The Vivienne Files - Page 14 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Want Something to Spark a Range of Ideas? Start with a Scarf – Honey Dijon Scarf by Echo

May 24, 2024

If you're offended by profanity, approach this post with caution - there is indeed a word printed on this scarf which might disturb...

We've heard from a handful of heroines who are looking to wear black with pink, and who want to either be more dressy, or more youthful. Maybe this addresses all sorts of desires!

Here's the newest Echo 100 scarf:

Yes, you can just fold the bottom left corner in, and nobody will know. Or you can let it fly free and see what happens...

This inspires the easiest of color palettes; while I didn't include white in any of the outfits, it's sort of an obvious addition to this scheme:

I'm suggesting outfits that cover a handful of weather conditions and degree of ... View the Post

Are You Just Now Adding Accent Colors? Start With a Scarf – The Helena Christensen Silk Scarf by Echo

May 22, 2024

She's never worn accent colors - there are a ton of neutrals, and she's always been just fine with them!

But she saw this scarf...

Immediately, she saw colors that she loves. It's not that she's never liked accent colors, but until now, none of them really felt like her. Who are we to question?

Her Common Wardrobe is migrating slowly toward spring - a black top with ruffled sleeves is about as racy as she's ever really gone! But she does have summer tops and a pair of shorts, so she's off to a good start:

Then one day, she decided to just jump in and shop! She's still not made the move to wearing earrings - THAT feels like too much a change... (yes, I have two friends who NEVER wear earrings ... View the Post

Is Your Wardrobe Very Basic? Start with a Scarf – Krista Kim Silk Scarf by Echo

May 20, 2024

What do you do about accents and accessories when your wardrobe is very neutral and practical? I've been asked this quite a bit, recently...

Say you're smitten with this scarf:

You can easily see that there are tons of colors possible to emphasize in this scarf, but you isolate this color palette:

Yes, it's entirely possible that the border of this scarf is navy, rather than black. I'm not quite certain...

Here's where your questions seem to arise - this is what your day-to-day wardrobe looks like:

Yes, these 12 garments are what I refer to as A Common Wardrobe, or "clothes that most of us own in one variation or another." Years ago, I spent an evening observing a large gathering of advertising ... View the Post

Looking for a Fresh, Bright Summer Accent? Start with Art – Morning Glories by Suzuki Kiitsu

May 17, 2024

If only one could find clothing as vivid and compelling as this image:

Please note that this is just a detail from the much larger room screen that is the original artwork...

Our heroine loves her navy wardrobe, but she feels the urge to really get bright this summer! So she decides to work with her favorite image, and to add this palette to her classic wardrobe core:

Her core wardrobe already includes one green top... she's ready to pile on with the green!

This heroine knows that Boden is the place to look for a vivid accent, and a pretty dress! She takes her time, and assembles the following French 5-Piece Wardrobe for hot weather:

If you're looking for an accent color dress, but this one ... View the Post

Want to Expand a Core Summer Wardrobe? Start with Art! Untitled (Red) 1956 by Mark Rothko

May 15, 2024

Sometimes, you don't have any explanation for what you love... Our heroine felt completely smitten when she saw this:

She already has her core summer wardrobe in hand, with navy and white, and coral accents.... but these colors. OH THESE COLORS!

I feel this way about shades of purple, so I'm sympathetic...

She takes a good look at her current summer wardrobe, because you don't want to just fly off in all directions without any thought at all...

And then, she shops! This might look like a ton of stuff to add to your summer wardrobe, but I have a hunch that if many of us collected everything together that we buy between early May and the end of August, it's as much as this or more!

I know that I can ... View the Post

One Way to Plan a Summer Wardrobe

May 13, 2024

It's not happening yet in Chicago, but I understand that much of the world is already living with hot weather - too soon for me!

July is too soon for hot weather, for me. I could live in an Arctic climate, I swear...

