The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Scarf Selling Saturday: A TWO-fer: Les Instructions du Roy, and Soleil du Soie

I want to clarify that the following post was written and scheduled for publication late Thursday afternoon; had I known of the horrid news that would emerge Friday afternoon and evening, I would had written something very different.

However, I'm going to leave this post here, for comments and for beauty's sake, because I feel like defiantly living life as normal. Let's appreciate small joys, and marvel at the wonders of the craftsmanship and creativity of our fellow humans, in the face of barbaric actions that would prefer we spend our time thinking only of negative and dark things...

You are, each of you, very important to me. I take your thoughts and feelings very seriously, and try to be sensitive to your needs. 

Please discuss, ... View the Post

OLIVE: With 8 Bright Accents

Olive today! Some of these were difficult...

I'm including these Yves Saint Laurent pants, even though they're the ONLY pair available, to remind you that a garment with a range of shades of green could work really beautifully with your olive neutrals.

This is a case in which the scarf really plays a key role. And this scarf is a stylized map - it's a really good thing it's not my colors.

And I have to point out the earrings from Louise et Cie; this is a company that has made shoes for a few years, and just now ventured into jewelry (at least in the US). Some of their jewelry is really cool, and not at all expensive. I'm making a note of this company for when my shopping moratorium ends!

Are there any of you who can't wear this ... View the Post

BROWN: With 8 Bright Accents

I don't know why we don't see more brown with bright colors; the colors share the same degree of saturation, and some of these combinations are pretty nice!

As always, let's start with some hard-working basics:

These colors play together nicely - just a touch of sparkle from a brooch is all I would add here!

Yes, all of these are described as shocking pink, but this one doesn't seem shocking at all to me. I'd describe it as rosy and very flattering.

As in so many instances, the right scarf makes so much difference.

I'm thinking of olive as tomorrow's neutral!

love,

Janice

  ... View the Post

GREY: With 8 Color Accents

So many of us own this kind of small neutral core - I love taking these pieces and adding accent colors, to see what happens. Today, it's grey, or gray, depending on.... I have no idea!

These dresses might be one of the easiest ways to wear this bright, strong color. You wouldn't necessarily pull the cardigan on, but tossed over one's shoulders with an insouciant flair (think Italian actress), it will be perfect.  

 

These jackets were surprisingly difficult to find, but well worth it. If you're looking for leather, this color is a great option rather than the much more ubiquitous black. Just make sure your jacket looks like gorgeous leather, and not some horrible plastic stuff...  

The more I work on these ... View the Post

NAVY: with Eight Color Accent ideas

Last week, I did a post (see it here) in which I took eight very brightly colored garments and incorporated them into outfits, using black as the neutral to offset the color.

So I was thinking (I'm ALWAYS thinking) that the range of garments was a pretty interesting list - it included pretty much all of the major garment "categories", with one exception. So I took the original list of items (taken from my favorite French fashion book: Ma To-Do List: Dressing, by Laure Gontier and Jeanne-Aurore Colleuille) and made one change:

I stuck pretty faithfully to their colors, except for the pine green, which is more neutral to me. I substituted purple, because.... well.... PURPLE!  

I then alphabetized the two lists, and matched them ... View the Post

Eight Color Ideas, from Ma To-Do List: Dressing by Colleuille and Gontier

Yes, we're visiting my favorite fashion book yet AGAIN... Frankly, until I've blogged about literally every page of this book, I'm not going to tire of it, nor find it boring - it's really just that good.

If you can read French, or are willing to throw yourself into a translation frenzy, you can find it here. The next time I'm in Europe, I'm going to look for a few copies for us, since it's becoming more and more difficult to find...

Today's inspiration was found on a page about figuring out how to work with color in a wardrobe; to one side, they tucked in this little list of garments with the heading "We love, we dare..."

I love some of them. I might even dare a few of them. What do you think?

When I decided to share this list with ... View the Post

Mixing Black and Brights

One last look at how these 9 black garments can be used to serve as a base for your personal wardrobe passion - this time, BRIGHT colors!

You might be able to put together outfits with just these 9 pieces, but people would certainly see you from a long way away! If you're comfortable doing that, I think you should do whatever delights you - that's really the most important factor when getting dressed! But for those of us who love these colors in smaller doses, I have some ideas...

As always, I'm going to build around a solid, well-chosen core of neutrals. I've used black for these examples the last 2 days, but any neutral can do the trick, with a little bit of thought and planning!

Just as I did before, I've substituted the top row ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Version 2 of Nature Morte by Georgette Agutte

We took a look at this painting a few days ago, and my result was a very dark and subdued mix of burgundy and black.  THIS version is quite a bit brighter!This is the same general scenario: a lovely woman who has to make a quick overnight trip for a (possibly) dressy event - wedding, dinner party, etc.

I've kept the jewelry and scarf from the previous iteration of this project, and black pants are still on the menu. But a change of coat, sweater, boots and tote change everything completely.

Just to refresh our eyes, here's the painting with which everything starts:

But this time, I'm going back to an earlier version of the color scheme, that doesn't include the very pivotal maroon/wine/burgundy/whatever color. This is all ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Coast Road by Fanny Brennan

Thanks a ton to the reader who sent this suggestion to me - I wasn't familiar with Fanny Brennan. It's particularly interesting that these paintings are tiny - the size of postcards. Her sense of humor is very appealing!

The colors in this painting are wonderfully striking and clear. I'm going to use black as the base here, but a summer wardrobe using white, with these bright colors would be lovely. And the hills in the distance are colors that suggest shades of denim.... lots of possibilities here.

Going Alone

You have planned this trip for a long time. You bought athletic shoes and started walking every evening, after work. Longer and longer, faster and faster. You understand that being in better shape will make sightseeing a ... View the Post

How to Pack Light: The “Whatever’s Clean” 13 Capsule Wardrobe

One of the interesting things about writing The Vivienne Files is that I can see what posts are continually revisited, and what images get Pinned (and re-Pinned) on Pinterest. And without fail, every week, the "Whatever's Clean" wardrobes are at the top of the list.

That makes sense to me - there's really nothing in the world easier than being able to reach into your closet without looking and know that you can grab a coherent ensemble.

So I've been thinking a lot about how "Whatever's Clean" can transfer to travel - it's an obvious fit. Especially for all of you who have to travel through a variety of climates, knowing that all of your clothes will work together makes it possible to relax about at least one aspect of your voyage.

I'm ... View the Post

Maximize Your ROI: Black and White Houndstooth Check Flats

As I mentioned before, I've received a couple of questions about what to wear with a special pair of shoes. When I saw these, I KNEW I was going to have fun, given my abiding love of all things black and white:

A little fearless mixing of stripes is the perfect foil for these simple flats. And a classic black dress with just a hint of white would be madly useful through the summer.

Putting dots with the houndstooth of the shoes seemed like a fun idea, and the pleated shorts are a lot more forgiving than the super-short shorts that seem to be everywhere! The red dress is easy with the black and white shoes - and a bag in a MUCH larger houndstooth pattern keeps things amusing.

Any bright color works well with black and white - if you ... View the Post