The Vivienne Files - Page 2 of 224 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Start with a Detail – The Water, Monaco by William John Leech

April 29, 2022

She wasn't sure that she loved the painting, but she saw something in it that REALLY spoke to her...

She's Always Been a Towhead She violated all of those pieces of advice about looking at art, and she got up REALLY CLOSE to the painting...

THIS is what she saw, that called to her:

Her hair was turning from blond white to just plain (amazing!) white. She avoided the sun, as all wise women do. And she embraced the soft, the pale, the subtle muted colors that suited her so well...

if I didn't already have a white summer cardigan...

Beige is the core of her wardrobe - winter, summer, no matter! And light grey wool, in the cool weather...

She's excited to add some light green to her wardrobe! ... View the Post

Revising a Wardrobe Plan: Start with Art – The Water, Monaco by William John Leech

April 27, 2022 Our heroine felt... unsatisfied with her initial wardrobe plan. It was perfectly practical, and many women would have been delighted with having black, beige and pastels available to them... So our heroine went back to her inspiration painting, to try to identify what about it really appeal to her!

She loved the contrast between the trees and the pastels in the water... She wasn't mad about the color of the sand, or pavement, or whatever that mungy greenish beige was supposed to be! ..... Walking to work, she saw a very nicely dressed man, in a navy suit, a light blue shirt, and dark tie... NAVY! Navy and pastels are classic. And then she saw a lovely woman wearing a simple white tee shirt with a navy ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year

April 25, 2022

When I started working on this post, it was pouring rain in Chicago. I mean pouring buckets and barrels and VATS of rain...

The next day, the temperature is over 20C, and quite lovely. If the wind doesn't (literally) blow you over...

Which made me realize yet again that there are really more than 4 season in the year; they've apparently always know that in Japan!

So I'm very intrigued by the idea of 24 Seasons - which are divided into 72 wee mini-seasons! I'll stick with this 24 for now, but I never rule out doing something fun with 72 seasons!

My thinking, at this early stage: an outfit for each mini-season, 3 garments. That would be a 72-garment wardrobe - considerably smaller than what I currently ... View the Post

Adding Accent Accessories – Start with Art: Vocal Fabric of the Singer Rosa Silber by Paul Klee

April 22, 2022

You know that it's "klee an in clay"? There once was a book by that title that helped us pronounce all sorts of art and music names properly; well worth grabbing if you see it used...

Well, when I started this post, I wasn't at all sure WHEN you would get to see it; they're working on the internet and cable in my building - fifty-some floors of rewiring! Outages and glitches are built into this process; if I am going to miss a date I will post a note from my phone so you know I'm okay!

SO!!! Let's get Wednesday's heroines some accessories!!!

For reference, and for pleasure, let's remember that this is the art from which we started:

Let's go back to our core of 10 pieces of clothing. There's no reason in the ... View the Post

Start with Art: Vocal Fabric of the Singer Rosa Silber by Paul Klee, and French 5-Piece Wardrobes

April 20, 2022

We visited this fascinating painting a few years ago, and I've never forgotten about it!

So when someone asked me about having a couple of accent colors for summer, and after we looked at the possibilities of 1 scarf for 4 women, I got to thinking.... (as my mother would say - "we knew you were thinking; we smelled the smoke...")

The last time we looked at this painting, I only isolated 3 accent colors, but today I'm choosing four!

So my plan is this - I'm going to start us out with a core summer wardrobe in light colors - white and beige. Then I'm going to scare up four French 5-Piece Wardrobes - one in each of the accent colors...

Let's start here:

I'm not going to run through how many outfits ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Water, Monaco by William John Leech

April 18, 2022

Making Compromises, When Your Palette is Difficult

She's really committed to these colors, even though she knows that it's not going to be easy... There's no real way she can envision getting dressed for an entire season without wearing black - even if it's hot!

And the rest of the colors? She has accepted that "her" beige, that green-ish, rain-soaked and slightly lichen-colored quay, isn't going to be anywhere to be found; she's prepared to compromise with the much more common beige...

The accent colors could be tricky; she can't actually see herself wearing soft lime OR light periwinkle with black!

