The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

The Vivienne Files - Page 5 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

The Second of Six Paintings – Twelve Months February 2025

February 4, 2025

This will warm us up!

Our heroine is committed to building a wardrobe in these colors; her patience might be tried, finding clothes! Beautiful as these colors are, they're not ubiquitous...

At the end of January, this was our heroine's eight-piece wardrobe. It all goes together nicely, and includes a deeply beautiful scarf!

This month there wasn't any grouping of clothes, or complete outfit, that appealed to our heroine, so she instead found four garments that are perfect in her wardrobe, and pretty doggone lovely, too!

The scarf she found is relatively small - it's described as a bandana. In the warm weather, tied in her hair, or to the handle of her tote bag, or around her wrist, it will be a ... View the Post

The First of Six Paintings – Twelve Months February 2025

February 3, 2025

I've already reached the point at which I really want to look at these painting one at a time! It's possible to focus better on just one painting at a time - at least for my limited capacity...

This month, the top of the heap is this beauty!

When I look at this painting on different screens, the dark neutral color varies between camel and a dark olive green. I'm sticking with camel, although it's lovely to have a second option...

Our heroine comes into February with this compact but pretty excellent capsule wardrobe:

This month, our heroine decided to lean into the chambray blue in her wardrobe, as well as grab a good pair of loafers and a handbag:

With these additions, the overall feeling ... View the Post

Pink, Orange and White for Summer? Start With a Swimsuit – Floral Strawberry Watercolor Suit by L.L.Bean x Summersalt

January 31, 2025

I don't believe I've ever before been SO happy to see January end...

You asked for another swimsuit, and I hasten to satisfy. This was a specific request, and I can see why!

Honestly, isn't "Summersalt" the best brand name for swimwear?

My first instinct - I think it would be so for a lot of us - was bright colors. But then when I really spent some time with the image of the swimsuit, I found myself more and more drawn to the soft pink, and the lighter shades of orange..

But let's start with white - always right for hot weather and being near the water:

Next I knew we had to find some soft pink. While the cardigan might seem sort of dressy, I thought that (1) it was worth showing to you, because ... View the Post

Looking for Summer Accessories? Start With a 4×4 Summer Wardrobe

January 29, 2025

Of course you remember our swimming heroine from Monday - a new swimsuit spawned a full 4x4 summer wardrobe plan!

This is her new suit:

And this is the 16-piece capsule wardrobe she chose to go with her swimsuit - you have to start somewhere!

So that our heroine can be sure to get all of the accessories that she needs, she's going to take a handful of normal outfits from her wardrobe, and accessorize each of them. The most important thing might be to include all of your "bottoms" when you do this, so that you don't show up somewhere with a lovely outfit and the wrong shoes. Worse things happen every day, but if you can avoid this...

Let's start with the essentials - a hat and sunglasses!

For ... View the Post

Need a Summer Overhaul? Start with Swimwear – Ditsy Lilies by Lands’ End

January 27, 2025

She swims EVERY DAY. Everybody who lives in her very large building has seen her in the elevators, in her swimsuit and robe. She's long past the point of feeling self-conscious!

But she's realizing that she needs new swimwear. And new summer clothes. The whole exercising, eating right, avoiding junk food project seems to have worked!

In the summer, she swims every day, outdoors. Hours by the pool. Swim wear is what she's wearing most often, so she realizes that she might want to start there to re-build a summer wardrobe:

She's pretty methodical about this - her first choice is a dress that will certainly be considered a "cover-up" in her life! A navy tank and shorts seem logical, with a striped shirt to wear ... View the Post

I Love It, But Will I Wear It? A Printed Full Skirt

January 24, 2025

After I posted the "sister skirt" in purple on The Vivienne Files, there was quite a bit of interest, excitement, and chat. I love that!

Frock Tales - the brand of the skirts - has quite a lot of alluring things available. Gorgeous skirts, a purple dress that I DO NOT NEED, and some really pretty tops. One of the skirts that attracted a lot of attention was beautiful shades of green and blue, accented with golden yellow. If it were still available in the full range of sizes, I would be writing about it!

But instead, today we're going to think about this skirt a bit...

