. But now? Jeans, in good condition - no holes, clean but not crispy pressed (no creases!) are seen on almost anybody...

As always, I have some thoughts about what to look for.... And as always, these are GUIDELINES, not hard-and fast rules. Nobody is entitled to tell you what to wear unless you're somewhere that requires a uniform. Otherwise, we're all on our own! (which makes building a ... View the Post

Do the Colors in Your Outfit Have to Match EXACTLY? Consider Camaïeu…

July 24, 2019 Camaïeu is a kind of color palette that uses 2 or 3 tints of single color to create a look with subtle contrasts. In other words, your colors don't have to be perfect "dye-lot" matches for each other! The woman I saw, on a sweltering day in Chicago, was wearing shades of ivory and white. She looked (relatively) cool, and really stood out in the sea of black that is the city:

This makes a lot of sense - colors are not going to look the same if they're in different fabrics, even if they are dyed at the same time from the same kinds of dye. The texture of a sweater is very different from that of a silk blouse - one will reflect much more light, and the color will "feel" somewhat different.

The first thing that I ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 4: Another Accent Top

July 22, 2019

Maybe bright, maybe a soft pastel. Heck, maybe the SAME color as last week, in a different neckline or fabric! Wardrobe accents are where you get to show your preferences, so listen to your heart!

As always, owning this garment is NOT a life requirement - think of this rather as a suggestion for building a wardrobe that makes life easier, and makes you look better...

And yes, we're going to get some patterned, printed or textured garments before the Autumn segment is finished! These early pieces are to help ensure that you've got the basics covered - both literally and figuratively!

For many of the following outfits, you might notice that I've used much of the same pieces as our heroines were ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – The July Pink and Grey bracelet from Fierce Lynx Designs

July 17, 2019

It's that happy day of the month when we get to see a new and absolutely lovely bracelet set from Alison at Fierce Lynx Designs!

If you would like a bracelet in pink and grey that has a bit more muted pink, and a darker grey, check out her bracelet designed expressly for The Vivienne Files! I wear mine all the time... Her Uniform is Navy Blue... With accents of burgundy and khaki. And she's absolutely SICK of it...

Which is not to say that she doesn't love her job, or that she won't be happy to go back to it in a week... But for the cold evenings and warm days at the lake house, she's NOT wearing anything that reminds her of work!

Yes, taking white clothes on vacation might seem a little bit risky, ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 3: An Accent Top

July 15, 2019

Time for some fun!

This wardrobe addition could be in ANY color of the rainbow, and a whole bunch of colors that aren't in any rainbow...

I'm going to show you a handful of ways to incorporate an accent color into an outfit, and then next Monday I will show you essentially the same outfits, with different accents! For most people, 2 accent colors is a good number. Some of us manage just fine with 1, and others among us will want 3 or even 4. Don't beat yourself up if you find that limiting the colors in your wardrobe is difficult; everybody is different, and has different comfort levels! What matters is that you're moving toward having a wardrobe plan, and toward getting better use from the clothes that you ... View the Post

July 2019 – 12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

July 3, 2019

Ah, finally we have warm weather in Chicago, which makes these choices look logical!

This month, I fell warmly into the wonder of white shorts. I do not EVER get a tan, but I find that my legs tend to look reasonably good in white shorts. Don't ask me how that works - I'm not complaining! If shorts aren't your thing, anything that helps keep your legs cool will work: capris, or a swishy mid-calf skirt...

How did this wardrobe get this far without a black tee shirt????

This wardrobe has a range of shades of blue, but the core of black makes everything work pretty well...

As always, new additions to the wardrobe offer more than just 1 option. This should almost always be a rule when you buy something; ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 1: A Light Neutral Top

July 1, 2019

We could talk all day about why I'm starting with this particular garment, but I finally determined that I had to start somewhere, so this makes as much sense as any other!

If you're interested in buying a tee shirt like this, consider getting one in your dark neutral, as well as your accent color(s) at the same time. Lots of retailers have discounts on multiple purchases, or will have some sort of site-wide discount in the next few weeks. Get on the mailing list of your favorite tee shirt source, and strike while the price-cut iron is hot!

I want to make this really clear, right from the start: I'm NOT telling everybody to rush out and buy this particular tee shirt! I'm suggesting, rather, that you ... View the Post