Four by Four Archives - Page 3 of 12

How to Accent a Denim and Khaki Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – The Stairs of the Asylum by Van Gogh

I'm sure there's a story here, and I'm afraid it might be a sad one:

Even in difficult circumstances, van Gogh captures the exuberant energy of nature, in a very limited palette:

Celebrating Nature is Her Profession Landscape architect - it was the title that she always wanted. So she started out working as a landscaper with a successful female manager, and she went to school in her spare time...

For a long time, she wore a uniform of khaki pants, and a bright green polo shirt with a logo, and a matching bright green jacket when the weather demanded. So when she finally wasn't in a "uniform" position anymore, she didn't feel the need for a wildly extensive wardrobe. She found that her simple khaki, denim and white wardrobe gave her ... View the Post

Part 2 of How to Gradually Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Start with a Scarf – Ted Baker Enchantment

March 24, 2017

After you've had a bit of time to process the outfits for the first 4 months of the year, which I shared here yesterday, it's time to dive back in and finish the year, and the capsule wardrobe!

First, let's refresh our memories about what our "inspiration scarf" is, and the color palette that I drew from the scarf:

She Loves Flowers And she has no better explanation for it than that - she loves them. Yes, she grew up helping her parents in their flower beds - that certainly played some role in her affections...

So when she didn't have to go to the office any longer, she decided to remake her wardrobe in the image of her dreams and desires - flowers, and flowery colors!

Sometimes, when the weather ... View the Post

How to Build an “All-Neutral” Capsule Wardrobe in Ivory and Black

March 22, 2017

Someone asked me what this wardrobe would look like with ONLY ivory and black pieces, incorporating prints and patterns as the accents. And someone else asked what I would do if I were choosing how to build on the original 9 Neutral Building Blocks. So I thought I'd incorporate both ideas into one post - a last look at those 9 ivory and black pieces!

First off - these are the pieces that I would add, if I were going to build on the neutrals. It would be really easy to just get seven striped garments! But I always love a good marled sweater, the mitered skirt is a fun way to slim one's hips, and then there's that Keith Haring tee shirt that I like so much...

And just for reference, the original nine ... View the Post

Four Paintings, Four Different Ways to Wear Black and Ivory Neutral Building Blocks

March 21, 2017

Ah, here's where the heroines with the wardrobes from last Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and yesterday all come together, and where we get to see just HOW much a few accent piece can change the look of very simple, neutral pieces of clothing.

First up - all four of these women own the SAME black cashmere cardigan. But once they put it into the mix with their own things, the results are very different:

Someone didn't mention to our last woman (the very avant garde lady) that we were getting dressed up, but I don't honestly think she's the kind of person who would mind...

If these four women were sitting in a restaurant together, I don't think anybody would be inclined to walk up to them and point out that ... View the Post

How to Accent a Neutral Capsule Wardrobe with Brights – Start with Art: Le Pot a Tisane by Leger

March 20, 2017

So far, we've been relatively subtle in our accent colors... THAT'S going to change!

I see many things in this image, but I do NOT see a pot of tea!

What might be the thing that really threw this painting into the "must address" bucket for The Vivienne Files is the surprising presence of that beautiful purple. (and yes, a wee touch of green!) Normally, I think most of us, if we were painting this, might be tempted to use blue alongside the red and yellow. But that's why he's Leger, and we're not...

I also really appreciate the degree to which these colors are strong, but not jarring or neon. That takes a bit of skill...

I know we're getting a bit weary of seeing these, but I have to always remember that ... View the Post

How to Use Both Warm & Cool Accents in a Capsule Wardrobe – Start with Art: Carnival Evening by Henri Rousseau

March 17, 2017

This sets a mood, doesn't it?

I love how much the sky is emphasized... and that glimpse of stars... sigh...

If you've seen the earlier installations of this series (yesterday, and the day before) you can cruise through this quickly. We have our starter Neutral Building Blocks:

The dozen (at least!) possible outfits from these pieces:

And the way those 9 pieces fit in a 4 by 4 Wardrobe template:

What a fun exercise this is! It can be very difficult for me to find seven perfect pieces within an 8-hour work day, so if you're going to try to put together a wardrobe like this at home, please be patient with yourself as you shop. The pieces are out there, but might ... View the Post

More Personalized Neutrals – Start with Art: Untitled by Julian Lethbridge

March 16, 2017

After yesterday's subtle colors, this feels almost like a breath of spring!

