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Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Untitled by Wilfredo Lam

How cool is this?

Sleek and calm, but with that tiny little pop of gold eye shadow, and those hot pink lines...

As has been the theme so far this week, I'm starting with a very small, very neutral capsule wardrobe that might be found in almost anyone's closet, and then I'm adding just a few accent items. This gives you the opportunity to test-drive a new color in your wardrobe without going crazy...

As before, these few pieces give you a fair number of ways to get dressed:

This is basically the "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" idea- adding a handful of pieces each season to your core wardrobe. It's a simple way to try out a new accent color, or just to refresh and renew your basics. But you could certainly take ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette – A Pinch of Plum, with Six Neutrals

Depending upon whom you consult, this is NOT plum. However, I like it, and so for now we're going to roll with it... There are going to be more colors in this series, so some other interpretations of plum in a capsule wardrobe are entirely possible!

Purple is an interesting color for which one shops; a great deal of what's available looks very... goth? Sort of like you're living on the fringes of normal society? Just plain strange? It's such a pity, because purple is a lovely color, and goes so well with all of our neutrals.

(I've had a deep fondness for the "stitchworks" L.L.Bean cardigan for years. I'm really happy that I've finally found a good place to show it to you!)

I was REALLY doubtful of how well olive was ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette – A Touch of Teal, with Six Neutral Colors

Sigh... there are NO teal foods. If a food is teal, it's a genetic mutation, or a scary misuse of food coloring! So we've abandoned my very fun food theme for post titles, but the general concept of accenting neutral outfits holds true. And teal is SO pretty in the capsule wardrobe...

The teal tee shirt has a slightly different neckline than usual, and it's tunic-length. We like to keep some options available!

I wasn't at all sure how olive and teal would be together, but I could cheerfully wear either of these outfits (and olive isn't a good color for me...) Remember, when looking for scarves, to check out the men's departments. Why some scarves are only for men is a mystery to me...

I don't know that I would want to wear ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette – A Dash of Cinnamon, with 6 Neutral Colors

I found some lovely things in that russet color that was so elusive... And it occurred to me, again, that garments that aren't in the same fabrics don't have to be the precise same color! This tee shirt and cardigan would look gorgeous together in a capsule wardrobe:

This is a great combination:

I wasn't at ALL sure how this would work, but keeping silver metal in the jewelry made all the difference...

These colors worked wonderfully together; I particularly like this scarf. It's more of a blend of close colors than any exact matching.

Here's a case of 2 colors that are opposites on the color wheel, and which are therefore MADE for each other:

This color combination feels perfect for autumn... if it ever gets ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette – A Dab of Mustard, with 6 Neutral Colors

I'm still looking for nice pieces in rust (russet? warm red?), so I decided to skip that color for now and head directly into deep gold!

What to call this color? When you're searching for things like this online, try gold, yellow, mustard, and saffron, for a start; I'm sure that there are lots of outlandish color names that I missed. Why do companies believe that calling something "burnished autumn" is going to help potential buyers find their stuff? This isn't an easy color to wear, but it's present in so many school colors that you see it fairly often in the US in the autumn. (if you're from outside the US, please note that many people here take high school and college football - American football - very seriously, and dress in their ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette – A Drop of Wine, with 6 Neutral Colors

Many of you have asked me how to integrate an accent color into a neutral wardrobe; this is my attempt to give you some suggestions, and a gentle bit of guidance. Let's assume, for the sake of conversation, that you have your core ensemble for cooler weather, in your favorite neutral:

Some of these are easier to assemble than others; if olive green is your favorite neutral, you're not going to see yourself coming and going on the streets...

I've put together a few ensembles in more "business-y" looks, and others that are more casual. You can alter your personal neutral outfit to suit your preferences and your lifestyle!

All colors don't have to be absolutely dye-lot matched, but they should look as if they all woke up in the ... View the Post

One Dark Grey Dress in a Capsule Wardrobe: 14 Ways to Wear It

I could wear this dress a lot...

