The Vivienne Files - Page 77 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

One Way to Expand a Travel Capsule Wardrobe – Cloud Rainforest Scarf by Klements

April 8, 2020

I'm very infatuated with this scarf; it it were in my colors, it would be in my closet!

These colors feel like autumn, but in lovely linen this is a great palette for warmer weather:

You may remember back on the last day of March (which seems like it was about a year and a half ago!) our heroine was hopping on trains to visit new cities and towns, and was using these colors as the basis for her wardrobe. These were the clothes that she was packing:

Our heroine has decided to go on a longer vacation - there's no reason to hoard vacation time... She's been so happy with her tiny travel wardrobe that she chooses to use it as the base for her larger wardrobe. How can she make this work?

First, she ... View the Post

Start with Art: Building a Travel Capsule Wardrobe from Rising Green by Lee Krasner

April 7, 2020

She's feeling... exuberant...

Now that she's free to travel again, she's going to do things differently. She's had so much time to plan, and she's going to be so much more organized!

This is her color palette:

She's not going to be reckless - she's still wearing her compression socks, and waterproof loafers. But she's finally going to start wearing the scarves that have been living in a dresser drawer for ages...

Before, she would NEVER have considered packing pants that were lighter than dark navy. She wouldn't have consigned lovely scarves to a suitcase, nor would she have traveled with cashmere sweaters.

Now, she realizes that life is for living, and the things that we own are for using ... View the Post

Some “Not Quite Perfect” Weekly Timeless Wardrobes, and Some Fixes

April 6, 2020

I'm going to take a break for a couple of weeks from the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe "1 garment per week," in order to let the lagging clothing markets catch up to the season!

But I do want to look back at some of the wardrobes from Spring that sort of evolved over the last 13 weeks, and see how they turned out...

I just opened ALL of the files of each post from the last 13 weeks, and accumulated the "example" garments I showed into 6 wardrobes. THIS was a laptop-killer...

First up - almost perfect...

You saw me do this last week in the last wardrobe - the one that sort of mirrors my own wardrobe. That red tee shirt is fine - you don't have to wear it with the pink top, or with the awesome madras dress. But the ... View the Post

Personalizing a Favorite Capsule Wardrobe

April 3, 2020

Today I'm looking back at one of my all-time favorite blog posts, and choosing how I would interpret it in my own wardrobe!

My computer screen savers are all images from The Vivienne Files, that change ever 20 seconds or so. Although they are supposed to be randomly chosen from a huge file of images, in fact I see the same wardrobes fairly often, and this one I see EVERY DAY:

Something about this just feels so right to me...

So in my dream travel, I'm going to... either Ireland or Paris - it doesn't really matter. If I'm in Ireland I'm going to have some business to transact, and if I'm in Paris, I want to look lovely...

After much consideration, this is what I would pack. I don't own these exactly ... View the Post

April 2020 Six Scarves, Twelve Months, Twelve Outfits

April 2, 2020

Oh MY this is quite the load of images!

I think that it's time for a short-sleeved tee shirt, some cropped pants, and a pretty cardigan...

When these new pieces are put into the existing "closet," you can see how nicely they blend in:

And as you should always find when you buy something new, there are easy ways to wear the new garments right away. If you can't integrate a purchase into your wardrobe without buying a bunch of OTHER things, you should reconsider!

Let's bask in the sheer prettiness of this scarf, and these colors, for just a second:

Don't shy away from an accent necklace, if it calls your name loudly enough!

Imagine, if you could travel, and if this was your springtime ... View the Post

Start with Art: Building a Travel Capsule Wardrobe based on The Swan No. 21 by Hilma af Klint

April 1, 2020

Yes, this should be the "Six Scarves, 12 Outfits" post, but I forgot that I was working on a post for the first day of April! Frankly, I'm thrilled to see the end of March - aren't you?

I will get that post for you tomorrow, I promise...

Our heroine had hoped to see the Hilma af Klint exhibit in Malmö, but she might not make it...

But she's still a massive fan of the artist!

