The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Need a Foolproof Office Wardrobe? Start With a Scarf – the Olga Naiman silk scarf by Echo

September 30, 2024

Have you been forced to start going back to your office? I hear from heroines all the time who are suddenly expected to be their office two or three days a week, and who are NOT amused...

Two issues I hear often:

Business clothes from the "before" days just don't fit, or don't suit, and Quite a few people have received promotions (sometimes multiple promotions) in the interim, and feel that they should dress to a higher level than before.

SO... let's start with this very lovely scarf, and see what we can do! If you're only going to an office twice a week, you really only need a small wardrobe...

I saw four accent colors right away, as well as white...

Even at this late date in the world, I ... View the Post

Warm Accents With Black? Start With a Scarf – the Jasmin Savoy Brown scarf by Echo

September 25, 2024

It's been a while since Echo released one of their Echo 100 scarves - what fun these scarves have been...

And this is perfect timing, because one of our heroines who is devoted to the black core of her wardrobe has been invited to a wedding for which the color palette is warm, autumn colors! Can she do this? Heck yes...

She had already been considering adding brown to her wardrobe for ages - her eyes are brown, for heaven's sake! So she finds a few things...

She knows that she's going to need something to wear to the rehearsal...

It's the same outfit as the first outfit, only backwards! This time, she's wearing a brown column with black over it:

What to wear to the wedding???? It's ... View the Post

Three Travel Capsule Wardrobes in Denim and Black

September 16, 2024

You certainly remember that on Friday, I grouped a bunch of wardrobe clusters into a wardrobe that offered lots of possibilities for travel or for visibility in a small closet:

But we need accessories! While this wardrobe is fine without them, it's not much of a reflection of how women actually get dressed, eh?

Starting with denim! If you find denim shoes that you like, and you can picture wearing them, grab them. Denim shoes aren't growing on trees, and a lot of them are tricked out with lots of sparkles, embroidery and other unnecessary stuff that will just fall off if they get wet or you brush against something...

Today, I'm going to focus on wardrobe that use just two of the neutrals available to ... View the Post

Need a Step-by-Step Six-Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start With a Scarf – The Scott Schuman scarf from Echo

August 23, 2024

It's just a long weekend. She's tired, and she's only going because it's a very important occasion, and a low-key party that she wouldn't miss. But she's determined to make things as easy and fool-proof as she can...

So she looks long and hard at her new favorite scarf:

She realizes that she can just wear and pack her favorite black and white, and then include pretty much any accent color she wants! Yes, toast brown would be perfect here, but she's going to opt for a couple of brighter colors - this time!

First, she chooses her all-important travel outfit. Even if you're only driving for an hour, you can never go wrong by choosing a travel outfit that can stand up to a LONG day. Things go wrong. There are ... View the Post

A Small, Basic Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start with Art – Portrait of Woman in Green Hat by Picasso

August 16, 2024

She remembered the post - right here on The Vivienne Files - and was thinking of something a little bit different with the same painting! 

I think every reader of The Vivienne Files thinks up their own versions of these wardrobes; that's kind of the point! Put your own preferences in place of mine, or those of our heroine...

Her wardrobe is black and white. She's just now starting to add a bit of taupe/brown to things. But she could see the merit of a blue shirt, or a green sweater, along with a scarf or two...

So for a trip - a fairly long trip - she decides to pack VERY light, but to give herself the feeling of a "bigger than it really is" travel capsule wardrobe. Three accent colors might do ... View the Post

Love a Little Black Dress? Start With a Scarf – The Bryan Yambao scarf by Echo

August 9, 2024

One of our heroines fell instantly in love with a scarf, and had a business week travel vision...

She has a closet full of black dresses, but she's never dared to pack JUST black dresses for a business trip!

Why not? She's going to meet different groups each day she's away, and she doesn't care if she's known as the woman who wears lots of black...

Here's her color palette:

Her first dress is a mid-calf shirtdress... perfect with her suede belt, a red cardigan, and some other bits that pull everything together:

Her second dress is shorter, and has a small "moc" neckline. As much as she loves her golden yellow cardigan, she MUST have a brooch, so that she can conceal that annoying ... View the Post

Variation on a Theme? Start with a Scarf – The Mosaic Tile silk scarf by Echo

July 8, 2024

Someone took a look at Saturday's post, and decided that they could easily replicate the wardrobe with an accent of pink! She's even got a scarf in mind:

Although it takes a while to find the perfect pink items, the overall idea for this wardrobe is very simple - remove all blue things  - replace with pink!

