The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

Winter Travel: Street, Berlin by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

When they retired, they had a list of places that they wanted to visit. So, this first year of freedom, they're going to a new destination EVERY THREE MONTHS! Just for a few days, but they're going to do as much as they can manage, while they're still young enough to enjoy it!

When she started planning for all of these trips, she chose this painting as her inspiration. They're going to visit large cities, somewhat glamorous (to her!). So she's going to dress up and enjoy every minute!

There are quite a few colors in this painting, but she has isolated her wardrobe plan to these:

If you look closely, you can easily find grey, and 2 other shades of blue...

Their destination is warmer than where they live, so she's dressing ... View the Post

How to Dress and Pack when Traveling from Cold Weather to Warm Weather

Someone asks me this question almost every week in the Northern Hemisphere winter - how do I dress when I know it's going to be warm when I get off the plane?

I do this often - I spend quite a bit of time in Florida! My system is to layer 3 tops (what I call the Triple Top Secret...), and then peel off layers when I'm on the ground in my warm destination.

My other trick is to leave room in my carry-on bag for my shoes and socks, and I carry my sandals with me - that's a change I make right away! I also make certain that I can fit my cardigan and long-sleeved shirt in my carry-on, so that I can just wear a tee shirt, pants and sandals for the rest of my travel day. So far, this is working well...

I thought that I would build a ... View the Post

Chic Sighting: Printed Dress and Black Cardigan

Yes, they were only going out to breakfast as a family, but she considers that a special occasion! So she put on her favorite black, white and red printed dress, with her dressy black cardigan, black tights, and short boots. (it just cracks me up to see people wearing boots here in Florida on days when I personally would be wearing sandals...)

Other people might not be dressed quite as nicely, but that's okay too...

this first dress is on sale for half off... if I weren't on a shopping fast, it would be on the way to Chicago!

This outfit idea works for hot weather too!

Lunching at a nice restaurant?

This idea works well for work:

There are a lot of places that you could wear this outfit!

You can even ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Madame Leon Clapisson by Renoir

Oh my... She sings in the opera. Not one of the stars, but she works all the time, and enjoys it immensely!

Even though she's not the primary singer, she's still a bit of a diva; she identifies quite a bit with the woman in the painting:

So when she purchases her clothes, she uses this color scheme - enough neutral colors that she can find what she needs, but with lovely soft accent colors that appeal to her feminine side:

Her opera company is travelling to give a few performances in another city. She will be spending most of her time rehearsing or performing, but she will have a bit of time to sight-see, shop, and dine.

She's quite dressy...

She realizes that packing only dresses and cardigans will work quite ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Rhythmisches by Paul Klee

She quilted for years - ever since she was a teenager. So when they offered her the position managing the quilt museum (THE best quilt museum in the country, in many opinions...) she jumped at the chance.

The position involves travel... So she's going to try to be organized about this!

It might not be her favorite painting, but this is what she's chosen as her core inspiration:

She wants to dress in neutrals, but she's really reluctant to be pinned down to just cool (or warm) colors; she's going to mix it up! Her palette is this:

She likes to be comfortable and sort of... low key? when she travels - she's visiting women who've made quilts, or other smaller museums, so she doesn't want to show up and terrify ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Briqueterie a Tortosa by Pablo Picasso

Solar panels. She designs installations for solar panels - big installations, small ones - whatever is ordered, she will optimize both the appearance and the productivity. She's very proud of what she does...

So when she saw this painting, it spoke to her - the angles, the bright sunny feel, the combination of grey (like metal frames) with orange and green - the colors of things that grow and bloom:

She decided to choose a color palette that she could use for all of her travel wardrobes (and maybe all of her clothing, eventually):

 

One challenge she always faces is that she travels to place where it is inevitably warmer than where she lives! So she dresses warmly for her departure, and packs somewhat less bulky ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Between Breath and the River 4 by Susan Osgood

She predicts flooding. Flood plains, coastal erosion, river bank frailties - she's the expert. And this is her favorite painting...

Long ago she decided to limit her wardrobe to her favorite shades of blue, and to use navy and shades of grey as her neutrals. She has lots of serious things to think about, so having a simplified way to get dressed every day saves her time and energy for her work!

She's often contracted out to television channels which focus on weather disasters - she will spend a few days at their headquarters helping their permanent staff make predictions about areas that need to be evacuated in the face of upcoming storms...

Ice blockages are particularly hard to evaluation - they can cause flooding, or ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of “Instruments de Musique: by Pablo Picasso

Our final heroine from 2018! The square peg in the round hole, who nevertheless manages to be very effective at her job...

When she saw this painting, she knew that it would be a favorite for a long time:

So when she entered the workforce, she designed her own color palette and style guidelines... She knows that it's important for her to fit in with her co-workers, but she also wants to show her own personal... point of view!

When she traveled in January, she was absolutely delighted with what she packed - unexpected in some ways, but perfectly appropriate, just the same!

That trip went so well that she was... honored... (?) to be asked to visit their most difficult client just a few months later! (sometimes, it ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

Here they are! It took me a while to choose, but I think I'm going to love these...

First up - black and white with NO red... I'm interested to see how far I can go with just 2 shades of blue as accents. Given the success of the strictly navy and white wardrobe from last year, I'm optimistic!

This year, I thought that I would start with color palettes for each scarf - I think this will make it easier for me to make certain that I'm focused, and that each month's outfit will have a good chance of working nicely into the overall wardrobe.

I'm starting with the most uncomplicated outfits possible - lots of white tee shirts! It's easy to forget how useful these kinds of garments can be...

This next scarf really appeals ... View the Post

Can I Last a Year Without Shopping? I’m Going to Try…

It becomes too clear this time of year - I don't need anything, and when I see things that I want, about 5 minutes of intelligent self-talk reminds me that the purchase would be... wasteful, at best.

I'd rather travel! And I do travel a lot. When you become accustomed to living for a week or 10 days or longer with just the contents of a suitcase as your wardrobe, you learn that you can manage - happily - with relatively little.

So I've got a plan! (of COURSE I have a plan - you're shocked, right?)

Clusters!

I'm going to be in Florida for part of January, but for the rest of January, I'm going to limit my wardrobe to 10 garments - 2 clusters of five...

This is my first cluster - these aren't exactly my garments, but you could ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of “Paysage de Neige” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Ah, our friend who loves peace and quiet... She was smitten with this painting from the first time she saw it:

She found this painting to be so moving that she decided to base her wardrobe around it. In order to focus her shopping, she isolated a couple of key phrases and a small color palette that she drew from the painting:

She's been very pleased with the results!

In January she decided to get away for a peaceful long weekend at a resort that would be relatively deserted in the winter... Her plan was to go for walks, sit by the fireplace and read, and just generally relax and absorb the tranquillity!

 

She found much to enjoy... So much so that she went back in April! Packing for that trip required a ... View the Post

Evaluating a Wardrobe: A Year of “Passion Flower with Hummingbirds” by Martin Johnson Heade

Ah, this most enigmatic of heroines! Her favorite painting is this darkly beautiful wonder:

After studying it's depths and details for a while, she found her signature style and color palette:

Back in January, she took a trip (we don't know where!) for which she planned her travel wardrobe around these colors:

Our mystery heroine traveled again in April, and she again used her signature painting and color palette to inspire her travel wardrobe:

In July, she went into the city for a couple of days, so that she could go to a couple of baseball games! I said that she was enigmatic...

In October she traveled for what we suspected might be romantic motivations...

After all this travel, we are confronted ... View the Post