First, the business capsule wardrobe with the soft mustard accent:
yellow diamond hoops – JCPenney; leather bracelet – Bottega Veneta; ivory top – Balmain;
watch – Isabel Marant; yellow sweater – Dorothy Perkins; cardigan – Simply Be; yellow silk shirt
– Theory; tee shirt – J. Crew; black white yellow degrade scarf – Kenzo; shoulder bag – Allsaints;
black skirt – Lands’ End; pants – J. Crew; tweed skirt – Nina Ricci; loafers – Patricia Green;
pumps – Stuart Weitzman
And then the more relaxed black and grey capsule wardrobe, spared with shades of terra cotta:
Shana Gulati; watch – Movado;bracelet – Melinda Maria; drop earrings – Pomellato;
grey cardigan – Splendid; black cardigan – Olive + Oak; square scarf – Faliero Sarti;
solid scarf – Nordstrom; clutch bag – Baggu; 1-button sweater – Vanessa Bruno; grey top – Uniqlo;
wide pants – Uniqlo; black pants – Uniqlo;grey pants – Uniqlo; flats – Jeffrey Campbell;
suede loafers – L’Amour des Pieds; flats – Eileen Fisher;tote – Street Level
All of the clothes, in 1 place! There’s really only 1 small tweak I would make to this – I would make sure that there weren’t any “droopy” sleeves or armholes on the tops. Here, I would probably get a grey top that fit a bit closer around the shoulders, and I might take a look at that deep pumpkin blouse too. Otherwise, I think we’ve got LOTS of nice complimentary pieces:
For accessories, I would probably have gone with either silver or gold, just in order to make everything work together with more options. There’s nothing inherently wrong with owning and wearing both silver and gold, but in an abbreviated capsule wardrobe, focus might enable us to wear any pair of earrings with any bracelet or necklace. A small issue, in the grand scheme of things…
Here are a dozen new outfits, based on mixing the 2 wardrobes. I think this was a great idea…
Looking at these wardrobes, you can really see how the accent colors make an enormous difference in the look of an outfit, and how powerful a solid core of neutral garments can be.
love,
Janice
From Margie in Toronto – What a great lesson Janice – those few accent pieces plus the accessories make such a difference when it comes to stretching this wardrobe – I learn so much from you every day. This weekend I'm going to finish switching over my winter and summer wardrobe (but keeping access to a few winter sweaters for now) and I'm looking really closely at the accessories – I've added a few jewelry pieces and a couple of new scarves, 1 pair of shoes and 2 new purses but I know there are still a few gaps. Having my clothes pared down but coordinated ow makes such a difference!
Then there are those of us who think mixing silver and gold is a-okay. I'm on the fence about it for myself – when I do it, I like to have two items in each color – gold necklace and sandals and silver earrings and bracelet, for example.
– Kaci
I like to mix metals. I have a few peices with both gold and silver. These make nice bridge peices.
I shall try to branch into pale yellow. Now I've tried blue….great idea, Janice! X Chris Australia.
Solid core of neutrals is not the problem for me…..! Making a difference with accents is. In the subtropical climate my scarves aren't always friendly…
I'm becoming a fan of rings and bracelets for this reason; my body temperature can swing MADLY and in warm weather I have to watch out that I don't destroy a scarf! But jewelry is much more tolerant of my physical issues, and can also be great fun.
hugs,
Janice
I love what you say about avoiding the droopy shoulders–little details like that can really change the tone to dressy from casual. I hesitate though on the long jacket (which I love on its own) with a long pencil skirt. I can't quite get used to a long/long silhouette. Already as a medium/short person (5'4), I think I'd look like my clothes didn't fit. But maybe my old ideas are out of fashion now.
I think it's a really subtle question, and you have to consider if you're long-waisted or short-waisted, if your thighs are longer or shorter than the bottom of your legs etc. It can be complicated, but ultimately I think your intuition will tell you – if it's not comfortable, it's probably not flattering! And who cares what's in fashion – we are trend-setters, not trend-followers!
hugs,
Janice
I am petite and I do wear a pencil skirt with a long sweater or cardigan. A pencil skirt that long would not work for me, though I think it would work for a tall person. The short woman's version of those garments would have to be either a shorter skirt or a shorter (but still somewhat long) jacket or cardigan. But the combination works fine, adjusted for height and body type.
Unfortunately with a pear shape (even though I'm well within the normal BMI), I look dumpier than friends who weigh more but have their pounds distributed differently. Or maybe that's my perspective. Anyway, I love all the color analysis and it has taught me so much, but there's also texture/fabrics, cut, fit and silhouette to deal with when choosing any specific item. And it makes the hunt for the holy grail of chic clothes that much more difficult!