If you wear a uniform much of the time, or you just are efficient with your clothes, you don't need a huge wardrobe for any season. Remember the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe? This is what I suggested for a core summer wardrobe from that scheme:

Unless you've completely changed sizes, or all of your clothes were destroyed, you probably already have at least a few things for summer. This is a plan to help make sure that you can actually get dressed every day - a guide to filling in the ... View the Post

Want to Shake Up Your Routine? Start with a Scarf – the Stephen Bliss silk scarf from Echo

May 10, 2024

She knew it was time for a change; for years, she was known for her subtle wardrobe of shades of ivory and beige... She loved it, but she knew that it was time to brighten things up a bit.

She's been dressing like this for ages:

And then this caught her eye. She even felt that - when much younger - she had looked like the woman in the scarf.

After thinking about it for a few days, she finally took the plunge and ordered!

She looked at her scarf - very closely - for quite a while. After sleeping on it for a night, she isolate this color palette as a starting point for her wardrobe evolution:

Some patience, and a little bit of shopping, got her to these slight but meaningful changes in her ... View the Post

A Dressy Week of Travel? Start with a Scarf – The Camilla Stærk Silk Scarf By Echo

May 8, 2024

A week of operas - well, four operas in seven days!

Not for the faint of heart, for certain...

And she also needs to cover her head every day - she wants to find a classic, simple scarf that she can wear with everything...

This might be perfect!

Her plan is to take a two piece black "dress," and another simple black dress, and accent them with her favorite bright colors. There will be so many people attending these operas - nobody's going to notice what she wears! But of course she wants to be appropriate and comfortable - as well as being nicely attired when she heads out for a super-late dinner...

The one outfit that she's already sorted out includes the coolest little clutch bag...

For ... View the Post

Want to Break the Mold With Your Accessories? Start with a Scarf – Mary-Louise Parker Silk Scarf from Echo

May 6, 2024

Our heroine has the world's tiniest travel capsule wardrobe planned, but she wants something really unexpected for her accessories. This scarf caught her eye, and gave her an idea...

She's been planning to pack denim, black and white - well, just a white tee shirt (and maybe a button-front shirt...) but she felt that black accessories were too predictable. But BURGUNDY accessories? Hmm...

She expects to be leaving from a cool-ish day - so a cashmere sweater, corduroy pants and her cool denim coat are her planned travel outfit.

But if she starts with the Mary-Louise Parker scarf, adds a fun lapel pin, and burgundy boots, then she can pack her clothes in her Hurley backpack... Talk about ... View the Post

May 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 2

May 3, 2024

I'm really quite happy with the way these three wardrobes turned out this month - as always, I'm eager to hear what you think of our progress!

First, this oh so elegant painting:

Her wardrobe at the end of April was practical and versatile, if a bit short on the color rust! I get infinite pleasure from that stack of four long-sleeved tee shirts...

It seemed obvious to look for rust - at least rust tops. A second pair of shorts (which could of course be a skirt, a pair of cropped pants, or long pants) and lightweight linen pants finish up her garment purchases. While we were in the "rust mode," Our heroine grabbed coordinating accessories too!

If you're not familiar with COS, I recommend them highly. ... View the Post

May 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 1

May 1, 2024

"It's May, it's May, the lusty month of May..."

Well, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, unless you live in Camelot!

But we've got beautiful things to admire and consider, and we have each other - what else do we need? (yes, we could make a list...)

First up, this most lovely of paintings, which gave us a most unusual color palette:

This is her wardrobe at the end of April - I'm mostly struck by the small number of light blue items, and a little bit concerned that she still only has one 2nd layer in her only neutral...

So we went looking:

Seriously, could there be a better scarf?

Now, our heroine's wardrobe looks more "strongly beige" - a phrase which may never before have existed. ... View the Post

Love Neutrals? Start with a Scarf – The Laura Ridloff Silk Scarf By Echo

April 29, 2024

It's perfect, she thought... Just what she needed to focus her summer city packing...

The brown in her new scarf is actually sepia, but she knows better than to try to spend the rest of the summer looking for sepia clothes! So she accepts that her favorite brown is going to be pretty close - certainly close enough! - and she has her color palette ready!

Next, she just start taking things out of her closet, and assembling outfits that fit the palette and the scarf. Some outfits are perfect for travel, others for the occasional business meeting, and some are flat-out casual!

Although she won't be doing a lot of business "stuff," she still likes to always include a dress - you never know when you'll be ... View the Post