Spring Ahead (Without Even One Bunny)

The theme of this spring wardrobe update is trying to use what I have as long as possible, rather than defaulting to discarding or donating.

But it's also about a scarf. I had wanted this William Morris-inspired scarf for quite a long time, and was recently presented with it as a welcome surprise gift from a daughter.

Here it is with this year's new-to-me spring purse and sneakers, and last year's yard-saled purse.

 

More green...

We all go through life changes, and that includes body changes. Six years ago (no, seven), I bought a green t-shirtdress from Duffield Design. I reviewed it here and wore it a lot, but for various reasons, it doesn't fit me as well as it used to, and I was going to rehome it this spring. Then I remembered how comfortable it was, and how much I liked that bright green. It's still in good condition (even after seven years); and it's a perfect match for the new scarf. So, while I might not be wearing it as a dress this year, it still makes a very good top or tunic (it was designed to be versatile like that).

I used to have a (thrifted) navy sleeveless dress, which unfortunately shrunk (or maybe that was me again); anyway, I had hoped to find a replacement, and Duffield Design happens to be featuring navy sleeveless dresses this year, so I bought one, along with an off-white blazer (shown below). I am definitely not giving up on my thrifter status, but once in awhile it is also okay to choose well-made (and Canadian-made) new clothes. Hopefully I will be wearing these pieces seven years from now as well.

The top under the blazer also happens to be DD, bought last year.

Back to the theme of keeping things going: last year I found a pair of summer pants, and I liked them very much except that their fastening included buttons, slide clips, and a forlorn-looking ribbon waist tie.  As another daughter used to quote, "ain't nobody got time for that."  I was about to put them in the giveaway bag this year, but then I suddenly had a brainwave and pulled the ribbon tie right out of its casing. Now the pants even fit better. Should have thought of that a long time ago.

And here's one more "keep it, don't ditch it." This is a navy washable-silk shirt, kind of vintage. I had it in the bag to donate because...I'm lazy and I don't like to iron, and while this shirt is easy enough to clean, it does need ironing to look good. Earlier this year, I bought a popover style navy shirt, brand new, which I thought would replace this one nicely. Except that, after only a couple of washings, it's smaller than it was, and this time it's not me. Out of spite to that new thing that did not at all hold up the way I expected, I will be resurrecting my old shirt. I just need to retrieve my iron from the domicile of the third daughter, who has been using it to iron dolls' hair. Don't ask.

So what else goes with the new and old things? Lots of navy, some blue, some white. Here are a few more random photos.

Random note: this long-sleeved blue t-shirt doesn't look like much, and it's another of those things I skip over and wonder if I really need. But when I do wear it, that shade of blue always makes me happy, and it also happens to look quite nice with the new scarf, so it's staying.

Below: linen shirt from Talbots that I found at a yard sale right around the corner from our house.

Below: linen pullover that I've been wearing for several years.

Here's to spring.

Last updated March 20, 2026 (because today is spring!)

Dressing Betty Bunny

The misanthropic scribbler known as Betty Bunny has been assessing the past year's attempt to fit her cottontail self into the Eiffel-Tower-inspired wardrobe on the Vivienne Files website. As she does still like navy and green, and also brown (though it can clash with her fur), she decides to continue with a similar plan for this year. She is shifting her artistic inspiration to this print by the Canadian artist A. J. Casson.

Rock Pool, Cloche Hills, by A. J. Casson

Betty waa hoping not to have to buy much this year, but even old favourite clothes get worn out, or just need a refresher. As her burrow has been snowed in over the bunny holidays, she decides to do a little online shopping from her favourite store, Rabbit Reflections, which is having a great sale. This is what she orders:

* A pair of dark-wash, wide-leg jeans to replace her standby medium-wash straight-leg pair, which are starting to look not so great. She has a pair of stretchy light-wash jeans that she is also going to keep wearing.

* A navy pullover-style shirt to replace another navy shirt that always makes her feel wrinkled. (New shirt shown with a striped t-shirt underneath.)

* A muted green cotton shirt to match a long-sleeved t-shirt she bought last fall. The store calls this shade Classic Blue, but since  the other top turned out to be green, she would have been more surprised if this one had turned out to be blue. But it wasn't, and she feels very clever to have cracked their bizarre labelling code. (Maybe if she orders something in Leafy Green, it will turn out to be blue.)

* Some pretty socks in her favourite colours.

And one day when the snow has melted a bit and the bunnies are hopping around, Betty gets a visit from her cousin, Freeda Frugal. 

Freeda tells Betty that there is a new charity shop in town, helping out rabbits who are a bit down on their tails, so the two of them decide to get some tea and pie, and then do some thrifting. 

The shop is quite crowded. But it does provide live entertainment.

Betty has noticed that the Fluffy-fashionistas have recently been tying old-style slippery scarves around their necks, instead of the big blanket ones they were wrapping themselves in a couple of years ago. She and Freeda find a few inexpensive scarves at the shop to play around with.

A cowboy bandana looks like fun.

This is one of those long skinny scarves. Freeda picks it out for Betty because of the pretty green colour.

Betty also picks up a few navy and white things: a polka-dot skirt (not shown), which she'll probably wear more towards the spring; a striped blouse, which she thinks will go well with her navy cords; and a striped sweater. 

