The Vivienne Files - Page 120 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Can You Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe Around a Piece of Jewelry?

June 21, 2017

I'm thinking that these kinds of posts could be known as "Wildly-Extravagant Wednesday..." A Ridiculous Business Trip She loved the ring from the moment she saw it, and now she wears it every day...

So when they told her that she had to fly to headquarters on Friday JUST TO DELIVER A FOLDER... she decided that she was going to stay through the weekend and go all-out. See an opera, do some serious dining, and people-watch...

She's got to go straight to the office when she lands, so she's going to fly in "grown-up" clothes. The flight's not all that long, so this will be fine - not a lot different from sitting at her desk for the morning. (except she doesn't have to do anything any more taxing than ... View the Post

Can I wear Black and Orange and not look like Halloween?

June 20, 2017

Of course!

Flash back to one of my favorite posts - based upon a montage of images of a lunar eclipse, and see how just the right shades of orange can look great with black! Do notice the way the accessories echo her affection for the moon - moonstone jewelry, a single round button on a sweater, the round face of her watch (accented with a round gold dot!)...

love, Janice ... View the Post

Can I Pack Denim and Khaki and still look Pretty? What about including Mauve Pink and Dark Pastel Blue Accents?

June 19, 2017

A few people have asked me recently about packing for early autumn - needing a jacket, and probably a sweater or two, but still wanting a few lightweight tops. And others have been eager to see denim switched out for the navy that we've looked at for weeks! And then there are questions about how denim and khaki might be too... boyish?

So I'm starting with this color scheme:

The first thing to be addressed is the need for something warm to wear on damp, cool days, or in the evenings:

Realistically, I should have included a pair of dark blue walking shoes... But these four pieces have lots of possibilities - one could include shirts and tee shirts in literally any possible color and you'd be able to ... View the Post

Revisiting a Favorite Pair of Posts: The Golden Stairs by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones

June 16, 2017

Do you remember this? I do, and I think of it as one of my finest hours! (well, MANY hours...)

If you'd like to flash back to the lovely trip that our heroine was taking with this travel capsule wardrobe, you can find her here.

And a couple of days later our heroine decided to start building a larger wardrobe around the same color scheme; this was what she found and how it worked out...

Through the end of the summer, I'm going to "flash back" twice a week (I'm targeting Tuesdays and Thursdays...) I hope that this isn't an inconvenience for any of you; I have a couple of trips coming up (of COURSE I do...) and I find that I need a bit of time to get things sorted out chez nous.

love, Janice ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Quick, Dressy Trip? Start with a Scarf…

June 15, 2017 Her Favorite Artist Everybody probably has one that they like the most, but this is the one about whom she wrote EVERY English language essay she had to write, all through high school and college.

She has framed posters in her home. She's read the biographies. She even listens to music that was supposed to be the artist's favorite.

And now there's an exhibition.... IN MADRID.

She has no vacation time to take. Okay, maybe 2 days...

But she has some airline miles to spend...

And enough money for a few hotel nights...

And enough money for a couple of AMAZING dinners...

Yes, she's going alone. Nobody else is going to want to spend 2 solid days in 1 museum...

Well okay, she might ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Holiday in the Mountains: Navy, Beige and Warm Grey

June 14, 2017

I thought that this would be the easiest color scheme imaginable; that the clothes would virtually jump off of the screen at me... WRONG!

I thought I would start as I have been for a while, with the navy and beige neutrals. I swapped out the watch for silver, thinking that it would be better with the grey pieces to come...

And I found a pair of sandals that weren't quite as "warm" in hue, so that they might bridge the gap better also.

Then... I tried to find dark grey. And, after an honest 2 hours of looking for a lovely, rich charcoal grey linen, or a lustrous lead-grey raw silk, I threw in the towel. Some colors just don't exist in large numbers during some seasons, and at a point that only you ... View the Post

Pack For a Special Occasion by Starting with Art: Vernal Yellow by Lee Krasner

June 13, 2017

Most of the time, clothing (and thus The Vivienne Files) is about covering ourselves with efficiency, good value, and a coherent personal image. But it's worth remembering just every now and then that clothing can also be the object of extravagant fantasies...

Someone's happy, excited, full of energy, and just plain bursting with joy - that's what this painting felt like to me:

So They're Just Going to Elope...

No date worked for everyone. No location was good for most people. It just got more and more difficult...

So when the offer was made "why don't we just take the train to Paris and elope?" she was ALL over it...(yes, she has another suitcase somewhere...)

They'll arrive a bit late ... View the Post

Building a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Paysage Algérien by Renoir

July 12, 2017

It surprises me that this painting is from Renoir - I always think of him with pastels or clear and cool bright colors. But this is perfect for our current "neutral experiment": it's got navy and beige, and some great rust and green accents! It's easy to think of these as autumn colors, but if you've ever traveled to (or lived in) a hot and arid summer climate, you know that things start to get rusty and deeply green by mid-summer:

So They Bought a Camper... She never, in her life, would have imagined this. But when they sat down together and made a list of where the wanted to travel, now that they were retired, it looked like:

Fly to X, rent car, drive to Y Fly to Z, rent car, drive to A...

OVER AND ... View the Post

When All Else Fails – Reruns!

My computer is grumpy, and my sore throat is grumpy... it's just grumpy world here!

So I'm going to suggest that you go back and visit a post from about a year ago, that's one of my favorites...

I really love the consistent moon and stars feeling, as well as the variety of pieces available in navy and white. And her story of insomnia...

Some days, I'm positively proud of what I create!

love, Janice ... View the Post

Well, THIS is Embarrassing…

I'm not being idle - I promise! But my computer IS being evil. Or possessed. I'm not quite sure. At any rate, I should be working on a really beautiful summer travel (road trip!) wardrobe for you. It's navy and beige, with deep rust shades, and olive green...

Instead, I'm doing virus-ish things, and scans, and I think I'm going to have to pour cough syrup into a slot on my monitor somewhere.

Technical problems stymie me, can't you tell?

So I can only offer my apologies, and assure you that I'm hopeful of having everything back to normal very quickly. Bear with me...

love, Janice ... View the Post

Can I Pack Just 11 Pieces for a WEEK at the Beach? Absolutely…

July 7, 2017 It's a Very... Weird... Beach House... (based on a real beach house I've seen...)

It has a dead-end hallway, with a big window... All of the 10, 11 and 12 year old's sleep there, in their sleeping bags. Well, "sleep..."

And there's 1 room that really must have been meant to be a walk-in closet. It's that small... It's been her room, for years.

She has a twin bed, a rocking chair, and a shelf attached to the wall that serves as a nightstand. There's no closet - just pegs stuck into the shadiest wall...

But her room has its own bathroom! It's tiny, but still... in a house with over 2 dozen people, it's a luxury!

And ... View the Post

How to Shop Your Wardrobe, or Why I Own Wooden Hangers

July 6, 2017

We've all read this advice - when you see an outfit in a catalog or magazine that you really like, you should (rather than purchase said outfit) "shop your closet."

I suppose we all know, in some way, what that means - don't buy something, but find something in your current clothes that will do the trick. Sounds logical, doesn't it?

But I suspect that a lot of people don't manage to make this work very well. There's something fundamentally backwards about this advice. I'm not lusting for something that I already own - I'm filled with desire for something NEW. Something FRESH. Something... different.

Frankly, there's no way to get around that desire for novelty; it's hard-wired into our psyche, and no little tip ... View the Post