The Vivienne Files - Page 26 of 288 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

More From Paris – What They Wore, What Was in the Store Windows, Some Random Street Art!

December 23, 2024

Good morning my friends! I'm feel much more myself, after I slept 12 hours on Thursday night...

What else did I see in Paris? (do you have A MONTH?) It was subdued, more than I can ever remember seeing in December - and remember, before the pandemic, I used to go do Paris every December, so I have some frame of reference.

Maybe the most strikingly uniform thing I noticed was that probably 2/3 of the store windows were featuring party attire that was black with silver - and occasionally - gold accents. Lots of sequins or metallic threads woven in... Things like this:

It's difficult to see in my photographs, but you'd fit right into the Paris party environment if you had a silver sequined jacket, or dress, or ... View the Post

Report from Paris – Mutedly Festive, but Still Delightful…

December 20, 2024

I got home last night (I'm writing this on Thursday...) after 8 p.m., and it was an exhausting day. I forgot just how far one has to walk in airports - especially Charles de Gaulle in Paris!

And stand in line. Oh. My. Heavens. Could someone with some planning and logical skills get in touch with these people and sort out how they get you from the curb to your airplane?

But I have warm and happy memories of my trip, and that's what matters! You're not going to travel without some effort, right? Unless you're shamelessly wealthy, which I will never be!

My favorite moment? I went to a rugby match - yes, by myself - at the Stade Jean-Bouin, a lovely stadium in the far south-west corner of the city. I walked the 10K ... View the Post

Want Something Pretty? Start With a Scarf – The Artiquel Scarf by Artifact.

December 18, 2024

Sometimes, you see something that just makes you happy. If you keep thinking about that thing... six hours later?... you might want to listen to your heart!

That's my feeling about this scarf; the minute I saw this, I knew I wanted to share it with you all here:

What an interesting image - dill? Some sparse hydrangeas? And artichokes? What do you think?

Of course, these colors are difficult to find...

Our heroine knows that she's going to struggle to find the soft accent colors - the green and purple are QUITE elusive. But she also knows that she can wear this scarf with her neutral grey, or she could look for a different green like soft olive. Or use beige as her neutral. There are always ... View the Post

Feeling Bright and Casually Festive? Start With a Scarf – The Trina Turk scarf by Echo

December 16, 2024

These are NOT traditional holiday colors, but they're certainly bright and cheery enough to be appealing this time of year:

Of course, this scarf has more colors than our heroine has chosen for her palette—she's pretty happy that in warmer weather, she can choose beige, olive green, or off-white.

Just a Bunch of Friends It's a tradition for all her friends who can't get away to be with family this time of year; they get together at someone's home for a few days, attend a couple of parties, go out to dinner, and go to a movie one evening...

It's not dressy, but it IS festive. She dresses warmly to drive there, although the weather has been pretty moderate. She can't leave until late—she can't leave until ... View the Post

Need a Warm Break? Start with Bracelets – Winter Sky Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

December 13, 2024

They spend Boxing Day cleaning up. And on the 27th, they're in the car early in the morning, heading SOUTH!

She's dreaming of the Winter Sky, but the sunny winter sky where they go every year for a while - just to avoid the worst of the cold and snow...

This year, she's inspired by these:

She has some clothes down there already - no reason to bring them back north! But she has new colors in mind to expand her existing wardrobe of navy, beige, white and bright green:

It's not bitterly cold where they are right now, so she doesn't have to bundle up all that much the first morning... But she loves feeling cozy for the first day of the drive...

She packs some warm-ish things, and some ... View the Post

Festive? Start with Art – The Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

December 11, 2024

I'm leaving for Paris this afternoon - and so is today's heroine!

Remember this most elegant woman - of the upswept and braided white hair, the immaculate red manicure, the lush jewel-toned accents in her black and white wardrobe?

We first met her when she was a university guest lecturer;...

