Weekly Timeless Wardrobe Archives

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #28 – A Dark Neutral Long-Sleeved Tee Shirt

September 20, 2021

I'm a big fan of long-sleeved black tee shirts, as I learned just today as we were moving... There's nothing like having a couple of young men pile ALL OF YOUR CLOTHING in front of you to make you swear off of shopping for at least a week or two!

But these come in handy in all kinds of ways - warmth, a dark background for jewelry or a scarf, a sobering touch with a lively sweater...

If you're not a fan of black, maybe charcoal heather is more your speed!

This is very much the same outfit as last week, with a different tee shirt, earrings that match, and boots that do pretty much ALL of the work... holy handbags of Buddha, those are some boots!

Here I kept the same pants, switched the sweater to ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #27 – A Long-Sleeved Tee Shirt

September 13, 2021

The weather here isn't entirely on board, but I'm READY for cooler weather! We are changing apartments this week (yes, we probably will stretch the project out to last multiple days!) and I'm going to take advantage of this to re-organize my closet for autumn...

This first outfit is nice and cozy, but our heroine kept her summer earrings... We do what we must to survive the winter!

This week's garment is the simplest thing imaginable - something in your lightest neutral color (which doesn't HAVE to be light at all...) and long-sleeved. Maybe you live in an area where long sleeves just never get worn? Substitute the longest sleeve you wear; these are just guidelines; I NEVER tell you what to wear! ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #26 – A Summer Dress

August 30, 2021

Ah, the last garment of summer.... Sounds like a sad French pop song!

But I think that if you're at all inclined to buy just 1 garment to get through this last 6 weeks or so of warm weather (could be less, but I always assume that it's going to be summery through September), a dress is worth considering.

You can wear it as is, or pull a cardigan over it when the weather begins to change. If you get something with a background of your dark neutral, you can even wear it with dark tights and a sweater well into autumn; I see a lot of women in Paris doing this...

This is a good time to find dresses marked down, which is always nice, so long as the dress is JUST RIGHT for you. Don't be lead astray by a price ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #25 – Cropped Pants (or Capris…)

August 23, 2021

As I sit here writing this, even shorter pants feel like they might be too much! But since we can't spend our entire lives nude (can we?), we should be prepared to cover our knees sometimes...

Yes, this is the same cardigan! But the whole purpose of this ongoing exercise is to show that your wardrobe can be built gradually with garments that will all work together. Yes, you can have lots of accents, but this core will make your life SO much easier...

I tried really hard to scrub the background from these pants, because I think they're so lovely - such a great color. Ignore the ragged edges of the image!

Short pants - whatever you want to call them - are great for the transitional time of year with cool ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #24 – A Lightweight 2nd Layer

August 16, 2021

Ah, let's continue to ponder what essentials we might want in our warm weather wardrobes!

Many of us are going back to our offices - reluctantly, I might add. If you're like most women, you find the office to be bitterly cold, and then when you walk outdoors you melt immediately! So a 2nd layer is essential to stay warm indoors, while something relatively light and cool underneath is important to be able to survive the commute, or the walk to lunch...

This might do the trick!

One of the many beauties of the cardigan above is that it could easily be worn through the winter with something heavier underneath...

This next cardigan, on the other hand, is pretty strictly a hot-weather garment:

When you ... View the Post

What does a 13-Piece Weekly Timeless Wardrobe Look Like?

August 9, 2021

Why yes, this is supposed to be the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe...

BUT...

Some week this summer, I completely lost count; I can't believe I missed a number... and I can't face looking for any more sleeveless tops! I'm going to assume that you all have a pretty clear idea of what a sleeveless top looks like, and what it will do in your wardrobe...

So instead, I'm going to address a couple of questions that came up when I showed you a couple of Weekly Timeless Wardrobes last week.

First, the question that I was asked the most was about having lots of prints in the wardrobe - could you actually have 4 of the 13 garments in print and still have some versatility?