But she gives it all a go - it's just clothing, after all.

Starting with the simple stuff - it's never difficult to ... View the Post

April 2022 Start with a Bracelet: The Nourishing Lynx Bracelets

April 15, 2022

You know those organizations that always show up where there's a war or a natural disaster, and they feed (literally) millions of people? That kind of service doesn't just spring up out of the ground, you know...

There are people who figure out how to actually COOK those huge amounts of food, and make it palatable!

Our ENTIRELY IMAGINARY heroine is off to meet with a group of volunteers that are preparing to travel to one of the current locations where food is needed...

She has accumulated lots of useful information - how to use what's available, no matter how unusual it might be. How to season vast pots of soup and stew so that it's tasty, but not overwhelming for people who haven't had enough food ... View the Post

Version 4 Start with a Scarf: Peonies Silk Scarf by Arlo Goods

April 13, 2022

She's An Actress...

She's been a star of a daytime drama for years, playing the good twin and the evil twin...

Part of the fun of being friends with her is that her expressions and emotions can run the gamut from intellectually serious to hysterically funny in a matter of moments...

So nobody is surprised that she has included ALL of the accent colors in their "scarf-centric" wardrobe, nor are they amazed to see that SHE bought the kimono, and not the scarf!

It's still a pretty versatile wardrobe:

Rumor has it that the writers on her show are about to introduce a long-lost triplet...

love,

Janice

p.s. Approximately seven years ago, I shared with you my shortcut to calculating ... View the Post

Version 3 Start with a Scarf: Peonies Silk Scarf by Arlo Goods

April 11, 2022

They all seem to have chosen the same scarf...

Executive Coordinator of something or other... She came directly from a training visit to one of their branch offices...

Her company's name is just a long list of letters, with an ampersand in there somewhere; her friends can NEVER remember...

And they could not BEGIN to explain what it is that she does. What they do know is that she's important, travels a ton, and has the bold confidence of a pride of lionesses!

She has been packing for 2 or 3 day work trips for years, so going from meetings to friends and then BACK to meetings doesn't faze her in the least...

9 garments is plenty for her - options for operas and dinners with friends, ... View the Post

Version 2 Start with a Scarf: Peonies Silk Scarf by Arlo Goods

April 8, 2022

The Soccer Coach...

Green eyes, and an auburn pixie hairstyle... But a serious Division A college soccer coach. Her friends from childhood never doubted...

They often joke that she chose the University at which she works because their colors are green and white! When she got the gig, they all chipped in to get her a pair of emerald earrings, which she wears almost constantly...

What might be most surprising about her is that she manages to get dressed up for some of their get-togethers without sacrificing a smidgen of her personal style!

She knows that her friends love to see her wear green, because they so admire how it flatters her - so she packs to oblige! In all fairness, she does have ... View the Post

A Few of My Favorite Things – April 2022

April 6, 2022

I've never done this, in the 12 years (!!?!!?!!) that I've been writing The Vivienne Files - just show you a bunch of stuff that caught my eye!

But I realized a few days ago that my "cool things to remember" file was getting stupid big, and so I thought that I could just show you items outside of the context of a wardrobe. You're adults - you'll figure out how these could be worn!

Everything here is from 1 website: wolfandbadger.com. I've been to their stores in New York and London, as well as ordering things from them. Their service is excellent...

And since all of these things come from small designers, you really could email a designer to ask questions! For example, if you madly admire a pair of red earrings, ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Peonies Silk Scarf by Arlo Goods

April 4, 2022

She's Always Rather Dressy... She always has been - they've all known each other since school, and she was always the most dressed-up of them all at any event! Not that she was ever inappropriate - just a notch or 2 fancier than them..

So when they make plans to get together for a long weekend in the city, they look forward to seeing her, (of course!) and seeing how she is dressed!

For what it's worth, she's hysterically funny, very generous, and an all-around great friend...

This weekend should be particularly interesting; they've got tickets to Orchestra Hall, and dinner reservations another night at one of the new, "fancy" restaurants that has recently opened...

They haven't all been together ... View the Post