Home » New jobs, the shopping fast, and Capsule Wardrobe Project 333
New jobs, the shopping fast, and Capsule Wardrobe Project 333
So the new work environment is “business casual”, with jeans on Friday. Piece of cake…In honor of the Project 333 crew, but NOT in strict adherence with their guidelines, I’ve whittled down my wardrobe to the following 33 garments, which will be all that I wear for the months of June, July, and August.
Unlike Project 333, I’m going completely, wildly unlimited with accessories…
I could make enough combinations to last the 24 classes; however, after Day 1, I realized that the jacket and shell were too warm for my classroom. So, I'm modifying the capsule to take the jacket out of rotation.
This exercise (9 pieces making so many outfits) is making me think I need to cull my wardrobe.
Yeah!! You will not repeat if you don't want to. I know 'cause I realized that 5 tops, 4 skirts/ pants and 3 cardis/blazers/jackets could provide a season (3 months) of no repeats) So, you will look amazing. Looking forward to the accesorizing too.
There's plenty of latitude in your choices and I'm looking forward to seeing how you accesorise. The best part of all this is that you are a season ahead of me so your wardrobes help me to plan my spring/summer wardrobe.
Wow! Can't wait to see how you combine these for work. I too am returning to office work after several years. You are such an inspiration and I'm learning how to be a minimalist by emulating you. But still learning how to combine and accessoorize I have a navy shift dress, navy slacks, kacki taup slacks and a cream skirt, and pretty navy-tan-green-cream print skirt. Tops include a navy silk blouse, white silk shell, and dark ktan jacket. I'm stuck and need a few more ideas for tops. Any ideas? Thanks, Janice
The whole "business casual" and "casual Friday" thing is one of my hot buttons; gets me riled up. I'm older, on into the fifties now, and I worked in offices for years, when we wore suits (skirts/jackets/heels). Even in the '70s, when I was still so young, I didn't get too carried away, and I tended to shy away from slacks and go for dresses (and NEVER without hosiery; no bare legs, never-ever in an office environment). I always thought it strange that the guy has to wear the requisite suit or sport coat, yet the female can show up in much more casual attire? (You see this today on the television news programs, where the two anchors if male and female will consistently show the guy in the suit, and the woman in something sleeveless to show off her toned arms, lower and lower necklines, long-long hair and, if she's standing, a short/tight outfit sure to show off her bust and her butt which, to me, takes away from the newscast and calls attention to the babe, rather than the content of the news; an annoying distraction. I feel I can comment on this because I worked in broadcast television for five years and it's my husband's former career. I could get into a whole "thing" about attracting viewers/ratings, but I won't.) Call me old-fashioned when it comes to most conventional work environments, especially if there's interraction with the pubilc, but if he's dressed in a suit, she needs to be dressed in something more comparable. Getting back to "back in the day," when the concept of a dress-down Friday came up, nobody knew quite what to wear and it ran the gamut. I can remember when one woman was sent home for too much bare tummy when her short shirt would creep up from her slacks when bending or reaching. I gave her the excuse for being young. (This was 1977.) I've worked in a huge U.S. city/metro area (Gulf Coast) and also small-town/bigger-town, beach-area Southern California…and I can say it, because I live it and I AM IT, that we in SoCal are too, too casual here, all year'round. Sloppy; just sloppy. Bad hair, no makeup, clothes that are okay for at-home but NOT for public places. This is young women, mid-age women and elderly women. What has happened to us??!!!
Well, I guess I'm not finished. I don't mean to hog/dominate the blog here. Like I said, casual dress hits a nerve with me. I go to the bank on Fridays…my bank is vintage, stately, formal; nothing like the chain banks…and I am just appalled at how the bank manager dresses. Her tellers are too casual, but she looks just awful next to them (and she's not a young-young girl, but probably late-30s so, somehow, this just makes it worse). Stringy, lank, straight hair falling down from a messy middle part (I call it "school girl" hair; you know, the same hair we wore at age 10), faded jeans, shapeless cotton shirt that has seen too many washings, dirty sneakers (and a zero personality to go along with her zero look!). How does she expect to have credibility? Don't judge; yeah, I get it…but, seriously, it's business casual, Casual-Friday gone too far…and I see this everywhere, retail and non-retail, medical offices, etc. It's so rare to see a business woman dressed really well, that your jaw drops when you DO run into one. And it's such a pleasant surprise when it happens. Why NOT look nice? I love how, over on Tish's blog, when she does her posts about women on Paris streets, or French women in French country towns, you see gals of all ages in various forms of dress who are still chic and who give obvious thought of how they're putting themselves together BEFORE they take one step out of their houses. It's really given me inspiration to think first, and consider how I look to other people, which actually DOES matter to me, although it's mostly how I feel about myself. Don't you just feel…different…when you wear heels? I do. I can't wear super-high heels anymore, for a variety of reasons, but I certainly feel more confident when I wear a a little bit of heel. To the post of yours at hand, and to sum up, your neverending supply of brilliant go-togethers/ensembles are becoming simply essential to me! You make it easy to pick and choose what's right, regardless of age or often occasion; so many choices to dress well (and it doesn't have to break the budget)! Okay, rant over…but I wish I could anonymously give your post on Business-Casual to more than a few working women. If it's to be jeans on Friday, I don't think they should look like the ones you wear to muck out the horse barn, you know?
