navy Archives - Page 28 of 46

Building a Wardrobe of Bags – Accessories for the Capsule Wardrobe

August 19, 2016

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."

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… Antique Ceramic Tiles!!!

August 18, 2016 An upcoming "trailing spouse" trip for one of you... and some amazing colors, inspired by ceramic tile! As if we needed a reminder that capsule wardrobe color palette inspirations can be found literally anywhere...

I'm going to assume that the little dot of red is going to be nails and lips...

Our trip is to a destination that will be cool-ish (Oslo!), so sweaters are going to be important! While I'm working with navy as the core of this wardrobe, I chose to use this cardigan, although it's a more "marled" blue. It blends well with all of the colors, and it's cozy cashmere, which could be helpful for this trip.And flying in a skirt? Well, it has a "hidden comfort waist," and it ... View the Post

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

August 9, 2016

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 ... View the Post

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

August 5, 2016 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 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 ... View the Post

Packing Light – a Six-Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Navy, Hot Pink and Ivory

August 4, 2020 A reader has fallen in love with the scarf below, on the left, and was wondering how it could be used as the basis for a travel capsule wardrobe. I love these colors:

Square scarf – Irene Paris; wrap – Nordstrom In a World of Chaos...

Square scarf – Irene Paris; wrap – Nordstrom She likes straight lines. Corners. She's actually unnaturally fond of squares. Which is fine, since she's an architect...

Square scarf – Irene Paris; tee – Lands’ End; earrings – Marc Jacobs; cardigan – Yumi; jeans – Armani Jeans; watch – Bulova; tote – London Fog; loafers – Vionic; suitcase – Lojel For the longest time, she thought that the only way to indulge ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: Tarantula Nebula by Gendler and Colombari

July 21, 2016 Insomnia Part 2 - Version 2 see first installment here, and Part 2 Version 1 here)

Our sleepless protagonist is browsing in a bookstore - immediately drawn to photo books of space phenomena - when she sees this:

She admires it, registers it somewhere in her brain, and goes on about her day/night.

Later that morning, she's wandering in a department store, and sees the Image Consultant area. The staff seems to be at loose ends, so she plucks up her tired courage and asks if she can meet with the consultant...

An hour later, her universe has been rocked. While she's told that her neutral navy is perfect for her, she's encouraged to add warmer accent colors to her wardrobe! Part of her recommended palette looks ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: Great Nebula in Carina by Damian Peach

July 20, 2016 Insomnia, Part 2 (see part 1 here) So she's walking around Paris late one afternoon, and sees this:

Oh. My. Her favorite night sky, with one point two million different shades of pink and rose... sigh....

Let's remember, when she took off on this "night walker" vacation, this is what she packed:

But the image sticks in her head, and when she's walking through Gucci, she sees a scarf that speaks to her. Not the moon and stars, but FLOWERS. Something from daytime, and sunlight!

That evening, at dinner, her very attractive waiter mentions to her how very flattering the pink flowers are to the roses in her cheeks. She blushes even more....

So the next day, she decides that it ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: Moon with Jupiter and 4 Moons by Christian Fattinnazi

July 15, 2016 So simple, and so striking:

This is a color palette that doesn't need any embellishing. It might be too austere for some, in the long run, but for a short-term travel adventure, this is nearly foolproof!

Insomnia She's been awake at night for WEEKS... looking at the night sky much more than she would normally like. So she's decided to take her sleep-deprived self to Paris. It's far enough away that she won't know if she has insomnia or jet-lag!

Because she doesn't trust herself to make finely nuanced style decisions when she's traveling, she decided to pack the most mistake-proof wardrobe possible. This is literally a "Whatever's Clean" ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Marguerites by Conrad Kiesel

July 14, 2016

I'm in a real navy and olive mode these days; I started this a couple of days ago, before yesterday's navy and green outfits. One of my all-time favorite posts on The Vivienne Files is still this one - navy and gorgeous accent colors.How's this for a glorious painting?

There are of course a variety of ways that colors could be extracted from this, but these are what I've chosen for today:

In honor of all of you who are traveling to colder climes this autumn, I'm thinking about packing that includes a warm coat and waterproof boots. Especially for those of you going to Ireland in the fall, you'll want both sunglasses AND gloves!

Sunglasses – Tory Burch; scarf – Brooks Brothers; boots – ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Navy Columns with Shades of Green in the Capsule Wardrobe

July 13, 2016

I had a few of these ideas lingering in my head, and I've FINALLY figured out how to present them in a somewhat unified manner. What unites all of these outfits is that they're based on the simplest navy "core," either a dress or a matching tee shirt and pants.The key, to me, for wearing accent colors successfully is to give them a sense of looking intentional, rather than just grabbed at the last minute. While you might not want FOUR pieces in your accent at one time, wearing 2 or 3 green items - shoes, jewelry, bag, or sweater - makes it look like the green was a purposeful choice on your part. Plus, it lends a sense of balance to your ensemble!

Using a hoodie and canvas shoes gives your dress more mileage ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Girl on a Sofa by Philip Wilson Steer

May 28, 2016

Doesn't this look comfortable?

And this painting could single-handed provide someone with plenty of colors to have a wardrobe with great variety, and a lot of options:

I've been thinking a lot about packing (big surprise, eh?) and about the wisdom of packing your favorite outfits and letting the chips fall where they may. So let's explore that idea a bit!

In keeping with the relaxed feeling of the painting, I've tried to keep everything soft, rounded, flowered or flower-like, and just a touch slouchy.

First up, a simple column in a muted navy blue, with a soft white blazer, gold jewelry, and some brown leather accessories. This could be the outfit for the meeting, or the presentation, or ... View the Post

A Six Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Red, White and Blue for Uncertain Weather

May 17, 2016

Sunday, when B and I went out for our usual breakfast and Art Institute visit, we wore jackets and gloves. Yes, May 15th, we wore gloves!

I felt terrible for the people who had scheduled an outdoor wedding, and also for the hundreds of tourists who were caught completely off guard by the record-tying coldest May 15th in history.

So I'm going to reiterate, one more time, that no matter WHERE you are going, no matter WHAT time of year, you should always include a few essential items. Closed-toe shoes, a pair of socks, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt might never make it out of your suitcase, but if you encounter the kind of weather that we've had here recently, you'll be endlessly glad to have them.

If ... View the Post