The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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An “All-Black” Capsule Wardrobe

December 31, 2014

While I was away for the winter holidays, I received two requests from women who are required to wear "All-Black" for their work, asking about ways to accessorize their limited palette. (if you're not a rugby fan, please be aware that the All Blacks are the New Zealand national rugby team, and the current world champions. If you enjoy looking at handsome, fit young men, I encourage you to look them up!)

This is a really interesting question for me because my capsule wardrobe migrates more and more each month toward unrelieved black. Also, I know a few women here in Chicago who have this same work wardrobe requirement; a surprising number of different organizations ask their "front of house" staff to dress in this ... View the Post

The French 5-Piece Wardrobe Meets A Common Capsule Wardrobe: navy, grey, electric blue, bright purple

October 8, 2014

There's a lot of talk in books and on the internet about the "French 5-Piece Wardrobe", which is a misnomer if there ever was one! The wardrobe isn't really five pieces; the concept is that you have a core of basic, neutral garments, and you then add FIVE pieces per season. I'm sure some people define a season as every 3 months, but it would certainly also make sense to just do this every 6 months. Whatever makes you happy, right?

But when I read descriptions about the "core" of neutral garments, I kept thinking that it sounded a lot like The Common Wardrobe...  And that this philosophy might be an option for helping us build our wardrobes of basics, while at the same time introducing accent colors, long-term ... View the Post

Agnes, or a Work Wardrobe from the ’80’s

July 12, 2014  

Back in the early 1980's, I was in graduate school, and I was the manager of one of the departments in a large department store. (I'm still catching up on my sleep!)  One of the more interesting and educational responsibilities I had was to "ring up" all purchases made by staff in my department.  

I'm telling you this story, because I want to tell you about someone named Agnes. I'm not sure what we can learn from her example, but I still remember her so vividly after 30 years, and I'm quite sure that she was nobody's dummy... Agnes was probably in her mid 50's, employed 40 hours a week (remember the days when retail could be a career?), qualified for 3 weeks of vacation, health insurance, life ... View the Post

18=216, in a really big, perfect wardrobe slot machine…

April 28, 2014  

I said on Saturday that the idea of a wardrobe slot machine could be expanded, and one of my dearest friends was eager to see how this would play out.  For some of us, the idea of getting dressed for work every day is just plain annoying - nobody is going to pay much attention to what we're wearing, as long as we're appropriately dressed.  

 

So I promised her that I would show an example that would give her more than a week's worth of shirts or blouses (i.e. six), and then show how it could be expanded.  Six top layers x six shirts or blouses x six pants or skirts =216 combinations.

 

She could literally shop once a year and then forget about work clothing for a long time... ... View the Post

Wearing Hermes Grands Fonds Silk Scarf All Year – July through December

January 14, 2014   Okay, under no circumstances would you wear this scarf with the frankly gym-like outfit for August (okay, maybe tied to your bag?), but I show this as an example of how your color preferences can permeate and inform ALL of your wardrobe choices.  And yes, I would wear flat loafers with a dress, depending on how much standing/walking is going to be involved in an event.  Plus I just couldn't leave out these great shoes...  

  After establish a core of blues and some khaki, don't forget that this scarf easily supports some accent touches of shades of red!  

  The best aspect of this sweater is the way it enables you to mix shades of blue with happy abandon, and ... View the Post

Wearing Hermes Les Clef Silk Scarf All Year – July through December

January 6, 2014   In the hottest of hot weather, your scarf may just be tied around the handles of your bag, or around your ponytail...  

Don't let your scarf get wet, but wearing it on a rainy day can brighten things up...  And finding a print skirt in the colors of your scarf can be tricky, but when it happens you can have a lot of fun!

  Tweeds that meld together the main colors of your scarf are a particularly interesting thing to look for - you can wear your scarf from the most conservative family or professional functions to the dressiest of business outings at the holiday season.

  And after a year of using your scarf as the core inspiration for outfits, you have a relatively ... View the Post

Transition: Whatever’s Clean in Brown and Beige

Quite a few people have asked me to show how to move from a beige and brown wardrobe into something with more brown.     

The Whatever's Clean Summer Wardrobe in Brown, Beige and White

The first three garments to phase out are the sleeveless beige linen top, white linen pants, and the shorts.  Remember, you can do these in whatever order you prefer, and that "phase out" does not have to mean "put in some inaccessible place for the next six months".

[/caption] In October, we can choose to find replacements for the white tee shirt, the beige linen dress, and the beige linen skirt.

[/caption] And in November, the last of the linen "bottoms" are due for a rest, and the white tunic is ready to take a ... View the Post

33 = 208 (at least in my world!) with Capsule Wardrobe Project 333

You don't need to make teeny pictures in order to create a Project 333 capsule wardrobe for yourself; a list will do just fine...   It would, of course, be possible to print these images and then "check them off" as each ensemble was worn.  But the point, ultimately, is NOT to have an infinite number of different outfits, but rather to have just enough choices to be able to quit shopping and move on to more rewarding activities!   And of course, 208 is NOT exhaustive... but it would get me well into July, so I just plain quit finding new combinations.  I think after 6 months, I will be ready to ditch cashmere, tweed and ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Project 333: from the sublime to the ridiculous

After we got back from Paris, belovedest and I agreed that we could have packed less - we had more options than we strictly needed, and we wouldn't have minded having even SMALLER bags...And that made me start pondering the number of options inherent in any "Project 333" that includes 33 pieces of clothing - theoretically more than 1,000.

So, I started illustrating them all....  and my brain ground to a halt at 160 outfits.  This would easily get me through 5 months, and I haven't even begun to address the possibilities of my dresses.  Wow.  I really do NOT need a lot of clothes - I re-learn this fact every day.

Note: although you can't really tell here, the 3 pair of black pants are VERY different from each other ... View the Post