The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Scarf tying: the square knot, two ways

I don't wear this knot terribly often, but it's very handy to know, as there are two variations using a square knot, and once you know how to tie this one, you can do it without a mirror...

Start with a bias folded scarf, or a rectangular scarf, and center it behind your neck like so:

Bring the left part over the right part:

and loop it over and through - standard knot-tying procedure:

Now here's where many people go awry.  Your normal instinct is to take the "new" left end and take it back over the "new" right end.  Resist such instinct, and instead, bring the RIGHT SIDE OVER THE LEFT SIDE.  (I could get into a technical explanation of how changing direction alters the direction of the weave of the fabric ... View the Post

Sumptuous scarves – Kathy Murphy Childs

I spent last weekend in Florida, but I was thinking of you all while I was walking through a street market in the beautiful town of Celebration.  The scarves above are just a very few of the BEAUTIFUL assortment of hand-painted scarves made by the very talented Kathy.  She encompasses every color in the rainbow, and I'm sure would be willing to put together specific color combinations if you asked her nicely!  And these scarves are VERY reasonably priced - I don't remember seeing any that were more than $50 (US dollars), and many are under $30.

She can be reached at [email protected]  She's lovely, pleasant, and tremendously gifted;   if you don't feel comfortable with traditional square Hermes-style ... View the Post

A capsule wardrobe of blue & grey, based on abalone shell jewelry

Someone brilliantly requested that I build them a wardrobe based on the colors of the abalone shell.  With the inspiration I got from looking at abaloneshelljewelry.com, I built the following:

Thanks so much for the FASCINATING request; I hope you like the results. 

Anybody interested in a custom wardrobe, just leave a comment (even an Anonymous comment!) with the particulars of what you'd like to see.  It could be based on a particular painting, or scarf, or just your favorite colors.  And for those of you with pending requests - I'm hard at work to find you the PERFECT items! ... View the Post

Accessories for the French Chic wardrobe

  One of my dear friends asked how I would accessorize the French Chic wardrobe.  While this is far from definitive, I think it's an interesting start.  

I learn more and more every day as I build these vignettes for our shared pleasure: you should be ABSOLUTELY FANATICALLY DEMANDING when you purchase anything.  There is a world of merchandise out there, and the perfect item exists, if you have the patience and the focus to find it.  Settle for NOTHING LESS THAN PERFECTION.  You deserve it. And if you fully intend to own many of your accessories for the rest of your life, you can easily justify buying the very best item being made today - support geniuses and craftspersons, and beautify the ... View the Post

A photograph you must take THIS WEEKEND

On Saint Patrick's Day, 1999, I came home from work about 5:30 p.m. to find a four-inch hole in my apartment door where my lock used to be.  Now, knowing the ineptness of my management company and their maintenance people, my first assumption was that the lock was being replaced, and they were doing a really LOUSY job...

But you guessed it - I'd been robbed.  Various sundry small electrics, my college diploma (seriously - not my high school, not my graduate school,  just my college diploma!) and of course EVERY piece of jewelry except what I was wearing that day.  

I'm still a bit bitter about this, because they also got a really cool black leather jewelry case that looked like an old-fashioned train case.  That ... View the Post

Decoding the mysterious “weave knot”

This scarf knot has been receiving a lot of attention in the blog world recently; I saw a NINE step instruction diagram/hieroglyphic on how to tie it!   Rest assured, it's not at all complicated - it's really just a clove-hitch knot, which any self-respecting boy scout could tie blindfolded.  So in the interest of beautifying the scarf world, I'm going to tell you how to tie this knot, in five steps, in less than one minute, without a mirror.

1.  Arrange the scarf with the two ends hanging down in the front - the left side reaching to about your waist, and the right end (now fondly called the long end) to your right.

2.  Cross the long end under the short end across your chest.  You are now finished with ... View the Post

Paris shopping: Diwali

Of course everybody in Paris wears scarves almost all the time!  (seriously, it's true, at least in cooler weather)  But these aren't the square, Hermes style silk scarves nearly as often as it's the more relaxed rectangular "echarpes" loosely looped around the neck.  And where do these millions of scarves come from?

Diwali - yes, the same word as the Indian festival of lights.  There are at least three or four of these stores scattered around Paris - I know of one on the Rue Mouffetard, and also on on the Rue Soufflot just down the hill from the Pantheon.  These stores are the absolute mother lode of scarves in any color and any fabric you can imagine!  You have to go in with some sort of a plan or clue about ... View the Post