hot pink Archives

How to Focus and Refine a Pretty Good Wardrobe

I am asked this question more frequently than I might have expected - it goes kind of like this: "I really like my wardrobe, for the most part, but I feel like I don't really have a good focus or defined style...."

That's tough to address, but I'm going to give it a try!

Let's start with this wardrobe; frankly, it looks pretty nice just like this!

My first thought is to sort all of the clothes by function, to see if maybe our heroine doesn't have enough pants, or needs a couple of tee shirts - that sort of solution would be pretty straightforward! But this wardrobe seems pretty well-balanced for functionality...

My next thought is to see if we can gain some insights into our heroine's preferences by sorting her wardrobe by color... ... View the Post

Can You Expand a Successful Travel Wardrobe? Revisiting Start with Art – Vernal Yellow by Lee Krasner

It might be the time of year, but I'm feeling very nostalgic about looking back through old posts here on The Vivienne Files! So when I was asked to revisit my little tale about an eloping couple, I couldn't resist the chance...

Here's where we left our heroine - wandering around Paris with her new spouse, smiling like a crazy lady, and making everyone around her smile...

I'm not telling you that the snakeskin clutch comes in 13 colors...

They've decided that they want to go back to Paris for a long-ish weekend - maybe 5 days? But they want to be MUCH more casual this time! So she goes back to her original inspiration:

First, she looks at what she already has. PLENTY of bags, I'd say, and quite a few pairs of shoes. I have a feeling ... View the Post

How to Accessorize a Navy-Based Fall Capsule Wardrobe – Start with Nature Central Cygnus Cloudscape

When we left our heroine on Wednesday, she had a tidy 16-piece wardrobe, but no accessories!

Of course, she probably still had lots of accessories that can work really well with her new clothes; let's go piece by piece, step by step, to choose some essential additions for her...

Shoes seems really important, I'd say!

And I'm going to be really practical and get her a bag pronto!

Now a bit of fun - some stars!

Scarves! Always remember that you might find the perfect scarf in an unexpected place - someplace you don't usually visit...

Don't discount the impact of a great watch... (yes, that last watch doesn't go with everything in this wardrobe, but if you were the kind of woman who didn't mind owning 2 watches...)

I'm going to ... View the Post

A Birthday Surprise for a Special Girl…

My great-niece is a big fan of pink and purple, so this flashback is for her... I was delighted to note that a few of these pieces are still available!

Look closely at the scarf - do you see the horses with the riders on them? You might want to do some enlarging...

This was a pretty great wardrobe - chock full of cheerful bright colors and a few really bold prints! It requires a certain woman, but she would certainly stand out in any crowd!

Sorry to spring 2 "flash backs" on you on 2 consecutive days, but when I was reminded of Kiki's birthday, I could NOT avoid pink and purple. It's a little girl imperative!

love, Janice ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Quick, Dressy Trip? Start with a Scarf…

Her Favorite Artist Everybody probably has one that they like the most, but this is the one about whom she wrote EVERY English language essay she had to write, all through high school and college.

She has framed posters in her home. She's read the biographies. She even listens to music that was supposed to be the artist's favorite.

And now there's an exhibition.... IN MADRID.

She has no vacation time to take. Okay, maybe 2 days...

But she has some airline miles to spend...

And enough money for a few hotel nights...

And enough money for a couple of AMAZING dinners...

Yes, she's going alone. Nobody else is going to want to spend 2 solid days in 1 museum...

Well okay, she might make it to the other museum, too.

And yes, ... View the Post

NEVER Wear Pink and Orange Together??? Humbug… Accenting Navy and Beige with Unexpected Bright Colors

Big important notice - the "Six Scarves, Six Wardrobes, over 12 Months" post for June will be here tomorrow! I hope! The Internet in my building (yes my entire building!) has been off and on, as they work on it... Don't they know that we have important blogging to do? Knuckleheads...

In case you haven't seen the earlier versions of the navy and beige summer wardrobes, you can find the one accented with dark camel and moss green here, and the first one with accents of mint and lavender here.

Today's colors just jump off of the screen:

Just for the benefit of those among us who are joining this adventure in progress, this is the neutral starting point - a half-dozen core pieces around which I will try to build a coherent travel capsule ... View the Post

How Can You Pack a Foolproof Travel Wardrobe? Use the Whatever’s Clean System!

