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Building on a Successful Travel Wardrobe: Start with a Scarf from Jessie Zhao New York

March 11, 2022

The travel wardrobe worked well...

When she got home, she decided that it would make good sense to assemble a small but versatile summer capsule wardrobe in the same colors!

Here's what she has when she went away for the weekend...

Being a fond reader of The Vivienne Files, our heroine decided to be somewhat organized as she planned her warm weather wardrobe, so she assembled all of her garments (so far!) into a 20-piece grid. There's no labels here; she's using it for visibility and to keep from being distracted by her accessories!

The first thing she sees is that she does NOT have any navy; can a woman live through the entire summer without a dark neutral in her wardrobe?

So she starts with ... View the Post

How Can I Find My Own, Personal, Basic Wardrobe?

November 12, 2021

Ah, I'm going to need a second to remind you of the origins of The Common Wardrobe, and why I was so taken with the idea...

I'm sitting on the sidelines of a big party - about 200 people. These lovely young people (mostly) are my co-workers at an international advertising agency. We are in Madrid, or Berlin, or Chicago - it doesn't matter.

These people are creative. In big bright letters, they are the brightest, most imaginative people I've ever known. And when you look at them, you can tell; they wear sweaters that they knit in their spare time, or shoes made by a friend, or a jacket covered with wee patches that they did to cover holes...

But under all of this amazing color, pattern and print, they were ... View the Post

Start with Art: Stargazing by Helen Frankenthaler

August 13, 2021

Happy Friday, the 13th!

We often ponder the merits of having a LOT of accent colors in a wardrobe... I think this post might offer an idea of how to manage them all!

This heroine understands that she needs quite a bit of navy to establish a base for her wardrobe. After that - watch out!

She starts with this - yes, it looks familiar:

Of course, I would be perfectly happy with this - I'm content with neutrals. But our heroine has other ideas, starting with bright blue!

Just out of curiosity, this is what her wardrobe would now look like with these additions. Yes, it gets her to a "4 by 4" Wardrobe plus 1 garment:

But she's just getting started - let's toss in 4 pieces in bright ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Our Echo giveaway winner!

July 9, 2021

Sharon was our winner! And her choice of scarf was...

But we're going to be looking at VERY different colors than normal with this scarf!

Sharon is dreaming of a wardrobe for a getaway to Italy! Her dream includes ALL of the good stuff: museums, churches, shopping, a boat tour, lounging in cafes, romantic dinners, and maybe an alfresco concert!

Where's my ticket?

Sharon was thinking of a short getaway because she lives in the UK, but I went a little bit overboard with her packing! Summer clothes pack small...

I was trying to be careful about modesty - I can't count on both hands (and feet!) the number of people I've seen turned away from churches in Italy because they weren't appropriately dressed. ... View the Post

June 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Tropical Hibiscus Bracelets

June 25, 2021

please note that all sorts of things are selling out at a shocking rate; I literally chose our hat at 11 a.m. and by 1 p.m. they were GONE... Seize the day indeed! She's going to sit under an umbrella...

and watch everyone else get sunburned, and get sand in their creases and crevasses...

Her color palette is easy - bright and summery! (even though cool evenings are always possible...)

It takes about 90 minutes to get there on the bus; she's ready with her mask and something to read!

Once she's there, she can hang up a few things, grab another book, and head down to either the bar, the deck, or the nearest reaches of the beach...

Her friends don't expect her to have a vast wardrobe with her - ... View the Post

13-Piece Spring Wardrobes – Black and White, Olive and Beige

June 11, 2021

I can clearly see that I want to do at least 2 more of these after today! The denim/chambray/soft pink idea MUST be investigated, as well as... what other color?

But today, we look at black, and then at my nemesis, green!

First up - a wardrobe that I could envision buying if I lost every stitch of clothing that I own... the pink skirt would be a real adventure for me, but why the HECK not try it?

