The Vivienne Files - Page 192 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Start with Flowers: Daffodils

June 10, 2014

Once the "flower-based" color scheme idea is set, there are lots of variations possible. Rather than the purple shades that I used with the delphiniums the other day, I am going to look at daffodils today, and include a couple of shades of yellow. One has to be careful when mixing yellow and black - there's always a danger of looking like a bumblebee, or a Pittsburgh Pirates fan! (not that there's anything wrong with that...)

I always like to start with the core of black clothes - if you look carefully, you can see my favorite "Core of Four" showing up here. While a solid black outfit seems boring in the midst of all of this color, it might be needed for evenings or a serious business ... View the Post

The Monday Morning Giveaway #2: Hot Tips by Frances Patiky Stein

Any book that recommends this kind of travel wardrobe is going to be a fun read! Today I'm parting with one of my copies of Hot Tips - in paperback, with the iconic Gia Carangi cover. (it was her only book cover, and some big fans of her absolutely covet this photograph...)

As with so many of the style books written in the 80's, this one is a combination of timeless advice and laughably dated ideas. This is entirely illustrated with pencil sketches that aren't terribly dated, and which in many cases make it clear that a timeless garment from this era could still be chic.

Just leave me a comment - anonymous is fine - and Thursday I'll draw a random number and let you know who the winner is. I'll keep you ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Flowers: Delphiniums

June 7, 2014

I think these are delphiniums, but of course I live in the middle of a city, so my floral knowledge isn't exactly top-drawer! If you can give me a better identification on these flowers (photo taken in the Duke Gardens in Durham, North Carolina) send me a note or leave a comment and I'll update things...For this photograph, I imagined that someone has to go on a business trip, but they're going to be able to arrive early, and maybe stay a few days extra, so this is a dual-purpose travel capsule wardrobe.

These are the high-contrast colors that I chose:

For a couple of days of sight-seeing before the meetings have to begin.

Peplum top – Alexander McQueen, black ... View the Post

Who Won “French Chic”? And a great quote…

June 6, 2014

I've spent a lot of my life hanging around statistics; I used to teach people from around the world how to use Excel, and to use statistical data in market research. So I was dumbfounded when I used my random number generator...

and the answer was THIS:

Proof that it was truly random - unexpected by anybody!

Yep, everybody's favorite lovely Pam, from Over 50 Feeling 40.

Who wouldn't love this face?

And I've held onto my copy of "The Lost Art of Dress" by Linda Przybyszewski, for a while, and in re-browsing it I found this gem:

"Like home economics, dressmaking is a traditionally womanly endeavor that can explode gender stereotypes. Scientists say that the average man has a better capacity to ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Black and White Hermes

June 5, 2014

It was a great question - thanks for sending it on - "I want an Hermes scarf in black and white, but there are SO MANY of them - how do I choose?"

Note that she also let me know that she's pretty committed to a strict black and white wardrobe...

I've chosen these six scarves to use as our possible purchases. I strongly encourage you to click through and admire the details on these scarves if you have the time. There's a reason that these scarves are so terribly expensive - they are exquisite.

For illustrative purposes, I'm going to use a couple of simple outfits - a very neutral black dress, and a white silk blouse and black silk pants.

The first scarf, Fleurs et Papillons de Tissus, ... View the Post

Start with Art: Lucy Hessel at the Seashore by Edouard Vuillard

June 4, 2014 My readers have the very best taste; this painting was sent to me to consider for a "Start With Art", and I thought the colors were so beautiful!The mood of this painting - languid, soft, dreamy, relaxed - made me think of a honeymoon, or a second honeymoon...

These were my color choices:

If you wanted to pack for a second honeymoon, you could certainly do worse than this!

As always, a well-chosen handful of outfits selected with a unifying theme will give you lots of options.

love, Janice ... View the Post

Start with Flowers: Cherry Blossoms

June 3, 2014

In an otherwise extremely unremarkable outdoor mall, we found this lovely tree (proving that if you look for beauty, you WILL find it):

I'm pretty certain it was an ornamental cherry tree - I'll check back later this summer to see if, in fact, it produces cherries! But what really caught my eye was the juxtaposition of the grey/taupe of the tree bark, and the surrounding pavement, with the green, white and yellow of the flowers. So (you know me) I thought of color schemes for travel and summer...

Lots of lovely options available here! If you have some nice floral photographs, send them on - [email protected]. I'll do what I ... View the Post

The Monday Morning Give-Away #1: The Original French Chic book by Susan Sommers

June 2, 2014

I know I said I wasn't going to post on Mondays, but I think for the next few weeks I'm going to post some things that I want to give away to one of you. (somehow, I managed to have two copies of this book...)

Please leave me a comment (you can definitely comment Anonymously, but make sure you say something sufficiently memorable so that we'll know which "Anonymous" you are - blatant flattery and praise for The Vivienne Files would be great.... ahem....) and by end of day Wednesday, I'll count the comments, generate a random number, and announce Thursday who the lucky recipient will be.

If you've never read the book, it's a hysterical combination of timeless advice and ridiculously dated photographs. I still ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Bright Summer Accent

May 31, 2014

Some of us aren't going to be wearing white all summer long, nor will pastel accessories work really well for everybody. So I'm going to revisit the idea of buying a summer scarf, but this time working with a base of navy linen clothes... The idea of picking up a couple of bright accessories to update my summer wardrobe is very tempting!These are the scarves:

Red Cayenne linen blend scarf – Halogen, Blue Blithe linen blend scarf – Halogen, turquoise gem linen scarf – Halogen, gold shine linen blend scarf – Halogen, pink cyclamen linen blend scarf – Halogen, blue royal linen blend scarf - Halogen And the simple navy garments:

Top – Hobbs, shorts – Dorothy Perkins, dress – ... View the Post

What I Packed for Florida

May 30, 2014 I completely missed the backpacking around Europe experience - I never took a year off of school, and I never even WENT to Europe until I was 35... But I'm still fascinated by the whole experience of being THAT light on your feet - that self-contained. So when a really nice Patagonia backpack made it into our home, I decided that I was going to give it a try. At least once, just to know what it's like, I'm going to be a backpacker...

I loved it. The incredible lightness of putting all of your luggage under the seat in front of you, and being able to walk for miles without wheels, was memorable. I don't know that I'll ever do it again, but it was wonderful.

There were a few factors that made this ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Soft Summer Pastel

May 29, 2014

Even in the warmest weather, a lightweight scarf can be useful - last weekend, in the heat of Florida, I used my simple gauze scarf to keep the frigid breezes off of my neck and shoulders more than once!But what color to choose? You know you want to wear your new scarf with your white summer clothes, but there are so many options...

These white clothes have been digitally "tarnished" a bit so that we can actually see them on the screen. In real life, they would be sparkling, crispy white.

When you're tempted by a variety of colors, it might help to think about what ELSE you have (or might want to purchase) in that color that would help give your outfit a "planned" look ... View the Post

The Vivienne Files bookshelf: The Lost Art of Dress by Linda Przybyszewski

March 28, 2014

It's one of those questions that confounds the observant person - there are more clothes, and often more attractive clothes, in stores than ever before, but you see fewer well-dressed or just generally attractive people about. Why are all of these appallingly bad clothing choices being made, and why (at least when I was a child) did women seem to be able to avoid making these mistakes and dress themselves flatteringly?

Linda Przybyszewski attempts to answer this question in this book - a very well-written and interesting look at the Home Economics teachers, Department of Agriculture Extension employees, and other women who used to help us choose our clothing. I ... View the Post