travel wardrobe Archives - Page 3 of 15

My Autumn and Winter Essentials

Yes, I wear almost only black and white... especially in cold weather, when I can use some pattern and texture to add a bit of interest to my outfits. But frankly, once I'm sure that I'm appropriately and comfortably dressed, I don't look to my clothes for any sort of entertainment - the idea of being bored with what I'm wearing just doesn't compute for me.

I'm updating the "Shopping The Vivienne Files" page that shows where you can get a better look at (and purchase) some of these goodies. I think that this is an interesting way to approach the French 5-Piece Wardrobe, too, although it certainly won't be for everyone!

First, the things that I wear consistently, and that I would replace immediately in case of a disaster:

I've been ... View the Post

EXPANDED Start with Art: Bouquet des Fleurs in the style of Jan van Huysum

Quite a few people wanted to see what I would do to expand last Thursday's travel wardrobe, based on a beautiful floral painting...

I enlarged the color palette to include the softer shades of pink, all of the possibilities in green, and the various shades of blue...

This was the wardrobe that we had for the original travel wardrobe:

First wave - I thought that I would look for a couple of different shades of rose pink, in 2 different silhouettes. The scarf isn't an identical match for either of the tops, but it works well with both - always remember that scarves don't have to be dye-lot matched to work! The green sweater is classic, and when paired with the green loafers, can be worn with any of the navy pants or the skirt. And in ... View the Post

Reviewing what I Packed for Paris, September/October 2017

Well, this is interesting... At the relatively last minute, Belovedest persuaded me to take my larger suitcase (I'm still not quite sure why...) so I ended up packing a few more things than I had intentionally intended. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't really amazing, either...

Realistically, I could have rated every garment that I packed with a green star as a "keeper;" all of my clothes go together pretty well under almost any circumstances, and I wore every stitch of what I packed. But in order to force myself to actually rate things, I thought that choosing a third of the pieces as "green," a third as "yellow," and the remainders as the "red star" losers might be more illuminating.

First up, I have to say that if I had to spend a ... View the Post

Build a Foolproof Travel Wardrobe by Starting with Science: The Heart Nebula by Peter Jenkins

Just doesn't get much prettier than this, I'd say!

She's Always Hated Shopping... From the time she was a child - so she and her mother devised a wardrobe plan for her...

They picked the colors they would use, and they decided how many of each piece she would need... She's really never deviated meaningfully from the original scheme!

When she began to buy her own clothes, she realized that if she bought the really good stuff, she wouldn't have to shop nearly as often - the time saved was precious, and the ability to wear beautiful clothes was just a bonus...

(She is a bit tempted to get another piece of tiger's eye jewelry... maybe a ring?)

One of the beauties of having had a plan for years and YEARS is that she can spot ... View the Post

How to Pack a Foolproof Business Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start with a Ted Baker Mirrored Minerals Scarf!

There are so many beautiful new scarves this fall; I'm enjoying sharing them with you and using them to start travel wardrobes...

If you love this fabric and print, but aren't crazy about a square scarf, this is also available in a cape scarf, a dress with a grey bodice and print skirt, a small skinny scarf, a larger rectangular scarf, AND a full-length skirt. Which could be absolutely amazing for formal-wear... Never let it be said that you don't have a few options!

Yes, I know that the background on this scarf isn't really a single true shade of grey, but there's realistically no way that you're going to be able to match the subtle variations of color here. Best choose something that blends perfectly and build from there...

I Think ... View the Post

Packing for an Overnight Trip by Starting with a Scarf: Echo Butterfly Silk Bandana

Sometimes I see a scarf, and my mind wanders, and my imagination takes off...

She's Not Excited...

They've been getting together about twice a year - more or less - for decades. Since they finished college... And she's starting to feel that they're growing apart. (for example, they would have a very difficult time with her outfit that mixes brown and black leather accessories, while she finds it perfectly comfortable...)

Well, she feels like she's growing. And they're further away than they used to be, metaphorically speaking. She just doesn't have the tolerance for a 3-hour conversation about skin-care. Or handbags. She wants to talk about things that are more serious...

