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Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Six Paintings - 12 Months Archives - Page 6 of 13

September 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #3: The Swan No. 24 by Hilma Af Klint

September 3, 2025

Something that's never happened before, in the history of The Vivienne Files...

Let's start by enjoying another look at this painting - enigmatic, a bit mystic, with gorgeous colors.

I've decided - after reading all of your comments - to switch the dark brown that I was using in August for a more rust brown. You were right that it would be interesting, and possibly very lovely!

Her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe plan is proceeding okay, but as with so many heroines, we're going to have issues trying to find all of the warm-weather clothes on her list. 

Human error will play a role in anybody's wardrobe, right?

Dividing our heroine's wardrobe into dark and light gives us the following; please ... View the Post

September 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #2: Eiffel Tower by Robert Delaunay

September 2, 2025

I love the way this painting feels like autumn, although the leaves in the painting are green! Is it the browns? I think so...

Our heroine's shopping was... eclectic, this month. She realized from looking at her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe template that she "should" be looking for dresses (while knowing full well that there is no "should" in planning a wardrobe!). And she stumbled across the two turtlenecks in perfect colors, and decided to buy them before they were out of stock.

The jewelry was impossible to resist, as was the scarf. This heroine might find herself in some shoe trouble later, but she will address that when it happens!

She's making good progress with her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe - although ... View the Post

September 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #1: Street Lights by Stefan Johansson

September 1, 2025

I don't know why, but I feel better now that it's September. It makes no sense. 

Maybe because more travel is on the near horizon - London later this month! And - of course - I'm going to Paris in December. It's a tradition, isn't it?

Let's start with this most quintessential of autumn-hued paintings:

Our heroine has kept her color palette unchanged, although she hasn't yet been able to find anything in that avocado/peridot/lime green. Until now! This is how it happens sometimes - all of the sudden a color is everywhere.

And - if you've been planning to include this color in your wardrobe, you've got to be ready to strike while the iron is hot. Or, maybe, you'll reconsider, once you see the color in ... View the Post

August 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #6: Sun, Water Maine by Georgia O’Keeffe

August 8, 2025

Such a wonderful, simple painting, and it gives us the easiest of wardrobes! Navy just makes things better, I swear...

Today's heroine took a good hard look at her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe template, and decided that it was past time to grab a couple of dresses and a good pair of jeans!

She's making nice progress - not that this is important. Always remember that things like this template are only guidelines; nobody can tell you what you need in your closet!

She has much more clothing in the darker blues and greens than she has in beige; she may address this in the future. Or she may leave things as they are, and be thrilled that she has such a lovely and function wardrobe. Technically, the O'Keeffe ... View the Post

August 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #5: Of by Elizabeth Magill

August 7, 2025

I love this painting, and I'm quite smitten with the colors, but I'm starting to see how hard it can be to have a wardrobe this disciplined:

I really love the way this heroine has such a strong signature look. But her shopping can be difficult... Maybe that's not all bad - if everything you see appeals to you AND would look good with your wardrobe, you're living with a ton of temptation. Hmm...

This month, she found another crewneck sweater in a quite different shade of plum from her other crewneck. The shirt is just cool - smocked cuffs? A plum tee shirt and classic grey pants round out her shopping:

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe template is difficult for this heroine - does she really HAVE an accent ... View the Post

August 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #4: The Swan No. 24 by Hilma Af Klint

August 6, 2025

Today, we're going to play fast and loose with our color palette!

No, we're not going to go completely off the rails, but we are going to make a modest modification to this color palette, in order to better serve the needs of our heroine. (OMG, she split the infinitive!)

As tempting as that rusty brown color is, it's two things that don't work for our heroine. First, it's quite difficult to find! And secondly, it's not always lovely with black - at least to this one particular woman. Always remember, it's YOUR color palette, and if you need to modify it, do it!

