Weekly Timeless Wardrobe Archives

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 18: Dark Neutral Corduroy Pants

I know that it's really Autumn when I pull out my black cords!

Of course, if you're not crazy about corduroy, you have other options:

I love the way corduroy is dressier than denim (by a mile!), but is still relaxed...

Having dark neutral pants for cool weather lets your go a bit crazy with sweaters, socks - everything else!

Note: This following sweater might be accented with navy, rather than black. I honestly can't tell on the website, so I'm showing it... If it's not black, I apologize!

The texture of corduroy makes it easier to blend, rather than match, colors in your wardrobe. So long as things look nice together, they don't have to be perfect matches; who's looking that closely? (perhaps they need a new ... View the Post

What Does a Capsule Wardrobe Look Like? 3 Examples of Weekly Timeless Wardrobes

Many of you have been wondering what these wardrobes might look at in different colors - I've got some examples! And you were wondering about the weird round gizmo in the bottom left of the overall wardrobes images...

WELL... I'm envisioning these 4 colors (rust, light blue, pink and yellow) as the 4 symbol colors for the 4 seasons; rust = Autumn, light blue = Winter, pink = Spring, and yellow = Summer.

When I get the book about this written, these 4 colors will be used on each page to somehow signal what season is discussed on that page. I'm not entirely sure how this will work, but I have a vision...

So how would 13 garments look if they were chosen with this lovely painting in mind?

I'm thinking this little capsule ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 17: A Print or Patterned Cotton Turtleneck

It seems like there's a Monday every week, doesn't it?

This is a rare "scarf-free" post for The Vivienne Files; when you're including printed or patterned garments in an outfit, you don't really need a scarf. But I won't stop you if you add one!

And doggone it, once and for all, garments that are WINTER themed - like snowflake tops - are NOT reserved for only the period of time up until Christmas! I have a wonderful cardigan with reindeer and winter themes - not a Santa to be seen - but I get smart-alec remarks when I wear it in January or February. Seriously...

The only guideline for choosing a turtleneck in a print is that it looks good with 1 of your 2nd layers, and that you love it. If you would like it in a scarf fabric, ... View the Post

What Can You Do With a Weekly Timeless Wardrobe? Add an Accent!

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe is enough clothing for a lot of us - enough different garments, and enough colors. But what if you bump into an accent color that you can't resist?

For demonstration purposes, I'm going to start with the Week 16 Wardrobe...

And then let's imagine that our heroine sees this shade of blue on the L.L.Bean website. And she recognizes the value of true "whappage" - that feeling when you walk away, and are still thinking about something hours or days later. It takes a while to really know the difference between a crush and real love, and in the same way you have to cultivate your sense of "I could wear the dickens out of that color" vs "gosh, that's pretty..."

She realizes that her love is real, and she ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 16: An Accent Cotton Turtleneck

Yes, if you live where it's cold, you might easily want a stack of these turtlenecks! If you don't anticipate that much cold weather in your life, or you just don't feel that you're going to need more than a couple of these tops, you can skip this garment entirely, or substitute tee shirts or button-front shirts...

As always, you make the rules; these are just guidelines, within which you plan YOUR wardrobe!

One other bit of advice when purchasing these turtlenecks: if you're POSITIVE that you'll absolutely never take off your top sweater in public, you can certainly buy the tissue-thin version of these. But if you're like me and it's entirely possible that you're going to pull off your sweater in your friend's very warm home, or ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 15: A Dark Neutral Cotton Turtleneck

Planning for autumn makes me so happy!

Even if you're not crazy about these, it's worth getting maybe 1 or 2 if you have a fondness for big chunky sweaters that make you itch! These are like cotton "itch-proofing..."

If you have a sweater that's a bit... bold... the turtleneck can be a simple base. In this outfit, it gives you a nice solid core upon which you could wear all kinds of sweaters, cardigans, or a flannel shirt!

