The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Asiatic God by Paul Klee

March 19, 2016   This looks a little bit clown-like on my screen, but in person it's much more compelling, with a lot of texture. Almost mysterious, dark, and captivating, with amazing color highlights.  

Asiatic God – Paul Klee  

The frame is maroon and grey, and there are tiny accents of teal... the pink on the face is, in fact, the color PUCE! (I was searching around for the precise RGB combination to show the color on the color wheel, and learned this...)

This cried out for denim, to serve as a base for texture and a variety of accent colors...

Yes, the image of this skirt is TERRIBLE, but I really wanted you to see this skirt. It's a departure from a lot of denim skirts, in that it seems to have more ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories: Navy, Beige, Turquoise and Yellow, 1 at a Time

March 14, 2016   Maybe it's the unseasonably warm weather here in Chicago, but this wardrobe felt very summery to me...  

We always have to start out with a couple of basic, essential accessories...

  I thought that I'd introduce some pearls here - to pick up on the pearl/off-white color of the cardigan. I like to tie outfits together through these small, but powerful, little color "echoes."

 

Theoretically, this particular outfit would be better balanced with dark shoes, but I'm assuming that you're going to carry a dark bag, which will serve the same purpose. Let's not go completely nuts trying to do everything perfectly!

If you're an avowed "watch avoider," you can always just ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories, 1 at a Time: Navy, Beige and Poppy

March 12, 2016   Remember this wardrobe, viewable here? Time for some essential accessories!  

Start, as always, with some shoes in which you could do serious walking:

  This time, you might prefer a small bag:

 

 

I will always have earrings as the 3rd step, but from here on, the order of choices, and the overall numbers, are entirely up to you. If you want to have 3 pairs of sunglasses, go for it!

 

I love the range of off-white shoes that are available. Since the materials are very different from those of your garments, the colors don't have to match exactly, but they should be in the same color family. It's easy to wander into the "too grey" crowd if you're not ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories, 1 at a Time: Beige, Sage and Blush

March 10, 2016  

Adding the accessories is fun  - I'm going to do a few of these in a row, so we can all see the system, and the cumulative benefits that accrue when you get a nice core of accent pieces, growing bit by bit.Here's where this second "1 at a Time" started: (you can see the original wardrobe post here)

Shoes will ALWAYS be the first thing to make sure you have, for obvious reasons. It's entirely likely that you already have the shoes that you need, but it's always wise to be absolutely certain.

 

A bag is, to me, the second most important accessory to have. This time I've put the tote bag first...

 

From those two essential pieces, everything after that becomes much more ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe in Cobalt, Black and Grey: 1 Piece at a Time

March 8, 2016  

I knew that I had more black and grey wardrobe requests, so I thought I'd jump on another one right away and see how much difference a change of accent colors would make.First up, the hypothetical starter outfit:

It's a pretty somber outfit, but when you drape the scarf over the shoulders of the cardigan, or loop it insouciantly under the collar of the shirt, everything changes!

 

Although this outfit includes an Hermes scarf, I imagined that this was being put together for a woman who really needed some more casual clothes. First up is to consolidate a solid column of black, as well as build a sort of fake twin-set in black.

 

Here's where we start getting much more ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe in Grey, Blue, Lilac and Black: 1 Piece at a Time

I thought that this would be challenging, but I really enjoy the options provided by including both black and grey with these soft accent colors:

cardigan – J. Crew; shirt – Uniqlo;   

scarf – Ted Baker London; trousers – J. Crew Factory  

If you like florals, I can't encourage you enough to look at products from Ted Baker London. While not inexpensive, they are SO beautiful, and you really only need 1 piece to be the starting point, and the lynch pin, of a beautiful wardrobe.

cardigan – J. Crew; shirt – Uniqlo;   

scarf – Ted Baker London; trousers – J. Crew Factory  

While my first inclination was to buy the sweater to match the cardigan, I thought that instead I'd invest in another ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe in Brown, Camel, Cream and Turquoise: 1 Piece at a Time

March 2, 2016     I decided to pull a scarf into this one, in order to illustrate the color scheme a bit - I think that adding the scarf lends a bit of validity to the possibility that this outfit could be someone's favorite:  

  Shell – J. Crew; cardigan – J. Crew; scarf – St Petersburg Global Trade; pants – J. Crew  

 

I love the possibilities - dark chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, and.... I do NOT have anything except ugly artificially-colored sprinkles to offer in turquoise!