I'm not going to try to come up with a color wheel for this... But I'm already thinking that I'm NOT going to try to put a pink top with this, ... View the Post

Love Black and White with Pink and Purple? Lucinda by Sofia Bonati

January 22, 2025

She's a specialist in flowers. As they appear in medieval manuscripts, as decorations for big fancy capital letters, or inserted as a border, or a section break. Many people don't realize that the choice of flower in each location is important, and has meaning!

She's a rare person...

She's recently written a guide to flowers found in documents from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. It's not really a technical book - more of a guide for the layman who finds these sorts of things fascinating! Her publisher has invited her to New York for a couple of days for some final proofing of the cover design and the "blurbs" that will be on the back cover. Dinner will be an event, every night she's ... View the Post

Do You Love Deep, Rich Jewel Tones? The Baroque Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

January 21, 2025

 

Do you love the rich, classic colors of precious gems? A little ruby, a few emeralds, maybe a sapphire or two?

This bracelet is ALL about those beautiful colors!

A pretty classic outfit takes on a new feeling with some velvet loafers, a brooch stolen from the angels, and your new bracelet:

Burgundy and navy are classic cool-weather colors - add some pretty earrings, a lovely scarf and timeless loafers:

This late in the winter (well, in the winter clothing season!), it's hard to find forest green, but it's always worth searching!

Maybe your life suggests that you should have a dress! Or another piece of green clothing? And some amazing jewelry is never a bad ... View the Post

Want Lots of Accent Colors? The Meredith Wing Scarf by Echo

January 17, 2025

This scarf scream warm weather to me, but I'm pretty certain that we can figure out ways to wear it every month of the year!

There are a few additional colors from the scarf that I could have included, but I felt that these 3 colors, plus black and white, were the most visible:

Even in the coldest weather, a warm sweater and some accessories that go with it will always be useful. And if your new scarves just happens to go with your sweater...

If you like to wear "suit-like" pairings of clothes, a new accent tee shirt is always handy! Yes, the jewelry is VERY inexpensive (aka cheap), but it's a good way to test-drive how much you like this color without going nuts. If you decide to upgrade at a late ... View the Post

I Love It, But Will I Wear It? White Cotton Shirt

January 15, 2025

For decades, I did everything I could to avoid wearing button-front shirts. If it fit across the... torso, the sleeves were miles too long. If I got the right sleeve length, it wouldn't button!

And why it never occurred to me to try a Petite sized shirt, I do NOT know. 

Now, I have a handful of shirts, and I wear the dickens out of them! Maybe it's not too late for you - a simple white shirt really is wicked useful. If you find that they're too "crispy" and neat, get one of these no-iron ones and don't touch-up iron it at all. They're nice and soft that way...

Yes, you see these L.L.Bean pants all the time. I have two pairs of them (heritage stone and black) and wear them weekly. Workhorses.

And ... View the Post

I Love It, But Will I Wear It? Grey Cashmere Sweatshirt

January 13, 2025

It's something we all need to do - wear what we already own much more frequently, and make certain that anything we buy will be worn a lot, for years and years...

In pursuit of making good decisions, I hear from you. A current dilemma seems to surround the idea of a cashmere sweatshirt - is it a sweatshirt, or a cashmere sweater? Do I wear with casually, or do I dress it up?

To which I respond? YES. Yes to all. Swing every which way with a beautiful sweatshirt, and wear it so often that it's a comfortable "top of mind" starter for any outfit, for most occasions.

I have ideas starting with casual and ranging up to somewhat dressy. I'm going to share these without comment, so I can clearly hear your ... View the Post

Want a Statement Color Palette? Start With Art – Icarus by Lee Krasner

January 10, 2025 The Reluctant Traveler

We think that you should go on this site visit, because the Superintendent says that you two have never met..."

WHAT kind of chocolate-frosted nonsense is this? She worked with the Superintendent for a half a day, at the end of the LAST site visit, drafting the recommendations for update and next steps. They sat at a table together for hours...

Still, if they say go, she goes. This time, she's going to make just a bit of a bright statement with her travel capsule wardrobe, starting with some accessories for her travel outfit:

Nothing inappropriate - but maybe the Superintendent will remember her this time?

If you've got to do business travel in January in the Northern ... View the Post