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September 2019 – 12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

My favorite post of the month! Although I love everything I give you, I must admit...

For new readers, the thesis is this: in January I choose 6 Hermes scarves from the new season, and then, for a year, I add a new outfit each month to six gradually growing and developing wardrobes. It's fascinating to see how the wardrobes evolve...

Even though the weather is still quite warm (in the Northern Hemisphere, that is!), this is honestly the time to start getting your fall and winter outfits together. The selection is best now, both for styles and sizes. And having these outfits ready for that first cold day gives you both a sense of security AND something to anticipate! (it's good to have something wonderful to enjoy when the weather ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – The August Fierce Ambition bracelet from Fierce Lynx Designs

What rich, luscious colors; there's NOTHING Halloween-ish about this beauty!

"Can You Come For a Month?" She's wanted to volunteer for them for YEARS! Finally, their needs and her computer skills overlap perfectly! And she's taking a sabbatical from her real job to go there...

"You can stay in the dorm with the other volunteers; there's laundry there, and we manage to cobble together meals that we share..."

"There's very little storage here, so don't bring your entire wardrobe! If you're going to be in a public-facing position in the office, you need to look presentable, but nobody needs to bring a tuxedo nor a ballgown... But do be advised that the offices get pretty chilly after the beginning of ... View the Post

A Wardrobe with Multiple “Moods” or Accent Colors? Start with an Artist: Romaine Brooks

August 9, 2019

Wednesday, our heroine chose accessories and was quite well-prepared for a lengthy trip...

But now, she's really going to travel!

Just to recap, she built her initial travel wardrobe around this stark but captivating painting:

Her initial travel capsule wardrobe is quite complete...

She's made a very tidy start to a quite large travel (or seasonal?) wardrobe:

And her accessories are similarly well planned:

But now, she's going away for 13 weeks! A guest teaching post? A short course at a foreign school? Who could guess...

She knows that there are plenty of women who could travel forever wearing nothing but black and grey, but she's thinking that she wants to introduce some accent ... View the Post

Start with Art: Ida Rubenstein by Romaine Brooks, or the Power of 5-Garment Clusters

July 31, 2019

She loves to travel alone....

She carries her own luggage, thank you! And she can lift her bag into the overhead bin, too. It's a point of personal satisfaction that she's strong enough to be self-sufficient... (it's an accomplishment to hold onto as long as possible, isn't it?)

In the course of planning what to pack, she grew to see that working in clusters of 5 garments would be easy to sort out in her head, and also gives her plenty of outfit possibilities! The right 5 garments can translate into 8 outfits...

It's not that she plans to travel forever, and must never EVER repeat an outfit; that's kind of silly...

But what if something is stranded at the laundry? What if the weather gets ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 5: Jeans or a Denim Bottom

I think it's about time we found something to wear below the waist, don't you think? For most of us, jeans or something similar seems the most logical place to start. When I was young, jeans were mostly for the young, and even up until about 5 years ago, when I traveled to Paris I seldom saw anybody over the age of 30 wearing jeans. But now? Jeans, in good condition - no holes, clean but not crispy pressed (no creases!) are seen on almost anybody...

As always, I have some thoughts about what to look for.... And as always, these are GUIDELINES, not hard-and fast rules. Nobody is entitled to tell you what to wear unless you're somewhere that requires a uniform. Otherwise, we're all on our own! (which makes building a wardrobe ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – The July Pink and Grey bracelet from Fierce Lynx Designs

It's that happy day of the month when we get to see a new and absolutely lovely bracelet set from Alison at Fierce Lynx Designs!

If you would like a bracelet in pink and grey that has a bit more muted pink, and a darker grey, check out her bracelet designed expressly for The Vivienne Files! I wear mine all the time... Her Uniform is Navy Blue... With accents of burgundy and khaki. And she's absolutely SICK of it...

Which is not to say that she doesn't love her job, or that she won't be happy to go back to it in a week... But for the cold evenings and warm days at the lake house, she's NOT wearing anything that reminds her of work!

