The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Agnes, or a Work Wardrobe from the ’80’s

July 12, 2014  

Back in the early 1980's, I was in graduate school, and I was the manager of one of the departments in a large department store. (I'm still catching up on my sleep!)  One of the more interesting and educational responsibilities I had was to "ring up" all purchases made by staff in my department.  

I'm telling you this story, because I want to tell you about someone named Agnes. I'm not sure what we can learn from her example, but I still remember her so vividly after 30 years, and I'm quite sure that she was nobody's dummy... Agnes was probably in her mid 50's, employed 40 hours a week (remember the days when retail could be a career?), qualified for 3 weeks of vacation, health insurance, life ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 8: Two Tops, and a Necklace

July 1, 2014  

One thing that I've noticed after many years of wearing clothes is that I feel like my capsule wardrobe is better balanced if I have more "tops" than "bottoms".  Two to one seems a pretty workable ratio for me, and so in search of this it's time to grab a couple more blouses, tee shirts, or sweaters. This is an ideal time to introduce a pattern, if you wish, or to bring in more of your accent colors. If you found that you really preferred wearing light neutral blouses, those are perfect for this step.   And a necklace... Some days when I'm walking in downtown Chicago, I make a point of looking specifically for necklaces, and I'm always kind of shocked that I don't see very many. A semi-precious stone or ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch: Choosing Color Schemes

June 17, 2014

It's a question that's as old as The Vivienne Files - if you're starting a capsule wardrobe from scratch, how do you start?

What an ambitious question! But after thinking about it for three years, I'm going to give it a try - a step by step approach to rebuilding your wardrobe from the ground up.

Before you buy any garments at all, you've got to make a couple of decisions. One thing you'll have to work out for yourself - which silhouettes suit you best. I'm really not qualified to answer this question for every woman, but I encourage you to address this question on your own; you know better than anybody else in the world what shapes and sizes of garments suit you best...

But the next question - truly critical - is ... View the Post

What If I Only Want to Wear Solid Colors?

June 14, 2014  

What if you don't WANT to wear printed garments, or scarves? More power to you, and congratulations for knowing what you really prefer! I'm going to recommend some coordinating small solid earrings in semi-precious stones, bracelets in enamel or stone, and solid scarves to keep your ensembles looking "intentional."  I'm not sure, but I think this could qualify as a "whatever's clean" wardrobe...

Starting with the dark neutrals we've seen before:

And then the light neutrals:

And some solid neutral tops:

Finally, the accent colors.  We haven't seen pastels for a while, so let's go pink and blue!

This is your sixteen-piece wardrobe:

Plenty of ways to pull this together ... View the Post

Start with Flowers: Daffodils

June 10, 2014  

 Once the "flower-based" color scheme idea is set, there are lots of variations possible.  Rather than the purple shades that I used with the delphiniums the other day, I am going to look at daffodils today, and include a couple of shades of yellow.  One has to be careful when mixing yellow and black - there's always a danger of looking like a bumblebee, or a Pittsburgh Pirates fan! (not that there's anything wrong with that...)

I always like to start with the core of black clothes - if you look carefully, you can see my favorite "Core of Four" showing up here. While a solid black outfit seems boring in the midst of all of this color, it might be needed for evenings or a serious business ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Flowers: Delphiniums

June 7, 2014  

I think these are delphiniums, but of course I live in the middle of a city, so my floral knowledge isn't exactly top-drawer! If you can give me a better identification on these flowers (photo taken in the Duke Gardens in Durham, North Carolina) send me a note or leave a comment and I'll update things...For this photograph, I imagined that someone has to go on a business trip, but they're going to be able to arrive early, and maybe stay a few days extra, so this is a dual-purpose travel capsule wardrobe.

 

  These are the high-contrast colors that I chose:  

  For a couple of days of sight-seeing before the meetings have to begin.  

Peplum top – Alexander McQueen, black ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Black and White Hermes

June 5, 2014  

It was a great question - thanks for sending it on - "I want an Hermes scarf in black and white, but there are SO MANY of them - how do I choose?"  

Note that she also let me know that she's pretty committed to a strict black and white wardrobe...

I've chosen these six scarves to use as our possible purchases. I strongly encourage you to click through and admire the details on these scarves if you have the time. There's a reason that these scarves are so terribly expensive - they are exquisite.

For illustrative purposes, I'm going to use a couple of simple outfits - a very neutral black dress, and a white silk blouse and black silk pants.

The first scarf, Fleurs et Papillons de Tissus, ... View the Post

Start with Flowers: Cherry Blossoms

June 3, 2014  

In an otherwise extremely unremarkable outdoor mall, we found this lovely tree (proving that if you look for beauty, you WILL find it):

I'm pretty certain it was an ornamental cherry tree - I'll check back later this summer to see if, in fact, it produces cherries!  But what really caught my eye was the juxtaposition of the grey/taupe of the tree bark, and the surrounding pavement, with the green, white and yellow of the flowers.  So (you know me) I thought of color schemes for travel and summer...  

 

 

Lots of lovely options available here!  If you have some nice floral photographs, send them on - [email protected].  I'll do what I ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Soft Summer Pastel

May 29, 2014  

Even in the warmest weather, a lightweight scarf can be useful - last weekend, in the heat of Florida, I used my simple gauze scarf to keep the frigid breezes off of my neck and shoulders more than once!But what color to choose?  You know you want to wear your new scarf with your white summer clothes, but there are so many options...

  These white clothes have been digitally "tarnished" a bit so that we can actually see them on the screen. In real life, they would be sparkling, crispy white.  

  When you're tempted by a variety of colors, it might help to think about what ELSE you have (or might want to purchase) in that color that would help give your outfit a "planned" look ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Dark Pool version 2

May 8, 2014   Maybe, when you first saw this painting (or scarf) you saw the end of it with the black and red accents, and not the pastels...  

The way you fold a scarf can make a huge difference in what's shown or concealed - the beautiful Mai Tai is a master at showing you how this works (and just, in general, how to wear a scarf to brilliant effect.)   So if you're more drawn to the high-contrast interpretation, here are some very different ways to approach the same neutral garments that I used yesterday.  (I know, I'm lazy...)   Using black or white instead of a pastel immediately changes the whole feel of the capsule.    

Scarf – Elizabeth Blackadder’s Dark Pond, sweater – Uniqlo, ... View the Post

A Summer Capsule Wardrobe, from “Ma To-Do List: Dressing”

April 30, 2014  

A little more of the text from this section of the book:"To build your "capsule wardrobe" can be intimidating, and also can represent a substantial outlay of money!  Why not take things step by step, and focus on the essentials necessary for each season.  This permits you to gradually, purchase by purchase, build an ideal wardrobe. Several paths can be considered and adapted according to your personal  needs and life style, as well as the weather where you live."

  love, Janice ... View the Post