The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Denim Shirts in Paris – 12 Versions

October 7, 2014   As I mentioned Saturday, I saw lots of denim and chambray shirts in Paris - they were worn in an amazing variety of ways...   Most simple is wearing these shirts with black.  This can be a nice relaxed "out for the afternoon" outfits with pants and flats, or much dressier, with a pretty skirt and clutch bag.  Sleeves can be rolled, collar stood up in back - anything that personalizes your shirt and makes you happy!  

  A collarless chambray shirt can be a nice counterpoint to a dressy skirt.  Where something lacy or floral might go WAAAAY over the top, these outfits look like you mean to be dressy, but you're not getting carried away. (and look - NO ... View the Post

Packing: A 5-Pack Would Have Worked…

September 30, 2014  

Or, in my world, 8 = 42...You might remember my excellent travel outfit:

 

I had this outfit on for an eternity of time, and I don't regret a thing!  It was ideal, and I will almost certainly wear something very similar for future trips.  But my suitcase was TOO MUCH STUFF...  I'd have been well-served to have just packed this:

  I understand that this seems like amazingly little, but I need to remember something really critical about my trips to Europe - especially my trips to Paris:

I SHOP!!!

I shop a lot.  I start shopping the second or third day, and I tend to wear my purchases almost immediately.  Thus, I leave things in my suitcase unworn, and I ... View the Post

A 4 by 4 Capsule Wardrobe in Coral, Turquoise, Black and Grey

September 25, 2014  

Please bear in mind that I prepared this post before I left for my vacation, so some of the links might be dated...This is a great, unique, way to accent black and grey; coral and turquoise are often found together, and there's some AMAZING jewelry available (usually in warmer weather) that combines these two colors.  But of course we don't wear real coral anymore - it's pretty endangered...

  In both of these Cores of Four, I chose high-necked tee shirts to go with v-neck sweaters.  This way, if you want to layer the grey tee under the black sweater, (or vice versa) it will show nicely.  These little details can make a lot of difference in how versatile your clothes can ... View the Post

A Trend to (Maybe) Try: An Upgraded Sweatshirt

September 15, 2014   One of the joys of having all of our core basics covered in our wardrobes is that, if a trend happens along that holds some interest and appeal, we can give it a try!  This year, sweatshirts with some sort of enhancement seem to be everywhere.  I've seen jeweled, beaded, embroidered, textured, and printed ones - some of them very beautiful.  These can be worn with nice trousers and good-quality leather shoes on casual Friday in most offices.   However, be careful, because some of these sweatshirts, while very lovely, are BLINDINGLY expensive.  Happily, there are also very similar products available at more reasonable prices.  Just check to be sure that your new purchase is put ... View the Post

Start With Art: The Church at Coggeshall, Essex by John Armstrong

September 11, 2014  

What a cool painting! It shows the World War 2 damage to the church, and the "reveal" of the interior structure of the church is fascinating. So sad that such a lovely piece of art is the result of destruction...

From this, I selected two relatively minor colors in the painting as the neutrals, and then used the gorgeous pastels as the accent colors. The black is clearly visible, but I grabbed the sage green from the shrubbery that's relatively obscured on the left side of the painting.

I think what I'm trying to show here is that, although the painting itself is very light with muted pastels, it's still possible to pull together a wardrobe from these colors without enriching your dry cleaner. Capturing ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Project 333 Autumn 2014 – I’m IN!

September 6, 2014  

No, it's nowhere NEAR cool enough to wear autumn clothes in Chicago - I think right now the temperature could be around 90, the humidity nears 3 digits (I swear it goes over 100% - it's like swimming in a bathtub...) and we're going to get thunderstorms any time now.  But I am travelling very soon to cooler climes, and it's only reasonable to be prepared when the weather whiplashes us into cold, as it will...My clothing requirements become more and more simple; after I spend eight hours a day looking at thousands of garments and accessories for The Vivienne Files, I only want to wear black or grey.  Maybe some pearl jewelry.  Maybe a scarf!  I now understand why some fashion designers wear ... View the Post

A 4 by 4 Capsule Wardrobe in Burgundy, Pearl Grey, Black and Petrol Blue

September 3, 2014   I love burgundy - it has subtlety and richness, while still maintaining the complexion-flattering qualities that it shares with red, pink, peach, and all of those rosy-ish shades.  For those of us gradually migrating away from black, and toward grey in our capsule wardrobes, I could see that burgundy would be a very wise accent color to consider for those days when we're feeling a bit pale.  

  This is a pretty casual wardrobe - no skirts...

In my mind, this color is distinctly different from the color of denim - it has more grey to it. It's a very difficult color to find - if you're a fan of petrol, definitely also look for slate blue, smoky blue, and dusky blue.

This ... View the Post

A Four by Four Capsule Wardrobe in Black, Grey, Camel and Cream

August 14, 2014

Yesterday, someone asked if it was possible to change the colors in the Four by Four Capsule Wardrobe.  

Well, yes, I plan to show a whole BUNCH of these so that we can see some of the color schemes from The Vivienne Files Color Planner in action. (that's why I asked which combinations are your favorites; so I can work specifically with them)

All of yesterday's grey garments are still here, but the other three colors have been switched. If I were building this wardrobe for myself, I would ABSOLUTELY buy the scarf first and then very gradually build around it. This is a scarf that would be an ideal long-term focal object for all purchases; the colors and the design are just that perfect!

This is the capsule ... View the Post

Pretty Much The Perfect Pack

August 8, 2014  

Although I had relatively little lead-up time for my trip two weeks ago, I feel like I had the perfect assortment with me.  This was a relatively easy trip for which to pack, because I knew my activities ahead of time, I knew the weather conditions, and I had access to laundry facilities - sort of the packing trifecta!While I almost always travel in pants, this time I just slid leggings under my favorite linen dress in order to stay warm in flight.  This crossbody bag is a fairly new purchase, and I really like it - it's light, lays flat, and holds quite a bit.  I admit that I might have been tempted to get the next size larger, so that my tablet would fit in it...

Please note that these are not ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Slot Machines and Packing

July 21, 2014  

Business travel is a conundrum for many of us, so I'm going to try to suggest a few ways, now and then, to approach the packing...Suppose, for example, that at the end of October, you are going to have/get to come to Chicago for a two day sales conference.  Literally only a day and a half of meetings, and then back on the plane.  You're going to have to bring a briefcase with both your laptop and tablet, so you don't really want a lot more to carry.  And being able to NOT check a suit case would be delightful...

Enter this:

So you can choose to wear anything from this little machine for travel - probably a cardigan, tee shirt and jeans, right? And pack the other six garments, as well as ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch – The Wardrobes, Finished (for now…)

July 17, 2014

Remind me, when trench coats are back in stores, that we want to revisit these capsule wardrobes and make some additions. If you think of anything else we should address (December holiday attire?), send me a note at theviviennefiles at gmail dot com.

I broke everything out into two pages; I might have been able to fit everything on one page, but we wouldn't have been able to see anything - the earrings would have been teeny little dots on the page!

And I think the links are working - let me know if you find some that are broken and I'll look into it...

thanks, as always!

love, Janice

PS - For more color inspiration, you can find the latest Pantone Color Planner ... View the Post