The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Wardrobe: ORANGE!!!!

I really love you all.  Seriously.  You take time every day to read my writing, look at my work, and give me feedback and challenges.  What else could I ask from total strangers?

I particularly enjoy the wardrobe requests I get.  This one was AMAZINGLY difficult:  "I'm a gold jewellry wearer and love to wear orange which I think always goes well with black or white depending on the season. I would love your suggestions for a core wardrobe for a femme d'un certain age." 

This is my best effort - I threw some blue into the mix because I adore it with orange, black and white, and I think it keeps the whole package from going too "Halloween-y" on us.  Enjoy! ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe with two suits

I was asked for the following: I'd love to hear your thoughts on a travel wardrobe suggestion for this autumn, where a black suit and a gray suit can expand to accommodate four days working at a conference, through: educational sessions, miles of walking and schlepping stuff, and the occasional networking reception. The caveat is that I can't wear any cotton career shirts!

My thinking was to provide a couple of optional garments that could be worn if the conference turned out to be either more or less dressy than anticipated, and to include a touch of color so that during networking activities, the wearer would be a bit more memorable and stand out in the crowd. 

Travel wardrobes fascinate me - if you have one in mind, please ... View the Post

Wardrobe: Hermès Ferronnerie in burgundy

Easily the hardest wardrobe to date - I was given the scarf in the first vignette as the basis upon which to build this wardrobe.  It doesn't help knowing that the requester is VERY beautiful; it was tough picking items that were worthy of her!

And for those who have asked - I build these vignettes in Microsoft PowerPoint!  It's very flexible, and easy for me to archive all the information for the book which might be in our future! ... View the Post

Wardrobes mantra: Carefully Curated and Deliberately Distilled

So far, all of the wardrobes I've built have been posted under the heading French Chic, and I'm frankly becoming a bit uncomfortable with that.  We've wandered quite a distance from what the original guidelines of Susan Sommers' iconic book, and I'm not sure that I should continue to exploit the title which is so indelibly hers.

Thus, I'm just going to call them wardrobes.  And with that decision, I thought I should share with you the mantra I use for the building of these little gems.

First: Carefully Curated.  Each garment has to make the cut.  I've heard some fairly harsh criticism recently that "good enough" is really okay for one's wardrobe, and I have to disagree.  Yes, in some circumstances we do have to ... View the Post

French Chic: if you’re really exotic and work in advertising!

One of my friends has long black hair, an outrageous personality, and works in advertising.  This is for her!

Please bear in mind that I couldn't wear this.  But it takes all kinds, and doing this wardrobe made it clear to me that the concept of core garments works for any style or personality.

I've noticed that the most straightforward way for me to "build" a wardrobe is to start with the scarf and work from there.

And as I think about it, this could be a good strategy for anybody looking for some guidelines and some structure around which to build their clothing choices.  The beauty of this approach is that you don't HAVE to actually own the scarf - you can find one that resonates on a deep level with you ... View the Post

Back to the roots of the Vivienne Files – part 8: Vivienne’s Valise, continued

I've been asked how I managed for almost 6 weeks with the very limited amount of clothing that I took with me on that trip that will live in infamy. I had a plan, believe me!

Just for reference, remember that these are the clothes that I had with me.

For flying, I pretty much always wore jeans, with the black v-neck sweater. Usually I would put either the white tee shirt or the striped tee shirt under the sweater, depending on how warm it was where I was leaving, what the weather would be where I was arriving, and what was clean!

First thing I did in the door of every new hotel in every new city/country was to give some clothing to the in-house laundry. This is always risky, because you never know when someone's going to throw your ... View the Post

What my French friend wears to work: The roots of the Vivienne Files

Vivienne and I first got to be friends because of packing - she works in a hotel in Paris and was helping me pull together a training session I was running - and after the first or second day, she said something like "you got dressed in my closet this morning" and then we wound up having drinks, and THEN she came up to my room to eat room service (Gratis, since she works for the hotel) and hanging out with me while I did my ironing.

Bottom line, I know the girl's packing philosophy cold, since she and I have the same approach.

Start with a base of 5 garments, no matter how long or how short the trip: Jacket or cardigan Pants that match Skirt that matches Top that goes with the above Another top that matches

Vivienne would go with a ... View the Post

One French woman’s Small, Simple wardrobe: Back to the roots of the Vivienne Files

  This is from a posting on a discussion group in which I listed the entirety of Vivienne's work wardrobe. She tells me that it has changed very little in the intervening years... Note that I've assigned "days of the week" to these little vignettes, but I don't think that necessarily corresponds to how and when Vivienne actually wears these.

  Here's the inventory...  (1) Charcoal gray flannel pants, gray and black striped sweater  (1b) red and gray twinset

  (2) Black short knit skirt, black merino twinset (2b) black and white striped turtleneck longer (tunic length?) sweater

  (3) Black pants and blazer, black and white paisley blouse  (3b) black and white mixed cashmere crew (3/4 ... View the Post

Back to the roots of the Vivienne Files – part 4

the following is a direct quote from the original Je Ne Sais Quoi discussion group postings I made regarding my friend Vivienne:

Someone asked me what Vivienne thinks of my wardrobe - to put it mildly she thinks I'm crazy! Admittedly, she has never actually been in my apartment and seen the beautiful arrangement (by color) of my bounty, and I HAVE seen her apartment (but not her closet) but she assures me that she has about 4 linear feet of hanging space. (Well okay, slightly more than a meter) But she thinks that I'm a genius packer - the last 2 trips I've made to Paris on business, she has come over to my hotel with me and hung out while I unpacked, pressed and otherwise got my act together. She ... View the Post

Back to the roots of the Vivienne Files – part 3

Just a quick snippet of the original Vivienne today...

"As to the matter of shoes - she usually has 3 pair in "rotation" and has 12 pair total.  But these shoes are (just like her clothes) the best things she can get her hands on.  $300 for a pair of shoes is reasonable to her.  But she has them resoled and re-heeled repeatedly; she estimates that shoes last her at least 10 years.  I know she's wearing one pair she has had since college, and she's 34 right now." ... View the Post