The Vivienne Files - Page 138 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Essential Accessories for a Travel Capsule Wardrobe: What I’m Packing: Italy, September 2016

August 25, 2016 As of 6 pm Chicago time on Wednesday, I have no news about the town that I was going to visit next week. It is about 50 miles from the epicenter of the earthquakes, so I suspect that it avoided much damage. Nonetheless, we are considering the possibility of just staying in Rome for a week, and avoiding the region entirely. No decisions have been made yet, though... Of course, let's keep the earthquake victims, (and all victims, everywhere) in our hearts.

Let's jump right in! I've known for weeks what my travel outfit is, including shoes, so let's start building around that:

For what it's worth, I'd buy the same Munro oxfords again when these wear out; they're ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Approaching Storm by Eugene-Louis Boudin

August 24, 2016 I hope these ladies don't have to sprint too far to escape the storm; they're not dressed for the 100 yard dash...

But it's a beautiful painting, and it so vividly evokes that feeling when the weather is about to turn. I was particularly drawn to the simple, neutral color scheme:

Other Things on Her Mind She travels with a lot of gear...

shirt – Lands’ End; watch – Marc Jacobs; socks – Topshop; loafers – Munro; earrings – Kate Spade; scarf – Bindya; jeans – L.L.Bean; cardigan – Closed; tote – Bohemia; suitcase – Tumi

Actually, she's ALWAYS carrying bags and bags of photography equipment, even if she's not traveling. Photography is what she does, ... View the Post

My Travel Capsule Wardrobe Packing: Italy, September 2016

August 23, 2016

We're leaving for Italy in less than 2 weeks, which means I need to get this travel capsule wardrobe sorted! I'm notorious for having my suitcase out a month ahead of time...

But seriously, I should start setting things aside so that (a) I don't forget anything, and (b) I don't carelessly wear something that I want to pack, 2 days before we leave, and find that I have to do laundry at the last minute. There'll be quite enough laundry the last morning, because we like to return home to clean sheets, clean towels, and as little in the laundry bags as possible!

As always, I start with what I'm going to wear on the flight. I'm still undecided about accessories (probably an upcoming blog post?) but I know that I'm going ... View the Post

One Red Dress in a Capsule Wardrobe: Fourteen Ways to Wear It

August 22, 2016 I love doing these... and this dress just calls my name. How can I NOT own this in black? This dress also comes in yellow (remember last week's post about a yellow dress?), black, and raspberry, which is a gorgeous rich hot pink... sigh...

It probably doesn't amaze you to learn that when I do similar blog posts, I reuse the original template, and just make the appropriate changes. So after I went into this template and changed the dividers in the middle from red to yellow, I removed the yellow dress from every page, and just plunked the red dress in...And didn't have to change ONE THING, for these two options! How many different colors could work here? Certainly the black dress would be perfect ... View the Post

Building a Wardrobe of Bags – Accessories for the Capsule Wardrobe

August 19, 2016

A couple of weeks ago, Belovedest and I were wandering around Chicago when we happened upon a store called The Shudio. Yes, it's a "hybrid of a retail shop full of eco conscious goods... combined with a metalsmith jewelry studio." And yes, this is some fun...I could have purchased a lot of things, but I'm trying very hard to avoid that kind of reckless madness (especially with THREE big vacations coming up in the next year!), but I did buy a lovely little black leather wristlet, from a company called CHC. They donate 10% of their revenue to a local organization for homeless women, and all of their materials are local. Pretty nice; I was happy.

But when I got home and dug out my bag for our upcoming trip ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with… Antique Ceramic Tiles!!!

August 18, 2016 An upcoming "trailing spouse" trip for one of you... and some amazing colors, inspired by ceramic tile! As if we needed a reminder that capsule wardrobe color palette inspirations can be found literally anywhere...

I'm going to assume that the little dot of red is going to be nails and lips...

Our trip is to a destination that will be cool-ish (Oslo!), so sweaters are going to be important! While I'm working with navy as the core of this wardrobe, I chose to use this cardigan, although it's a more "marled" blue. It blends well with all of the colors, and it's cozy cashmere, which could be helpful for this trip.And flying in a skirt? Well, it has a "hidden comfort waist," and it ... View the Post

One Yellow Dress in a Capsule Wardrobe: 14 Ways to Wear It

August 17, 2016

One of you recently bought a yellow dress... It wasn't this one, but it was an equally simple, beautiful dress...