Have you considered at least one long sleaved shirt? I find that they can be cooler to wear than a t-shirt, as they tend to be finer woven than cotton jersey. They are nice to have on the day where the cardi / jacket is too warm and one still need to show a little authority. If you work in an air-conditioned office, then this may not be a relevant for you. Boiling on the way too / from work could poise challanges. :-)
Are these your own clothes you've photographed, or from pictures of similar things you've found online?
I'm just curious because if they are your own, how have you gotten such perfect, crisp pictures on a white background? Just wondering, that's all…I'm not at all tech savvy so I probably won't understand the answer!
Some are of my own clothes, and some I just grabbed similar from the Internet. (I am NOT going to try to photograph a white tee shirt…)
After I photograph my things, I open the file in Paint, where they have an erase tool. Then I just erase the background! It takes a few minutes, and a steady hand, but you're left with absolutely nothing but the object you photographed. Most picture manipulation software has an erase function that will do the same thing.
I know it's been over two years since you posted this but do you recall the manufacturer of the two black dresses in the last grouping? They look perfect! Thanks Janice ��
My dress that looks like the one on the right is from Eileen Fisher – 100% sure of that. The left dress might also be from her, J. Jill or Garnet Hill. Nordstrom often has a good selection of basic dresses too, and if you're in the UK, check House of Fraser – I find things there all the time to use on the blog. thanks for asking, Janice
Great pieces. You are going to look fantastic all month long!
So happy for you and your new job Janice. Can't wait to see what accessories you use to pull all these together.
Catherine
I agree. These are great pieces. I'll look forward to seeing the outfits you put together.
Awesome! I'm just taking a wild guess, but I'll bet you won't have to repeat an outfit (unless you want to of course!) all summer!
NOTE TO SELF: I must STOP buying prints. Look at all the mixing/matching that can be done with all those solids.
Not sure what Project 333 is, maybe I missed one of your posts?
This is going to be fun! Can you explain what Project 333 is? Your talent will be shining!
Can't wait to see your daily outfits. This sounds like fun!
I believe you!
I have a job this summer too — teaching. So, largely inspired by your blog, I made a capsule for summer teaching
3 bottoms
5 tops
1 jacket
5 scarves; 1 pair shoes; 2 pair earrings; 2 watches
I could make enough combinations to last the 24 classes; however, after Day 1, I realized that the jacket and shell were too warm for my classroom. So, I'm modifying the capsule to take the jacket out of rotation.
This exercise (9 pieces making so many outfits) is making me think I need to cull my wardrobe.
Jora
Yeah!! You will not repeat if you don't want to. I know 'cause I realized that 5 tops, 4 skirts/ pants and 3 cardis/blazers/jackets could provide a season (3 months) of no repeats)
So, you will look amazing.
Looking forward to the accesorizing too.
There's plenty of latitude in your choices and I'm looking forward to seeing how you accesorise. The best part of all this is that you are a season ahead of me so your wardrobes help me to plan my spring/summer wardrobe.
congratulations on your new job!!! i love your polka dot sweater, and admire the 333 (although i too am not quite sure what it is).
Project 333 must be 3 capsules totalling 33 garments?????
As I understand it, it is 33 items for 3 months.
As I understand it, it is 33 items for 3 months.
Great choices. 33 items is actually quite a lot! Jolene
Looks like a great capsule for Project 333 with many possibilities. Brava! for not limiting your accessories.
I really want that V-neck black dress! I know that would suit me better than the straight ones of the earlier posts. Now if only I could find it!
So what about your shopping fast? I forget when you started…how much longer to go?
Wow! Can't wait to see how you combine these for work. I too am returning to office work after several years. You are such an inspiration and I'm learning how to be a minimalist by emulating you. But still learning how to combine and accessoorize I have a navy shift dress, navy slacks, kacki taup slacks and a cream skirt, and pretty navy-tan-green-cream print skirt. Tops include a navy silk blouse, white silk shell, and dark ktan jacket. I'm stuck and need a few more ideas for tops. Any ideas?
