The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Home » warm weather » Page 5

warm weather Archives - Page 5 of 37

June 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 2

June 5, 2024

Today's three heroines went three very interesting, different directions in their wardrobes - all of them valid!

Let's start with Rothko, who is fast becoming one of my very favorite artists:

Our first heroine has a wardrobe that feels like it has a lot of accent color in it, although it's not a huge percentage of the whole (37.5% to be exact) ...

And she has gloriously pretty accessories:

But for June, she felt like settling into some neutrals - especially a workhorse pair of black linen pants. (these should be worn at least weekly until the first frost...)

She also decided to go ahead and buy a cashmere hooded sweatshirt - yes, she might have grabbed a cotton one instead, but this feels more like ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Modest Dresses and Nude Accessories

May 29, 2924

Last week I went for another cortisone shot in my wrist, as well as the ten millionth re-fit of my arm brace - heavy lifting is catching up with my wee bird-like wrists!

But the thing I remember most from the entire adventure is a group of people I saw walking OUT of the office building as I was walking in...

Maybe 30 or 40 of them, equally split between men and women. The men were all wearing suits or blazers and trousers, and ALL of them were wearing ties. That, in and of itself, might have caused me to swoon.

BUT THE WOMEN!

All were wearing either:

(a) a skirted suit,

(b) a dress and jacket, or

(c) a dress - with sleeves, below the knee, no cleavage, with nude shoes!

Please, of course, understand ... View the Post

Are You Just Now Adding Accent Colors? Start With a Scarf – The Helena Christensen Silk Scarf by Echo

May 22, 2024

She's never worn accent colors - there are a ton of neutrals, and she's always been just fine with them!

But she saw this scarf...

Immediately, she saw colors that she loves. It's not that she's never liked accent colors, but until now, none of them really felt like her. Who are we to question?

Her Common Wardrobe is migrating slowly toward spring - a black top with ruffled sleeves is about as racy as she's ever really gone! But she does have summer tops and a pair of shorts, so she's off to a good start:

Then one day, she decided to just jump in and shop! She's still not made the move to wearing earrings - THAT feels like too much a change... (yes, I have two friends who NEVER wear earrings ... View the Post

Looking for a Fresh, Bright Summer Accent? Start with Art – Morning Glories by Suzuki Kiitsu

May 17, 2024

If only one could find clothing as vivid and compelling as this image:

Please note that this is just a detail from the much larger room screen that is the original artwork...

Our heroine loves her navy wardrobe, but she feels the urge to really get bright this summer! So she decides to work with her favorite image, and to add this palette to her classic wardrobe core:

Her core wardrobe already includes one green top... she's ready to pile on with the green!

This heroine knows that Boden is the place to look for a vivid accent, and a pretty dress! She takes her time, and assembles the following French 5-Piece Wardrobe for hot weather:

If you're looking for an accent color dress, but this one ... View the Post

Want to Expand a Core Summer Wardrobe? Start with Art! Untitled (Red) 1956 by Mark Rothko

May 15, 2024

Sometimes, you don't have any explanation for what you love... Our heroine felt completely smitten when she saw this:

She already has her core summer wardrobe in hand, with navy and white, and coral accents.... but these colors. OH THESE COLORS!

I feel this way about shades of purple, so I'm sympathetic...

She takes a good look at her current summer wardrobe, because you don't want to just fly off in all directions without any thought at all...

And then, she shops! This might look like a ton of stuff to add to your summer wardrobe, but I have a hunch that if many of us collected everything together that we buy between early May and the end of August, it's as much as this or more!

I know that I can ... View the Post

One Way to Plan a Summer Wardrobe

May 13, 2024

It's not happening yet in Chicago, but I understand that much of the world is already living with hot weather - too soon for me! 

July is too soon for hot weather, for me. I could live in an Arctic climate, I swear...

If you wear a uniform much of the time, or you just are efficient with your clothes, you don't need a huge wardrobe for any season. Remember the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe? This is what I suggested for a core summer wardrobe from that scheme:

Unless you've completely changed sizes, or all of your clothes were destroyed, you probably already have at least a few things for summer. This is a plan to help make sure that you can actually get dressed every day - a guide to filling in the ... View the Post

Love Neutrals? Start with a Scarf – The Laura Ridloff Silk Scarf By Echo

April 29, 2024

It's perfect, she thought... Just what she needed to focus her summer city packing...