Like this - same cardigan and pants, different top and accessories:

Please note - everything doesn't have to be flawlessly dye-lot matched! I try to come really close for The Vivienne Files, because all of the things appear quite close together on a small screen. It just looks better if they're a good match! But in the real world, your shoes are at the end of your legs (I assume...) and your bag is ... View the Post

When Wardrobe Plans Go Awry; Start With a Scarf – the Emily Henry scarf by Echo

July 7, 2024

Oh yes, she knew IMMEDIATELY that this was going to be hers!

She could see her color palette a mile away:

She goes to visit friends at the beach every weekend. Literally. If she visited the SAME friends, she could leave some clothing at their summer home, but she moves about and visits a variety of people...

If you're not reading Ninth Street Women, you should. One of the things that's really material to all five of their lives is the time they spend in the Hamptons. In case you think I exaggerate about everybody leaving the city to go to the shore every weekend...

Her first outfit just sort of fell into her lap...

And then - NOTHING. Any turquoise item she found either cost $500, or didn't come in ... View the Post

Love the Primary Colors? Start with a Scarf – the Rufai Zakari Silk Scarf by Echo

June 24, 2024

Okay, I think this is spectacular:

And I know the woman who wears this scarf - she embraces the primary colors, with black and white, and lives with a wardrobe that's truly foolproof. This is her palette:

Packing is simple for her, as is getting dressed every day - reach into closet (in dark, with eyes closed - why not?) and get dressed...

But she does want to be sure that she doesn't pack four dresses (well, maybe...) or four pairs of shorts! So she start with complete outfits. More and more I'm thinking that packing outfits that are part of the same family is a great way to assemble a travel capsule wardrobe - do you agree?

An outfit that can span moderate to warm temps is sensible:

Something ... View the Post

Need a Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start with a Scarf – the Tracy O’Neill silk scarf by Echo

June 17, 2024

I love this scarf - I need another scarf like I need a bad headache, but a silk bandana? With wee ducks all around the edge? Be still by beating heart...

"It Will Be Cool in Paris in October..." And she's going to be there for at least two weeks! She's going to be tutoring English students in perfecting their accents - how fun is that? If things go well, she could be there are long as six weeks! Was there ever a better motivation for doing your best work?

She's keeping it simple:

She's going to have a place to stay - a VERY TINY place to stay, she's been warned. They were particularly specific about letting her know that she shouldn't bring much luggage, which is true of so many trips we make in life!

Her ... View the Post

Want to Add Denim to Black & White? Start with a Scarf – the Willow Allen Scarf by Echo

June 10, 2024

Maybe you really loved the black and white wardrobe on Friday, but you know that you don't want to travel without some denim or chambray!

This scarf should set you up pretty well:

the text means "take care of the land and animals and they will give you life"

I've isolated the three shades of blue in the scarf, but I think you can be pretty flexible with this:

These four outfits are going to look familiar, but different. This is what The Vivienne Files is all about - the possibilities you have available with small changes. Nobody needs an entirely new wardrobe (well, almost nobody); most of us just need a few well-chosen updates!

Yes, her handbags are similar, but it's not that easy to find a nice ... View the Post

Looking for an Interesting Two-Toned Wardrobe? Start With a Scarf – The Ralph Lauren Scarf by Echo

June 7, 2024

Say you've got a scarf you really need to wear, for whatever reason. And it's not colorful...

This isn't all bad - this is actually a fun challenge to see how much visual interest you can bring to a simple color palette:

An obvious place to start is with black and white stripes....

The knitted texture of a solid sweater can make a lot of difference, as can a woven bag, or "perfed" shoes...

If you're wearing black and white, you don't want to miss the chance to find all of the black and white shoes you can!

Checks are always fun too!

Ah, if you've got a chance to take a quick trip somewhere, there are worse ways to pack than this!

This isn't exactly the way this is ... View the Post