The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Start with Art: Le Grand Bois by Auguste Morisot

November 18, 2022

This is where she's going, more or less...

1/4 Mile off the blacktop road... You know when these are the directions, you're going to be off the beaten track!

And that's what she needs - she has writers' block...

Normally, she would go sit in a café and people-watch, but this time she's going to look inside for inspiration, rather than outside.

She's only going for a couple of days. She's got enough coffee and food for breakfast, and maybe lunch. She WILL go into town for dinner...

But she will have no internet connection. No Wi-Fi, no streaming video, no texting... the cabin has a landline, and a television that gets 3 network channels.

Quiet, dark, and trees...

She's a ... View the Post

Part 1 November 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

November 2, 2022

What do you do when you've got a real longing for some new clothes?

What about when you're in a store, and you decide you're going to shop?

That's what I'm thinking about this month... Our first heroine wanders into Boden, and wander out with some interesting things!

Remember, her inspiration is this scarf:

Our heroine was pretty disciplined - she stayed with green and pink accents for her purchases... The sweater, though...

When she brings her new things home (or when they are delivered, more likely!), she can see that the pants blend in perfectly, her green silk top goes with a lot of things, and the paisley sweater... is lovely.

Maybe this is the time for her to remember that her entire ... View the Post

I Love It, But Will I Wear It? Grey (?!?) Twinset

October 31, 2022

It's described as grey on the Boden website, but it really looks more taupe to me, and to the reader who wrote to me with her concern...

What do you do if these sweaters arrive in your home, and they're lovely and fit beautifully and you really like them, but they're a color that is completely new to you?

My first thought is to treat this color like an accent color; if you can find shoes that match, it's a bonus!

The cardigan could be worn over any other color with the same intensity and saturation i.e. any soft, kind of muted pastel...

Of course, you can always wear the 2 pieces with pants or a skirt in your favorite neutral...

Yes, you've seen this skirt before! I've found that my pleated ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – Ethereal Lynx Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

October 28, 2022

She's Hard to Describe... For one thing, she's the only woman a lot of them know who can wear a ruana and look like a heroine from a romance novel...

She thinks that she's very low-key and inconspicuous - after all, she wears a lot of grey!

Her accent colors aren't bright, or gaudy...

But still, there's something about her that catches your eye, and doesn't readily let go...

If someone is truly beautiful, the world will see it...

Even if their beauty is entirely inside. Or maybe, ESPECIALLY if their beauty is internal...

love,

Janice

p.s. Nine years ago, I sorted out the "Triple Top Secret." It was something that I'd been doing for years without really seeing the ... View the Post

Start with Art: Version 2 Man in a Café by Juan Gris

October 21, 2022

Our heroine from Wednesday is back on the road, with a rather different color palette!

This trip is going to be both more casual AND more dressy - so our heroine is including both jeans and sequins!

note that she's packing exactly the same number of everything...

There's that one dinner (concert, opera?) that gives her permission to break out the really dressy top...

She loves the way this looks - it's just like her last travel capsule wardrobe, but it's NOTHING like it, at the same time. It's kind of magic...

She has lots of ways to wear these pieces too - it's built into her system:

Imagine what she could do if she packed BOTH of these for a trip!

do you think that this is a ... View the Post

Five Accent Colors with Five Neutrals

October 12, 2022

Ah, the last 5 Pantone colors from New York Fashion Week! Just to make things interesting, I brought along five different neutral color "clusters" to test-drive with these VERY varied colors...

To me, this peachy color cried out for some camel...

And I think these are perfect together!

For about the ten thousandth time, if you look good in yellow - WEAR IT! It's not easy to wear for some of us, and it's such a great accent...

I'm picturing this heroine living somewhere that's warm most of the year, so her favorite neutral is white:

I think this is lovely - the top outfit, on a rainy day, with the right coat and umbrella, would cheer up everyone you saw!

