The Vivienne Files - Page 96 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Accenting Charcoal Grey with 4 Pantone Spring 2019 Colors

November 23, 2018

If, for some amazing reason, I ever quit wearing black ALL the time, I can easily picture replacing much of it with dark grey... I just love the way this looks, and the versatility that one would have with this limited number of pieces.

One of the joys of having a neutral core in this color is that pretty much any accent color will go well here! What might not work? Hmmm... lime green? Think of something, and I'll give it a try!

For example, I could probably use any of the Pantone Spring 2019 colors here. For fun, I've chosen 4, just to see how different the ensembles look when it's all pulled together!

First I want to try out this lovely Living Coral. I stand by my thesis that this color will work well ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of Fonds Marins by Lee Ungno

November 21, 2018

You know when you read that this is our heroine's favorite painting that her wardrobe will be interesting:

This heroine definitely has her own preferences, but she's smart enough to have a plan that keeps her wardrobe purposeful and organized:

Back in January this very interesting woman took a trip - packing lots of linen shirts, and plenty of scarves!

And then in April she was on the road again - maybe driving to see a quilt exhibit, or a dog show, or a new arboretum... She has a wide range of interests!

In July she traveled for a family wedding; why do I suspect that she's a lot of fun at any gathering?

It's clear that someone really likes her - she was invited along for the ... View the Post

Accenting Navy with Fiesta Orange or Aspen Gold

November 19, 2018

One of the best things about having a solid core of neutral clothes is that you can completely indulge when you are smitten with a "new" accent color. It doesn't require a massive investment in new pieces to be able to pull together a handful of new outfits that include your new sweetheart color...

Let's say you have a passion for Fiesta! And in the course of indulging yourself in its beauty, you accumulate these items:

Now let's further hypothesize that you've got this tidy cluster of "midnight" pieces that you've carefully assembled over time. This has the infinite value of NOT being black; at lots of events and locations you've set yourself apart from the crowd already!

Now, it's obvious that these 4 ... View the Post

French 5-Piece Wardrobes based on Pantone Spring 2019 colors

November 16, 2018

Of course, there are no new colors. And for what it's worth, these colors don't necessarily show up in store any more or less than any other colors...

That said, I still love looking at these color every 6 months, and giving some thought to what I might add to a wardrobe in order to really solidly bring an accent color into an otherwise neutral wardrobe. (I'm always happy to do another post showing these pieces worn along-side a Neutral Common Wardrobe, if that would be helpful)

And yes, I'm going to evaluate all of the "4 Outfits based on a painting" posts that I've done. They take a while!

In my next life, I want a job at Pantone naming colors...

First up is Fiesta, which is a nice bright ... View the Post

Let’s Talk About Books!

Woman does NOT live by a nifty wardrobe alone! And you've got to step away from the screen sometimes and read... (well yes, reading on an e-reader is still a screen, but I don't count those...)

This is the time of year when a lot of us need gift ideas, or just a good read to curl up with in the cold weather. (you in the Southern Hemisphere need a book for a warm-weather vacation, no?)

And I've got LOTS of books stacked up around Chez Janice & Belovedest. Oh my...

First - the book your best girlfriend that you've never met wrote to keep you focused on being happy, and on being your very best. Fiona gives us all permission to talk to (and listen to!) the woman inside of us who has style and whimsy and exceptionally good ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of L’Oiseau Forestier by Max Ernst

November 12, 2018

This is the very controversial tough businesswoman who has a very... strong... business personality. We really don't have a clue what she's like in her personal time, and I suspect that this suits her just fine!

Her style inspiration is this great painting:

She's been planning her work and business travel wardrobe using these guidelines:

This is what she packed when she was going to negotiate a tough deal back in January:

She had to attend a client "retreat" in April, for which she wasn't quite sure how to pack. This is what she finally chose:

During the summer she had another one of those trips that was without a clear agenda. Happily, she has such a clear personal style that her clothing ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe – A Year with Trojan Gates by Helen Frankenthaler

November 9, 2018

Over the course of the year, I've assembled 4 travel capsule wardrobes based on this most wonderful painting:

To guide my choices, I isolated four colors upon which I focused, and I chose a couple of adjectives to help keep the styles that I chose consistent:

In January, when our translator first won an award, she packed this:

Then in April, she was offered a really exciting work possibility:

You can't feel terribly sorry for this heroine - she had to go to Paris in July to meet with the author of the book she was translating:

The translations are going very well... in October, the author invited her back to Paris for a long weekend which didn't seem to be focused entirely on the ... View the Post

Start with Art Accessory Families

November 7, 2018

This is the time of year when my email begins to fill up with requests to write "gift guides" on The Vivienne Files... As if I know what kinds of things your friends and family will want for gifts! All I can do is show you pretty things that I see; you still have to make the difficult gifting choices yourself!

So I seldom do these, but The Met Store is exceptional. Anything inspired by art, and that helps support a wonderful museum, is alright by me...

My plan is to start with beautiful art, choose a simple garment that might be something that this particular heroine might love, and then add some accessories. Let's see how this works... Of course one would probably not wear ALL of the accessories - but I like ... View the Post

Chrysanthemums! The Birth Flower for November

November 5, 2018

I've been thinking about chrysanthemum colors for weeks! As soon as the first halfway cool day arrives in Chicago, a hundred flower beds get dug up, everything in them gets tossed in the garbage, and mums are planted. Thousands and THOUSANDS of them, all over the downtown...

These are my 2 favorite colors:

I was eager to see how these colors would accent simple, neutral outfits or dresses... I went a little bit overboard on the accessories, but I like to give a range of options. These different vignettes would offer dressy or more casual ways to wear the same clothes, which is always wise!

One could wear this black dress a half dozen times between late November and the first of the ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – November 2018

November 2, 2018

The purchase of a serious cold-weather coat is not something to be taken lightly! First up, a ton of people will see your coat - far more (at least in a city) than will ever see anything else you wear. And of course, coats can be expensive, so you don't want to flounder around through 2 or 3 of them to get what you really like...

To clarify what's going on here, for newer readers: I started back in January by choosing six Hermes scarves, and then assembled six similar, but different, outfits - one each to "go with" each of the scarves. Each month, on or around the 1st of the month, I add another outfit, and we continue to evaluate how each wardrobe progresses.

The little square up in the top left corner ... View the Post

Instruments de Musique by Picasso, Revisited for Autumn 2018

October 31, 2018

She's not quite like anybody else in her office... and she uses that to her advantage! She first really showed her skills during a trip to a client back in January. Since her success was so complete back then, she was then sent to her firm's most difficult client in April. The firm became so dependent on her to handle clients that she had to fly straight to a contact signing from her August vacation. Happily she manages these situations well!

So she wasn't particularly stunned when she received a bonus at the end of the fiscal year. Well, maybe she was a little bit surprised - it was a pretty substantial bonus!

After some thought, she decides that she'll save most of the bonus, but that she's going to take a long ... View the Post

Paysage de Neige by Renoir, Revisited for Autumn 2018

October 29, 2018

She enjoys peace and quiet. Solitude. A chance to curl up and read, or go for a long walk...

When she went to the resort in January, everybody thought she was crazy. But she knew that it would be beautifully deserted and melancholy, in the best possible way! She enjoyed that trip so much that she went back in April - partly for the relaxation, and partly because she made a new friend!

Their friendship grew - when she visited in August she spent most of her evenings with her new and dear friend... But She was Surprised... When they were talking about her next visit, and her friend tossed out the idea: "why don't you just bring a bag of clothes up here and leave at my place?"

Well okay!

Before she walks to ... View the Post