Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
Maybe you remember my post about not being a movie character? That's got to be one of the most difficult parts of wardrobe discipline... The "pop up" ad that I'm seeing most often is the beautiful picture at the top... Not that she's not pretty, and not that the dress (is it a dress?) doesn't look fabulous, but REALLY???? This is what I most need for fall? In downtown Chicago? I think not...
Just a loving reminder to think for youself... ... View the Post
Why do I feel confident suggesting that this may be the only fashion ensemble in history that was explicitly inspired by a cabbage? But I don't feel very apologetic about this - these cabbages look more like big, gorgeous flowers, with subtle colors. Frankly, if you find colors that you like, they can come from ANYWHERE, and you never have to tell your secrets!
It would certainly be possible to go with more pink, and a couple of different shades, but I was in a green mood... There could also be some white in this combination, and you could use black in place of the dark grey. I can't stress enough that you should see what YOU want to see in these colors, and adjust your choices accordingly. The only ... View the Post
October 24, 2014 Okay, some of these colors aren't easy to find, and they might be a little bit much for your entire wardrobe. But if you have a core in taupe (or brown, or navy, or black), these colors as an accent could be a lot of fun!
Just as a reminder, these are the Starburst Chrysanthemums I photographed a few weeks ago - they are now frozen and quite dead, but I will love this photograph for quite a long time.
Stumbling onto the scarf was really key! It has the accent colors of the deep coral, the softer rose, and the yellow - everything after that was relatively simple! Here you can see where having the core items of a coat, trousers, boots and a tote bag in your neutral ... View the Post
What a great painting this was for a wardrobe - Water Dreaming by Tjapaltjarri. You can find all of the Start with Art, and most of the packing posts... I'm still tracking down a few fugitives!
What other reference pages did you want?
love,
Janice ... View the Post
This is a cheery six pack to look at on a grey day... especially since I felt the first snowflake this morning!
Check up at the top of the page - the Packing links are there! I'm going to be working a bit more on them... A lot of them refer to guest-posting that I did on another blog; I'm going to revise those links to take you directly to the full post, on the other site. But for now, I think you'll find LOTS to inspire you to start pricing plane tickets! love, Janice ... View the Post
Look up at the top of the page, right below where the Paris pavement spells out Vivienne - you'll see new links to A Common Wardrobe, and to Project 333. On the Project 333 page, there's a link to a free worksheet that you can use for planning your own personal Project 333. Remember these beauties from Project 333 of years gone by? I think the power of accessories grouped by a theme, color scheme or motif is exponentially greater than the power of accessories on their own. Yet another reason why having a plan for your wardrobe makes good sense!
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I'm trying to put together pages of links to the various series of posts from here on The Vivienne Files, and it's pretty time-consuming.
That said, I'm planning to do pages for The Common Wardrobe, Four by Four Wardrobes, Whatever's Clean (I am starting to really love that one!), and Start With Art. Any other series for which you'd like to have ALL of the links collected onto 1 page? Let me know...
And these are recent pictures I've taken - would any/all of these make good wardrobes? As usual, let me know!
Love, Janice
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October 18, 2014
When we were in Amsterdam last month, we of course went to the Rijksmuseum. They have lots of Rembrandt's, some Vermeers - it's worth the effort, trust me. It's a museum that will linger in our memories for the rest of our lives.
But there was one thing there that really caught my eye - our TICKETS!
Both of the paintings are in fact details from The Night Watch by Rembrandt - arguably the crown jewel of the Rijksmuseum collection. But note the color schemes on the left side, drawn from the paintings! Remind anybody of our Start With Art? These two bit posters were outside the entrance to the museum. The first is colors taken from The Milkmaid by Vermeer:
And this is ... View the Post
October 17, 2014
This is a plan for someone who has the Common Capsule Wardrobe in grey and off-white, with a camel sweater, because they're moving away from wearing black. (more on this idea another day). This someone has a special occasion coming up, and they want to expend their ENTIRE French 5-Piece Wardrobe on a new dress and some accessories:
These purchases aren't "single-use", of course; the scarf and jewelry could be worn with almost any of the outfits in The Common Wardrobe. The pumps will go nicely with our grey skirt (or with the jeans, if that's a preference). And the dress is simple enough that it can be worn more casually, after the special occasion. Dark tights and flats or ankle ... View the Post
October 16, 2014 Let's say you have A Common Capsule Wardrobe in black and grey, and you're happy with it. But you're concerned that you're going to get bored by wearing so many neutrals all of the time... So one day you're browsing through the internet, and you find a whole LOT of lovely, bright, good-quality blouses, shirts and sweaters at a good price. You might have always wanted to try these brands, but always been reluctant to purchase their items at the full retail price. (the site is The Outnet - lots of pretties at prices that still aren't small, but which are a ton better than the original retail!). After a bit of thought, you choose to, for one season, indulge your affection for every bright ... View the Post
October 15, 2014 We looked at using a variety of shades of pink as an accent in a capsule wardrobe (post here), and it was something that everybody either seemed to love or hate. So I'm going to see what response is to shades of blue - that very particular muted blue that you see in blue onyx. A note about this scarf - it's from Hermes, and it's in their usual amazingly lustrous silk twill, but it isn't a square - it's a very long rectangle with mitered ends. Per square inch of silk, these scarves are MUCH less expensive than the squares, and for many people, they're a lot more versatile style. If you've never been interested in a square scarf, then these (called Maxi Twilly), are at least worth ... View the Post
October 14, 2014 The French 5-Piece Wardrobe is a great way to experiment with new color palettes, but it can also be used as a way to build upon The Common Capsule Wardrobe in your chosen neutrals. Adding in a neutral item or two can really expand the versatility of your core garments, while a new color or two keeps the boredom at bay. Let's see what these five items do for A Common Capsule Wardrobe:
Remember, this is A Common Wardrobe, in navy and grey, with which we're working:
First off, the beautiful green sweater actually would give you eight new possibilities (I only show four) - it can be worn with any of your pants, jeans, or skirt, and it can be worn with ... View the Post