Yes, taking white clothes on vacation might seem a little bit risky, but they're JUST ... View the Post

Start with Art: Wall of Light White by Sean Scully

I love this artist... And this painting is a perfect ensemble of neutral colors!

We're Going WHERE? To her sweetheart's college Chess Club reunion, that's where!

She decides to pack on an outfit-by-outfit basis; she knows that the weather is going to be hot, so she's focusing on linen, and shorts, and a couple of tops that will cover her up if she wants to walk along the shore...

Since this reunion is going to be near the beach, she's bringing "water shoes"...

Even though she's not going to lay out on the beach, she knows that a couple of pairs of shorts will be handy!

Once she got everything arranged and ready to pack, she gave it a last look:

She plans out enough outfits, in her mind, to get her ... View the Post

Start with Art: Second Season with Grey Fireworks by Helen Frankenthaler

Remember our friend the political candidate? Of course she won her election...

She campaigned wearing a small wardrobe based on this painting, and color palette:

Now, she's getting ready for the legislative session in the fall! She's taking the train to the capitol on Tuesday mornings, and staying until until Friday afternoon... Trying to get familiar with the routine, and the policies, and the procedures. Even though the legislature isn't in session, there's plenty to do, and so MUCH to learn...

Since she had such luck with her wardrobe during the campaign, she decides to make only the slightest of changes to her wardrobe plan...

This scarf, in her travel outfit, is much more beautiful than you can see in this ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: 10 Ways to Wear a Floral Skirt

A language digression: to me, something that is floral is MADE of flowers - a floral arrangement, a floral offering etc. Something printed with flowers is "flowered."

But NOT when you're searching through the world of garments and accessories.... If you want something with flowers, search for "floral."

I must be confused...

The first (and so far one of the only) really lovely early summer days here in Chicago brought out the floral skirts in abundance; I got so many ideas! So I picked a bright, unusual example:

I've been assured that the dark color here is navy; if it's black, nothing really changes here except navy garments and accessories could be swapped for black. I get really irked by the poor information available ... View the Post

Adding to a Starter Wardrobe in Black, Grey, Brown and Pink

When we left our heroine on Friday, she had assembled a small, but quite versatile, core wardrobe with 11 garments:

From here, our heroine's choices will depend on what she most needs for her day-to-day life, as well as making certain that she's prepared for those dressy occasions that catch one off guard. It is for the latter that I always suggest that ALL of us have a "nice" outfit in reserve. While you certainly can substitute pants for this skirt, if you're absolutely NEVER going to wear a skirt, for most of us this next outfit will come in handy more often than we might expect...

And we are kind of long overdue for getting this heroine a good jacket! The nice thing with this length of trench coat is that it can be worn ... View the Post

I Don’t Know Where to Start my Wardrobe…

I've been asked this a couple of times in the last few days - what do I do when I really have no idea where to start with my wardrobe?

Years ago I tried to think of how one could start a wardrobe from scratch; I think that my ideas might still be useful...

First up, I want our heroine to have some unifying inspiration to get her started; she's not stuck with this for the rest of her life, but it will at least help her focus her initial choices:

I can't emphasize this idea of mine enough - if you struggle to get dressed, make certain that you have a really GOOD, basic, neutral pair of pants. No studs, no embroidery, nothing that will make it difficult to wear your pants with all kinds of things...

And shoes. She needs good ... View the Post

Packing Small for a Group Trip – Warm Weather Ideas

Oh my... She knows that she's going to have a good time, but she's also a little bit concerned about the logistics of traveling with so many friends...

Mostly, it's about luggage! Everybody has been instructed that they can bring ONE 22 inch suitcase, and a carry-on bag that's small enough that they can hold it on their lap for at least an hour. That's pretty specific.

So she suggests the following thoughts to her friends:

She has also given some thought to what her friends should consider when they're choosing what to pack. It might be over-managing, but she thought that it might be useful if everybody was on the same page, so to speak...

Her personal travel outfit? Her favorite warm-weather standards, navy and ... View the Post