In the wardrobe above, I traded out the ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #21 – A Printed Sleeveless Top

August 2, 2021

The weather here in Chicago is great for sleeveless - some days! Other days, we're wearing cardigans and long pants... One never knows, right!

When you're starting to get really quite tired of your summer wardrobe, having a "suit-like ensemble" in a neutral color can be really handy. You've got a perfect system in place to treat yourself to a new top, and maybe an accessory or two!

Maybe you can test-drive an accent color that you've never worn before?

Any color can be worn with black... and are you ready for a new pair of sandals? I managed to cut my foot CATASTROPHICALLY (I swear I could see my Achilles tendon!) and I've been wearing the only pair of sandals that work for weeks... sigh...

If ... View the Post

Summer Wardrobe Ideas: 2 Weekly Timeless Wardrobes

July 30, 2021

It's a question that's turned up in my mail a few times this last month - "What exactly would a summer Weekly Timeless Wardrobe look like?" "Would this be enough clothing for me if I wear a uniform for work?"

So I offer a couple of possibilities...

First up - navy and white with shades of blue for accent - classic summer colors:

For reference purposes, these are the 13 garments that I have included in my Weekly Timeless Wardrobe list; you can (of course!) adapt these to suit your needs and preferences!

If I only needed "real clothes" for evening and weekends, this would probably be sufficient for me. Of course, you still need gym clothes, and swim wear if that's something you do, but for normal ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #20 – A Sleeveless Top

July 26, 2021

Is it swelteringly hot where you are? Chicago has finally settled into an extended stretch of hot weather, so sleeveless tops are timely!

Originally, I had thought that this top HAD to be in a light neutral, but I'm now in a more flexible mindset - anything that's cool, and that works well with your existing wardrobe, is what we need! Printed tops will be added soon...

For those of us who wear tank tops frequently, it's worth considering looking for things with some sort of lace, or other decorative trim. This might be just the touch of detail that your outfit needs...

I couldn't resist keeping the same "suit" and scarf from last week, and then picking a completely different accent color; this is the kind ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #19 – Dark Neutral Short-Sleeve or Lightweight 2nd Layer

July 19, 2020

Time to check in on our neutral, timeless wardrobe pieces; today we need something to wear on those freakish days in the summer that turn cool, or for the air-conditioning that turns normal places into meat lockers!

First, a simple column of white (or any color, really) can take on a ton of different looks with an overshirt and some accessories:

For me, this is the quintessential summer 2nd layer - a black cardigan that's warm enough to do what needs done, but sheer enough not to look like it's October!

It's kind of a suit... And here again, you could use a LOT of different accent colors!

A black "suit" can also be worn in a million different ways - some days you just want some silver and onyx, and a ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #17 – Dark Neutral Shorts

July 4, 2021

Happy 4th of July to everyone! (even if you're not celebrating a holiday, you can still be happy, right?)

As with everything on The Vivienne Files, if these garments don't work for you, substitute things that will! If you're not a "shorts and sleeveless top" person, maybe you're a "cropped pants and tee shirt" woman...

First up - last week's pink tank top gets casual!

For those of you keeping each of these "individual garment" pages, I offer up some lovely brown...

Bright blue with navy shorts is a natural!

Olive accessories that didn't look terribly overly green were hard to find, so I chose brown instead; I think it works well!

For those among you who spend a lot of time near a beach, lake ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #16 – An Accent Color Sleeveless Top

June 28, 2021

Why yes, this is a day early... I'm in a bit of a muddle these days! I'm sorry to have to remind everyone that this means there will NOT be a post on Monday morning. Sorry for the confusion!

Accent colors make everything more fun! And I'm dedicating today's post to those among us who are - very suddenly - being summoned back to offices...

Why yes, you can layer this top under just about anything. And wear it to work out. And sleep in it, if necessary!

Maybe you're finding that some of your work clothes no longer fit quite right, but you can still wear your black shirtdress - wear it EVERY week, with a variety of accent colors:

Maybe work is very casual...

Maybe it's summer in an otherwise ... View the Post