The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Home » red » Page 7

red Archives - Page 7 of 15

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Asiatic God by Paul Klee

March 19, 2016   This looks a little bit clown-like on my screen, but in person it's much more compelling, with a lot of texture. Almost mysterious, dark, and captivating, with amazing color highlights.  

Asiatic God – Paul Klee  

The frame is maroon and grey, and there are tiny accents of teal... the pink on the face is, in fact, the color PUCE! (I was searching around for the precise RGB combination to show the color on the color wheel, and learned this...)

 

This cried out for denim, to serve as a base for texture and a variety of accent colors...

Yes, the image of this skirt is TERRIBLE, but I really wanted you to see this skirt. It's a departure from a lot of denim skirts, in that it seems to ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories, 1 at a Time: Navy, Beige and Poppy

March 12, 2016   Remember this wardrobe, viewable here? Time for some essential accessories!  

Start, as always, with some shoes in which you could do serious walking:

  This time, you might prefer a small bag:

 

 

I will always have earrings as the 3rd step, but from here on, the order of choices, and the overall numbers, are entirely up to you. If you want to have 3 pairs of sunglasses, go for it!

 

I love the range of off-white shoes that are available. Since the materials are very different from those of your garments, the colors don't have to match exactly, but they should be in the same color family. It's easy to wander into the "too grey" crowd if you're not ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: The Toilet of Venus (The Rokeby Venus) by Diego Velazquez

February 29, 2016

 

  "We Don't Have the Funds for Retention Bonuses..." And with that, her heart hit the floor. Working for a company that gets acquired every two years is bad enough, but at least the buyer usually tries to make it worth one's while to stick around...

Her new manager continued...

"But you know that we're headquartered in France?" (uh, yea, the accent sort of gave the secret away...)

"If your partner can get the first week of March off of work, I'd like to send you both to stay in our corporate apartment for a week..." (note that the corporate apartment is on the Rue Montaigne...)

  You're not quite sure you heard correctly. Take a deep breath: "Let me check, but I'm sure it ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: Male and Female Cardinals, in Warm AND Cool Colors

February 24, 2016  

So I'm going to start alternating "1 Piece at a Time" Wardrobes with other fun things, so that we don't collectively burn out on the concept before I've addressed ALL of your color scheme requests. I am absolutely going to look at accessories for these wardrobes - those might be some of the "interspersed" posts. As much as I have an endless attention span for a single subject, I understand that a bit of variety keeps things fresh for us all.Someone suggested that the male cardinal wardrobe (here) and the female cardinal wardrobe (here) might be combined. I'm ALL OVER that idea!

Do these two look like they get along?

I've often thought that it's possible to build a wardrobe with 4 or 5 neutral colors ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe One Piece at a Time in Navy, Beige and Poppy

February 22, 2016  

A requested color scheme - this looks so "Coast of Maine in the summer" to me! Maybe because L.L.Bean is well-represented here. I don't necessarily think that everybody is going to buy things from them, but their photographs of simple, classic clothing are among the very best I can find for our illustrative purposes. 

Starting outfit:

Blouse - Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L.Bean; pants – Jil Sander Navy  

Although this outfit doesn't include beige, it's been determined by the requester that beige will be the other neutral color, so our color scheme is thus:

 

Blouse - Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L.Bean; pants – Jil Sander Navy  

This time, I decided to get that neutral tee ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: A Cardinal, in Warm Colors

So Wednesday I danced with the "cool male" cardinal; today, let's see what the "warm female" cardinal colors have to offer!

I'm going to use exactly the same red garments as I did on Wednesday, just to show how very different they feel when they're used with brown and camel.

Blazer – Emilio Pucci; pants – Austin Reed;  

Blouse – Joseph; skirt – Austin Reed  

Cardigan – Elder Statesman; trousers – J.Crew;  

Tee – Sonia Rykiel; jeans – Austin Reed  

V-neck blouse – Velvet; silk-trimmed top – Madewell;  

Red sweater - Balenciaga; turtleneck – L.L.Bean  

Camel sweater – J.W. Anderson; skirt – Adam Selman;  

Space-knit sweater – Adam Selman; dress ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: A Cardinal, in Cool Colors

February 17, 2016  

There are a lot of cardinals in the park very near here - my favorite detour when I'm out and about is to go look for them. They are SO striking, and such a spot of cheerful color on these short, grey winter days!

