warm weather Archives - Page 22 of 37

April Travel: Start with Art – Briqueterie a Tortosa by Picasso

April 8, 2019

Remember our friend who designs installations for solar panels? Happy for her, she's now traveling in warm weather! No more the "leave the snow, get off the plane in sweltering heat!"

So she's packing light - just enough to visit her clients, and the construction sites...

This painting is her inspiration:

She's driving to her next clients, so she's wearing sandals on her trip! Normally, she doesn't fly in sandals...

Many of her clients can be hard to read, at first. Some of them want her to put on a hard-hat and steel-toed boots and climb ladders (she doesn't go quite that far...) and other just want to sit over a cocktail at the country club and review the plans. So she tries ... View the Post

Ready for a Warm-Weather Wardrobe Update? How about a French 5-Piece Wardrobe?

April 3, 2019

Of course these aren't an entire wardrobe - I hope that's clear. But, to me, the idea of a "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" is the 5 pieces that you plan, and carefully choose, and use to update your normal seasonal wardrobe of classic, neutral clothes.

Let's start here - these are about as basic as you can get!

While this isn't a really exciting wardrobe, it's versatile; you can get two dozen combinations from these 9 garments. That's a working wardrobe, I'd say!

When I thought about doing some French 5-Piece Wardrobes, I was thinking specifically about that Hedge Green color that is so uncommon, and really delightful. But I figured that I might as well work my way through the rainbow... Red, Orange, Yellow, ... View the Post

Can a “Color” be a Neutral? Start with Art: Double Vision 1974 by Edwina Sandys

March 22, 2019

Someone mentioned it a few days ago - if you plan well, you could use a "color" as a neutral. Of course I had to see how that might work!

And I've got a fondness for this artist's work, so it seemed an opportune time to use this as an inspiration for a very fun-loving heroine:

"If We All Chip In... We can rent the big house up at the shore... At least a handful of us could be there almost any weekend. And since it's so big, we can leave some things up there for the summer, so we could even go at the last minute!"

A compelling argument, and she agreed immediately. The chance to spend the weekends at the shore, instead of in the city, was pretty persuasive, and to spend that time with her friends made it even ... View the Post

Start with Art: View from Bodacke, Liden by Helmer Osslund

March 20, 2019

This reminded her immediately of the site of their cabin:

So much so that she decided to make this her wardrobe inspiration for their upcoming weekends away!

This summer, she's going to plan out a simple, small, but versatile wardrobe, take it up to the cabin, and LEAVE IT THERE until they close up for cold weather! She knows that she might need to take something else with her at some point, but she's determined to avoid the "every Thursday night" packing that inevitably results in something being forgotten...

So she's planning a 4 by 4 Wardrobe, starting with "hedge green."

Next, she wants some beige. She's lucky that it looks pretty good on her - if it didn't, she would either swap the 2 ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – The March monthly bracelet from Fierce Lynx Designs!

March 15, 2019

This is really exciting - one of my genius technical helpers here on The Vivienne Files ALSO makes jewelry. (don't you just hate these creative types?)

And she's going to make a special bracelet, each month, for US, here at The Vivienne Files!

Here's the first one:

How gorgeous is that?

So I'm thinking about warm weather, and lakes, and beaches, and summer homes...

My color scheme is this:

And I'm planning a wardrobe that you can pull together and then leave at the beach house until at least May or June. My plan is to wear super-light colored clothing, so that it feels summery. But I'll also make certain that our heroine has a few warm garments - spring evenings aren't always warm!

First up, ... View the Post

Packing for a Spring Cruise, with some Inspiration from Caillebotte

February 4, 2019

Lots of you go on cruises! And right now, my mail box reflects that; anticipation is running wild in at least a few minds right now...

So how about a spring cruise in Italy and the near islands? The temperatures might reach into the 70s Fahrenheit, and evenings will be in the 60s. Right now, that sounds SO appealing!

I picked this painting to inspire us, although it is from a French artist, and has nothing to do with cruises... but it's lovely, and I find this woman getting dressed feels very... hmmm... romantic and evocative to me.

