The Vivienne Files - Page 152 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

One of My Favorite Books – for You!

When you read this, I will be away from home for a long New Year weekend, so talking about travel seems timely...

Alain de Botton is a great writer. Period. He makes the most mundane things interesting, and he expresses feelings that we've all had in such a way that they seem fresh, meaningful and important. If I could have any skill in the world (aside from speaking fluent French!), it would be to be able to write with his kind of clarity and insight.

I've read this book a couple of times, and I want to give my current copy of it to one of you!

Leave a comment, and tell us all about your favorite writer and/or book. I could use some ideas for the upcoming year...

(Anybody mentioning Robertson Davies or A.S. Byatt gets ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Rust, Gold, Burnt Orange – the Autumn Leaf collection!

January 1, 2016

This started as rust, but I saw such pretty things in colors close to there that I decided to expand my focus to include all of the "autumn" colors.For years, because I have brown hair and brown eyes, it was assumed that I would look good in these colors. (this was back in the days before the seasonal color theory caught on...) It was a reasonable thesis, because my eyes are decidedly amber-ish, but it just never worked out. I'm glad that I stumbled onto this idea for including unflattering colors in a wardrobe; maybe now I can have a reconciliation with warm gold and cognac shades!

This first color feels like caramel to me - I would be tempted to pour the nail polish over ice cream...

(and ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Pastel Blue and Green

December 31, 2015 Oh, I could tell you stories about wearing mint green...

I decided to combine these two posts, because it wasn't tremendously easy to find nice things in these colors - especially nail polish. That surprised me; I would have assumed that all pastel colors would be pretty readily available...

A LOT of these items appealed to me, and I thought that the combinations turned out well. And what I wouldn't give for a pair of lace trainers...

I love this look - it reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream! And that can ONLY be a good feeling...

I also thought that this was lovely - soft and feminine...

The ring just makes the all come together! I don't suggest that you wear ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Khaki

Khaki turns out to be another one of those colors that means absolutely NOTHING, in absolute terms. I saw things all over the spectrum that answered to my call for khaki jewelry, bags and shoes!This, in my mind, was what I expected when I started searching for khaki; I really quite like this with black; it's unexpected, a bit earthy, but rather sophisticated, too.

Bag – DKNY; loafers – Eileen Fisher; tee shirt – Uniqlo; crop knit pants – Helmut Lang; Khaki nail polish – Burberry; leather bracelet – Veronica Bettini; pearl spinner ring – Topshop

And then I saw this more brown-ish color, which I think looks glorious with the brown outfit. Again, it's not an expected choice of accessories, but it has a richness that ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Olive

Wow, I had no idea that olive was such a debatable color! But I guess since there are different colored olives, there are going to be different search results when you start looking for olive green...This is sort of what I expected to find when I started searching. The boots that have the black elastic inset in the side sort of subtly hold all of this together pretty well.

(if someone gave you this ring for the holidays, kiss them repeatedly...)

Bag – Michael Kors; Chelsea Boots – Topshop; tee shirt – Uniqlo; crop knit pants – Helmut Lang; Mash nail polish – NARS; bracelet – Tai Rittichai; ring – Todd Reed

This was the other sort of shade that I expected to find, while hunting down all ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Purple

I adore purple - I could easier become a really nutty "wears nothing but purple" person... There's a woman here in Chicago who wears EVERY shade of purple, and nothing BUT purple, every day. She combines the shades and nuances with reckless abandon, and carries it off with panache. I don't always like it, but I always notice it. And she seems very happy....Frankly, I'm not convinced that all of these combinations work - certainly they wouldn't work for me. But everybody gets to decide for themselves, and if you love it, go with it!

This grouping all started with the very cool purple shoes...

Bag – Jimmy Choo; trainers – Fratelli Rossetti; tee shirt – Uniqlo; crop knit pants – Helmut Lang; Night Creature nail polish ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Pink

While the right shade of pink is flattering to most women, what do you do if your favorite pink ISN'T the really flattering one? Move it away from your face, and indulge!Some commenters specifically said that really bright, intense fuschia is hard to wear, and I can agree with that! But nail polish, or a pair of snazzy flats? That could be just perfect....

Backpack – Longchamp; flats – Shoes of Prey; tee shirt – Uniqlo; crop knit pants – Helmut Lang; Love Bites nail polish – Estee Lauder; bracelet – Swarovski; ring – Urban Posh

I looked for a pink that was just a touch softer and warmer to wear with brown. And now I absolutely long for this nail polish... (the name is hysterical, as are ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Yellow

December 25, 2015

A very Happy Christmas to all of you celebrating today, and a joyous and wonderful day for everyone else! Let's all remember what's most important, and remember to share love, patience, and endless care to everyone around us. We are strong; we can do this!The more I work with "unflattering" colors, the more I find that there are some really lovely items available in the world that might, at first glance, seem difficult to wear. But I think if we keep these kinds of colors away from our faces, there's no reason in the world to avoid them, if they really speak to your heart.

Yellow and black can be REALLY difficult to wear - threats of the nickname "Bumblebee" are always present. But I think this shade is ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Orange

I think a lot of us find orange challenging, because of its associations with Halloween, or fast food. That's too bad, because it's really quite nice, and there are a lot of gorgeous accessories in the world that just happen to be orange...Hardest of all is combining orange and black, but I think using prints, or defiantly non-Halloween details, helps a lot... Using accessories from other cultures, who DON'T think have the same associations with colors that we have, can make a big difference, too.

Shoulder bag – Mame Huku; sequined flats – Bohemia; tee shirt – Uniqlo; crop knit pants – Helmut Lang; nail polish – Forever21; bracelet – Platadepalo; ring – Soru Jewellery

Orange and brown ... View the Post

Wearing Unflattering Colors: Green

December 23, 2015

It's a frequent question: "I really love ______, but it looks terrible on me!"

Well, first, let's answer 2 questions:

Does it REALLY look terrible on you, or were you told that once, about 40 years ago, and it's stuck with you since then? Are you sure that you want to wear this color, or is there some other way to solace your longing? Towels, thrown cushions, table wear, a cell phone cover - there are lots of ways to inject a color into your life without putting in on your person.

Okay, you really DO want to wear this color, and it really DOES make you look ghastly. Maybe it's one of those "local high school" things, or college homecoming, or.... YOU JUST LOVE THE COLOR. You don't have to ... View the Post

Paris 2015: Food, My Hotel, and more about What They Were Wearing

December 22, 2015 First up: food!!!

I personally find it pretty difficult to eat badly in Paris; if you go someplace where you only understand a fraction of what's going on, and where there are lots of people from the neighborhood, the food is bound to be at least acceptable.My last day, I was wandering pretty aimlessly near the Marais, and I spotted a nice looking restaurant, so I decided (since it was nearing 1 p.m., and I was peckish), to stop in for lunch. The formule (set price menu) looked interesting...

A lovely woman seated me, and gave me directions to the toilet. When I wandered back, bemused, she explained that the door slid rather than swung! On such small details swings (or slides?) many a ... View the Post

Paris 2015: Street Things, and What People Were Wearing (part 1)

December 21, 2015 Something I lose sight of, between visits to Paris, is the fact that there is so much really great art on the streets. This trip, I was enjoying the various lions I saw ornamenting and guarding the buildings!

While there were a lot of Christmas decorations all over Paris, they weren't as ubiquitous as they are here in Chicago. But some of them were really spectacular - worth the trip just to see them...

I saw some decorations that I thought were in questionable taste. I'm not crazy about fake snow under any circumstances, so flocked trees have never been my preference. But this just felt over the top:

And I took a couple of pictures that really ... View the Post