A cotton turtleneck can keep you nice and snug outdoors...

A cardigan and pants that don't match can feel awkward. Add in a cotton turtleneck that doesn't match either and you've got a nicely blended outfit. Notice that the scarf and the cardigan are from the same brand; if you're ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 14: A Light Neutral Cotton Turtleneck

Even though the days are still lovely and warm in Chicago, the rational part of my mind knows full well that it's wise to start planning for winter!

In all fairness, the cotton version of these turtlenecks aren't particularly dressy! But if you need something a bit more formal, consider looking for merino wool turtlenecks; they're light and lovely...

For those of us who live in cold climates, layering these tops under another sweater is the single best way to stay warm. And I like the way they look; they frame your face nicely...

A simple, light color can be very versatile...

Blending shades of a color is always nice...

Your light neutral might not be white or ivory, right?

If you are concerned about ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 13: A Dress

How fun! We finish the first 13 weeks - the Autumn segment of The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe... with a dress! (I love dresses... I find them the easiest, and possibly the most comfortable, thing to wear...)

If I still worked in an office, I'd have this dress in a New York minute:

Of course you might not want a dress, which is your choice. There are always options; you should insist on being yourself!

Yes, many of the accessories that you've used when wearing your earlier garments from the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe are equally useful with your dress...

It's NOT too early to start thinking about what you're going to want to wear for the winter holidays; the best dresses will be in and out of stores before you can blink ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 12: Pants or a Skirt

I love skirts - they're well worth considering as an alternative to relentless jeans and pants. With opaque tights and comfy shoes, they can be as comfortable as anything else you wear...

And if I was in the market for a skirt right now, this would be a leading candidate:

When you choose your skirt (or pants, if you must), make sure that it is lovely with most of your shirts and sweaters; in a simple, neutral-colored, timeless design...

A denim skirt can be appropriate in a lot of places...

This dark brown skirt could be a perfect base for sweaters and tops in all shades of brown:

A matching skirt and sweater can be the base for all kinds of interesting accessories...

Your black cashmere turtleneck is ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 11: Neutral 2nd Layer

Another Monday, and time to add something more interesting and exciting to your Weekly Timeless Wardrobe! Our heroine is adding a 2nd layer to her wardrobe... it could be printed or patterned, so long as it works beautifully with her core neutral garments.

For example, if you're working with a grey palette, with ivory as your light accent color, the above cardigan would be quite useful for you...

Your choice of 2nd layer can be as bold or as subtle as you like...

A cardigan like this is richly subtle:

If you already have a dark neutral 2nd layer, looking at your lighter neutral is worth considering!

Black and ivory always looks good...

This sweater would be great with so many shades of ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 10: Neutral Print or Patterned Top

I'm in Pittsburgh... I'd be a true ingrate if I didn't give a hearty shout-out to the lovely people at Crazy Mocha who let me sit in their store while I finished this post. If you see a Crazy Mocha location, patronize them!

What differentiates this top from the one you added to your wardrobe last Monday is the degree of print. I see this top as being something that makes a little bit more of a statement - a more visible stripe, or a more pronounced floral. You could stick with something subtle, if that's what you like!

This first top would be lovely for someone who wears jeans frequently...

There aren't a ton of guidelines for this purchase: stay in your color palette and your chosen silhouettes and you should be ... View the Post

10 Ways to Wear Black Print Pants

Sorry for the delay in updating that bad link for the white sweater; I was in a hotel last night that had... shall we say "limited" internet service? Thanks for letting me know that it was broken, and for being so patient while I hastened to fix it!

This is actually a post in support of the usefulness of the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe! Once a heroine has those neutral pieces in hand, adding something fun like these pants is much more practical; she will have a ton of ways to wear them immediately.

What makes these pants work? A neutral background (I prefer the dark neutral here, but in hot weather a light neutral background makes sense too), the 2nd neutral included in the print, as well as one of her accent colors...

I feel ... View the Post