The brown in her new scarf is actually sepia, but she knows better than to try to spend the rest of the summer looking for sepia clothes! So she accepts that her favorite brown is going to be pretty close - certainly close enough! - and she has her color palette ready!

Next, she just start taking things out of her closet, and assembling outfits that fit the palette and the scarf. Some outfits are perfect for travel, others for the occasional business meeting, and some are flat-out casual!

Although she won't be doing a lot of business "stuff," she still likes to always include a dress - you never know when you'll be ... View the Post

April 2024 Start with a Bracelet – Hopeful Lynx Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

April 19, 2024 Blue Skies, Smiling at Me... She's finally feeling a change in the weather, internally and outdoors!

And she's making a small but meaningful (to her) change in her wardrobe, to celebrate her newfound optimism. First, she treats herself to a beautiful set of bracelets:

 

For years, she's always dressed for summer in a simple mix of beige and white... This year, she's adding a dash of blue-green to match her eyes and the brighter lights in her heart.

She quite likes her core summer wardrobe - it's light, and so easy to wear. You literally can't put a foot wrong with these classic pieces:

But then she saw the blue/green carried at L.L.Bean, she new that it was time to add some pizzazz to her ... View the Post

Four Neutrals x Three Accent Colors – Which Ones “Work”?

April 15, 2024

So once you've studied the Pantone Colors from London Fashion Week, (found here and here), you have to decide if you like the colors, if you would be flattered by wearing any of them, and how they might look with the neutral clothes you normally wear.

I can't answer the first two questions for you - obviously - but I can give you some visuals to help you picture how the accent colors might work with your existing wardrobe...

I've assembled four "core wardrobes" in white, black, beige and navy, in varying degrees of dressiness. The level of dressiness is going to be more important than I had realized - you'll see what I mean.

Here are the four Wardrobe Cores:

The black core is pretty casual:

The beige ... View the Post

Committed to Neutrals? Start with a Scarf – The Saïdou Dicko Silk Scarf By Echo

April 8, 2024

A new scarf! And a stunning one...

One certainly could include the vivid red and gold in a color palette too, if one was inclined... but I'm going to focus on the beautiful blue:

Today's heroine is quite committed to wearing black and white, and ONLY black and white. It's her thing, and it makes it possible for her to buy the very nicest clothes she can afford.

Also, it opens the door for her to own all kinds of accessory families, in all kinds of colors. Imagine gold, silver, bright red, soft pink...

So she's planning outfits for a summer trip around her new and cherished scarf - they look like this:

I suspect this might be her travel outfit...

So all of her chosen items, ... View the Post

March 2024 Start with a Bracelet – Sunny Lynx Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

March 29, 2024

She's pretty happy... she needs an entirely new warm weather wardrobe!

And she's starting with this as her inspiration:

She knew all along that she wanted navy and bone to be her neutrals, and when she saw these bracelets, she realized that orange would be an AMAZING accent color.... You don't see it every day!

She's a sensible woman - she started with her neutral colors, making certain that she included shorts, a pair of pants, and a skirt...

Here's where the fun started - sort of! Orange isn't the easiest color in the world to find! But she managed...

yes, I'm working with this computer ON MY LAP in a room at a skilled nursing facility... I owe Alison at Fierce Lynx Designs a big apology, ... View the Post

A Surprise Very Special Trip? Start with a Scarf – the Ngoc Minh Ngo scarf by Echo

March 27, 2024

It was love at first sight, for the scarf...

And it had been love at first sight for her when she saw her sweetheart, too...

Over breakfast...

"I learned the oddest thing the other day..."

she's still a little bit sleepy...

"What was that?"

"Remember that weird guy at the beach bar - the one we liked so much? Well, he's qualified to officiate over weddings!"

she's gobsmacked that this guy is qualified to do much of anything except tell amazing stories, and make time fly because he's so entertaining...

"Well, I wasn't expecting THAT..."

"Why don't we run up this weekend and get married?"

okay, she's awake now!

"After all these years? Are you sure?"

we shall draw a discreet curtain ... View the Post