The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Start with Art: Honor by Elizaveta Egiazaryan

December 28, 2020

She's quite smitten with this painting:

So when they decided, at their family meeting, that they MUST turn down the thermostat and try to cut back their energy consumption, she wondered if the warmth of her flower painting could be translated into real warmth...

Her normal wardrobe is very strictly black and white, and has been that way for quite a while. She really doesn't need a lot of clothing these days, so she's been managing pretty well with just this:

She went back to her current favorite painting, and studied it carefully. Black and white are certainly here, but what makes the painting feel warm to her is the more cream and beige tones. And the luscious pink helps too!

So she created a color ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Butterfly Wings from Echo

September 7 2020 Pollinators! Yes, people who study pollinators have conferences - EVERYBODY who studies almost anything has a conference most years! And she's going to this one...

Her travel capsule wardrobe is going to be based on this beauty:

Most of her colleagues study bees - and rightly so - but her specialty is butterflies! And so she's going to wear her scarf often, building a wardrobe around these colors:

For no good reason she can think of, she's going to wear her white jeans to get there. She's not worried... She's more thrilled with her new blazer, and matching earrings:

Weather reports for her destination are all OVER the place, so she's going to take her black shirt with her, so she can wear it under ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Revisiting the Beach Roadtrip Scarf by Kate Spade New York

August 24, 2020

You wanted more of this scarf, and who could blame us? It's just THAT pretty...

And it appears to be back in stock at a few places that were sold out last week, when we first looked at this lovely thing...

Specifically, you wanted some brighter colors! So I kept a couple of the white garments that I used before, but I bumped up the accent colors quite a few notches:

As always, when I'm at a loss as to what the best shoe color might be, I choose a metallic accent! Of course, it would be possible to have blue shoes, and rose shoes etc. etc.... I'm not telling you that this is a bad idea!

Coral and white feels perfect for late summer, doesn't it?

And I personally love both of these shades of blue; ... View the Post

I Love It, But Will I Wear It? Beach Roadtrip Silk Scarf by Kate Spade New York

August 19, 2020

 

One of you has had a moment of serious whappage, and asked for my opinion...

This is the scarf in question - it's SO pretty that I might be tempted to buy it and figure out how to wear it later; THAT'S not the cleverest way to shop!

Oh my HEART - this scarf screams summer in so many different ways....

Our heroine has been invited to go along with her spouse to a fishing cabin that's walking distance to a very charming little town. While she won't be doing any fishing, she WILL be sitting outdoors reading, walking into town to browse about, and probably doing a bit of walking on the trail around the lake. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

My approach for her is to assemble 3 little clusters, based on the ... View the Post

Strategically Expanding a Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – Blue Major Elle by Marijah Bac Cam

July 22, 2020

Well THAT went well... Yesterday, our heroine was caught off guard when she realized that she needed to pack and leave for the weekend in 5 minutes!

She managed, using this painting as her color inspiration; she felt that the swirling and diffusion in this painting accurately represented the state of her brain:

The photographer and crew from the famous food magazine LOVED her sister-in-law's B&B. They loved it SO MUCH that they're going to come back in a few days, and film a half-hour video about them for their You Tube channel.

Panic ensues. And our heroine and her partner and enlisted to come stay at the B&B for... well, for the foreseeable future!

They're both leaving everything that they packed ... View the Post

Start with Art: Blue Major Elle by Marijah Bac Cam

July 20, 2020

She's been confused for a few weeks; nothing medical, or really an issue, but the inside of her head often feels like this:

Although it feels like chaos, at least it has a nice tidy color palette, which could easily be all neutrals!

Are You Ready to Go? "What???? Go where???" She just got off of a conference call with the rest of her department, when her sweetheart came by their guest bedroom to check on her...

"You forgot? We're going to my sister's B&B for the weekend." They're going to be photographing for a magazine spread all day Saturday, and they were invited to help, and to eat all of the food...

"We need to leave in about 5 minutes if we're going to beat the traffic...."