Shell – J. Crew; cardigan – J. Crew; scarf – St Petersburg Global Trade; pants – J. Crew  

Normally, I try to start building a wardrobe with solid garments, because they feel more ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: Male and Female Cardinals, in Warm AND Cool Colors

February 24, 2016  

So I'm going to start alternating "1 Piece at a Time" Wardrobes with other fun things, so that we don't collectively burn out on the concept before I've addressed ALL of your color scheme requests. I am absolutely going to look at accessories for these wardrobes - those might be some of the "interspersed" posts. As much as I have an endless attention span for a single subject, I understand that a bit of variety keeps things fresh for us all.Someone suggested that the male cardinal wardrobe (here) and the female cardinal wardrobe (here) might be combined. I'm ALL OVER that idea!

Do these two look like they get along?

I've often thought that it's possible to build a wardrobe with 4 or 5 neutral colors ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe One Piece at a Time in beige, pink and soft green

February 20, 2016  

I'd be happy to do more of these - suggest colors, and I'll give it a try! Today, we're going into warm colors, starting with a favorite outfit of a woman who wears and loves warm, soft colors:

I can see the appeal of a comfy tee, broken-in chinos, and a cuddly cashmere cardigan!Although her "seed" outfit doesn't include green, she makes the deliberate choice to include it in her wardrobe plan:

I may have beaten this poor horse to pieces by now, but a great place to start to expand a wardrobe is to find pieces that are different colored versions of your current favorites. In this shopper's (now nicknamed TS) plan, a green tee shirt, just like her blush one, is a simple and foolproof place to ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe One Piece at a Time

Unpacking my bag last night, I was thinking about how, for the last handful of trips I've taken, I've started my packing by choosing my travel outfit, and then adding 1 piece at a time until I'm at an appropriate number of garments for the length of my trip. It's a system that's working pretty well for me...I then started considering the possibility of applying this concept to the building of a wardrobe. Some people just aren't in a position to buy an entire wardrobe, or even an entire outfit, at one time. And for those among us who are more comfortable moving gradually into changes, this might be just the ticket!

Let's start with this outfit; maybe this is someone's very favorite ensemble, including the colors around which they wish to ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: A Cardinal, in Warm Colors

So Wednesday I danced with the "cool male" cardinal; today, let's see what the "warm female" cardinal colors have to offer!

I'm going to use exactly the same red garments as I did on Wednesday, just to show how very different they feel when they're used with brown and camel.

Blazer – Emilio Pucci; pants – Austin Reed;  

Blouse – Joseph; skirt – Austin Reed  

Cardigan – Elder Statesman; trousers – J.Crew;  

Tee – Sonia Rykiel; jeans – Austin Reed  

V-neck blouse – Velvet; silk-trimmed top – Madewell;  

Red sweater - Balenciaga; turtleneck – L.L.Bean  

Camel sweater – J.W. Anderson; skirt – Adam Selman;  

Space-knit sweater – Adam Selman; dress ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: A Cardinal, in Cool Colors

February 17, 2016  

There are a lot of cardinals in the park very near here - it's my favorite detour when I'm out and about to go look for them. They are SO striking, and such a spot of cheerful color on these short, grey winter days!I'm always taken with the way in which the male and female birds are colored differently. He is very high-contrast, in cool colors:

I'm going to visit her color scheme too, but for now, I was in the mood for a small 4 by 4 wardrobe in these colors. Maybe a miniature winter work wardrobe? (for those among us who do miniature winter work?)

Cardigan – L.L.Bean; pants – L.L.Bean; Blouse – Faith Connexion; skirt – Diane von Furstenberg  

Cardigan – L.L.Bean; trousers – ... View the Post