I don't know that I've ever seen accents so resolutely feminine juxtaposed against black and ivory! This would be such a nice palette to adopt for warmer weather...

Just as we did yesterday, I'm starting with the exact same nine Neutral Building Blocks:

And as before, this gets you started with a solid dozen neutral outfits. This heroine would want a couple of really pretty floral scarves that include her pastels, I suspect... And some pastel socks...

And just to keep us in some sort of order, in our additions, I like to start the Four by Four Wardrobe template. This way, it's pretty clear what kinds of pieces need to be ... View the Post

How to Personalize Neutrals in a Capsule Wardrobe – Start With Art: L’Encens by Ferrand Khnopff

March 15, 2017

I've made the bold pronouncement recently that it's the accents that make a capsule wardrobe personal - it's possible for any number of women to share a core of identical "base" clothes in neutral colors, and the overall impression that they make will vary, based on how they accessorize and accent those neutrals.

Well, I've been asked to flesh out that idea in some detail, so here goes! For the next 4 days, I'm going to feature 4 works of art that share a base of black and ivory, but which include a variety of accent colors. Each heroine will begin with the same 9 wardrobe Neutral Building Blocks in black and ivory, to which I will then add seven accent pieces. Then, after everybody's got their wardrobe set ... View the Post

How to Use the Functional Method to Purge a Cluttered Wardrobe

This is the same wardrobe with which we worked yesterday; today we're going to take a different approach to getting rid of the excess and whittling down to the good stuff!

Today, we're arranging everything by function. This is a really helpful way to "self-diagnose" a common shopping pitfall - always buying the same kind of garment. I personally have a mad fondness for dresses, and for sweaters. Dresses aren't a terrible problem, because (so long as you have the appropriate shoes and other accessories) a dress is a pretty much free-standing ensemble. But too many black sweaters? BIG BIG BIG waste of money... even if the sweaters are (each and every one of them!) very beautiful...

This heroine has a ratio of tops to bottoms that is at the ... View the Post

How to Apply the Color Decluttering Method to a “Magpie” Wardrobe

Oh my... I know this woman, metaphorically speaking. She shops on payday. She buys pretty things. She loves what she buys, but never knows quite what to wear.... And this is what she sees when she opens her closet door:

She has a favorite store, which is a great place to buy a pretty accent piece... but she's never found a real personal style, in all of the very nice clothes that she owns...

So let's start her off by pulling out all of her neutral garments. She's actually not particularly opposed to the idea of neutral colors; she has black, denim, olive, white, ivory, pearl grey AND taupe in her closet. But note that it would be difficult, if not impossible to build a simple Four by Four wardrobe here. She has enough black pieces, but ... View the Post

Accessories for an “All-Neutral” Capsule Wardrobe in Navy, Grey, Camel and White

March 6, 2017

Oh, how I love accessories! As much as it's important, and nice, to have good-quality, classic clothes, it's really the accessories that make outfits distinctively yours...

Let's briefly flash back to look at the scarf from which we're working; note that I've slightly changed the color wheel to reflect the focus that I'm going to put on brown leather accessories! I do these in PowerPoint, which gives you nearly infinite flexibility in the number of colors you include, the proportion of each color, the nuanced shade of each color, as well as the ability to change the borders (both color and width) at will. I don't think that PowerPoint was ever intended for this purpose, but it works really well!

The lace ... View the Post

Building an All-Neutral Wardrobe, based on a Scarf: Navy, Grey, Camel and White

March 3, 2017

People often ask me where I get ideas for blog posts - they should see my inbox! I get the most wonderful emails, with the most interesting questions... (if it takes me days and DAYS to respond, please don't be offended or insulted - I love to hear from you!)

Many of us start to feel like we need to migrate away from black, and toward grey or navy. One among you found a lovely scarf - vintage! - to help focus this wardrobe shift, and asked me for a few ideas. What fun!

First off - buying "luxury" scarves second-hand is just plain smart. You can find them on Ebay (which can be dicey, because they don't do anything to police against fakes), Tradesy, 1st Dibs, Etsy, The RealReal, Malleries, and ... View the Post