The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette – A Dab of Mustard, with 6 Neutral Colors

September 13, 2016  

I'm still looking for nice pieces in rust (russet? warm red?), so I decided to skip that color for now and head directly into deep gold!What to call this color? When you're searching for things like this online, try gold, yellow, mustard, and saffron, for a start; I'm sure that there are lots of outlandish color names that I missed. Why do companies believe that calling something "burnished autumn" is going to help potential buyers find their stuff?

This isn't an easy color to wear, but it's present in so many school colors that you see it fairly often in the US in the autumn. (if you're from outside the US, please note that many people here take high school and college football - American football - very ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette – A Drop of Wine, with 6 Neutral Colors

September 12, 2016  

Many of you have asked me how to integrate an accent color into a neutral wardrobe; this is my attempt to give you some suggestions, and a gentle bit of guidance.Let's assume, for the sake of conversation, that you have your core ensemble for cooler weather, in your favorite neutral:

Tee – J. Crew; pants – L.L.Bean;  cardigan – H&M; boots – Sarto  

Some of these are easier to assemble than others; if olive green is your favorite neutral, you're not going to see yourself coming and going on the streets...

 

Sweater – J. Crew; pants – J. Crew; cardigan – J. Crew; boots – Corso Como  

I've put together a few ensembles in more "business-y" looks, and others that ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Portrait of Marevna by Diego Rivera

September 9, 2016

This is another of those works that I often see at the Art Institute of Chicago. She's not exactly pretty, but I think she's rather handsome:

Class Reunion/Homecoming

earrings – Kate Spade; scarf – Nordstrom; dress – Lands’ End; lipstick – Bobbi Brown in Uber Beige; cardigan – Miu Miu; bracelet – Robert Lee Morris; watch – La Mer Collections; nail polish – Chanel Le Vernis in Cavaliere;  shoes – Cole Haan; tote – Marni  

"After looking at the RSVP list, I certainly hope SHE's coming. We're going to need a calm head in this crowd..."

Sweater – Jil Sander; cashmere tee shirts – J. Crew; ring – L. Erickson; necklace – Natasha; scarf – Klements; jeans – L.L.Bean; skirt – Lands’ ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: Tarantula Nebula by Gendler and Colombari

July 21, 2016 Insomnia Part 2 - Version 2 see first installment here, and Part 2 Version 1 here)

Our sleepless protagonist is browsing in a bookstore - immediately drawn to photo books of space phenomena - when she sees this:

She admires it, registers it somewhere in her brain, and goes on about her day/night.Later that morning, she's wandering in a department store, and sees the Image Consultant area. The staff seems to be at loose ends, so she plucks up her tired courage and asks if she can meet with the consultant...

An hour later, her universe has been rocked. While she's told that her neutral navy is perfect for her, she's encouraged to add warmer accent colors to her wardrobe! Part of her recommended palette looks sort ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Girl on a Sofa by Philip Wilson Steer

May 28, 2016

 

Doesn't this look comfortable?

And this painting could single-handed provide someone with plenty of colors to have a wardrobe with great variety, and a lot of options:

 

I've been thinking a lot about packing (big surprise, eh?) and about the wisdom of packing your favorite outfits and letting the chips fall where they may. So let's explore that idea a bit!

In keeping with the relaxed feeling of the painting, I've tried to keep everything soft, rounded, flowered or flower-like, and just a touch slouchy.

First up, a simple column in a muted navy blue, with a soft white blazer, gold jewelry, and some brown leather accessories. This could be the outfit for the meeting, or the presentation, or ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe in Brown, Camel, Cream and Turquoise: 1 Piece at a Time

March 2, 2016     I decided to pull a scarf into this one, in order to illustrate the color scheme a bit - I think that adding the scarf lends a bit of validity to the possibility that this outfit could be someone's favorite:  

  Shell – J. Crew; cardigan – J. Crew; scarf – St Petersburg Global Trade; pants – J. Crew  

 

I love the possibilities - dark chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, and.... I do NOT have anything except ugly artificially-colored sprinkles to offer in turquoise!

