Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
July 7, 2017
Well, around the colors of a pigeon, yes. I did it a few years ago, and it's still a favorite wardrobe of mine!
It's terribly difficult to find clothes in these subtle shades; if this was my wardrobe, I might have to have a pet pigeon to carry about with me, just to use as a color reference...
love, Janice ... View the Post
July 6 2017
Of course not! But let's look at an example: Just a Quick Weekend at the beach... She'll catch the bus Friday afternoon, and arrive in time for a late dinner. This part is easy - she can wear what she wore to work, with a light jacket to compensate for the Arctic air-conditioning on the bus.
She bought a new swimsuit, and she loves it - so much that she's building her entire (tiny, six-piece) travel wardrobe around the colors in it!
Yes, she's a serious swimmer!
This is what she sees as her color scheme, but she's really... hesitant... about the lime green!
Her travel outfit is navy and other shades of blue, which really echo the ocean and water colors of the swimsuit...
As she assembled her ... View the Post
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was pondering what it would mean if you used four "Whatever's Clean 13" wardrobes for your year-round wardrobe. I'm still in the "thinking about the possibilities" stages, but I wanted to share with you what I've been thinking, so far...
At the beginning, I'm starting with the original 13-piece "Whatever's Clean" wardrobe. The idea behind these 13 pieces was that they would be chosen in such a way that you literally could NOT put together an outfit that would clash; all of the colors and styles would harmonize to the point that you could, literally, wear "Whatever's Clean." (I was thinking of travel, or vacationing at a cabin, beach house etc...)
Just in order to make sure that I could fit lots ... View the Post
July 4, 2017
One of the best parts of writing The Vivienne Files is the ability to create imaginary wardrobes just to see how they work, without spending a ton of money...
A favorite from years ago was all built around an amazingly beautiful floral coat - I sort of imagined that someone was traveling for a wedding or other somewhat dressy party. The color scheme was mostly bright mossy green and white - NOT your everyday color scheme!
Revisit, and see if you can imagine wearing these colors...
Please note that I'm jetting around for the holiday, so The Vivienne Files will be on hiatus for a couple of days. Back soon!
love, Janice ... View the Post
July 3, 2017
This is a month for shoring up some basic tee shirts and getting a last pair of shorts (and sandals!) before the stores are full of cashmere sweaters. (shortly after July 4th, typically...) I toss in a necklace that's not madly expensive - this is the time of year to indulge in something that's not a big investment, and that might even qualify as a trend or fad. If you're ever going to follow fashion, a summer accessory is a good choice!
Five of the six wardrobes got a nice clean white tee shirt, to wear weekly until it falls to pieces from a combination of sweat and sunscreen... in madly hot weather, sometimes there's nothing nicer than plain, simple, classic white.
(FYI, the new Hermes scarves are on their website. ... View the Post
June 30, 2017
Of course you can! And our heroine here on "Financially Reckless Friday" is going to do just that. (really, I am going to settle on these posts on Wednesdays, I promise...) It WAS Illegal... And they owe her a LOT of money. Now she has to fly back to the Federal Court Offices to sign the paperwork and pick up the check!
She decided to spend the weekend there, in order to take in a concert of a favorite violinist, so she felt that a bit of shopping might be in order; she certainly wants to be appropriately dressed for her legal encounter, and her other activities...
So she starts at Alexis Bittar, where she falls under the spell of a bracelet:
She can immediately see the possibilities - serious black ... View the Post
June 29, 2017
It's my birthday! I'm such a child when it comes to celebrating birthdays...
Today, I'm taking you back 2 years, to a travel wardrobe for which our heroine had essentially no clue what awaited her. In order to make sure that she was ready for (almost) anything, I somewhat loaded up her suitcase - 13 pieces total for a trip that might be only 3 days...
And there's a shout-out to one of the funniest TV shows I've ever watched. Much of it is silly, but if you've ever worked in a big corporation, there will be moments that will make you laugh until you're in pain. How bad can that be?
There are still times when I wish that I was traveling for business...
love, Janice
... View the Post
June 28, 2017
Yes, I know everyone was expecting to see rubies, but I found that working with rubies was a lot like working with the emeralds back in May - very expensive, or else very traditional and staid.
So I did a bit of research and found that almost every month of the year has more than one birthstone - we love having choices!
Carnelian is particularly cool to have as a birthstone because it's very affordable and it comes in a range of colors from a pale, almost blush shade, to really deep, dark red.
And please note, I don't think you'd wear ALL SIX of these accessories at one time; but I could easily see 3 or 4 of them...
love, Janice
More from the Birthstone Series:
January: ... View the Post
June 27, 2017
Some things don't change much through time - over the weekend, we saw lots of women accenting solid black outfits with well-chosen metallic accessories. These kinds of outfits always catch my eye!
The clothes from this post are absolutely ageless and timeless; if you keep your eyes open for metallic accessories (or an accent color?) that you love, you'll instantly have an outfit that can wear forever, or until it falls apart! And that should be our goal - to use things fully and well, and retire them when they've been worn as much as possible. Anything less doesn't do justice to our time, nor or budget, nor to the planet.
love, Janice ... View the Post
June 26, 2017
Denim and khaki go with everything - I'm convinced! - but some of you wanted to see a capsule wardrobe with a very different feel than the relatively soft and cool pastel version that used mauve pink and dark pastel blue...
How about this for colors?
I don't have any really exotic travel vision for this heroine - she's more someone who wears a uniform most of the time, and only needs a relatively small wardrobe to accommodate her "not work" activities outside of her home.
So I'm starting with the six neutral pieces that were in last Monday's wardrobe, and I finally grabbed a pair of dark navy loafers for her. (although with brown in a wardrobe, don't discount the gorgeousness of beautiful brown ... View the Post
June 23, 2017
My great-niece is a big fan of pink and purple, so this flashback is for her... I was delighted to note that a few of these pieces are still available!
Look closely at the scarf - do you see the horses with the riders on them? You might want to do some enlarging...
This was a pretty great wardrobe - chock full of cheerful bright colors and a few really bold prints! It requires a certain woman, but she would certainly stand out in any crowd!
Sorry to spring 2 "flash backs" on you on 2 consecutive days, but when I was reminded of Kiki's birthday, I could NOT avoid pink and purple. It's a little girl imperative!
love, Janice ... View the Post
June 22, 2017
This is a really old post - from back in 2012! The nice thing is that none of the garments have dated, and you could easily pull this outfit on and head off for a 2nd honeymoon looking beautiful...
In the early days of The Vivienne Files I spent a lot of time looking at camel as a neutral, because a lot of people asked me questions about where to find things, what colors to use as accents, etc. It was good fun, and I'm so happy to see that the posts haven't dated at all!
You can find this lovely flashback here; I hope that you enjoy it.
love, Janice ... View the Post