I can always tell when a lot of you are planning travel because I start to see more and more emails with packing questions. Many people want a wardrobe that they don't really have to think about once they've arrived at their destination; that's why I cooked up the idea of a "Whatever's Clean" Wardrobe.

If all goes according to plan, you should be able to pull any available garments from these wardrobes and assemble a reasonably presentable outfit. Certainly, some combinations are going to be better than others, and you're going to like some outfits more than others, but overall, you've got mountains of flexibility, after doing a bit of strategic thinking...

First off, let's start with a great color inspiration - a scarf from Kathkath! ... View the Post

How to Add Accent Colors to Your Capsule Wardrobe – Hot Pink and Green

Remember this beautiful painting, and intriguing color palette?

And of course you remember this wardrobe from last week...

In and of itself, this is a pretty good assortment of clothes:

But for most of us, for the entire summer, we're going to want more than 16 pieces... So let's have our heroine start out her shopping by adding some hot pink, as well as a bit more black and white. For many of us, these shorts might be a big longer (like capri pant length!), or one could also find a skirt in this color...

This is how her wardrobe now looks with the additional pieces. The hot pink definitely doesn't blend in with everything else, but since it's meant to be an accent color, it really doesn't have to go with everything here.

The ... View the Post

Tote Bag Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Navy, Hot Pink and White

Classic colors, timeless design:

The clever color scheme of this scarf opens the door to a capsule wardrobe with accent colors of red, bright pink, or cobalt blue... maybe even grey?

Sisters From Different Mothers

They've done it once a month for YEARS...

They get a hotel room downtown, and spend the night together. Some evenings they dine out, sometimes they go to the theater, or an opera. But they always dress us, and they always laugh until their sides hurt. Even at the opera! (heck, especially at the opera...)

Tonight, they're just going to an old favorite restaurant. Then they'll sit up half the night talking...

Everybody should have this kind of unconditional friendship, eh?

love, Janice ... View the Post

Capsule Wardrobe Color Palette – A Hint of Hibiscus, with Six Neutrals

Okay, this color does more than hint... but it's not as overpowering as some hot pink shades can be. There's a world full of colors, if you have the patience to look for it; it's possible to find just the right one!

The manufacturer calls this "Neon Geranium," but I've never seen a geranium this color! And I have seen hibiscus, at my mother's home, exactly this color...

It's easy to see how a fondness for this color could start with a sudden desire for a beautiful tote bag... And for what it's worth, this isn't a bad color to love; it looks good on a lot of people, and I found it pretty easy to combine with all of the neutrals in question. So if you're tempted, it's worth making a plan!

This is such a natural color combination ... View the Post

A Capsule Wardrobe in Navy, Hot Pink and Ivory: Expanding Your Accessories

When we last saw this travel capsule wardrobe, it had some accessories - probably enough for a short period of time:

It would be great if I can figure out an Accessory Template, but right now I'm still pondering how that's going to work; it might take me a few weeks, or months!

But I was thinking about the role of accessories in our lives, and I was able to conclude that there are realistically very few that you actually NEED; most of them are for fun.

Of course, if you live in a warm climate, you're not going to need gloves, nor a hat:

That said, we're still going to add a BUNCH of accessories to this wardrobe! When I was scanning this one, the first thing that really jumped out at me was that I would want a pair of low-heeled ... View the Post

A Capsule Wardrobe in Navy, Hot Pink and Ivory: from Travel Wardrobe to Four by Four Wardrobe

Yesterday's capsule wardrobe really felt like it would be interesting to expand, didn't it? So let's plunge in and see what we can learn from the process!

This is the entire travel capsule wardrobe - the travel outfit and the Six-Pack:

The easiest way for me to really look at a group of clothing and find the "gaps" is to plug them into a template - either the "Whatever's Clean" template, or the 4 by 4 Wardrobe. I don't honestly feel like this color scheme is going to be a "Whatever's Clean" possibility; there are 2 accent colors here that might not work together in all cases. (which is fine...)

So I'm going to go from the clothes that we have up to 16 pieces, by filling in the blanks shown here:

It would be ... View the Post