The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Winter Travel: Briqueterie a Tortosa by Pablo Picasso

January 9, 2019

 

Solar panels. She designs installations for solar panels - big installations, small ones - whatever is ordered, she will optimize both the appearance and the productivity. She's very proud of what she does...

So when she saw this painting, it spoke to her - the angles, the bright sunny feel, the combination of grey (like metal frames) with orange and green - the colors of things that grow and bloom:

She decided to choose a color palette that she could use for all of her travel wardrobes (and maybe all of her clothing, eventually):

 

One challenge she always faces is that she travels to place where it is inevitably warmer than where she lives! So she dresses warmly for her departure, and ... View the Post

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

March 12, 2018 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 ... View the Post

Lovet Green! A Great French 5-Piece Wardrobe, with navy and white

March 9, 2018   I haven't a clue what a lovet is... any ideas? But when I saw this color I knew that we had to look at it a bit - it really calls out to me...    

So if you're starting out with this lovely, and very versatile, classic wardrobe for spring... (which we saw last Friday...)

 

Without adding any accents at all, you're already pretty well-equipped for most of the occasions that you might encounter during the spring (or on a lovely spring break vacation!).

 

 

But adding on the green accents gives you some lovely possibilities.... And this is the kind of accent color that would be equally beautiful and useful in the autumn - always a ... View the Post

Another Wardrobe Disaster…

February 20, 2018

This is almost the same wardrobe that we saw back on February 7th; I've made a couple of changes so that our new "dilemma" is clear...

This is her starting wardrobe; there's nothing really WRONG here - they're all perfectly nice clothes, but she struggles, and often feels that she doesn't look... pretty...

So she goes through the same exercise that we've seen before - does she have the right general assortment of pieces? Yes, this seems fine...

 

Is it the colors? She feels in her gut that she's got a color "issue..." She's always been told that she was an Autumn, but the colors feel muddy and heavy to her... She's got blue eyes, and freckles, and she feels more... light? than the colors that are ... 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 ... View the Post

“Fixing” a Wardrobe that Just Doesn’t Feel Right…

She's worn navy forever, and really, legitimately loves it. She also really feels comfortable with bright colors - she doesn't mind the high contrast. But, for some reason she can't quite put her finger on, she's not quite "right" with her wardrobe...

This is what's she's got for spring:

She really doesn't know what to do to feel more comfortable with these pieces, so she just started getting dressed as normal, but changing 2 small things:

She pulls out and wears what she really "feels" like wearing, rather than trying to carefully rotate everything in her wardrobe. If she focuses on what she most likes, it might help her learn something, and She keeps careful track of what she wears.

After three weeks, she sorts ... View the Post

Instruments de Musique by Pablo Picasso – Inspiring an Unusual Business Tote Bag Travel Wardrobe

January 18, 2018 A Square Peg...

She knows it - she doesn't fit in the way most other staff at her firm does... She works the difference to her advantage.

Many of their clients are as different from her co-workers as chalk is from cheese. She's MUCH more like the clients... and that helps!

Often she can get insights and answers that elude much more senior staff... They marvel at how she does it...

She fits in with her co-workers, superficially, but if someone was paying close attention they would see that she's got her very own approach to things!

One would think that the orange suitcase might be their first hint? Or maybe the concrete necklace...

love, Janice

p.s. Now that I've built ... View the Post

Can I Use Monet’s Water Lilies as an Inspiration for my Evening Wardrobe?

Shall we do some fantasy shopping?

She wanted to feel like this when she went out in the evenings:

Right after Thanksgiving, she received a couple of invitations, and so she assembled a simple capsule wardrobe to wear to those evenings. She gave herself options from relatively casual to kind of frilly and dressy:

Well... One morning she woke up to an In-Box FULL of invitations... So she looked back to her inspiration, and added four more pieces to her little "evening" wardrobe:

Somehow, she had completely forgotten that she was ALSO going to have to make at least a couple of appearances as the "better half" of her household... She could have been reminded by someone, but NOOOO.....

With 4 pairs of pants in hand, ... View the Post

Revisiting A Casual Summer Wardrobe – Seascape by Van Gogh

Almost FOUR YEARS AGO I built a casual summer wardrobe around this painting - you can see that my brain was at that time beginning to come up with the "4 by 4 Wardrobe" concept upon which I now often rely!I was asked to revisit this painting, and I thought that it would be interesting to use the 4 by 4 system, and then to carefully analyze the results in a variety of ways...

I'm always a big fan of making sure that every wardrobe has a solid core of dark neutral garments. If your choose to forego this step, make sure that you have a good alternative plan! Many of us would struggle to get dressed without these core pieces:

Even though this isn't particularly illuminating at this point, I'm still going to put these garments into the ... View the Post

Is Classic Clothing Really Timeless?

November 14, 2017

Well, no. There's no such thing as truly timeless clothing... Unless you're still wearing a toga!

That said, I was just looking at a post that I did FIVE YEARS AGO, and I would cheerfully pack and wear any of the clothes shown. Some are still available, and in all cases it was possible to find something similar!

Given that clothing will eventually wear out, I consider that "sufficiently timeless." Can I coin that term?

I love navy with these rich colors; they just feel like autumn...

love, Janice ... View the Post

What if I Like Unusual Color Combinations? Start with a Scarf: Calm Scarf by KathKath

November 9, 2017  

She's sort of the human embodiment of Peace and Reconciliation...

When there are quarrels, disagreements, or flat out fights, corporate headquarters send her in...

 

She delights in studying both sides of a conflict and finding the common ground that makes the beginning of compromise possible. She believes that there is more to unite than to divide...

 

(yes, if you find a bag in the right color, it's okay to have 2 bags from the same brand...)She knows that she needs a good dinner before she throws herself into the fray - self-care is a very important part of taking care of others!

If, for some reason, she has to stay over for a 2nd day, she can always wear her ... View the Post

Is It Possible to Pack an Interesting Overnight Bag? Start with a Scarf: The Joy Rose Scarf by KathKath

November 7, 2017

She's not a boring person...

And so she's embraced these colors!

And now she has SATURDAY NIGHT season tickets to the opera! Just 1 ticket - nobody else she knows loves the opera enough to deserve to go with her...

Saturday morning she heads into the city:

Her bag is tiny, and quite light - how much will she need for 30 hours?

When everything is gathered together, it looks so pretty and cheerful - sort of like how she feels when she gets to go to the opera!

She knows that nobody else there will be wearing a yellow dress...

She can wear her coat as a bathrobe when her brunch is delivered... and if it's cold the next morning, she can always wear her flowered shirt under her pink ... View the Post