The Vivienne Files - Page 92 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Start with Art: Grey Fireworks by Helen Frankenthaler

March 11, 2019

She's running for office... Not a big office, nothing that will require travel beyond an hour's drive from her home in order to campaign. But she's serious about it! This is what she's using to help her focus her campaign wardrobe...

She enrolled in a 3-day workshop for women running for office... And she's going to use this trip as her dress-rehearsal for some of her campaign outfits!

She's taken a close look at other women who are running for office, and she's noticed that some of them wear a very neutral "core" outfit (often black tops and pants) with accent jackets... She's going to emulate this idea, using dark grey as her neutral, and 4 accent colors taken from her favorite painting.

Since she ... View the Post

Start with Art: From the Lake by Georgia O’Keeffe

March 9, 2019

Planning a wardrobe with mostly neutrals doesn't mean that your wardrobe will be predictable...

Let's start with this most wonderful painting:

It's pretty simple - we can start with the same neutral clothes that we used a few days ago...

Ah, but the accent pieces are quite different. One of the neat things here is that this heroine could have 5 neutrals... the brown and the grey would both be excellent secondary wardrobe neutrals, don't you think?

This wardrobe feels very different to me than the earlier version with bright accents:

I've kept the silver earrings, and then added in brown and aqua...

Same with the bracelets - her neutrals are still perfect for her wardrobe, but ... View the Post

An Accessory Packing Miscalculation…

March 6, 2019

Remember this mostly neutral wardrobe? I'm going to revisit this with different accent colors on Friday, but today this wardrobe still needs to be accessorized! This is the scarf upon which I based this wardrobe:

And these were the garments:

So, to experiment a little bit, and to change up our normal system, let's just choose a bunch of great accessories, and see how it all works out...

(I'm going to fill in a 6 by 4 Accessory Grid, just for the heck of it...)

First up, earrings! Some neutrals, and a couple of pair that pick up 2 of our accent colors:

A watch and some bracelets, with the same balance of neutral and accent colors:

Necklaces, and (why the heck not?) a brooch! Brooches on ... View the Post

Choosing Accessories to go with a Blue and Grey Travel Wardrobe (for Ireland!)

March 4, 2019

It's all well and good to have your clothes sorted for a trip, but you really MUST pack accessories. Not necessarily all that much stuff, but some shoes are critical, as well as a few more odds and ends...

As a reminder, this is the photograph that was inspiring us, and the color scheme that we were using:

You've got to have shoes - there aren't terribly many places you can go and NOT need shoes... Even though the dress shoes aren't as important as hiking shoes, let's start here anyway!

If you're not going to do hard-core hiking, you might adjust your choice of hiking shoes to be something a little bit less rugged, but it always makes sense to have something very comfortable for lots of ... View the Post

March 2019 – 12 Months, 12 Outfits – Based on 6 Hermes Scarves

March 1, 2019

Possibly my favorite blog post every month!

You can see the January post here, and the February post here...

First up is this quite abstract scarf, in my favorite black and white with 2 shades of blue:

Normally I would look for a solid skirt for this outfit, but I couldn't resist the stripes here! And the juxtaposition of more stripes appeals to my fondness for pattern mixing:

Next is this lovely scarf with all of those shades of purple, lavender and pink. I'm not sure how it's all going to look when this is finished, but I love the colors together!

I'm on a one-woman mission to convince everyone that skirts don't have to be dressy...

The balance here between warm and cool colors is going ... View the Post

Can You Have Too Many Neutrals? Start with a Scarf – The Tropical Scarf by Pig, Chicken & Cow

February 27, 2019

I am often asked if it's possible to have a wardrobe that's TOO neutral...

Hmmm. My first thought is that if someone is concerned about feeling this way, maybe their wardrobe is too neutral for them. Conversely, maybe these questioners are perfectly happy with their wardrobe, but they get critical feedback from others. (how often do those of us who love wearing black get criticized for being Goth, as if that made any sense...)

The answer, I think you already know, is NO, no wardrobe is too bright, nor too neutral, nor too pastel, unless it doesn't suit you, and doesn't make you feel beautiful and happy and free to do your important things.