Dress – Who's Who

What to do with such a nice dress, in such a statement color? Work your way through every color in the rainbow, and test them in your mind (in a PowerPoint presentation, or on Pinterest?) to see how they'll work...First up, knowing that the purchaser is a woman who wears "cool" colors and accessories, I thought I'd take a look at putting some black with it. Some people might feel that this is too much bumblebee, or University of Iowa, or Pittsburgh Pirates, but I think that it's a striking option.

In the first example, I used a bit of white (or of skin, showing ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arlequin by Pablo Picasso, Version 2

August 16, 2016 I have to admit, when I first saw this painting, I thought of colors of denim:

Can you see it, too?

Oh, So Wrong...

Cardigan – L.L.Bean; tote – Nine West; earrings – Made Sudiari; boots – Munro; scarf – Stella McCartney; watch – Fossil; jeans – L.L.Bean; tee – L.L.Bean; suitcase – Zero Halliburton

"She never wears anything but jeans..."

cardigan – Jardin des Orangers; scarf – Horo; earrings – Nyoman Rena; ring – Nyoman Rena; bag – Foley + Corinna; grey tee – Aeropostale; jeans – L.L.Bean; tie-dye sweater –Raquel Allegra; white cardigan – Vince; sunglasses – Dior; patchwork scarf – Fatface; bracelet – ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arlequin et Femme au Collier by Picasso

August 15, 2016 Ever since I saw this in the Centre Pompidou, I knew that it was going to be on The Vivienne Files. This is really just a combinations of neutrals - faded denim for the blue, and then black, white, and grey.

Note the very round details of "la femme." Some angularity, of course - it's Picasso - but the circles are key!

Always Nobody notices for months, if ever...

When she was a very small child, someone once complimented her on her necklace. That remark stuck with her forever, and wearing a necklace became her signature.

Small, large, fancy or simple, she always wore one. Even when swimming, she would wear a simple, inexpensive little ... View the Post

A Capsule Wardrobe in Beige, Bright Blue and Orange: Expanding Your Accessories

August 12, 2016

Oh, how I love accessories....As a reminder, this is where we left the capsule wardrobe when we finished the 4 additions to it yesterday:

floral shirt – Barbour; orange earrings – Kendra Scott; watch – Skagen; ring – Savvy Cie; hoop earrings – Madewell; necklace – Bleu; bracelet – Danielle Nicole; blue earrings – Kate Spade; tee – L.L.Bean;blue tee – Uniqlo; orange cardigan – Joseph; floral tee – Atos Lombardini; tank - Missoni; orange tunic – Jaeger; scarf – Eloise Bricka; blue cardigan – Betty Barclay; field jacket - L.L.Bean; wrap – Goyo; pants – L.L.Bean; skirt – L.L.Bean; ballet flats – SoftWalk; loafers – Aerosoles;jeans – L.L.Bean; bag – Ted Baker London; ... View the Post

A Capsule Wardrobe in Beige, Bright Blue and Orange: From Travel Wardrobe to Whatever’s Clean

August 11, 2016 Yesterday's travel capsule wardrobe looked like this:

floral shirt – Barbour; orange earrings – Kendra Scott; watch – Skagen; ring – Savvy Cie; hoop earrings – Madewell; necklace – Bleu; bracelet – Danielle Nicole; blue earrings – Kate Spade; tee – L.L.Bean; blue tee – Uniqlo; orange cardigan – Joseph; orange tunic – Jaeger; scarf – Eloise Bricka; blue cardigan – Betty Barclay; wrap – Goyo; pants – L.L.Bean; skirt – L.L.Bean; ballet flats – SoftWalk; loafers – Aerosoles;jeans – L.L.Bean; bag – Ted Baker London; tote – James Perse

A few people asked me if a travel wardrobe could be expanded into "Whatever's Clean 13;" of course, almost anything is ... View the Post

Packing Light: A “Six-Pack” Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Beige, Bright Blue and Orange

August 10, 2016 Let's start today with two scarves:

Archivist Everybody wanted to know answers - why do we have to bill the Prosidion Group on the 8th of every month? Why do we have to call the head of the Alblomilon Corporation exactly 10 minutes before we send the invoice? Why does the entire invoice for the Habestrate Manufacturing Consortium have to be sorted alphabetically by street address???

Well, everybody had always archived the emails that explained these things...

But until she got there, NOBODY organized the archives!

So she worked. Carefully, methodically, attentively, for months...

In her ... View the Post