Dear oh dear... ... View the Post

How to Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet – July 2020

July 17, 2020

This bracelet just screams sun and sea...

 

They keep inviting her to come up to their house for the weekend - there's enough room for her to have a bedroom/bathroom all to herself...

She's welcome to eat at a distance, too. Basically, they want to give her a safe break!

Sigh.... she can rent a car and drive up, rather than take the shuttle bus. Maybe this will work?

She thinks about what to pack - not much, for sure!

Her summer palette is bright, cheerful, and quintessentially summery:

She knows that it gets cool up there in the evenings, and she's going to need a sweater when she gets on the ferry...

She doesn't really plan to swim; she just wants to walk on the rocky beaches. ... View the Post

Expanding a Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – Petit Matin by Joan Mitchell

July 15, 2020

A few months ago, one of our heroines was heading off to a lovely manor house, with lots of gorgeous gardens...

Her wardrobe for this trip was inspired by this completely confusing but very beautiful painting:

For their relatively short visit, she packed this most lovely travel capsule wardrobe - it sort of radiates the feeling of flowers...

 

 

 

WELL! One day, out of the blue, the got a call from the inn where they stayed back in April. They were pretty desperate for business, and because they knew our heroine and her partner, they were willing to give them an AMAZING deal to come up for the REST OF THE SUMMER...

Essentially, they understand that having anybody in the inn, even ... View the Post

2 Moods in 1 Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – Poem by Bunya no Asayasu by Hokusai

As of 7:36 Central Time today, I changed the downloadable file that many of you purchased. I understand that the first file was NOT downloading at all! I'm so sorry... If I could avoid these computer-ish snafus, I would!

love,

Janice

 

July 9, 2020 The Kids Can Canoe All Day... And the rest of us can hike, or go with the kids, or sit on the shore and watch...

She thinks this is brilliant - the 3 families will distance from each other for 14 days; the house is plenty big enough. It will require some vigilance to make certain that the children understand what's required, but they've been pretty smart, so far...

Knowing that they're going to be there probably 'til the first of September, she wants to plan carefully. ... View the Post

How to Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet – June 2020

July 2, 2020

Yes, it's July, but we never got around to the beautiful June bracelet!

In all fairness, our beautiful jewelry designer is having to deal with getting stones and beads delivered, which isn't uncomplicated under our current circumstances. We can easily forgive things, these days...

The Moon Will be Full... And that's all she really needs to be motivated to go to the cabin for the weekend!

She's going to be dressed and in the car anyway because she has a doctor's appointment. Some things do NOT wait for the lockdown to end...

Nobody else much wants to come with her - even at the cabin, they have to be careful about not socializing closely with the other people who live around the lake. THAT means that ... View the Post

Start with Art: Door to the River by Willem de Kooning

June 26, 2020

She knew, as soon as she saw it, that the door lead to where she wanted to be...

Some other day - some other season - she knew that she would include the blue, and the darker browns and greys, in her wardrobe. But for now, for the summer, she wants lightness...

When her sister called her - at the very last minute! - to invite her to the cottage for the weekend, she knew that she had to go. She was dressed for a meeting, but decided that getting on the road was more important than changing clothes.

Besides, she knew that dinner on Friday night, at the cabin, was always pretty special! Her sister can really cook, her sister's partner is a whiz with wine, and all of the kids know that this is an important part ... View the Post

Start with Nature: Revisiting the Common Shelduck by Dennis A. Jones

June 5, 2020

In the dead of winter, four years ago, we visited with this heroine when her friends invited her south for a long weekend to get out of the cold... I'm SO smitten with the color palette; if I were to start over, I admit that brown leather goods would tempt me!

Drive Down! Her friends have invited her back...

"We've on this kick where we have full-blown dinner parties every night. It's been the same gang of us for the last few months; we could use a new guest!"

"Since you've been quarantined for a couple of months, and so have we, can we assume that we're safe for each other?"

 

"My brother and sister-in-law are staying in the guest house, so you can take the upstairs suite; with the kids ... View the Post