travel capsule wardrobe Archives - Page 11 of 34

Three Travel Capsule Wardrobes in Denim and Black

September 16, 2024

You certainly remember that on Friday, I grouped a bunch of wardrobe clusters into a wardrobe that offered lots of possibilities for travel or for visibility in a small closet:

But we need accessories! While this wardrobe is fine without them, it's not much of a reflection of how women actually get dressed, eh?

Starting with denim! If you find denim shoes that you like, and you can picture wearing them, grab them. Denim shoes aren't growing on trees, and a lot of them are tricked out with lots of sparkles, embroidery and other unnecessary stuff that will just fall off if they get wet or you brush against something...

Today, I'm going to focus on wardrobe that use just two of the neutrals available to ... View the Post

Multiple Capsule Wardrobes Starting with Denim, Built Cluster by Cluster

September 13, 2024

In honor of Friday the 13th (not really!), I'm sharing a post that's been lurking in my brain for a while.

It's pretty backwards, in that I'm going to show you the complete wardrobe first, and then show you all of the options in this that I see...

clear as mud, as I can sometimes be, when I'm trying to use words, where pictures work better!

Here's the full 27-piece wardrobe for cool weather:

The questions that brought me to this included heroines who very much want a mostly denim wardrobe, heroines who can only keep a tiny portion of their wardrobe in their "main" closet at any time, and heroines who travel four nights a week EVERY WEEK, and who pack around a core of denim clothing...

So I ... View the Post

Should I Buy the Blazer AND the Pants? Boden Red Plaid Suit

September 11, 2024

She's working for a political campaign! And thus far, she's been wearing summer clothes, of course. But heading into the home stretch of this ENDLESS election (seriously, must this take 2 years?), she needs to pack and all-purpose suitcase for cooler/cold weather...

The temptation is this plaid suit. She loves the plaid, and she's not at all nervous about wearing something this bold. But she's still pondering if it makes sense to buy both pieces:

My approach to helping her with this decision is to show her outfit options using either the blazer or the pants... Her possible colors include the touch of yellow and bright blue found in the plaid, but I think frankly she's going to be a lot happier keeping ... View the Post

Need an Autumn Inspiration? Start With a Sweater – Fair Isle from L.L.Bean

September 9, 2024

Oh, so many of you are ready to buy something fresh for the upcoming cooler seasons, and SO many of you are hesitating...

A question I receive a few days ago - "I love earth tones - all shades of brown - but does it make sense to add this sweater to my wardrobe?"

Well, let's be honest - I love Fair Isle sweaters! All of the DNA tests assure me that I'm Scottish, Irish and French (of course!), so these sweaters are in my blood. And L.L.Bean does some lovely sweaters, that aren't priced to the moon and back. (I recently saw a Fair Isle sweater that appealed, until I saw the $500+ price tag...)

And if our heroine has a closet of browns and ivories (as she assures me she does), this sweater would be very ... View the Post

August 2024 Start with a Bracelet – Fierce Healing Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

August 30, 2024

"Let's Go Away... for the weekend to the spa up in the next state. It's not a long drive, and we can spend the weekend sitting in a pool in our room, or walking around the grounds, or getting massages..."

She's not handling grief nearly as well as she thought she would; a break might be nice...

She's pretty sure she knows what she will wear for the ride, and she has every intention of wearing the robe provided by the spa much of the time. Still, she will need something to wear to at least get back and forth to the treatment rooms or to walk around.

She thinks that planning her wardrobe around the bracelets gifted to her by a dear friend might be just the ticket. She will wear her bracelets every ... View the Post

Not Sure HOW Dressy? Start With Art – Mont Alba by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

August 28, 2024

I didn't know that Charles Rennie Mackintosh painted! I knew lots of others things that he did, but not this kind of lovely thing:

Such lovely colors...

Suddenly, many heroines among us are traveling to events - weddings, christenings, graduations, reunions - and are NOT being given a whole lot of guidance about appropriate attire!

Maddening. And inconsiderate. But we shall rise above, right?

First, try to get better information. Still, that's not always possible, so what else can one do?

I picture a heroine traveling in a casual outfit, with a cardigan jacket that has all kinds of possibilities:

She doesn't want to pack a whole ton of things - although that's a possible solution!

