cool weather Archives - Page 3 of 48

Considering a Classic Accent Color? J.Crew Burgundy Cashmere Crewneck Sweater

October 17, 2025

One last look at what one can do with a simple sweater! Simple is key - it's easier to layer, easier to pile on jewelry or a scarf, and much less likely to bore you as the years pass...

I think of expensive sweaters this way: starting when I finished graduate school (OMG years ago), I tried to buy one really good sweater each year.

Now, I'm sitting with almost 40 beautiful sweaters. People think I'm wildly extravagant, when I'm really just taking good care of my stuff!

This sweater is one that might appeal to almost any of us - burgundy is an easy color for many people to wear, and it goes with both warm and cool neutrals. Imagine this beauty with camel.... mmm...

The heroine who asked me to look into the ... View the Post

Committing to an Accent Color? Alex Mill’s “Kelly Green” Cashmere Sweater

October 15, 2025

A completely different approach to adding a cashmere sweater to your wardrobe - this time, an accent color!

And yes, they call this kelly green, but when I was searching for things to wear with it, I had MUCH better luck looking for emerald things...

In case nobody tells you all of the fun fashion gossip, Alex Mill was founded by the founder of old Navy and Madewell, as well as the former CEO of The Gap and J.Crew, his son, and a clothing designer... Their things aren't cheap, but the quality is very nice.

The heroine who requested this post has - for a long time! - committed that her wardrobe core is navy and white. She really couldn't choose a better accent color than emerald green:

First, for these ... View the Post

Will She Wear a Camel Sweater? Let’s Give Her Some Ideas…

Please note, I've updated the "Support The Vivienne Files" page that you can find at the top of the page. It's underneath the clothes hanger suspended from the name Vivienne! (yes, the Quince link is there now.)

Any time you click on any of these links, I get some sort of credit. Not money, but some kind of "ooooh, people are clicking on Janice's links!" and I might eventually qualify for some spiffy offer or gift.

If you purchase anything, I receive a tiny commission. It doesn't matter what you buy - click on someone and buy (hmm, what's the LEAST Vivienne Files kind of product possible?) a lawnmower - I get a wee percentage!

If there are any other retailers from whom you wish to order, and you'd like to see if I can receive a ... View the Post

October 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #6: Street Lights by Stefan Johansson

October 8, 2025

This painting feels like an October evening to me...

For no good reason she can pinpoint, this heroine plunged headfirst into a feast of green! She was particularly thrilled to find her lime green cotton crewneck sweater, since she's loved her cardigan in this color... And her cardigan jacket matches her new pants - a suit is never a bad idea!

Here's another Weekly Timeless Wardrobe that's gone somewhat off the rails - not that it matters! No rules, and the most important thing in any wardrobe is that we have what we need, and what makes us happy to wear.

This month, I moved the five truly orange garments onto the same page with the gold and white pieces. It looks good!

I've always pictured ... View the Post

October 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #5: Pines by the Sea by Bertha Lum

October 7, 2025

Three REALLY easy neutrals (brown, denim and white) paired with teal, which is an accent that lots of us seem to love!

Could you keep the three neutrals and replace the teal with... pink? or peach? I'm sure there are other accents that would be perfect with the three neutrals. Hmm...

If's finally getting cool where THIS heroine lives, so she was happy to grab a couple of turtlenecks and a warm dress!

This heroine is keeping up - somewhat - with her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe. As with so many other among our friends and their wardrobes, this one is going to fall short when we get to the winter holidays. But there are no rules...

This wardrobe is relatively well balanced; when it comes to putting ... View the Post

October 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #3: Of by Elizabeth Magill

October 3, 2025

This painting has all kinds of potential. Is that background color maybe navy-ish? Is there gold around the edges? (yes) As with pretty much any painting worth it's salt, this one is worth studying at some length...

As with our other heroines - so far - this most disciplined of women is trying to purchase items from her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe list. Happily, she found dresses that are VERY similar, except for very different fabrics! The ponte knit feels dressy to me, while the corduroy is going to be rather relaxed. If you love the cut of a garment, don't hesitate to make it a signature.

