Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
August 15, 2013
In the interest of full disclosure, if your click on any link to Boticca and purchase something, they give me a (very) small commission. That's not why I use their accessories on The Vivienne Files; I use them because they're timeless, elegant, classic, and unique, just like us!
love, Janice ... View the Post
I repeatedly make the questionable choice of including beige or khaki in my summer wardrobe... sigh... it's not a great color for me. So here, in addition to addressing the idea of moving toward warmer clothes, and buying with a purpose, I'm also showing a move from one color in a wardrobe to a different one.Remember, this was the summer Whatever's Clean wardrobe:
First, because I'm starting to really feel like beige isn't working well, the 2 beige pieces are going to take a back seat. And of course white linen pants aren't going to go too far into the fall...
Here's where grey takes the place of beige, and a pair of jeans will replace the white linen pants.
Second step: the ... View the Post
August 13, 2013 Not a color combination I would have thought of, but I've seen it a lot recently, and it's been beautiful! There's a LOT of grey on the streets of Chicago these days...
love, Janice ... View the Post
July 3, 2013 If you have the good fortune to own a pair of Hermes enamel bracelets, you may want to use them as the basis of some outfits...
Cardigan –Closed, Earrings- Georg Jensen, V-neck – Closed, Silk blouse – Steffen Schraut, Blue cardigan – Massimo Alba, Wine jeans – Closed, Bag – Dolce & Gabbana, Grey tee shirt – Organic by John Patrick, Wine tee shirt – Organic by John Patrick, Slate blue pants – Massimo Alba, Tweed skirt – Dolce & Gabbana, Suede loafers = Patricia Green, Flats – French Connection
love, Janice
... View the Post
July 2, 2013 It's always difficult to know what shoes to wear with a dress like this. While metallic sandals would always be an appropriate choice, the coat in this ensemble makes it possible to wear open, ornamented black sandals. Packing a black clutch and black sandals is handy, because you can then wear them if you want to dress up the other dress, or the skirt.
Amethyst earrings - DeLatori, Lavender dress – Valentino Roma, Bag - Artessorio, Sandals – Van Eli, Coat – Philosophy di Alberta di Ferretti
Blouse – Giambattista Valli, Cardgan- Nicole Farhi, Pants – Saint Laurent, Bracelet – Sisco & Berluti, Bag – Bottega Veneta, Suitcase – ... View the Post
I get tons of questions about how to pack for various special occasions - weddings, graduations, etc. To me, this sounds like the perfect time to break out a really wonderful dress. Nothing flouncy or bright or conspicuous - that wouldn't be comfortable, at least for me. But something with an amazing cut, in luxurious fabric... Coupled with a drop-dead spectacular coat... In fact, the whole trip could be an excuse to pick up a handful of the most beautiful garments: a wonderful sweater, along with the perfect jeans, another more casual but still exquisite dress, and a show-stopping skirt, along with a couple of blouses. While grey might not be your cup of tea, many of us could travel a long, long time with just ... View the Post
June 20, 2013
So very simple. Tall, austere, lean, yet radiant. Vertical is balanced with the striations of the sky. Soft, cloudy, stormy around the edges, luminous throughout. A lifetime of personal style inspiration could easily come from this... A stunning dress, with simple earrings, pumps, and a structured bag. A casual tee shirt dress, with shoes and a necklace that echo the sky in our inspirational painting.
A cloudy grey coat, with soft suede boots and a stormy sky scarf, or a lacy dress with some dark accents, a soft and flowing wrap, and skylit shoes. Even the earrings are lacy!
Another sleek dress with simple silvery accessories, or maybe a ... View the Post
June 13, 2013
It's tempting to starting thinking of each scarf as being "married" to (or at least going steady with) a particular outfit that you own, and moreover, to always reach for the same scarf when you put on a favorite outfit. I do this often, and I'm trying to break out of this habit, and shake up my scarf/clothing combos a little bit. So I took one outfit that I wear a lot (this sweater is linen, so it can be worn through all but the hottest summer months) and tried to see how it would pair up with a variety of scarves.I show Hermes scarves here, but PLEASE bear in mind that this exercise is true of any scarves you own. Vintage from a thrift store, hand-crafted from a street fair, or heritage ... View the Post
June 1, 2013 Someone asked me if it would be possible to replicate last week's travel wardrobe with grey in place of navy. Of course! This plan will work with any 2 neutral colors, and any 2 accent colors...
love, Janice ... View the Post
May 14, 2013 I received a great question; someone had two very carefully chosen Hermes scarves, and wanted some ideas about how to travel with them. The scarves shared a common color theme of black, white and red, and lent themselves to both silver and gold accessories.
love,
Janice ... View the Post
I'm out of town right now - actually, I've been out of town since Thursday afternoon; the magic of the internet means that I can schedule blog posts ahead of time! I'm visiting a number of my relatives, which is the easiest packing; laundry is available, and borrowing clothes is always possible. I'm carrying the huge suitcase because belovedest and I are sharing the bag, and his clothes and shoes take up a LOT of space...
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March 22, 2013 You do understand that a grey cardigan with a v-neckline can be worn in all of these ways. It's easy to forget that you can just button all the buttons and - voila - a v-neck sweater!
love, Janice ... View the Post
