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What I Wore, What I Packed, and What I Bought in Dublin

Packing for unpredictable weather is always tricky... And since it's been snowing CATASTROPHICALLY in Ireland, off and on for the last few weeks, this trip was really a challenge!

But I managed to cobble things together well enough - hallelujah! Of course, knowing that I would have my coat on most of the time makes things much easier.

2 things were really issues, the expected cold weather, and the unexpected moving out of the AirBNB into a hotel. I packed relatively lightly (for 10 days) because we were counting on doing laundry pretty regularly during our stay. Belovedest ran TWO Parkrun 5K's when we were there, so there were gym clothes in need of care...

So, theoretically, I would have been okay with just the clothes on my back when ... View the Post

Sage and Blush! A French 5-Piece Wardrobe, with Camel

I don't think I've ever pointed this out specifically - your French 5-Piece Wardrobe doesn't have to be all one color! It probably should all go together, if only to make wearing it easier, but 2 colors that are beautiful together could be a great idea...

Imagine that you've already pulled together your camel and ivory Common Wardrobe for spring...

Yes, this is the same wardrobe from Monday the 5th - and the shirt is NOT (at this very moment) sold out...

 You would already have a good many ways to get dressed in the morning without really even thinking - that's handy when you're in a rush, and distracted!

When you add just the 5 new items you purchased for spring, your options expand a LOT, and you still don't have to do a ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Ultra Violet

I can't explain it, but I'm really fascinated by (bordering on obsessed with) navy and ultra violet together... I don't own a STITCH of navy clothing - I haven't since the late 80s - and I'm not about to start buying it now! But I just find it beautiful and... gratifying... in a way that I can't explain.

How about another 90% Eileen Fisher dream wardrobe, this time in navy? I could NOT find a good photo of a skirt in her navy - which she calls midnight - so I grabbed one from Lands' End. Remember that different fabrics don't have to be "dye-lot" matched to be worn together. They should look like they're from the same family, but not necessarily like they're identical twins!

As should always be the case with a well-chosen core of 10 ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Blooming Dahlia

Maybe black and white isn't your thing... maybe now that warm weather is approaching, you're in the mood for LIGHT...

And maybe you're very casual. Not a scarf person. Really, VERY casual, relaxed, leisurely...

Maybe start with this:

You've got every kind of white top from sleeveless to long-sleeved, and everything to cover your legs a little, a bit more, or all the way! Layer on a sweater or a sweatshirt and you're good to go.

This is NOT boring.... this is subtle!

You're ready for an update, and a bit of an accent color for the upcoming warm weather. But nothing overly dressy - why buy things you won't wear? You can update just as easily with canvas shoes, tee shirts, and a fresh backpack...

Everything just looks a little ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Tomato Red

When the weather gets warm, many of us get the urge to shop! And so let's think about limiting our purchases to whatever essential, core items we need, and then a French 5-Piece Wardrobe to freshen and update our classics...

First, every change of season has me dreaming of tossing out all of my clothes and buying an entirely new wardrobe from Eileen Fisher. (NOT going to happen, but a woman can fantasize, and then use that fantasy to create a better reality, right?)

This is what I'd be buying, if I was going to do such a madcap thing:

Of course, when you look at this wardrobe for a few minutes, you realize that you don't need to buy ALL 10 pieces to get the desired effect - maybe just 2 or 3 of the real signature pieces (that marled ... View the Post

Adding Just Enough Accessories

February 21, 2018

Yesterday she managed to wrestle her wardrobe into shape, so today she want to be certain that she has enough accessories. She's not mad about having tons of stuff, but it is pretty important to have at least some appropriate shoes!Her color palette looked like this when she was finished:

She thought for a bit, and chose gold as the metal color for her jewelry (maybe just for this season - who knows?)

And she's going to rely a bit on navy as a "cooling" influence on her wardrobe, as she moves away from those warm olive-ish greens that made her feel drab. So she drafted a 2nd color palette, like this:

Now that her colors are all settled, she things for a minute about what she's going to look for in her ... View the Post

My 5th Most Popular Post – Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch: Choosing Colors

It doesn't surprise me that this post was high up on the list of all-time favorites - it's a perennial topic for The Vivienne Files!

Remember 3 and a half years ago, when I built SIX separate wardrobes, from scratch? This was the first post of that series...

While these aren't the most creative or unexpected color palettes imaginable, they are certainly timelessly classic, which is a pretty good thing!

I have to admit, after all this time, and after looking at all of the colors with which we've worked, I still love black and white with just a touch of red or bright blue... I'm old-school!

love, Janice ... View the Post

Paris Packing – A Parka, and Lots of Stripes

February 9, 2018

You might remember that I was supposed to go to Paris back in December, when a sudden fibromyalgia "interlude" caused me to cancel; I was literally IN THE BAGGAGE CLAIM AREA OF THE AIRPORT when I realized that I wasn't strong enough to make it up the escalator to check in, let alone fly all the way to Paris...

But this is better because (a) Belovedest is going with me! and (b) we'll be there for Valentine's Day! Sweet, eh?

As much as it's fun to be in Paris for a romantic holiday, we have to bear in mind that the weather will be cold, and quite wet - and as much as I'd love to travel without a big heavy coat, it might be plain stupid to try to get by without it - nothing is more miserable than being cold every day. ... View the Post

What If I Don’t Really DO Accessories?

February 8, 2018

Some people just don't wear a lot of jewelry; they don't want to collect handbags, nor shoes, and they find one scarf suits them quite well...(okay, they're nuts...)

Actually, that's their right. Of course it is! But it does suggest that they're going to want to plan a bit to make certain that they have what they want and need when they get dressed.

Let's start where we were yesterday, with this nicely tidied leisure wardrobe:

When we finished this wardrobe yesterday, we had a lovely color palette for our heroine's clothing. Working from that, we can easily devise a corresponding palette for her accessories - add a choice of metal (if you're not going to have a lot of jewelry, what you do have can easily be ... View the Post

My Casual Wardrobe is a Disaster….

She got really sick of the struggle - it wasn't like climbing Mount Everest, or building your own home by hand, but it was still a bother...

She has some things that she really likes, but just can't seem to get dressed for evenings or weekends...

This is approximately what she has right now:

What to do? Is the problem that she doesn't have enough of a particular "category" of clothes - not enough tee shirts? or sweaters?

Nope - her ratios are pretty good, and there are no glaring omissions. Is it a question of color?

Immediately, when we see that mass of warm green with some "outliers" of cool green that just don't blend in, we can start to see the issue...

And here's the gut-check moment - does she really prefer warmer colors? ... View the Post

How do I Know That I Have Enough Accessories?

Our heroine ended yesterday's adventure with a color scheme that felt right, and a spring capsule wardrobe that she found really comfortable; it gave her great pleasure, every time she opened her closet door...

But she still needs to wear shoes! And carry a bag. And maybe wear some earrings, or a bracelet, from time to time. How to plan THAT?

Well, I pondered this for a while, and I think that she should think about what outfits she's going to wear, from her wardrobe, and then make certain that she has the accessories that are right for each of those outfits. What else would she want, if she knew that she had a dozen outfits ready to go?

To keep choices balanced, I'm going to see if I can fill in this template with her accessories... ... View the Post