In January 2018, she took a group of students to the Cloisters;

In August 2019, she was in Paris to help with reconstructing Notre Dame;

In December 2019, she was off to Venice;

She assembled a "work from home" wardrobe in May 2020;

which she accessorized in May 2020;

and we visited her in November of 2021, when she went to Dublin;

Oh my! I knew I loved this woman, but I never ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – 6th Painting, by John Nash

December 9, 2024

I'm leaving for Paris on Wednesday unless something happens to hold me back. I haven't been to Paris in five years, which for me feels like half my life... I plan to have posts here for you while I'm away, but bear in mind that I won't be able to fix stupid mistakes - or smart mistakes! Love, J

Our last installment of our last heroine, assembling a wardrobe that holds a strange appeal to me - the soft earthiness of these colors would be such a comfort each morning...

This heroine, as is true with all of them, currently has 48 garments in her wardrobe. For most of the world, that's an embarrassment of riches! And - if well chosen - most of us could probably manage with this:

Of course, I SHOULD have been ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – 5th Painting, by Maurice Denis

December 5, 2024

I love this painting - I think I need to look at some other works by him!

As with all of our heroines, this lover of muted colors already has a pretty complete wardrobe. 48 garments should give just about anybody PLENTY of outfits, don't you imagine?

Her jewelry is great - and her scarves too! She's had quite a lot of luck this year finding things that suit her:

Her bags and shoes are great too...

After last month's plunge into holiday attire, our heroine thinks she wants one more "festive" top. She finds something that will be perfect with her velvet pants but can also be dressed down. The rest of her shopping allotment consists of three garments that can be worn together for a warm and soft ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – 4th Painting, by Paul Klee

December 5, 2024

If you don't want to wear red for the holidays, our next heroine is right there with you! But she has ivory and green in her palette, so she's still going to feel appropriate...

As with all of our heroines, this one has a lot of clothes already - including a simple green dress that could get a lot of mileage during the holidays...

She also has a really nice green cardigan, that will give a holiday feel to ivory and beige things...

Heck, she could even wear a green hoodie for outdoor things like caroling...

She has amazing jewelry, and some really perfect scarves for her color palette. Maybe she's looking for something with a holiday theme?

Her shoes and bags also feel pretty ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Third Painting, by Mark Rothko

December 4, 2024

Still a favorite - maybe because it's based on black, or maybe because I find Rothko paintings fascinating. Seeing them on a screen does NOT do them justice; they are layered, and shaded in a way that no computer can replicate!

Coming into the shopping frenzy that is December, our heroine has a pretty well-stocked wardrobe. When we arrange a number of clusters, or outfits, or just dresses (which of course don't need anything else), we find that there are few things for which she would not be well-dressed:

Even after we pulled out all of the things above to show how many outfits she has, she STILL has a bunch of garments:

She also has what is (to my taste!) an enviable collection of jewelry and ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Second Painting, by Elizabeth Magill

December 3, 2024

Let's move on to our next heroine, who has committed her wardrobe to navy and white, with a few shades of blue...

She was inspired by this, and one can well understand!

Her existing wardrobe, at the end of November, is pretty complete. Let's look at it, spread out a bit, and arranged in some outfits:

After all of those outfits, she still has nine more tops, and a dress! As I said before, this might be enough for some people...

Her accessories are perfect for her:

After some deep thinking, our heroine has two goals this month:

She wants to expand her denim/chambray adventure, (she's going to buy a second chambray shirt, for a very specific reason; those of us who own these shirts can ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – First Painting, by Georgia O’Keeffe

December 2, 2024

Our last visit with our six heroines! First, let's take a last look at our heroine who wears a stunning amount of red. Her art inspiration is from Georgia O'Keeffe; any painting by her has the potential to spark the ideas for a great wardrobe. Her lines are simple, her colors few, but stunning...

Before this powerhouse of PR and communications goes shopping, let's look at her existing wardrobe, in a slightly different way.

She has plenty of outfits already; when you look at your own wardrobe, outfit by outfit, you might find that you already have most of what you need...

A dozen outfits, and still seventeen more garments. For many people, this would be sufficient; for others...

She also takes ... View the Post