I'm tempted to wear ... View the Post

Part 3 October 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

October 7, 2022

I've been thinking... This year's wardrobes are lovely, but I'm finding that a lot of them share the same accent colors - green and various shades of orchid or pink...

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

But what if we base next year's 6 wardrobes on SIX PAINTINGS that we've visited before. JUST the paintings and the color palettes - not the original story lines...

That way, before we start getting too far into the wardrobes, we will know what our best accent colors are going to be! I will propose six that I particularly like in the next few days, so we can get an idea of how this might work.

But for now - let's look at the Chrysanthemum scarf!

At this point, the orchid color in this wardrobe has ... View the Post

Four Accent Colors with Charcoal Grey, and 1 with Navy Blue

September 26, 2022

Let's take a look at the second five "London Fashion Week" colors, as shared with us by Pantone...

You probably remember from last week that I showed the first 5 colors as accents to navy blue; I'm going to hold onto that navy for this bright green. It just seems to be the right thing to do!

This is the minimal, core navy wardrobe that I was using:

At least in my eyes, these colors are made for each other. While these outfits feel a lot like spring, let's bear in mind that we dress to flatter ourselves, NOT to match the calendar!

For the last 4 accent colors, I decided to see how they look with charcoal grey. This wee core wardrobe is more casual than the first; what you choose will depend on ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Hakuro White Dew

September 7, 2022

I'm taking a break in the "6 Scarves, 12 Months" so that I'm not late with today's new season!

When she was out walking around the city on Labor Day weekend, she saw all sorts of people who had to bundle up at short notice - the day was VERY cool...

She kept seeing people wearing what she thought were simple crewneck sweaters in all kinds of colors... until she got near a woman at a cross-walk, and saw that she was actually wearing a sweatshirt!

Hmm... she realized that a clean, unwrinkled sweatshirt doesn't have to look like you're cleaning the garage. And they're pretty easy to take care of too!

Now, to choose a color:

 

She isn't opposed to wearing white jeans in cold weather, ... View the Post

Part 1 September 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

September 2, 2022

I've realized that I really like doing these six wardrobes in 3 separate blog posts; I can spend a lot more time looking for things that strike my fancy!

Let's start with Chrysanthemums!

As our heroine looked at her existing wardrobe, and began to think of what she might want for autumn, she began to feel that the soft, dusty, smoky blue in her wardrobe palette is underrepresented in her wardrobe. 

So she set out to find some pretty things!

She's not fanatic that all of these things match - she will be happy to wear the blue with all of the charcoal grey that she already owns...

I'd say she did pretty well!

Her new clothes blend in well with her existing wardrobe; if someone is really ... View the Post

Start With Art: Winter Solstice by Dame Barbara Hepworth

August 24, 2022

It seems a bit premature to be looking at art entitled Winter Solstice, but our heroine loves pastels!

She doesn't much care what anybody else wears - she's not interested in dark colors! She feels beautiful in pink, and lovely in sky blue...

The core of her wardrobe for cooler weather is gray, with a bit of denim and chambray tossed in for practicality:

please note - everybody's "Common Wardrobe" will be different - what I'm looking for are the core, neutral garments that form the base for the more expressive and statement garments and accessories in our wardrobes.

On those days, our heroine knows that she doesn't have to look any farther than these 9 pieces to get her dressed and out the ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Risshū – Beginning of Autumn

August 17, 2022

Here in Chicago we felt it yesterday - that sense that autumn is coming. We all know that there will be sweltering days ahead, but we were reminded...

For me, that early cool day reminds me that I might want to check my wardrobe for upcoming autumn weather. This is a good time to start looking for the accent cashmere sweater that you will wear every week for six months, the scarf that you will cherish for years to come, or the warmer trousers that you need to replace the ones that you've worn to pieces this last few years...

Even if you live somewhere that doesn't get a lot of snow, you might still need a warm outfit or two!

This leaf perfectly conveys where we are, right now!

When I was ... View the Post