But in the interest of investigating a wardrobe that's 75% neutral, ... View the Post

Trying to Forecast Weather – Packing for May in Ireland!

February 25, 2019

Honestly, if I could tell you with any degree of certainty what the weather is going to be in May in Ireland, I would be doing something to make a fortune, like buying penny stocks and selling them for millions of dollars. The weather requires that level of omniscient genius!

But you can be strategic, right? Let's start with a beautiful photograph of an Ireland shore, to help define a color palette:

Okay, time for strategy. First, you can't take ALL of your wardrobe with you, so you have to make some smart choices. If we accept that it's not possible to pack for every possible kind of weather, I submit that it's smarter (in the spring and summer) to carry with you clothes for cooler weather, working with the ... View the Post

Chic Sighting: Striped Tee Shirt & Floral Skirt

February 22, 2019

this post is dedicated to Hazel...

If you have been making carefully-chosen wardrobe purchases for a while, and you've stuck with a color palette that's reasonably restricted, you might find that you can assemble an outfit like these from your current wardrobe! That's where having a wardrobe plan pays off...

I spotted this combination on a little girl, but I quickly realized that this kind of outfit suits lovely ladies of any age! One of the things I like the most about having a floral skirt is that it often makes clear what your accent color will be for your outfit. The tee shirt and skirt above would also be lovely with white sandals (or a pair of white Keds!) and a white bag...

The touch of sea ... View the Post

Ireland: The Amazing, The Great, and The Less than Perfect…

February 20, 2019

Yes, you really do see things like this all over the country; their history is LONG, and cherished. They haven't been able to preserve absolutely everything in pristine condition, but even when things are a bit mossy and crumbly, they're beautiful!

Much of what we did on our vacation was to drive to someplace beautiful and amazing, and then get out and WALK a ton. Some of the roads aren't quite what you're used to (unless you live in rural West Virginia, maybe), but they're worth braving for the isolated pockets of wonderment that you will find...

And my packing was... overall, great! Getting dressed was easy, and I was pretty comfortable (with 1 exception, which I will share in a minute!)

At the last ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Pilgrim of the Absolute by Brian Fahlstrom

February 18, 2019

She helps to plan the logistics for tours of pilgrims - those who wish to walk one of the many pilgrimage routes in Europe. They do the walking, but she and her staff make certain that they have lovely hotels, good meals, and a "sag wagon" to carry all of their bags (and the pilgrims themselves, if the walking proves too much!)

It's work she takes seriously; these individuals have in many cases saved for years to make these pilgrimages, and she respects their commitment and sacrifice.

She doesn't fully understand this painting, but she was drawn to the title, and captivated by the colors:

So for her travels this year, she's decided that this is going to be her inspiration and her color palette:

Her ... View the Post

Why I Didn’t Start Collecting Antique Postcards Again…

I was thrown into the deep end, back in the day. But 10 binders full of postcards, for $100, was too interesting to pass up!

And so I immersed myself in the hundreds of floral birthday cards, and the handful of Ireland scenic cards for St. Patrick's Day, and the occasional Washington's Birthday card, or Valentine. And the I fell in love with this guy:

I discovered that he had brothers:

and cousins!

And so for about 6 or 7 years, I collected post cards...

Fast forward to 2005 - we moved to Ireland, and before we left, I sold off my collection. I hadn't had a lot of time to do anything much with it, and it seemed reasonable to not pay to move heavy binders! The revenue was handy when we were moving...

So you can ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Knitting a Stocking by Sir Francis Grant

February 13, 2019

She's thoroughly high-tech... She sells software. In her dreams, this might be her life:

But right now, she doesn't sit by the fire all that often! Still, she was smitten with this image, and thus it became the inspiration for her wardrobe palette:

Yes, five colors in a wardrobe might be difficult. But one of the qualities that our heroine most loves about herself is her ability to make things that everyone believes to be complicated into simple, straightforward projects...

Yes, she loves the poncho over her cardigan - she doesn't live in an area with horrible winter weather... It gives her a lovely layered look that seems complicated, but really isn't all that...

For a woman who ... View the Post