Here's another heroine who is making quite neat progress on her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, but who is moving into the end ... View the Post

Love Olive for Autumn? Start With a Scarf – Velour Garden Scarf by Artifact.

September 24, 2025

One last look at the fun of packing 10 simple garments, based on something really beautiful like this scarf:

There is enough blue in this scarf that you could include denim in this wardrobe; I haven't done that here, but it's worth remembering!

Maybe she's driving, and doesn't have to worry about getting her cool beige cords dirty...

The red tops don't have to match, unless you'd like to layer them together. Even then, a good strong dose of "similar tones" should work; I think that the two tops here could go together if that appeals.

This feels perfect for autumn, for those among us who don't wear orange or brown!

As with any wardrobe that includes a carefully chosen and edited ... View the Post

Prefer Navy for Your Travel Capsule Wardrobe Neutral? Start With a Scarf – Eon Silk Scarf by Artifact.

September 22, 2025

The world does not live in black alone - although if you saw my closet some days you might wonder!

Maybe this is a scarf that you want to pack...

There's a lovely shade of medium blue in there... but it's that lime green that our heroine finds most fascinating! Of course she could pack both of those colors as accents, but I didn't find anything that I loved in the light blue.

Comfortable, but still nicely presentable! Just because you're going to sleep on the plane doesn't mean that you MUST wear your pajamas...

This travel capsule wardrobe is exactly what I packed to take to London, except that it's all different colors! This is both classic and very current - that lime green isn't always ... View the Post

What Can You Do With a Plaid Suit?

September 17, 2025

We did this last year, and by popular demand, I'm taking a look at this year's Boden plaid suit. Our heroine still works in politics, and her red plaid suit from last year became sort of a signature! She's seriously thinking about getting this suit too, and really leaning into the signature of plaid!

This is a great suit, and from the photographs, it seems to be relatively well constructed. At least the plaids seem to be matched:

There are not a ton of colors in this plaid, but red and white are easy to spot, even at a distance. The more outgoing or creative among us can certain include the brighter blue, or something yellow! A yellow sweater... hmmm...

The first thing this heroine mentioned to me was ... View the Post

A Complete Cool-Weather Wardrobe? Start With Art – The Dark Lady by A.K.Zinkeisen

September 15, 2025

Let's take one last, lingering and appreciative look at our painting inspiration:

This is the color palette with which we've been working, taken from this painting. You can always add faded denim - there's a glimpse of the sky in the top left corner...

Let's remember too, that we have four possible color palettes using only three colors...

For our first Six-Pack travel capsule wardrobe, our heroine decided to forego wearing black for a few days!

For her second travel capsule wardrobe, our heroine chose to not pack anything ivory - we can all picture this kind of trip!

At the approach of the winter holidays, our heroine focused more on burgundy, and omitted camel for this capsule ... View the Post

Want to Stick to Neutrals? Start With Art – The Dark Lady by Anna Katrina Zinkeisen

September 12, 2025

The last of the four "three-color" wardrobes based on this gorgeous painting:

Our heroine is on her last of four palettes - a perfect calm, neutral color scheme for after the holidays, when one needs to be disciplined and focused for the adventures ahead! Our heroine isn't even quite sure where she will be traveling, but she's pretty confident she will be able to pack without stress...

Warmly bundled up - she could easily wear a camelhair coat, or a black parka, over this outfit...

Of course, if she's packing her long plaid coat/cardigan, then her long coat would make more sense. Unless she won't NEED a coat over her "coatigan". It depends on where she's going, what time of year it is, what she's ... View the Post

Avoid A Warm Neutral? Start With Art – The Dark Lady by Anna Katrina Zinkeisen

September 10, 2025

Back to exploring the possibilities offered to us in this most beautiful painting:

If you have four neutrals colors in your plan, you (by definition!) should have four three-color color schemes that you can use for smaller wardrobes, like a single season, or for travel:

Our heroine is planning ahead to pack for the winter holidays. She wants to stick with lots of red, and some black and white because that feels festive to her! That's really all that matters - pack what you want to pack! (I'm planning my packing for London right now, and I have to keep reminding myself of this...)

As far as she can tell, she's going to have a church service to attend the evening she arrives at her sister's ... View the Post