So we're going to incorporate a more classic, traditional coffee brown into this wardrobe. It's pretty, it looks really chic with black, and many of us ... View the Post

August 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #3: Eiffel Tower by Robert Delaunay

August 5, 2025

I'm so excited - I just booked my annual December trip to Paris! I went crazy - I'm staying at a hotel that used to be a bakery (seriously!) and was decorated by Christian Lacroix. I've reached the point that flying over an ocean is sufficiently exhausting that I want to be pampered when I arrive!

If you go to their website, note that I've also stayed at the Pavillon des Lettres (same management company), and it was amazing...

Speaking of Paris:

Our heroine has a wonderful wardrobe in these colors, and she has the fun of balancing brown and navy - two excellent, very compatible neutrals. This month, she found a wonderful brown sweater in a style that's just a little bit unusual, and she was off to the ... View the Post

August 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #2: Street Lights along Klaralven River by Stefan Johansson

August 4, 2025

For years, my family insisted that I was really an "autumn," and dressed me in shades of brown, green and gold. It didn't really work, but looking at this painting makes me wish that I really could have that kind of warm coloring!

Our heroine for this wardrobe actually started by looking at her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe list, to see what she needed! She realized that she wanted to pick up a couple of print tops...

From there, it was so easy. She stumbled across these Dijon yellow pieces, and made the very smart decision to get all three of them. Having the solid fleece top to wear over her stripes makes getting dressed so easy...

She's looking very organized!

I'm quite certain that next month I will ... View the Post

August 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #1: Pines by the Sea by Bertha Lum

August 1, 2025

It delights me that we're into August - it just gets us that much closer to the weather that I like the most! Bring on autumn...

But now, for our first wardrobe, let's start with this soft, graceful and flawlessly balanced beauty:

This month's offerings in the retail space are pretty sparse; I'm hopefully that next week things won't all be selling out! But our heroine had some excellent shopping luck - she found a trove of really nice chambray. It's endlessly frustrating that during the hottest part of the summer, one struggles to find a nice pair of shorts or a pretty top...

This month, I've chosen to divide our heroine's wardrobe by color - another month, I might divide things by style.

I find it ... View the Post

July 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #6: Of by Elizabeth Magill

July 8, 2025

I'm leaving for Dublin today! Cross your fingers that THIS time, things work out... Please note that there will be blog posts while I'm away, but I won't be responding to comments because I'm not taking a computer with me. Sort of like a real vacation!

Now, the last of our paintings for July. This might be, for many of us, the most challenging wardrobe because the color palette is very limited. I like it because it requires me to be creative and resourceful - both good qualities to develop when working with anything that's a limited resource, like clothing...

This heroine is completely immersed in summer! And such beautiful accessories...

This is proof that the difference between Spring and Summer might just ... View the Post

July 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #5: The Swan No. 24 by Hilma Af Klint

July 7, 2025

I need to get a biography of Hilma Af Klint... She's got to be an interesting person, don't you think?

Our heroine is smack in the middle of hot weather, and was luck to be able to find things that are perfect for right now. And I think this might be one of our heroines who doesn't wear dresses or skirts very often; she chose white jeans in place of a denim skirt! I don't blame her a bit...

This is what her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe looks like now; I've taken the liberty of making the change where she substituted jeans for a skirt.

You do know that this template is a guideline, and not a law? For example, if you abhor cotton turtlenecks, I would NEVER force you to own one...

This wardrobe has lots of ... View the Post

July 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #4: Eiffel Tower by Robert Delaunay

July 4, 2025

Okay, THIS might be one of my favorite paintings ever. Although I can't imagine how one would EVER get a view of the Eiffel Tower like this, these days...

Today's heroine is stocking up on summer clothes; she's one of the really lucky people for whom summer things are still available!

She's particularly happy to find a trove of her aqua accent:

It's a good thing that our heroine was able to find warm-weather clothes; her wardrobe still seems to have quite a gap! Next month, she may have to focus on her navy neutral and beige accent to find things...

Her wardrobe doesn't look terribly focused on cold weather wear, though. There are few "4-season" places where this wardrobe wouldn't serve someone pretty ... View the Post