But ... View the Post

Can’t Wear Wool? Start With a Fleece Shirt Jacket from Lands’ End

August 26, 2024

It might be any kind of caregiving opportunity... but you've got to go somewhere legitimately cold (and with short days!), and you can't wear any kind of wool. Dear oh dear...

But trust me, there are solutions!

Fleece is wonderful. Warm, soft, washable...

but don't wash too often - this stuff sheds the microplastics that are found in every organ of your body now! Maybe try to find a good filter for your washer output hose...

These colors are particularly pretty, and would be cheery in a place with long cold nights:

I don't know if "shirt jacket" is one word, two words, or hyphenated. I'm going with two separate words for now...

One of the many joys of a shirt jacket is that you can wear it both ... View the Post

Need a Step-by-Step Six-Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start With a Scarf – The Scott Schuman scarf from Echo

August 23, 2024

It's just a long weekend. She's tired, and she's only going because it's a very important occasion, and a low-key party that she wouldn't miss. But she's determined to make things as easy and fool-proof as she can...

So she looks long and hard at her new favorite scarf:

She realizes that she can just wear and pack her favorite black and white, and then include pretty much any accent color she wants! Yes, toast brown would be perfect here, but she's going to opt for a couple of brighter colors - this time!

First, she chooses her all-important travel outfit. Even if you're only driving for an hour, you can never go wrong by choosing a travel outfit that can stand up to a LONG day. Things go wrong. There are ... View the Post

A Small, Basic Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start with Art – Portrait of Woman in Green Hat by Picasso

August 16, 2024

She remembered the post - right here on The Vivienne Files - and was thinking of something a little bit different with the same painting!

I think every reader of The Vivienne Files thinks up their own versions of these wardrobes; that's kind of the point! Put your own preferences in place of mine, or those of our heroine...

Her wardrobe is black and white. She's just now starting to add a bit of taupe/brown to things. But she could see the merit of a blue shirt, or a green sweater, along with a scarf or two...

So for a trip - a fairly long trip - she decides to pack VERY light, but to give herself the feeling of a "bigger than it really is" travel capsule wardrobe. Three accent colors might do ... View the Post

MUST. HAVE. DENIM? Start With a Scarf – The Alexandra Kleeman silk scarf by Echo

August 14, 2024

Our heroine loved Monday's wardrobe, except she just can't imagine traveling to her kinds of destinations without denim. Lots of denim... So Echo releases another Echo 100 scarf, in perfect colors for her!

(true story, what are the chances?)

This is the color palette that she really wants!

She loves to travel wearing her denim jacket. She can't explain it, and she doesn't have to!

I agree with our heroine on this - there are very few people who can't find a good use for a denim shirt:

JEANS!!!! Along with a favorite tee, a nifty hat, warm sweater, and water-resistant sneakers...

She's going to pack her denim dress, because it generally happens that they find something to do in which ... View the Post

Need a Foolproof Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start With a Scarf – the Kendra Scott scarf by Echo

August 12, 2024

For a heroine who loves ivory and shades of brown, who loves turquoise and coral accessories, who wants to just pack four outfits and then not think too much about clothes...

For autumn travel, she immediately sees her color palette:

She will probably travel in this outfit - these are the darkest pants that she's taking with her, so it might be a good idea!

She doesn't have much turquoise clothing, but for travel, she doesn't need more than just a sweater that goes with everything:

Her vacation isn't going to be particularly dressy, but she's not going to want blue jeans... IVORY jeans, on the other hand, might be just right!

They don't have any very formal plans, but a casual skirt ... View the Post

Love a Little Black Dress? Start With a Scarf – The Bryan Yambao scarf by Echo

August 9, 2024

One of our heroines fell instantly in love with a scarf, and had a business week travel vision...

She has a closet full of black dresses, but she's never dared to pack JUST black dresses for a business trip!

Why not? She's going to meet different groups each day she's away, and she doesn't care if she's known as the woman who wears lots of black...

Here's her color palette:

Her first dress is a mid-calf shirtdress... perfect with her suede belt, a red cardigan, and some other bits that pull everything together:

Her second dress is shorter, and has a small "moc" neckline. As much as she loves her golden yellow cardigan, she MUST have a brooch, so that she can conceal that annoying ... View the Post