Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
June 13, 2015
Soft green - not bright, not acid, not kelly. It's a hard color to describe but you know it when you see it! And remember, because your accessories are made of all sorts of different materials, they don't have to be "dye-lot" matched.
I like the looks of this - the change of cardigan really shifts the feel of these capsules, doesn't it?
The green brings a fresh, but gentle, feeling to this grouping.
Have a lovely weekend, love, Janice ... View the Post
June 12, 2015 Oh, this was FUN! It's delightful how much difference the change in accessories makes in the look of the whole capsule. First up, a wonderful scarf, and some classic, inexpensive coral-colored jewelry. (it goes without saying that we don't wear real coral - no reefs will be destroyed to adorn us!)
And then I changed out the shoes, the rest of the jewelry, and tossed in a cute little clutch! The only clothing that I swapped was to substitute a coral cardigan for yesterday's beautiful brown one...
Just the one change in the template makes a difference!
This overview looks VERY different from the one with the leopard accent, to me. Accessories ... View the Post
June 11, 2015 You wanted to see this idea "warmed up", and many of you mentioned leopard... here it is!
I swapped out the beige garments for a warmer, more golden shade, and I chose a brown cardigan because it's just lovely! Some leopard accessories, and you're ready to travel...
This is how the template filled up - it looks really coherent, and you can clearly see that everything (including the striped tee shirt) will work together.
And this helps us visualize everything, including accessories. The 2nd tote bag is the kind of thing that you would smash down in your outbound suitcase, and then use to carry purchases on the return. It was SO reasonably priced that I could ... View the Post
June 9, 2015 You all send me the best requests! How about a "Whatever's Clean 13" in navy and beige, with the accents and prints/patterns in the accessories? Our starting template:
The "Flower Burst" scarf from KathKath was specifically mentioned, and I thought that a few She-Beads bracelets would work well. I really want to support these designers that have been so generous to The Vivienne Files!
After much pondering and searching, this is what I've chosen to pack. The sandals have jeweled tops in muted, soft shades, and the canvas shoes have clearer pastel flowers. Of course, you also now have your bright pink loafers with you, so you are able to accessorize your ... View the Post
June 2, 2015
You don't know what the weather is going to be, but you know for a fact that you're NOT packing white stuff... Starting out, let's wear this to travel - a cuddly cardigan, a beautiful scarf, and closed-toe shoes, just in case you have to sit on a cold plane (or slide down an evacuation slide!):
This is what I've chosen for you to pack; everything is keyed off of the two cardigans that you really REALLY wanted to take along. In order to be thoroughly "dress in the dark", those need to be your only printed garments. But that doesn't keep you from packing some cool metallic tops! And there are always accessories - another scarf, and some pretty jewelry will go a long way toward ... View the Post
May 30, 2015
Something everyone struggles with is having to pack when the weather is iffy, or when you're going to be moving around through different weather conditions. So I thought I'd take our "Whatever's Clean 13" template as a guide to making this easier.
I've laid it out this way:
A simple navy, white and turquoise palette is the order of the day. (and starting with the Kathkath scarf, I've loosely adhered to a theme of waves and water...)
No matter what the travel plan is, I like to make sure that I'm traveling with long trousers, closed-toe shoes, and a cardigan. Depending on your mode of travel, you want to be prepared for too much air conditioning, or a rotten heating system. And it's always easier to take off your ... View the Post
May 29, 2015
This can't be good.... Your boss comes into your office: "I need to you to go to Des Moines (or Dusseldorf, or Dublin), because they've already spent 80% of their year's budget for widgets! Get out there and see what's going on!!!"
Nobody in your office has ever been to "The D City Office", and so you have no clue what to expect. Who buys and uses the widgets? The C-Suite guys in 3-piece suits? (I can personally verify that men in Dublin still wear vests with their suits...) Or is it Jen, Roy and Moss, down in the basement? Is some moron executive treating widgets as if they're disposable? Or did a genius in Procurement find widgets at 80% off, and buy a 5 year supply? Your plate is full...
So, in ... View the Post
May 13, 2015 It's never too late to pull out a scarf that you've owned for years and recommit yourself to building around it, and wearing it more! One of you has been living with, and loving, this scarf (a cashmere and silk blend wrap) for quite a while, but feel like there's more to be done with this lovely thing.
My first move with any scarf is to take a good look at it, from a distance, with my eyes squinting, and see what neutral colors seem prominent to me. I then look for colors that "jump out" - those are accents. This is the color scheme that I saw in this scarf. Bear in mind that I could easily find more colors - there's no one "correct" color scheme here!
I'm thinking of this scarf for ... View the Post
May 6, 2015 My lovely friend bought the green handbag! But then she was debating about a new scarf to complement her bag; she narrowed her choice down to these three:
Each of these scarves would be beautiful with her green handbag, but what struck me was how each of these scarves could lend itself to a very different color scheme! So I was thinking that maybe, if you were choosing from among three items like this, it might be helpful to think about how having the item in your closet would manifest itself in your future shopping choices. Sometimes, the ability to see where a particular purchase might lead you can give you an indication of how suitable the purchase really will be for you moving ... View the Post
May 5, 2015
Today, I'm going to try to answer two questions with one blog post. (something about birds and stones comes to mind, but I don't kill birds...)
Many of you are reluctant to buy shoes that aren't in neutral colors - maybe it's a question of having to buy very expensive shoes because of foot conditions, or a reluctance to draw attention to lower body and/or legs, or perhaps you have Audrey Hepburn feet (aka disproportionately large)... But for whatever reason, it's perfectly justifiable, as if you have to explain or defend your preferences!
And of course, we wanted to marry navy and turquoise, because it's one of the great color combinations!
So let's grab this lovely bag first:
And go back to our navy travel or ... View the Post
May 4, 2015
I know I said I was going to take Mondays off. Some Mondays, I will. But today I had this whole yellow handbag question lurking in my mind, so I thought I'd share what I've found and learned. First up, there are lots of nice yellow handbags in the world! I personally would carry this one with the shiny plaque against my body (I'm not paid to advertise for any brand; I don't do it for free!). But this is a nice size, and I have every reason to believe it's well made, and it is available in seven colors...
And of course I'm sticking with these five navy garments, because I delight in showing the inherent versatility of timeless classics.
My initial adventure into yellow ... View the Post
May 2, 2015 I know I've mentioned it before, but I really can't recommend a Longchamp Pliage bag highly enough; tossed into another tote bag, or into luggage, it can come in handy more often that you would imagine. Just for groceries, it's been used hundreds of times. And on vacation, it makes a great stash for dirty laundry during your trip, and then a handy way to get gifts back without crushing them in your regular (very small) luggage...
So today, let's envision the potential of a bright orange bag:
The same old, same old, simple navy group of garments. Who could imagine that we could do so much with such simple pieces of clothing?
Orange shoes weren't at all difficult to find - ... View the Post