At its most basic, you can approach this dress with simple metallic silver accessories, or you can combine silver and shades of grey:

I love the contrast between the deep, cool color of this dress and the equally strong, but warm shades of camel or caramel. Mixing warm and cool colors isn't off-limits, if you balance the strength or intensity of the colors.

Truly, I don't think there's a color in the world that doesn't look good with navy. I particularly like the subtle contrast between these 2 dark colors...

Back in the '80s, there was an approach to dressing that encouraged you to find your best lipstick and blush colors, and the to find clothes that matched those colors. Not bad ... View the Post

One Red Dress in a Capsule Wardrobe: Fourteen Ways to Wear It

I love doing these... and this dress just calls my name. How can I NOT own this in black? This dress also comes in yellow (remember last week's post about a yellow dress?), black, and raspberry, which is a gorgeous rich hot pink... sigh...

It probably doesn't amaze you to learn that when I do similar blog posts, I reuse the original template, and just make the appropriate changes. So after I went into this template and changed the dividers in the middle from red to yellow, I removed the yellow dress from every page, and just plunked the red dress in...

And didn't have to change ONE THING, for these two options! How many different colors could work here? Certainly the black dress would be perfect here, if even a bit drab, and the ... View the Post

Building a Wardrobe of Bags – Accessories for the Capsule Wardrobe

A couple of weeks ago, Belovedest and I were wandering around Chicago when we happened upon a store called The Shudio. Yes, it's a "hybrid of a retail shop full of eco conscious goods... combined with a metalsmith jewelry studio." And yes, this is some fun... I could have purchased a lot of things, but I'm trying very hard to avoid that kind of reckless madness (especially with THREE big vacations coming up in the next year!), but I did buy a lovely little black leather wristlet, from a company called CHC. They donate 10% of their revenue to a local organization for homeless women, and all of their materials are local. Pretty nice; I was happy. But when I got home and dug out my bag for our upcoming trip to Italy, I realized that my ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arlequin by Pablo Picasso, Version 2

I have to admit, when I first saw this painting, I thought of colors of denim:

Can you see it, too?

Oh, So Wrong...

"She never wears anything but jeans..."

"Well, you know, some women just don't care about pretty things... they just don't see the beauty around them the way we do..."

She knew that they said these things about her; she didn't care.

She gardens, she hikes, she works with her hands. She thinks that being appropriate is pretty attractive...

"Of course, nobody grows more beautiful roses than she does..." Are they blind to all subtlety?

Silly, silly people....

love, Janice ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arlequin et Femme au Collier by Picasso

Ever since I saw this in the Centre Pompidou, I knew that it was going to be on The Vivienne Files. This is really just a combinations of neutrals - substitute faded denim for the slate blue clothes, and this would be a perfect "all neutral" casual capsule wardrobe.

Note the very round details of "la femme." Some angularity, of course - it's Picasso - but the circles are key!

Always

Nobody notices for months, if ever...

When she was a very small child, someone once complimented her on her necklace. That remark stuck with her forever, and wearing a necklace became her signature.

Small, large, fancy or simple, she always wore one. Even when swimming, she would wear a simple, inexpensive little pendant...

Something ... View the Post

Packing Light – a Six-Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Grey, Peach and Light Blue

"Dress Yourself" She's been hearing this her entire life - she remember it as a small child. She interpreted it as wearing clothes that look like her! So her grey hair, blue eyes, and blushed cheeks are her color scheme:

(yes, she flies in sweatpants; she irons them, and conceals the drawstring, and nobody seems to be the wiser...)

She always gets sent on the "48 hours in some remote country" kinds of trips, because she seems to always be able to get things working better than they had been...

And nobody can figure out how she does it, because she's such a gentle, sweet-looking woman!

Clearly, they have NEVER heard of the iron fist in the velvet glove, eh? love, Janice ... View the Post