Shell – J. Crew; cardigan – J. Crew; scarf – St Petersburg Global Trade; pants – J. Crew  

Normally, I try to start building a wardrobe with solid garments, because they feel more ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: March

March 1, 2016   It's that time again!   This month, I have chosen outfits that are the most casual way POSSIBLE to wear a skirt. While you might never feel comfortable wearing a skirt with a pair of Keds, it's a normal outfit for me, and it at least gives you a good laugh at my expense!   Just a reminder, these are the scarves around which I'm building each capsule wardrobe. Your choice of focal point does NOT have to be an expensive scarf - it can be any beautiful object or image that resonates with you. If your favorite picture in the world is your computer wallpaper, work with it!   But I feel like I should mention that if you really DO love one of these scarves, don't hesitate to get it. Hermes does NOT carry ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: Male and Female Cardinals, in Warm AND Cool Colors

February 24, 2016  

So I'm going to start alternating "1 Piece at a Time" Wardrobes with other fun things, so that we don't collectively burn out on the concept before I've addressed ALL of your color scheme requests. I am absolutely going to look at accessories for these wardrobes - those might be some of the "interspersed" posts. As much as I have an endless attention span for a single subject, I understand that a bit of variety keeps things fresh for us all.Someone suggested that the male cardinal wardrobe (here) and the female cardinal wardrobe (here) might be combined. I'm ALL OVER that idea!

Do these two look like they get along?

I've often thought that it's possible to build a wardrobe with 4 or 5 neutral colors ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: A Cardinal, in Warm Colors

So Wednesday I danced with the "cool male" cardinal; today, let's see what the "warm female" cardinal colors have to offer!

I'm going to use exactly the same red garments as I did on Wednesday, just to show how very different they feel when they're used with brown and camel.

Blazer – Emilio Pucci; pants – Austin Reed;  

Blouse – Joseph; skirt – Austin Reed  

Cardigan – Elder Statesman; trousers – J.Crew;  

Tee – Sonia Rykiel; jeans – Austin Reed  

V-neck blouse – Velvet; silk-trimmed top – Madewell;  

Red sweater - Balenciaga; turtleneck – L.L.Bean  

Camel sweater – J.W. Anderson; skirt – Adam Selman;  

Space-knit sweater – Adam Selman; dress ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: February

February 1, 2016    

Although the marketing types will urge us all to dress up in lace and frills and all sorts of dainties for Valentine's Day, I think it more likely that many of us will consider it a big night out if it requires a dress of any sort! So for February, I looked for dresses - simple, classic, versatile, timeless dresses that will be as useful for you in July as they are in February...As before, I tried to keep the "parts" as consistent as possible across the six color palettes, so that the impact of the changing colors will be shown to better effect.

Remember, these are the six scarves around which I'm building these "month by month" capsule wardrobes. Any beautiful item can serve this function - ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: January

January 30, 2016  

You all have the BEST ideas! And I'm stealing this and running with it...

Starting today, and then on the 1st of each month, I'm going to share the "monthly" new outfit for each of 6 different capsule wardrobe color schemes. By the 1st of December, we're going to have a nice tidy capsule wardrobe, built around a unifying color theme and overall "feel."

I chose 6 Hermes scarves to define our color palettes:

These six scarves indicated, to me, six different core neutral colors, and an interesting range of accents. I've included a small image of each scarf on the page with each outfit, to remind us of the colors with which we're working. Of course, you can wear the scarf with the outfit!

I hope it ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Blocks and Circles by Paul Klee

January 21, 2016   I can so easily picture the woman who wears these colors - freckles had better be in the picture!  

Just in case nobody else has ever told you this, it's pronounced Klee as in Clay. There was once a book with that title, that taught one how to pronounce all sorts of art names; I wonder if it's still around....

Yep, lots of color possibilities. I chose the beige/camel neutral for our upcoming spring dressy events, but if you wanted to segue this wardrobe into cooler weather, olive and fir green could definitely becomes neutrals, as could a deep rust, or a russet brown...

This is another one of those dresses that has a LOT of potential, for the entire year. And while the culottes were a bit ... View the Post