Thanks, Janice
The whole "business casual" and "casual Friday" thing is one of my hot buttons; gets me riled up. I'm older, on into the fifties now, and I worked in offices for years, when we wore suits (skirts/jackets/heels). Even in the '70s, when I was still so young, I didn't get too carried away, and I tended to shy away from slacks and go for dresses (and NEVER without hosiery; no bare legs, never-ever in an office environment). I always thought it strange that the guy has to wear the requisite suit or sport coat, yet the female can show up in much more casual attire? (You see this today on the television news programs, where the two anchors if male and female will consistently show the guy in the suit, and the woman in something sleeveless to show off her toned arms, lower and lower necklines, long-long hair and, if she's standing, a short/tight outfit sure to show off her bust and her butt which, to me, takes away from the newscast and calls attention to the babe, rather than the content of the news; an annoying distraction. I feel I can comment on this because I worked in broadcast television for five years and it's my husband's former career. I could get into a whole "thing" about attracting viewers/ratings, but I won't.) Call me old-fashioned when it comes to most conventional work environments, especially if there's interraction with the pubilc, but if he's dressed in a suit, she needs to be dressed in something more comparable. Getting back to "back in the day," when the concept of a dress-down Friday came up, nobody knew quite what to wear and it ran the gamut. I can remember when one woman was sent home for too much bare tummy when her short shirt would creep up from her slacks when bending or reaching. I gave her the excuse for being young. (This was 1977.) I've worked in a huge U.S. city/metro area (Gulf Coast) and also small-town/bigger-town, beach-area Southern California…and I can say it, because I live it and I AM IT, that we in SoCal are too, too casual here, all year'round. Sloppy; just sloppy. Bad hair, no makeup, clothes that are okay for at-home but NOT for public places. This is young women, mid-age women and elderly women. What has happened to us??!!!
Well, I guess I'm not finished. I don't mean to hog/dominate the blog here. Like I said, casual dress hits a nerve with me. I go to the bank on Fridays…my bank is vintage, stately, formal; nothing like the chain banks…and I am just appalled at how the bank manager dresses. Her tellers are too casual, but she looks just awful next to them (and she's not a young-young girl, but probably late-30s so, somehow, this just makes it worse). Stringy, lank, straight hair falling down from a messy middle part (I call it "school girl" hair; you know, the same hair we wore at age 10), faded jeans, shapeless cotton shirt that has seen too many washings, dirty sneakers (and a zero personality to go along with her zero look!). How does she expect to have credibility? Don't judge; yeah, I get it…but, seriously, it's business casual, Casual-Friday gone too far…and I see this everywhere, retail and non-retail, medical offices, etc. It's so rare to see a business woman dressed really well, that your jaw drops when you DO run into one. And it's such a pleasant surprise when it happens. Why NOT look nice? I love how, over on Tish's blog, when she does her posts about women on Paris streets, or French women in French country towns, you see gals of all ages in various forms of dress who are still chic and who give obvious thought of how they're putting themselves together BEFORE they take one step out of their houses. It's really given me inspiration to think first, and consider how I look to other people, which actually DOES matter to me, although it's mostly how I feel about myself. Don't you just feel…different…when you wear heels? I do. I can't wear super-high heels anymore, for a variety of reasons, but I certainly feel more confident when I wear a a little bit of heel. To the post of yours at hand, and to sum up, your neverending supply of brilliant go-togethers/ensembles are becoming simply essential to me! You make it easy to pick and choose what's right, regardless of age or often occasion; so many choices to dress well (and it doesn't have to break the budget)! Okay, rant over…but I wish I could anonymously give your post on Business-Casual to more than a few working women. If it's to be jeans on Friday, I don't think they should look like the ones you wear to muck out the horse barn, you know?
Have you considered at least one long sleaved shirt? I find that they can be cooler to wear than a t-shirt, as they tend to be finer woven than cotton jersey. They are nice to have on the day where the cardi / jacket is too warm and one still need to show a little authority. If you work in an air-conditioned office, then this may not be a relevant for you. Boiling on the way too / from work could poise challanges. :-)
Have fun with your combinations.
Are these your own clothes you've photographed, or from pictures of similar things you've found online?
I'm just curious because if they are your own, how have you gotten such perfect, crisp pictures on a white background? Just wondering, that's all…I'm not at all tech savvy so I probably won't understand the answer!
Some are of my own clothes, and some I just grabbed similar from the Internet. (I am NOT going to try to photograph a white tee shirt…)
After I photograph my things, I open the file in Paint, where they have an erase tool. Then I just erase the background! It takes a few minutes, and a steady hand, but you're left with absolutely nothing but the object you photographed. Most picture manipulation software has an erase function that will do the same thing.
33 is not enough peices for me….can I have 66?? Lol
Congrats on the new job. And project 33 sounds like fun!
I really need to go shopping. I don’t even own 33 pieces of clothing! (I just purged everything that doesn’t fit)
I know it's been over two years since you posted this but do you recall the manufacturer of the two black dresses in the last grouping? They look perfect! Thanks Janice ��
My dress that looks like the one on the right is from Eileen Fisher – 100% sure of that. The left dress might also be from her, J. Jill or Garnet Hill. Nordstrom often has a good selection of basic dresses too, and if you're in the UK, check House of Fraser – I find things there all the time to use on the blog.
thanks for asking,
Janice
Thank you sweet lady! I guess when I started reading your blog, post by post, I missed some of which this was one. Now I start my day with you ��