The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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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

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Toasting Friends Version 2

January 19, 2016  

Many people wanted me to revisit this painting, and many of you are interested in seeing posts with warmer colors, and many of you are looking for lower-contrast wardrobes. I'm tackling a lot of ideas in one lovely painting!

 

One of the fun things about this painting is the range of lovely colors included. I've madly exaggerated the amount of camel included in the painting, but I'm going to use shades of camel, beige and coppery brown as neutrals...

 

The most difficult thing about writing The Vivienne Files (well, except for having dozens of ideas, and not enough time!) is choosing a color scheme and then realizing that the colors I love and want to use aren't necessarily available in ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Camel

December 2, 2015   Camel - sometimes, nothing looking more elegant.  

There are a lot of neutrals that work here - I could easily have used black and grey, olive and brown etc etc.

 

Camel is also very versatile with bright colors; I chose these mostly because they're rather uncommon, and I like to give you ideas that you might not have otherwise considered!

 

Muted colors are also pretty easy with camel, because it has an inherently soft quality. And I'm still showing how very useful that white vest can be for most of us!

 

As with muted colors, pastels are also well-suited to wear with camel. I still haven't found a pair of mint green shoes that I consider ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Dantis Amor by Rossetti – THE FINALE

November 2, 2015

I think this is going to be my last post about Dantis Amor; as much as I love the painting... Today, we're dressier, we're completely out of control shopping, and we're going to travel along with one of our friends....Just a few reminders of our Style Reference Point:

 

Thanksgiving is Canceled... Yes, her grandchildren have 2 sets of grandparents. Somehow, this year, they're ALL going to the "other side" for Thanksgiving. And she is going to be home alone....

Or not...

She always wanted to see the Thanksgiving Parade in New York. She always wanted to eat at that restaurant. She always wanted.... lots of things. This is the year!

She got onto her computer, and cashed out every flyer mile and ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Dantis Amor by Rossetti – Step 3

October 30, 2015  

Now the fun starts! The clothes from yesterday are certainly very nice, if not mind-bending, but in order to give things just a touch of zest, and a sense of finish, some well-chosen accessories are imperative! (well, shoes are imperative, even if you never wear a scarf or a piece of jewelry; when pressed to offer up what piece of clothing every woman, without exception, should own, the only thing I can honestly think of is shoes...)Reminders of our basic style source, and the clothes with which we're working:

 

 

As I said, shoes first! I always look for something comfortable - that's completely NOT negotiable. When men start wearing uncomfortable shoes, I will too. In the meantime, my ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Dantis Amor by Rossetti – Step 2

October 29, 2015   Okay, now that we have our color scheme, we'll need to start picking clothes!  

As always, I'm going to start with the neutrals, since they're the really essential foundation garments for your 4 by 4 wardrobe. First up, the elusive camel, or vicuna, or caramel, or walnut (although I think of walnut as darker), or amber, or whatever else this color might be called. This is one of the essential qualities that you have to bring to the clothing search - a real flexibility in how you describe what you want! And look outside your normal comfort zone - Google images and see what comes up. 

This turned out to be a tremendously tough color to find, unless you were interested in spending four ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Music Party, East Cowes Castle by Joseph Mallord William Turner

October 26, 2015   It takes a minute or two for the images to become clear...  

But it's worth the wait. These are great colors for this time of year! 

  Skipping the Reunion, Again Every year, their school has a reunion. And every year, they get together in their favorite pub, and decide that they don't want to go! (everybody in the world did NOT love their school years...) It's become a tradition...

The someone pulls out the National Rails Timetable, and they haggle around a bit about where they go for a weekend away. This year, Edinburgh!

A few weeks ago, they knew nothing. Now, they're ready for one of the great castles in the world, beautiful scenery, excellent architecture, buckets of ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Pigs on the Wing by wrq.e.d. Version 2

October 22, 2015  

While the first colors that I saw in the scarf were greys and black, there's definitely enough beige and brown here to work with; maybe I see black and grey first because that's my personal capsule wardrobe focus?

But this time, this is the color scheme. I like giving myself the full range of the blues and browns as options, I think it works well with the scarf, and makes the blending of different shades of one color possible. While there are a few colors that need to be matched pretty closely, others can blend all over the place and work well - I think brown is one of those!

I didn't mention this, but the border of this scarf reads:

"my song was out of tune, my voice was cracked, but at least no ... View the Post

My Favorite Posts: Packing with Camel

October 10, 2015   I'm not sure exactly why I love these so much, because I never wear camel! But I really love the way the richness of the color works so beautifully with deep jewel tones, or soft pastels. If I had the coloring to look gorgeous in camel, I'd be ALL over it...  

  Four Pack: Camel and Burgundy  

 

  How to Pack for a Long Weekend: Teal and Camel    

  How to Pack for a Long Weekend: Navy and Camel    

  How to Pack for a Long Weekend: Camel and Wine     love, Janice ... View the Post