This may not qualify as a completely "Whatever's Clean 13" wardrobe - I can see some of us feeling uncomfortable wearing the blue tee shirt with the pink skirt. But if one could find the right scarf, necklace, or bracelet to tie them together, or if one just plain and simply LIKES the 2 colors together, why not? (it's ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #11 – neutral lightweight 2nd layer

May 24, 2021

This is timely - this morning when I put on my long linen tank top, and linen cropped pants, I realized that I was going to need a cardigan if I was going to go out for lunch, or to the grocery store, or almost anyplace indoors! Air conditioning around Chicago woke up yesterday, with a VENGANCE...

If the heroine wearing this lovely linen dress hangs around the garden party 'til after the sun sets, she may want her beige cardigan too!

This isn't a category where you have to stock up, so you can go ahead and buy a couple of really NICE cardigans... I have 2 - a black and a white - and they serve me well!

What if you're still occasionally required to look like an adult - at least from the waist up?

Your ... View the Post

Start with a Cardigan: Birdcage Print Cardigan from Talbots

Ma7 21, 2021

Just in the last few days, 3 people have contacted me about cardigans from Talbots! These kinds of "confluences of interest" happen often - I find them fascinating...

But the cardigans are pretty amazing too! Some lovely prints...

excuse the image quality - I had to do some scary digital magic to get this together!

I love this sweater - some of us were debating the merits of using bright colors for accents, and this cardigan sets us up for a summer of black, white and brights:

Let's assume for working purposes that our heroine already has her black and white Common Wardrobe all sorted out...

Now, she decides that she's going to base her accent colors for this year on her new cardigan!

First up, ... View the Post

Start with Swimwear: Paradise Aqua Space Dye Tankini from Lands’ End

April 7, 2021 This Year, She's Going to Swim...

She read last year on her favorite blog that these swimsuits were so flattering that any self-consciousness about being seen in public in swimwear will change forever! So true, and after a missed year at the beach house with her extended family, she's not going to skip anything...

This is her planned palette:

Most relatives will drive to their MASSIVE shared beach house, but she's going to take the train... Experience has taught her that she really needs a cardigan; those trains can be FREEZING in warmer weather!

She's thrilled to see a long-sleeved swim tee! And a swim skirt - now she has 4 swimwear pieces, which gives her 4 combinations... She could even be tempted by ... View the Post

Start with Art: Untitled 20191210 by Takayuki Yoshida

January 25, 2021

She's dreaming of warmer weather, and she's determined to at least FEEL like spring is coming...

She starts here:

And this is her color palette - her base is going to be navy and white, but she's really interested in these accent colors!

Before she tears off into this project with blinding enthusiasm, she pauses to consider if it's realistic:

their home is always warm in the winter, she's not going to be going out much at all - wearing white pants won't be a problem because she can skip them if she needs to go out into the slush, and she can layer her chosen garments if she needs to warm up.

She starts by choosing her navy and white Common Wardrobe - the base upon which she will ... View the Post

Start with Art: A Garde-Robe du Mois based on Moonlight, Winter by Rockwell Kent

January 20, 2021

She's decided to plan a Garde-Robe du Mois, based on the clever and very useful suggestion made by Fiona Ferris in her recent book, The Chic Closet. (Fiona is VERY chic...)

She knew she wanted navy and white - they're her favorites! But beyond that, she was stumped! Something warm? Something with a bit of an organic feel, and a sense of radiance, to combat the darkness of deep mid-winter?

She scrolled through all sorts of museum websites, and art websites, and WHAP! - there it was:

The colors were obvious, if not something that was usual for her:

This is going to be a process that takes a few iterations, so she starts slowly - a small, 9-piece Common Wardrobe that includes all of her favorites - a ... View the Post

Start with Art: Man in a Café by Juan Gris

January 13, 2021

She was looking for a foolproof color palette; one day, she ran into this gentleman:

She is thrilled - she can see black, white, shades of grey, camel, khaki, brown, and denim blue. These colors ALL go together...

She starts small, with packing for a long weekend. She knows that her denim shirt is perfect under a black sweater and cords...

Now, how can this be foolproof?

v-neck sweaters are perfect over button-front shirts, OR on their own; button front shirts are easy 1st layers or they can be worn without something over them. Now that she has found Petite sizes that have short enough sleeves, and ample enough torsos, she's all set! and black bottoms and shoes...

So this is what she ... View the Post