capsule wardrobe Archives - Page 14 of 29

My Autumn and Winter Essentials

November 6, 2017

Yes, I wear almost only black and white... especially in cold weather, when I can use some pattern and texture to add a bit of interest to my outfits. But frankly, once I'm sure that I'm appropriately and comfortably dressed, I don't look to my clothes for any sort of entertainment - the idea of being bored with what I'm wearing just doesn't compute for me.

I'm updating the "Shopping The Vivienne Files" page that shows where you can get a better look at (and purchase) some of these goodies. I think that this is an interesting way to approach the French 5-Piece Wardrobe, too, although it certainly won't be for everyone!

First, the things that I wear consistently, and that I would replace immediately in ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – November 2017

November 1, 2017

Maybe it's because the temperature plummeted this last week in Chicago... I decided that I'd find some winter coats for all of our heroines! Nary a black coat in the bunch...

Black would have been obvious here, so I went with grey instead! Yes, this might need to be cleaned more often - that's the biggest drawback to a light winter coat. If you get splashed with slush/muck/salty water, your coat could be ruined if it isn't cleaned promptly!

Everything new fits in very well...

Adding a new coat doesn't really add new outfits to your wardrobe, but the scarf does give you some options:

This is a coat that you would NEVER wear walking on city streets, but if your don't have that problem you could wear ... View the Post

November’s Birthstone is Topaz, or Citrine… Some Ideas!

October 30, 2017

I always love these months when we have a choice of stones - although November is a little bit strange because the average observer won't know the different between topaz and citrine... Which is a good thing; gold topaz aren't all that common, while citrine is pretty easy to find!

As usual, I'm starting with 6 really basic outfits in 6 neutral colors - 3 cool and 3 warm. Sweaters and corduroy pants are a good uniform this time of year in Chicago!

This first bracelet makes me swoon, just a little bit...

If you want to wear a "warm" stone with "cool" clothes, don't forget to look for stones set in silver, rather than gold - that balances the impression of the stones quite a bit.

And while we're remembering ... View the Post

Start with Art: A “French 5-Piece Wardrobe” Based on Nature Morte sur une Chaise by Juan Gris

October 24, 2017

She is feeling a little bit... subdued. She was strangely drawn to this painting:

She decided to embrace her feelings of reserve and quiet, and thus decided that this was how she was going to plan her upcoming wardrobe purchases for autumn and winter.

It wasn't that she really needs new clothes - she's got a good base of her favorite neutrals. But she felt that it was time for a good snuggle, and a scarf of two to hold her tight... She could give lots of reasons for feeling the way she does right now - the weather? the change of seasons? At any rate, she's going to do a bit of shopping...

After much watching, and some almost ENDLESS searching for scarves, these are here choices. She's (quietly) very ... View the Post

Can a More Casual Work Wardrobe have Personality? Start with a Moth…

October 17, 2017

You might think it's just a flying caterpillar, but the colors are so lovely....

Your understanding is that the first interview is going to be most of the day in their offices, and then a break before they take you out to dinner; they want to make sure that you know which fork is which!

It's a kitchen gear company - why would you be interested in their job if you didn't know your salad fork from your dinner fork? Of course you're hired! For the first few days, you're going to have options to dress nicely if there's going to be a meeting, but otherwise the offices seem quite casual...

This is the the tiny wardrobe that you have before your first paycheck arrives - you can get through a week of work ... View the Post

Can a Corporate Wardrobe have Personality? Start With Nature! An Ocean Photograph by LBToma

October 16, 2017

I've received some requests for wardrobes that address the desire to return to the workforce without completely sacrificing personal expression. Of course, this is going to depend entirely on the nature of the office in which you find yourself - some are still pretty strict, while other will let you wear pretty much anything that gets you into the office without getting arrested!

But let's assume that you need to start out pretty cautiously; all of the internet "chat" about the office talks about their very old-school image, in the eyes of the public. Once you're in, and find your niche, you can branch out a bit.

