capsule wardrobe Archives

March 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Common Shelduck by Dennis A. Jones

March 9, 2026

Wouldn't it be fun to see one of these "in the feathers"?

I imagine that our heroine has seen one at least once; at least she's sufficiently familiar with them to choose to copy their coloring in her wardrobe:

At the end of February, our heroine had this compact but very practical capsule wardrobe - easy to assemble a lot of different outfits from this small number of pieces:

But suddenly, our heroine is finding that people want to interview her! Yes, she always assumes that a local radio show might want to talk for 15 minutes about the shifting "bird demographics" of their area...

Now she's finding that she might even be on television! At a minimum, she's going to be on some videos online; people ... View the Post

March 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Spirit of Autumn by Albert Pinkham Ryder

March 6, 2026

Isn't this calming? Calming seems wise right now, doesn't it?

Our heroine's profession is to listen and to bring calm, acceptance, and understanding to her clients. So when she was inspired to base her wardrobe on the colors and the mood of this painting, it made good sense!

She loves the colors in her wardrobe - brown and rust to echo her hair, the soft golden tones of her skin, and the changeable aqua of her eyes!

At the end of February, she had a very small 12-piece wardrobe that felt like it had a lot of ivory in it, but that was still almost infinitely versatile. One could get dressed in the dark with this in your closet, and never look truly bad!

Her shopping this month is a mix of useful ... View the Post

March 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Ruffled Autumn Clouds by Emile Nolde

March 4, 2026

Give me your honest opinion: is there white in this painting - in the yellow areas? This heroine could use some white at some stage - especially when the weather heats up!

This is our ambitious heroine's wardrobe color palette - perfect for fitting in AND standing out, all at the same time:

At the end of February, our heroine had assembled a 12-piece wardrobe that wasn't foolproof (mixing her accent colors might get weird!), but that's very versatile. One thing that she discovered is that she really likes getting a shirt AND a sweater AND a tee shirt in the same color, if possible.

So when March rolls around, she spies the yellow sweater and knows that this month, yellow is the accent color. ... View the Post

March 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Winter Cottonwoods by Georgia O’Keeffe

March 2, 2026

Ah, this is what Chicago has been looking like recently - bare trees, drifts of old snow, sun peeking through at sunset:

Our heroine is very fond of the stems, the roots, and the "unattractive" working parts of plants. Her goal, and her passion, is to make all plants acceptable, and no plant a pariah.

Her very subdued wardrobe is based upon these colors:

At the end of February, she has assembled as 12-piece capsule wardrobe, which is almost completely foolproof. Our heroine doesn't really have a lot of time to spend standing in front of her closet, debating what to wear!

Who among us has that time?

Any person who lives in rhythm with nature knows that you have to deal with what's right in front of ... View the Post

In the Mood for Something Pretty? Start With a Pink Cashmere Cardigan from J.Crew

February 20, 2026

I think that many of us are in the mood for something to both brighten up our wardrobe, and to give us a head-start into spring - do you feel this? It's certainly true for me!

When I saw this sweater, in this color, I was immediately drawn to it. I love cables, I think it's genius that so many cardigans now have a lot of closely-spaced buttons. Wearing something like this without a shirt underneath is much easier when you don't have to worry about the dreaded (and completely unnecessary!) button gap:

I'm sticking with navy as our dark neutral; in fact, I'm keeping the navy garments from Wednesday's post. If nobody learns anything else from The Vivienne Files, I hope that someone grows to understand that buying ... View the Post

Ready to Start Thinking Spring? Start With Art – Book Illustration by Goyo Hashiguchi

February 16, 2026

It's not quite spring here, although I hear from some of you that flowers are starting to show?!?!?

But it IS the second half of February, which, for the forward-thinking and wise heroine, means starting to look for clothes for warmer weather. The best things sell quickly, especially if you wear a common size...

Our heroine was here last summer...