You are so right, Janice. I am short waisted with long legs (most length in the thighs) and there are very definite lengths that my tops need to be for various skirt silhouettes. I wear what works for me no matter the "style" at the time. But I do stock up when fashion matches my preferred fit. Dresses are the hardest because petite fits me through the body but is generally too short in length or sleeves for my long limbs. – nancyo
This is brilliant!! I can see me owning this whole thing provided I switched the cool tweed suit for a warmer tweed (subtle grey, mustard , rust tweed).
Deb from Vancouver
Wow, this is fascinating. I am almost mesmerized by your blog. I am learning much. I'm a bit overwhelmed by everything, but it's starting to all sink in. You have excellent fashion sense and a fresh way of presenting your concept.
This wardrobe would be perfect for my office.
Dear Janice,
Being a long term "fan", trying to put together a wardrobe for a tropical climate. I am a skirt only person and a bit dressy, but cannot even think of layering due to scorching hot weather. My work means simple jewellery. That leaves me to a uniform of top, skirt, bangle/watch, practical shoes. Currently using black, grey, camel as neutrals and wine, muted pink, cobalt blue as accents. My daily necklace and earrings are gold.
My problem is, without layering and statement jewellery, can I get not bored with restricted colors?
I leant a lot from you, and I am really thankful, but sometimes feel like I cannot work this out because my life conditions are TOTALLY different.
Would you please, please help me out?
In the summer here I can't think of either layering or wearing scarves or heavy necklaces. One important thing I've learned from Janet's templates is the excellent advice to keep all but one horizontal category solid colors. Not sure if that makes sense, but maybe Janice will provide a link or two to illustrate. Doing this makes the wardrobe much more mix/match-friendly. What has worked out for me is to move toward printed skirts and solid tees/shirts. I also like having a few print dresses. I still have all solid pants/capris, but I can see how it could work well to incorporate one or two choices in those, although I wear skirts/dresses most often during hot weather. I wear sandals/ballets in "pop" colors, too, sometimes — makes a necessary basic item into an accent. If you need to wear close-toed shoes, you might take a look at Dansko clogs and some of the fun colors of athletic shoes.
Thank you for letting me know I am not the only one facing this situation. I am a pear so I basically put prints in top half and surrender to the rainbow dreams by putting on colourful bags, shoes and bracelets. Anyway, gaining multiple looks with a small collection of items is impossible without layering. ( Tharu )
These two capsules look better together than I thought they would. I often mix my metals. I even throw in antique gold sometimes. I know, I'm a rebel! LOL! Great comments about the cut of the clothes Janice! This is why we need you, I never would have thought of that!
I think a person's coloring often determines whether or not mixed-metals "work" in an aesthetic sense. If the wearer looks good in both gold and silver individually, then they usually look good in them together provided they are balanced and distributed carefully.
Personally, I look harsh in all-cool outfits, garish in all-warm ones, and washed-out in all-neutral ones. Mixing both tones in every outfit, right down to jewelry choices, balances ME out in a way neither could do alone. If you look at the loveliest of artworks, scarves, and interior design you'll probably find that many of the greatest designs take at least of touch of tones from both camps…
That said, I am a huge fan of the warm-silvers, like platinum, marcasite, antique silver, titanium, and some stainless steels and aluminums – both for wearing with one another AND for wearing with gold. I also prefer the cool-yellow-golds when mixing, like 12k pieces, vintage 18k pieces, or a blended white/yellow gold. 18k vintage pieces, particularly, have deep warm undertones with a richer silver glow I think works wonderfully as a bridge piece between more straight-up warms and cools, (By that, I mean more-clearly warm or cool tones, like those in 14k gold, rhodium, and new + shiny sterling, etc). Those, I generally wear only with each other. Midtone metals, like antiqued gold, brass, aged copper, etc I wear with abandon. They blend in to the background as neutrals on me.
The texture of piece contributes so much to how the colour 'reads', too. The same metals in shiny or matte, smooth or brushed, new or vintage, intricate or simple can alter the way the undertones catch the light a great deal, too. It seems it is usually a matter of deciding whether I am looking for a 'pop' piece, or a subtle accent piece that tells me how close I want to get to neutral vs warm/cold when choosing a metal for a new piece to fit into my existing jewelry wardrobe. (Gosh I love colour chatter ha ha)
I love these capsules! This is much closer to my "ideal" – I am winnowing out my bottoms so that they are either solid navy, white, or grey, and using a few pieces in each accent color to change up my look.
Solid bottoms may be a problem in the spring, though, as I have several print skirts that I love.