She feels like her personal, quirky style is pretty well ... View the Post

Taking some Talbots to Paris next week!

THIS IS A SPONSORED POST. You almost never see that from me. Because I don't show pictures of myself every day, a lot of retailers assume that they don't ever need to send me clothes or credits of any sort... silliness! Talbots very generously gave me free reign on their site to pick a couple of pieces, and I had great fun choosing...

Belovedest and I leave for Paris on the 20th - we try to go somewhere lovely to celebrate his birthday every year. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to choose a couple of pretty, somewhat romantic pieces that would integrate really easily into my "mostly black" travel plans...

This is what I chose:

The bow on the cardigan is really a pin - which is great! I'll probably use the bow somewhere else - ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Long Autumn Weekend by Starting with a Scarf – Funky Foliage by Treasure & Bond

She really wants to go up to the lake house one more time... in the autumn...

She always feels really sentimental, and just a little bit homesick, in the autumn. Not homesick for home, but for that time when she was in school, and September brought fresh starts - a chance to begin again...

Autumn also brings back all of her favorite sweaters! So when her siblings starting talking about the need to double-check on the house before winter, she offered to go up...

A couple of evenings in front of the fireplace reading won't be the worst thing in the world...

I'm not the little devil that told you that these penny loafers come in TWENTY-SIX different colors...

And a few long walks in the forest will be nourishing to her ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Business Trip by Starting with Art: A Farm by Piet Mondrian

When I think of Mondrian I always think of those black and white grid patterns with little patches of a primary color or two, but in his earlier days he was much more traditional...

Colors are always what catches my eye - I loved the strong blue, the almost acid green, and then the much calmer neutral rust and grey...

"Uses of Color in Distinctive Branding"

Whoever names these conferences needs to get some imagination - how stodgy can you get? This doesn't sound at all appealing.... But she has been writing the book on distinctive color uses for decades; it will be interesting to see what these young people think they can teach her!

Her approach to color has always been to do the "wrong" thing, so the names of some of the upcoming ... View the Post

What I Packed for Florida, August/September 2017

When you read this, Belovedest and I will be hanging out with my mother in Florida! It's super-easy to pack for these trips, because I can wear her clothes if I HAVE to (her coloring suggests a soft, cool, powdery-pastel wardrobe - not perfect for me!) and I can of course do laundry. That said, one always should have a plan!

If this first outfit looks familiar, it should; it's what I wore to fly to Ireland earlier this month. It was really ideal, but I'm making just a few small changes to tweak it to suit Florida better. First up, instead of my favorite Bremerton pants from Eddie Bauer, I'll be wearing J.Jill stretch linen pants. (my Bremerton pants just got back from the cleaners - I splurged - and I'm sort of keeping them under wraps ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Les Glaciers by Alexandre Sergejewitsch Borisoff

I don't remember where I found this painting, but the colors are absolutely stunning:

I hope for the artist's sake that he was painting from memory, or a photograph!

Let's dream an extravagant, completely unrealistic dream today...

Remember that big conference of CEO's? "The one in Breckenridge? The board decided that you should fly out with the Chairman, because you're the best person to help explain the financial projections..."

the suitcase comes in a perfect shade of aqua blue, which I didn't find until the very last minute...

"It's been described as "posh casual," so we assume you're going to need to buy a few things for the trip. Submit your receipts with your expense report and we'll take care of up to ____ dollars."

"The ... View the Post

How to UNPACK Your Suitcase

Ah, the eclipse was amazing! So was my 14-hour drive home... (a trip which charitably might take 6 hours if you're a slow driver....) If today's post feels a bit incoherent, understand that I got 2 hours of sleep!

After we got back from Ireland last week, our suitcases were laying open on the floor in our apartment for a couple of days - partly because we were tired and just didn't get around to doing all of the laundry immediately, and partly because I'm trying to cultivate a very slow and attentive process for unpacking. I'm doing this so that I can review what I packed (and remember what I forgot!) immediately after the trip, and try to learn something useful for future adventures...

You might remember from my post before I went away ... View the Post