The Vivienne Files - Page 75 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Rescuing Forgotten Accessories: The Botanical Blossoms Scarf

May 12, 2020

Another heroine decided to dig into her accessories and unearth an under-appreciated beauty!

She knew that, when she bought it, she was thinking of bright, cheerful warm days, when she wanted to be as vivid and happy as the flowers...

So she decided that she would wear this scarf twice a month until the end of the summer. Maybe it would just be tied to the handle of her handbag, or worn in her hair, but she wanted to start using and enjoying it!

It might be warm enough to wear sleeveless tops, if she has her cardigan close at hand:

One would hope that by June, she will be able to wear shorts! At any rate, that's her plan:

By July, she plans to wear dresses fairly often. (yes, she discovered how ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 41: A Dark Neutral, Sleeveless Top

May 11, 2020

Well, a dear friend of mine is currently moving her plants indoors, because the weekend is supposed to bring freezing temperatures, and I'm writing about summer clothes! (I'm writing this on Friday afternoon May 8th)

Getting the best clothes often requires planning ahead; you can't imagine how often I will see something that I think is perfect to share with you, only to find that there are only 2 sizes still available...

So let's plunge into the possibilities of a simple, dark tank top or other sleeveless top!

For those who are following along with the "6 Scarves, 12 Months" series of posts, these are the tops that I would suggest for a wardrobe based on each of the scarves:

As always, I've got ... View the Post

Accessories! Start with Art – The Visit by Marie Laurencin

May 8 2020

I couldn't resist coming back to this painting, and to the wardrobe based on these colors!

First, let's look back at the spring wardrobe with a core of grey and white garments, and then a few accents in blue and pink (including that blue cardigan that keeps catching my eye!):

I'm looking for accessories that are somewhat "soft" in feel, to compliment the softness of the colors here, and also for things that will look good with more than one outfit...

For our blue dress, I wanted a scarf that our heroine could wear around her shoulders (although of course she has her white cardigan that will be perfect for that!), and some earrings that also were organic in theme. Silver sandals will be useful with pretty much ... View the Post

Start with Art: My favorite puppy’s Life by Fiona Rae

May 7, 2020

The capitalization of the painting is the artist's; artists see things in ways we hope to learn, some day...

While there are quite a few really fun colors in this painting, any heroine worth her salt knows that you've got to limit yourself a bit, at least at the start of a wardrobe "build."

First up, our wise heroine decides to make certain that she has a solid base for her wardrobe in navy and white:

Her heart was SET on hot pink and purple... but the marketplace of clothing didn't really help her out much!

This is one of the hardest parts of putting together any wardrobe - deciding that you KNOW what you want, but then finding that your lovely dreams are not readily available in the retail ... View the Post

Start with Art: Yellow Calla by Georgia O’Keeffe

May 6, 2020 The Need for Zest... She's doing fine, really. But she does acknowledge that only being able to go outdoors every few days, in a mask, hurrying to get errands completely and back to the safety of her home, has caused her to feel... muted.

Not that she doesn't love her grey and white core wardrobe! But the need for a bit of zing, a touch of excitement, or the jolt of an unexpected color, is beginning to be felt in her heart.

So when she saw this, she was smitten!

It wasn't too difficult to distill her spring and summer color palette from this gorgeous painting:

She's going to indulge for warm weather, this year. She still has to be on a camera conference call at least once a week, and she often has to stand ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 40: A Light Neutral, Sleeveless Top

May 5, 2020

Yesterday felt like summer; does that count?

Today feels like autumn... sigh...

But lets prepare for warm weather - we all know that it's going to get here eventually!

Every summer, I buy at least 1 or 2 of these, to take the place of the ones that I wore to PIECES the previous year; I keep these in my closet all year, because they are great under winter clothes too!

As always, I've thought of a few things to keep in mind as you consider your summer supply of tops:

These outfits all appeal to me right now; maybe it's because I'm inside, and maybe it's because we've only had intermittent 1 day periods of nice weather!

