The Vivienne Files - Page 99 of 269 - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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

September 3, 2018

No holidays at The Vivienne Files! I would never miss the chance to share one of these "6 outfit" posts...

Even though very few of us are seeing cool/cold weather, I firmly believe that it's smart to get your cold-weather clothes ready in advance. Nobody's going to give us 3 days warning that autumn is about to smack us down!

I loved the gold scarf with this otherwise monochromatic outfit...

We are far enough into the year that I now need to have a separate page for clothing and for accessories! Admittedly, a heroine who owned this wardrobe might not have NINE pairs of shoes for 9 months...

While the accent colors here are very unexpected for a "black-focused" wardrobe, I think that this wardrobe is ... View the Post

How to Decide – Should You Buy This Cardigan? (or anything else that tempts you…)

August 31, 2018

The entire purpose of the garment industry is to tempt you to buy things that you don't need. I think we can agree that we are far past the point of saying that they exist to make sure that we're all appropriate attired for the weather and our social environment. Most people have far more clothes that they'll ever need!

But sometimes, you do want to buy something new. Maybe just a refresh to your existing wardrobe, or a treat because you deserve one. There's nothing wrong with this thinking, in moderation - so long as it IS thinking, and not just an emotional response.

So how to know?

Let's say that you've seen a cardigan that you really love. REALLY love...

First thing is to determine if the colors of the ... View the Post

Asters! The Birth Flower for September

August 29, 2018

Asters... It means stars, which, when you look at the flowers, makes sense!

However, from my perspective, this was really tricky. (Yes, I considered using all "star" accessories - of course I did!);

First up, there are no items with asters on them, except for a very expensive dress, and the really nice cuff bracelets that are available for each month.

To pile on, asters come in about a million shades, from darkest red to a lot of various purples...

What to do? I found six excellent neutral dresses to serve as our background, and then I experimented with a range of colors as accents. (it would be fascinating to mix each of the dresses with each of the various accessory families!)

How do things look? Black is ... View the Post

But What IS Art? Start with Art – with a Cell Phone Wallpaper!

August 27, 2018

Start with Art is one of my favorite ways to build capsule wardrobes, but the subject begs the question of what qualifies as art? To me, if YOU think it's beautiful and inspiring, that makes it art, at least for wardrobe purposes!

Let's take this striking example:

As is true with so many images on the internet, I can't find the "original" of this, nor can I determine if this has been enhanced or altered in any way.

But that doesn't really matter, if you're just using the powerful image, and striking colors, as your inspiration. Nobody's giving out grades on your wardrobe inspiration!

Tough colors to find, but lovely together...

So let's take a bit of a dive into the process of putting together a ... View the Post

Project 333 for Business Travel? Start with Art – Calm Wind by Yoshida Hiroshi

August 24, 2018

Yes, I'm fascinated with this artist... The Autumn Quarter Will Require Numerous Client Visits... That's the title of the memo...

She took a deep breath, and looked at her computer, where the background was this calm, simple, but gracefully beautiful image:

She knew it was coming. Their acquisition by a much larger firm has left many clients feeling uncertain, and visiting them to reassure them of the firm's commitment was an obvious answer. So she has a great idea... First, she decides on a color scheme and overall "feel" for all of her travel:

She's going to choose a Project 333 Wardrobe STRICTLY for her trips. Everything is going to be segregated in a separate part of her closet, and when she knows ... View the Post

A Start With Art Project 333 Wardrobe – Kameido Bridge by Yoshida Hiroshi

It Was Love at First Sight When she saw this print, she immediately knew that she was going to limit her Project 333 for autumn to just pinks and blues... Simple, but versatile, and really pretty!

She has always intended to build her Autumn Project 333 Wardrobe around navy, because it's been her favorite neutral for years. Thus, the first part of her wardrobe plan was simple:

For her second Core of 4, she looked for soft fabrics like rayon and velvet, and also thought that a touch of floral print might be nice:

She wanted to make sure she didn't get TOO dressy, so she made sure to include a couple of classic tops in pink, as well as 2 relaxed sweaters in muted blue:

For her last 4 garments, she got a little more ... View the Post

Poppies! The Birth Flower for August

August 17, 2018

Why yes, I did INDEED loose track of the beginning of August... At least the rent got paid on time!

This is a banner month for flowers - poppies!!! There are LOTS of poppies in garments and jewelry, as well as "poppy" being a great color for both nail and lip colors. So if you like poppies, or a clear, vivid red, you're in luck! Topshop has some sleepwear with poppies on them, and Dorothy Perkins has tops, pants, skirts and dresses in a poppy print. It's a veritable treasure trove of flowers...

So what did I find?

Really LOTS of beautiful goodies this month... This brooch cries out to me... but then brooches often do!

One of the great things about any shade of red is that it can be worn - really easily ... View the Post

Want to try Project 333 for Autumn? A Couple of Tee Shirts Could be Your Inspiration…

August 15, 2018

She knew that she wanted to pare down her autumn wardrobe - she just needed to find a clear focus for what she wanted to wear for the next few months...

She was pretty seriously interested in Project 333 - it seemed to work for a lot of other people, and so she thought it might be good for her too!

First up, she knew that she needed 2 new tops, so she decided to start with a pair of shirts that really caught her eye and won her heart:

She's very casual, and loves khaki, beige, and ivory, so the first 4 garments were easy to choose:

And she really doesn't need a ton of variety - she likes sweaters and sweatshirts with hoods, and she's only going to wear pants (unless something AMAZING happens in her ... View the Post

Are You Interested in a New Accent Color? Pantone Autumn 2018 and some French 5-Piece Wardrobes

August 13, 2018

I think most of us wear the same accent colors for years at a stretch - I know that I've been wearing red and French blue since the 1980's...

But it's not that difficult to "test-drive" a new color for a season or 2 - you don't need to buy dozens of pieces to effectively incorporate a new color into your wardrobe; literally 3 to 5 items will do the trick!

So lets look at the "new" colors that Pantone has chosen for Autumn 2018, and see what we could do with them...

(yes, the idea of new colors is absurd - but I always like to take a look at what Pantone has chosen because it might give us some new ideas... and please note that a LOT of these pieces are VERY expensive - they're ideas, not necessarily a shopping ... View the Post

Want to try Project 333 for Autumn? How about Starting with a Scarf?

August 10, 2018

If you're not familiar with Project 333, it's Courtney Carver's brilliant idea to cut your entire closet back to 33 items, for 3 months.

I think a lot about Project 333 - it's a very tidy way to experiment with a smaller wardrobe. And it works beautifully with a 4 by 4 Wardrobe, and a stack of accessories! Let's pretend... It Was a Gift No matter how much she loves a beautiful scarf, she wasn't likely to buy it for herself! But when someone hands it to you, all beautifully wrapped, and presented with so much love, what's a woman to do?

To her, this was the perfect opportunity to organize her wardrobe for upcoming cooler weather, and for school-related functions which always seem to crop up as soon as autumn ... View the Post

Blue by Kinuko Imai Hoffman, Revisited for Summer 2018

August 8, 2018

Remember our friend the educational consultant, who visited schoolrooms to help find ways to make things work better? She traveled for work back in January, and then again in April, wearing her signature navy blue and white wardrobe...

Her wardrobe inspiration, and all-time favorite painting, is this:

Yes, THAT Music Festival... The really big one. She's going.

She spends her work life in classrooms, and she always hears students talking about their favorite bands. She's open-minded, and can tolerate a lot, so she's decided that she's going to drive into the city for a couple of days and go to hear just a few of the bands that she has heard about the most.

It's a relaxed trip into town:

Of course ... View the Post