This photograph was on that amazingly fun site Design Seeds - I thought that these colors would be a ... View the Post

Planning Your Complete Wardrobe – Maybe I Should Start with the Real World?

October 12, 2017

I have absolutely NOT forgotten about my desire to figure out a way to have an overall wardrobe plan - something that I think we first discussed back in July?

Theories were posited that one could choose a specific number of each category of each garment, and a certain number of pieces for each season, etc. etc. But it all felt.... forced.

So I'm going back to reality - what is currently in my closet? What have I worn in the last month or so? Maybe I should start with what I actually OWN AND WEAR, and then see if I can make sense of that...

For now, I'm sticking with a target number of 52 - i.e. one piece per week, or 13 per quarter. So right now, I isolated in my closet the last 26 pieces of "non-gym" clothing ... View the Post

Reviewing what I Packed for Paris, September/October 2017

October 6, 2017

Well, this is interesting... At the relatively last minute, Belovedest persuaded me to take my larger suitcase (I'm still not quite sure why...) so I ended up packing a few more things than I had intentionally intended.

It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't really amazing, either... Realistically, I could have rated every garment that I packed with a green star as a "keeper;" all of my clothes go together pretty well under almost any circumstances, and I wore every stitch of what I packed.

But in order to force myself to actually rate things, I thought that choosing a third of the pieces as "green," a third as "yellow," and the remainders as the "red star" losers might be more illuminating.

First up, I ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – October 2017

October 2, 2017

For new readers, on the first of the month (or for the first blog post of the month!) I have been working on this series - I start with six Hermes scarves, and then choose the same general outfit six times, based on the colors of the scarves. I keep accumulating the clothing chosen, and gradually build really amazingly interesting capsule wardrobes in six different color schemes.

Even though the weather is still relatively mild in Chicago, I'm ready for some sweaters! And some corduroy pants... Yes. I know that they make that schwooping noise when you walk. And yes, they tend to wear out between the thighs before any place else start to look worn. But nothing takes color (except maybe silk velvet...) with the same ... View the Post

How to Accessorize a Navy-Based Fall Capsule Wardrobe – Start with Nature Central Cygnus Cloudscape

September 8, 2017

When we left our heroine on Wednesday, she had a tidy 16-piece wardrobe, but no accessories!

Of course, she probably still had lots of accessories that can work really well with her new clothes; let's go piece by piece, step by step, to choose some essential additions for her...

Shoes seems really important, I'd say!

And I'm going to be really practical and get her a bag pronto!

Now a bit of fun - some stars!

Scarves! Always remember that you might find the perfect scarf in an unexpected place - someplace you don't usually visit...

Don't discount the impact of a great watch... (yes, that last watch doesn't go with everything in this wardrobe, but if you were the kind of woman who didn't ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: Central Cygnus Skyscape by Robert Gendler

September 6, 2017

If you don't know about the Astronomy Picture of the Day site, you're in for a treat. Some of these are amazing, and many are also amazingly beautiful...

Our heroine today was very inspired by this particular image...

Finally Released... After 6 weeks in the hospital, and then in rehab, she's finally free! But her clothes are positively hanging off of her - never let it be said that hospital food isn't good for something. And with her surgery and weight loss came a new phenomenon - she often feels cold. She missed a large chunk of the summer, and now fall is staring her in the face, and the only pants that she can wear have drawstrings, and look more like pleated skirts than anything else!

Shopping is ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Les Glaciers by Alexandre Sergejewitsch Borisoff

August 25, 2017

I don't remember where I found this painting, but the colors are absolutely stunning:

I hope for the artist's sake that he was painting from memory, or a photograph!

Let's dream an extravagant, completely unrealistic dream today... Remember that big conference of CEO's? "The one in Breckenridge? The board decided that you should fly out with the Chairman, because you're the best person to help explain the financial projections..."

the suitcase came in a perfect shade of aqua blue, which I didn't find until the very last minute...

"It's been described as "posh casual," so we assume you're going to need to buy a few things for the trip. Submit your receipts with your expense report and we'll take ... View the Post