And as always, accessories seem to make a LOT of difference! I know you're ... View the Post

May 2020 Six Scarves, Twelve Months, Twelve Outfits

May 4, 2020

Holy handbags of Buddha, it feels like a MONTH since I've done a post like this! Give that it rained about 72 days in April, I'm ready to start thinking about the possibilities of warmer weather...

So today (and tomorrow!) I'm going to look at tank tops, which I think might be unsung heroes in some wardrobes. They add a dash of color, and a bit of coverage, when it's often needed...

Let's go!

Remember this timeless scarf, and palette?

For May, this heroine needs shorts! And the turquoise tank top and bracelet are perfect accents for an overall "navy suit-like" outfit. (yes, linen cardigans are insanely useful in warm weather - I have one at my mother's home, and one here!)

The turquoise is a new accent ... View the Post

I Love It, But Will I Wear It? Blue Cotton Cardigan

May 1, 2020

It catches her eye every time she's on the website. She has wondered how she might wear it, if she were to treat herself...

Finally, she decides to actually try to PLAN an outfit or 2, from current garments and some possible other lovely things she's seen. She does want to buy something for spring, and starting with this cardigan might make sense. If you keep daydreaming about a piece of clothing after you've seen an image of it, you might want to think seriously about how much you're attracted to it, right?

She is fond of a wide range of neutral colors, so there are plenty of possibilities...

First off, there's no reason that you can't just wear a cardigan in a different color over anything neutral and ... View the Post

Accessories! Start with Art: Resting by Paul Klee

April 30, 2020

This heroine knows full well the degree to which the right accessories can make a TON of difference in an outfit! First up, she's starting with this compelling painting, and lovely color palette:

Our heroine is starting with this most wonderful wardrobe in soft colors and timeless styles:

She knows that she's going to want to wear very simple monochromatic outfits sometimes, and that on other occasions she's going to break out her accent colors. Her plan, then, is to pull together some representative outfits, and accessorize each of them...

All accessories do NOT have to be neutral - blue suede shoes tell you what you're going to be humming all day!

She wants to be able to look pretty in a dress ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Visit by Marie Laurencin – grey and white and relaxing…

April 29, 2020

When she saw this painting, the first thing she thought was that the poor woman on the horse will NOT be invited in, because she's got to stay 6 feet away from the other women...

But she also thought that the colors would be idea for her wardrobe!

Now that her employer has become the last company in the world to start doing video meetings, she realizes that she needs to look a bit pulled together, and calm, and in control. At least from the waist up!

So she isolates her colors for Spring...

And then she pulls together her core Weekly Timeless Wardrobe in grey and white. She loves grey, but finding grey clothes in warmer weather isn't always easy!

She realizes immediately that she has a lot of ... View the Post

Rescuing Forgotten Accessories: Butterflies by Echo

April 28, 2020

She decided she was going to wear them ALL. One, every 3 or 4 months...

So she dug into the very bottom of her scarf drawer, and found this beauty:

She didn't worry about a color palette; if she bought the scarf for herself, she's going to assume that it must go with something in her wardrobe...

So her plan - wear her newly special scarf twice a month, with clothes that she already owns!

April has remained practically a winter month, this year, so she's wearing sweaters... and her butterfly earrings!

May, on the other hand, is all over the map, weather-wise! So she decides that cropped pants, with sleeveless tops and a cuddly cardigan might be her best option.

By the time ... View the Post

Start with Art: Resting by Paul Klee, and a Beige Weekly Timeless Wardrobe for Spring

April 27 2020

Finally, she's getting a break... And she's going to take advantage of being able to stay home.

Her plan is to sleep, read, go for walks in the park behind her home, bake excellent stuff, have a cocktail or two, and then sleep some more!

She's starting here - the colors of calmness, for her...

She starts with her favorite beige (there's some advantage to being blonde) and then adds in some denim-y blue, and some shades of rose:

For warm weather, she could probably live in shades of beige and ivory. From these 13 items, it might be possible to dress for weeks.

After what she's been through in the last few months, she doesn't care if her clothes get dirty or spotted; she knows that there are more ... View the Post