I'm always taken with the way in which the male and female birds are colored differently. He is very high-contrast, in cool colors:

 

I'm going to visit her color scheme too, but for now, I was in the mood for a small 4 by 4 wardrobe in these colors. Maybe a miniature winter work wardrobe? (for those among us who do miniature winter work?)

Since the red tops won't ever be worn together (I don't know, physically, if you could), they don't have to be dye-lot matched. But ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bag: Marimekko Clover Bag

January 29, 2016  

This bag is much closer to the one that my friend wanted to see on The Vivienne Files - I'm really happy that she persisted in finding just the right bag for us!  This is quite the color scheme: black and white, punched up about a million notches with red, hot pink, and coral. 

  She Doesn't Mind the Attention... Yes, lots of people share in the credit for everything that's been accomplished, but someone has to be the spokesperson, the one in the center of the photographs, the one who accepts the diplomas, certificates, trophies, statuettes, and other detritus of hard work.

So she's accepted, for years, that since she's comfortable being photographed, and making "off the cuff" ... View the Post

Choosing an Accent Color for Black

November 26, 2015

Something that I struggle with a lot, personally, is my accent color, or colors. I'm always thinking that something other than red should be my "color", but who am I kidding? I keep coming back, over and over, to red...

So I was playing around with a variety of accent colors, using simple black garments as a core, and building around quilted vests, just for the heck of it...

When you're looking for these vests, make sure you look for "quilted," rather than "down," unless you specifically want down. Some of the vests with synthetic insulation are just as warm, and quite lovely; you'll miss them if you don't include everything quilted. The synthetic insulated vests are less puffy, too!

And yes, these would make ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Echo and Narcissus by Waterhouse Version 2

November 17, 2015   This is a painting that easily provides a second color scheme! Remember last week, when I used more pastel colors as the accents?)  

 

Today we will see how a change of accent colors alters to whole mood of the "Whatever's Clean 13."

Start out - the same outfit as before - I'm still deeply smitten with this sweater....

I changed a couple of pieces here, just to show you a little bit of variety:

 

And at this point, I still feel that some accessories are handy - at least you're going to want some shoes or boots! A scarf that pulls the colors together is helpful, and a pair of earrings never goes amiss...

 

Here's where everything changes! Bright ... View the Post

Scarf Selling Saturday: A TWO-fer: Les Instructions du Roy, and Soleil du Soie

November 14, 2015   I want to clarify that the following post was written and scheduled for publication late Thursday afternoon; had I known of the horrid news that would emerge Friday afternoon and evening, I would had written something very different.

However, I'm going to leave this post here, for comments and for beauty's sake, because I feel like defiantly living life as normal. Let's appreciate small joys, and marvel at the wonders of the craftsmanship and creativity of our fellow humans, in the face of barbaric actions that would prefer we spend our time thinking only of negative and dark things...

You are, each of you, very important to me. I take your thoughts and feelings very seriously, and try to be sensitive to ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Dantis Amor by Rossetti – THE FINALE

November 2, 2015

I think this is going to be my last post about Dantis Amor; as much as I love the painting... Today, we're dressier, we're completely out of control shopping, and we're going to travel along with one of our friends....Just a few reminders of our Style Reference Point:

 

Thanksgiving is Canceled... Yes, her grandchildren have 2 sets of grandparents. Somehow, this year, they're ALL going to the "other side" for Thanksgiving. And she is going to be home alone....

Or not...

She always wanted to see the Thanksgiving Parade in New York. She always wanted to eat at that restaurant. She always wanted.... lots of things. This is the year!

She got onto her computer, and cashed out every flyer mile and ... View the Post