Now that she's free to travel, she's going to Stockholm for a long weekend to the Moderna Museet, to see some art! This is going to be her color palette for her travel capsule wardrobe:

She has decided that she's beautiful. After spending so much time alone, it's finally dawned on her that her body has done wonderful things for ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Building a Travel Capsule Wardrobe Starting with the Cloud Rainforest scarf from Klements

March 31, 2020 She Wants to Get Away... Now that she's free to travel again, she's got a plan. Pack the least she can possibly sort for a long weekend, generate a random number under 20 on her computer, and head to the train station...

This is her inspiration:

And this is her color scheme:

Every other weekend, from now 'til the cows come home, she's going to pack up her backpack on a Friday afternoon and head to the train station...

That random number? That's the train stop number at which she's going to get off the train and spend a long weekend! She wants to get to know a lot of new places, and spend her modest travel budget in some smaller cities and towns...

She spent a really long time trying to figure ... View the Post

Start with Swimwear AGAIN? Building a Travel Capsule Wardrobe

March 30, 2020

Well this is embarrassing... The post that was supposed to be here today - the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe post - was erroneously posted on SATURDAY. I've well and truly lost track of what day it is! If you're looking for it, just scroll down past this new post and it's right there... sigh...

The People Who Own Their August Rental... Just sent them an email and asked if they wanted the house for the entire summer - same price as they usually pay JUST for the month of August!

Well... they had to consider if they could telecommute from there - YES.

Will they be able to get groceries and other necessities - YES.

Will they have a beach, and the chance for some fresh air - YES!!!!!

So they're packing in a ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 39: A Shirt-dress or Warm-Weather Dress

March 28, 2020

I'm in full "dreaming of my summer wardrobe" mode right now, although I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to actually go OUTSIDE to wear it... Or how often I'll be able to go out, for a while.

That's what fantasy is for, right? And we will all be out and about eventually; we just have to do what's most important for a while...

There are no real rules for buying a dress, except of course making certain that you adore it, and that you'll wear it to pieces...

If you're following along with the Six Scarves wardrobes, I was easily able to find lovely dresses to go with each of the scarves:

I swear, when we're all out and about again, I'm going to be a LOT less of a sissy about wearing white clothes. You ... View the Post

Start with Swimwear? Building a Travel Capsule Wardrobe

March 28, 2020

"The say that we can go up to the island, if we voluntarily observe social distancing for 14 days..."

please note that this is the same style swim suit that I bought for myself, and I can recommend it without hesitation; I look splendid in mine, and THAT's saying something!

She had realized about a week ago that her life was changing, and her attitudes were... surprising.

After decades of being self-conscious about wear a swim suit, or going into the ocean around other people, she realized that she was worrying about ALL THE WRONG STUFF...

And so she planned for things to be different, now.

She was going to participate fully. In everything. Including splashing, and building sand castles, and just ... View the Post

Start with Art: Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe based on Arara Azul by Victoria Ragna

March 26, 2020

This is a LOT like yesterday's post, I admit. Not because I'm inherently lazy (although I could be, given the right circumstances...) but more because someone asked yesterday about wearing accents of teal, aqua and soft blue with navy. I HAD to show how well many of these garments work just as well with a slightly different neutral.

(yes, grey would be lovely...)

This is very much the same color palette as yesterday, except the shift away from black...

After a LONG summer... They're free to travel again! She's been planning for months for this trip...

What kept her sane through the summer was the ability to go outdoors and watch the birds. It had never been a hobby before; they had had a bird feeder ... View the Post

Start with Art: Building a Travel Capsule Wardrobe based on Sea Change by Helen Frankenthaler

May 20, 2020

Such calming colors....

It's not a complicated color palette, but it's certainly beautiful!

She's Ready to Dress Up... Now that she's free to travel again, she does NOT want to pack jeans, nor sweatpants, nor a sweatshirt. Frankly, if she doesn't see her casual clothes for a LONG time, she won't mind!

They're going to take the train into the city, and stay in a hotel near the harbor. She wants to be able to see the sea from their room; it's been too long.

They've had months to plan this trip, and dream about it. Leisurely walks, holding hands. Lovely, lingering dinners. Sitting in a café by the sea, watching the waves and sipping a cocktail.

Nothing strenuous - they don't have a ... View the Post