She does have a navy striped sweater, but it always makes her feel like Jimmy Stewart wearing the football uniform in It's a Wonderful Life. Something about the size of the stripes, maybe. This one is more congenial.

Just before the holidays, Betty had stopped in at her friend Harry Hare's shop, Consarn It Consignment. 

On her first visit, Harry talked her into buying a pair of taupe faux-suede trousers, which went well with an off-white cabled sweater she already had, and also with an off-white long-sleeved top. 

The second time Betty visited Harry's shop, she went home with a lovely navy turtleneck sweater and a taupe suede tote bag. Obviously nobunny is going to wear that kind of sweater after about February. But in the meantime she's wearing it as much as she can.

When Betty was doing her decluttering, she almost got rid of a couple of close-fitting button-up cardigans; but she has noticed that (along with the scarves) they're back in style for now., This one isn't exactly navy--it has more of a teal tone to it, which she sort of likes--nobody wants to feel like everything they own was sold by a uniform shop, you know?

So, Betty's current wardrobe looks something like this:

Long-sleeved off-white top

Long-sleeved navy t-shirt (not shown)

Muted green long-sleeved t-shirt

Long-sleeved brown t-shirt (not shown)

Navy and white striped pullover

Off-white cable-knit pullover

Muted green pullover sweater (shown with blazer)

Navy turtleneck pullover

Navy and white striped blouse

Muted green cotton shirt

Navy pullover shirt

Vintage navy check flannel shirt (not shown)

Dark blue button-up cardigan

Floral print vintage blazer (shown with tote bag)

Taupe faux-suede trousers

Dark-wash wide-leg jeans

Light-wash jeans

Navy cords (not shown)

Navy polka-dot skirt (not shown)

Dark teal jersey skirt (not shown)

Denim skirt (not shown)

Which comes out to about what the Vivienne Files used to call a Garde-Robe du Mois: 21 clothing items that pretty much go together and suit the current happenings and weather.

So Betty feels pretty much good to go for 2026.

Last updated January 10, 2026.

Winter Clothes and Winding up the Wardrobe

I've been a reader of the Vivienne Files website for years and have learned much from its year-long projects. But I don't think I've actually followed one as personally as I have the Eiffel-Tower-inspired wardrobe, though you might think that this would have been my most unlikely year to think about clothes shopping and colour palettes. In a way, though, a bit of clothes contemplation has been salutary.

I started by following the specific plan as closely as I could; that wasn't too hard, as many of the clothes were similar to things I already had. As the year went on, though, I veered off, not so much from the colour scheme (white, green, brown, and navy), but from the kinds of items being added. Different clothes turned up in real life that fit my own needs better, so I went with them.

Here's Delaunay's 1909 painting of the Eiffel Tower (he painted it many times--this is one of his early versions). I like the muted colour palette, but also the contrast between the structure of the tower and the softer framing of the leaves. 

It reminds me a bit of Emily Carr's The Indian Church.

It also has a similar palette to Arthur Lismer's September Gale, Georgian Bay: greens, blues, browns.

So, with all that said, just like one of the VF heroines, I've done a bit of (thrift and consignment store) shopping, trying to fill gaps and also to replace things that have become worn. My Delaunay-esque clothing finds are:

a navy linen shirt dress (with long sleeves, so even though it's linen, it could work through multiple seasons),

an off-white cotton cableknit pullover,

faux-suede trousers in a light brown shade that the store labelled as "mushroom",

a navy fleece jacket with a wrap-and-snap front

and a green hooded, buttoned shirt jacket.

Also (although it's not technically in the colour palette), a knee-length cardigan (coatigan? sweater coat?) made of heavy sweatshirt fabric. (Best way I can describe it.)

And there are some accessories! Besides the navy boots that I posted about previously, I found two small purses (same brand, but found at two different shops), 

and two necklaces that can be worn alone or layered, or even wrapped and worn as bracelets.(Shown with a third necklace and some previously-thrifted earrings.)

Also, there are socks.

I haven't found or even worn as many scarves lately. Although I've browsed a few racks, I haven't seen anything that has grabbed my attention. Those I already own that probably come closest to the Delaunay painting are these:

And, since it's getting cold, I've retrieved this vintage scarf, which  kicked off the Delaunay challenge for me last February.

Final takes (because I don't think I'll be posting about this again): I've been intrigued by the chance to add more brown and teal/aqua/muted green into a basically navy/denim/blue/white wardrobe. (Navy cords. Navy turtleneck sweater. Blue jeans. Denim-blue t-shirts. Navy winter coat.) I was even brave enough one day to wear a brown-based purse on top of a (nine-year-old) grey dress and the grey jacket. That's probably not something I would have tried before.

Do you think Betty Bunny would approve?

It's also given me a better sense of having just-enough clothes but also a better match for what I'm doing. I am not an athleisure sort of person, but I did need some winter clothes that felt a little more relaxed. Also, a bit of cozy is actually practical here, as I'm discovering that this is not one of those apartments where the heat blasts so hard you could grow orange trees in the living room.

So: it's been a learning curve in more ways than one, but I think it was a successful challenge.

Last updated October 31, 2025.