First, and always most important, let's pause for just a second and appreciate this:

Our heroine has chosen these colors for her wardrobe; it might seem limited, but there's a lot of possibilities if one is patient and focused. We all might want to focus and develop a more signature, personally authentic style...

We're going to start our heroine's Spring ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

February 13, 2026

Happy Valentine's Day! I don't necessarily "buy into" the holidays like this, which seem like one more reason to buy something. Let's just all take a LONG break tomorrow to contact those that we love - not just romantically. Send an unexpected email. Call someone. Write a note. Make sure that your loved ones KNOW that you love them...

But right now, let's admire the attention to detail, the glorious fabrics and trims worn by our two favorite fashion saints:

Such an easy color palette, but one with so much potential impact:

At the end of January, our heroine had this delightfully compact but (to many of you) rather casual wardrobe:

We have to remember that - in her "down time" - when ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Common Shelduck by Dennis A. Jones

February 11, 2026

Let's spend just a moment communing with a bird. This particular bird:

Wouldn't it be nice to be this calm? And I swear that I see confidence in the gaze of this bird. Of course, once you've got your personal style all sorted out and you look this good, why wouldn't you be confident?

I particularly admire the palette:

At the end of January, our friend who works on bird censuses (I had to look this one up - I would have SWORN it would be something like "censui" or "censua") had this quite compact but amazingly versatile wardrobe. I see 18 outfits here...

Our heroine has made a big decision - if she likes something that she owns, she's going to see if she can find the same garment in another color ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Spirit of Autumn by Albert Pinkham Ryder

February 9, 2026

Let's just take a second to enjoy the calm solitude of today's painting. I don't think most of us take enough time to look at art; I always see people cruising through the Art Institute of Chicago as if they have a checklist, and not two eyes and a heart...

Our heroine, the professional listener, has chosen this palette for her wardrobe; so far she's very pleased!

At the end of January, she only had eight garments in her "new" wardrobe, but they were carefully chosen and offer her literally twelve outfit options. Twelve really repetitive options, but that's still a lot of choices for so few garments!

This month, she was delighted to find a pair of pants that go beautifully with her wool vest! And she ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Ruffled Autumn Clouds by Emile Nolde

February 6, 2026

Let's see what our heroine with her eye on the corporate ladder is doing!

First, her inspirational painting:

Our heroine made a big decision this month - upon looking more closely at her painting, she's accepted that she can include lighter shades of her four accent colors in her wardrobe. While the idea of nothing but strong, bright accents appealed to her, she realized that it was going to be a LOT easier to find clothes if she gave herself wider choices...

It's sort of difficult to see on her color wheel, but when she started shopping for clothes, she realized the difference immediately!

And this is something we all can learn - our wardrobe plans and choices don't have to be carved in stone!

For ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Winter Cottonwoods by Georgia O’Keeffe

February 4, 2026

For just a moment, let's enjoy this calm, restful painting, full of depths if you look behind the trees and into the distance...

Our heroine, lover of all wild plants, has chosen this painting to inspire her wardrobe. She's a lover of the "nuts and bolts" of nature - the roots, the cold bare stems of winter, the starkness of the branches silhouetted against the frozen sky...

At the end of January, our heroine had assembled the most gentle and subtle of capsule wardrobes:

Our heroine had no definite plans for when she would add bright flower yellow to her wardrobe, so when she saw this cashmere sweater, she had NO reason to hesitate. And then she finds the darkest brown cardigan too! While the fox ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Lonely Erika Giovanna Klien

February 2, 2026

Time flies, doesn't it? Although January did sometimes seem to be a decade-long winter challenge...

But let's think of art! I particularly love this painting, and I can't put my finger on why. I think that's just fine - do you have to be able to explain your passions and dislikes?

The balance of color here could be different, but I think we're going to have a good time with these three strong neutrals and two unexpected accent colors:

At the end of January, our heroine had maybe the world's most organized and versatile core wardrobe. You could toss literally any accent color into this eight-piece capsule wardrobe and have a lot of options. It's not always fascinating to start with these neutral pieces, ... View the Post