And yes, I suspect that her skirt is indeed black, but this wardrobe is built around navy, so I'm fudging that a bit. You could certainly use black here, or a wide range of shades of ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Briqueterie a Tortosa by Pablo Picasso

January 9, 2019

Solar panels. She designs installations for solar panels - big installations, small ones - whatever is ordered, she will optimize both the appearance and the productivity. She's very proud of what she does...

So when she saw this painting, it spoke to her - the angles, the bright sunny feel, the combination of grey (like metal frames) with orange and green - the colors of things that grow and bloom:

She decided to choose a color palette that she could use for all of her travel wardrobes (and maybe all of her clothing, eventually):

One challenge she always faces is that she travels to place where it is inevitably warmer than where she lives! So she dresses warmly for her departure, and ... View the Post

Can You Dress the Way You Decorate? A Tote Bag Travel Wardrobe based on William Morris fabric

June 8, 2018

It's a good question... Maybe you're not inspired by a painting, or a scarf, but you're really happy with the way that you've decorated your home. Could that be the basis upon which you build your wardrobe?

Heck yes! It's particularly easy if you have your key colors chosen, and if you have a few keywords that you use to describe your "home style."

For example: maybe this is the wallpaper in your bedroom? Or curtains in your dining area?

For many of us, summer is for traveling to graduations, and weddings, and anniversary parties etc. etc. Usually these trips are only for a long weekend, so there's no need to pack everything you own; you should be able to manage with just a tote bag...

You can ... View the Post

When You Pack the WRONG Stuff, or “I Blame Lake Michigan”

May 30, 2018

The vacation was beautiful. Except for an unpleasant, but very brief, encounter with my fibromyalgia, this trip could not have been more perfect...

But I packed... not ALL wrong, but largely wrong. And I blame Lake Michigan!

Hear me out - in Chicago, if you live near the lake (and I live literally 100 meters from it), the weather is always colder than advertised. So when someone tells you that your forecast is... say 75 degrees... you draw a mental picture of what that means. In this neighborhood, it means coolish - a cardigan or light sweater is appropriate.

Which, if course, is NOT how that temperature feels when you're away from a very large body of water that keeps the heat suppressed for much of the ... View the Post

Wear a Uniform and Simplify your Summer Wardrobe – Using Navy as Your Neutral

May 25, 2018

I wanted to share one final experiment into uniforms for warm weather. You don't necessarily have to dress like this every day (although you're sort of losing the whole "ease of a uniform" idea if you don't wear it... uniformly...). Still, if you have these pieces in your closet, you're never going to really be stuck finding something to wear... Unless you're going to something really outside of your normal activities, your "uniform" capsule should be perfectly chosen to help you get dressed in a flash for the activities that take up most of your time.

So let's visit some navy! What's nicer than a bit of navy for warm weather?

(a note about matching navy garments... when I was in Ireland last month, I saw LOTS of men ... View the Post

Wear a Uniform and Simplify your Summer Wardrobe – Using Beige as a Neutral

May 23, 2018

Maybe yesterday's white outfits are a little bit too... risky? for you... Maybe beige is a better option?

The beige heroine has every color of the rainbow at her disposal for accents - you would really struggle to find something that would clash with these pieces!

So let's go with summery pastels that aren't saccharine and sickening...

Pink is always pretty on virtually anyone, and this muted shade of teal is a nice change from navy or royal blue:

If you were only going away for a few days, this might be all you would need!

You've got all kinds of different levels of dressiness here, as well as being able to dress for everything from very hot to a bit of a cool morning (or ... View the Post

Wear a Uniform and Simplify your Summer Wardrobe

May 21, 2018

Some people manage to sail through life wearing white and they always look cool and collected. Even white linen! I think that we all need to embrace the inherent wrinkles in linen - wrinkled clothes make your face look smooth! But seriously, a core of cool white pieces for warm weather could make getting dressed every day a breeze...

With this timeless wardrobe core, you could use accessories to add all of the fun and interest... I don't think you would wear ALL of these pieces at the same time, but you certain could if you want to!

How about a couple of accent colors that supposedly clash?

A hot long weekend? Yes, the white is risky, but so cool and comfortable...

Yep - lots of possible ways to ... View the Post