Moon with Jupiter and 4 Moons by Christian Fattinnazi
This is a color palette that doesn’t need any embellishing. It might be too austere for some, in the long run, but for a short-term travel adventure, this is nearly foolproof!
Insomnia
She’s been awake at night for WEEKS… looking at the night sky much more than she would normally like. So she’s decided to take her sleep-deprived self to Paris. It’s far enough away that she won’t know if she has insomnia or jet-lag!
earrings – Gianluca Anzani; trench – L.L.Bean; tote – Coach; scarf – Caslon; jeans – L.L.Bean; sweater – Public School; boots – Munro; suitcase – Rimowa
Because she doesn’t trust herself to make finely nuanced style decisions when she’s traveling, she decided to pack the most mistake-proof wardrobe possible. This is literally a “Whatever’s Clean” wardrobe!
earrings – Marc Jacobs; striped top – L.L.Bean; bracelet – Les Interchangeables; cardigan – J. Crew; square scarf – Treasure&Bond; shirt – Uniqlo; flats – SoftWalk; skirt – J. Crew; henley – L.L.Bean; loafers – Coach; pants – Uniqlo; socks – Topshop; clutch – Rebecca Minkoff; astrology scarf – Antagoniste
If she can’t sleep, she’ll go to the movies. She’ll go out and walk around. She’ll take photographs…
She’s going to go to that REALLY long opera that she always avoids because it puts her to sleep…
She’s going to sign up for the walking tour that she always feared would wear her out…
Dinner at 9 p.m. might be just right…
And she doesn’t have to worry about what she pulls out of her closet in the hotel, because there’s no way to make a mistake:
And if she’s awake 20 hours a day, she’s in Paris! She can always try to sleep, again, when she gets home.
love,
Janice
This was just the thing to calm my nerves today. Thank you.
Yes, very soothing and so appropriate today. Vive La France!
Our prayers, thank you Janice God bless Chris Australia. Xx
Great wardrobe ! I was thinking of going for the uniform look this Fall, à la Matilda Kahl not Zuckerberg or Jobs, but I couldn’t commit to such a strict and boring style. This wardrobe has just enough variations without being too extreme. I’ll start with the basics and can always buy additions as I find them and, as you’ve shown us, accessories can then add definition, personality and some fun.
Liberté, égalité et fraternité.
Janice,
I love when you do grids like this, showing a given top with 3 various bottoms ! It makes packing planning so clear as to number of outfits possible ! If you then also layer the cardigan over some of the other tops, the number of outfits leaps exponentially! For the sake of variety on each given day, I wonder if there is some kind of an enlarged tic-tac-toe style grid that you could do with this concept ? This feels , somehow, wonderfully mathematical !
Simple color here, but I see variety is introduced via pattern, trim, button embellishment, use of light and dark in both the solids and prints. I could apply these principles to any base color of my choosing ! This reminds me a wee bit of some of your earliest posts regarding what Vivienne might wear to work. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this post, variety and yet conciseness broken down into an easily comprehended format ! Huge hugs !
I'm so happy that you saw the details that I struggled to find! The idea of this wardrobe is to be simple and soothing, but not boring. With the focus of just 2 colors, the textures and patterns become easier to find and to emphasize.
hugs hugs hugs,
Janice
And add a navy blazer (I bet there's one to match the pencil skirt) and this is a perfect work wardrobe, too!
Yes, you are really helping people like me to figure this all out. I get nervous thinking about such a limited colour palette but it is really perfect due to all the details that Shrebee describes.
Deb from Vancouver
Love love love love love this. And it would be so easy to take this wardrobe and add just a few pops of whatever accent color strikes your fancy. Thank you!
I was thinking about revisiting this with a variety of accent colors – one could use purple, red, turquoise, green, pink (either soft or hot), and of course adding in a 2nd neutral (grey, or brown, or burgundy) would be possible too.
hmmmm…..
hugs hugs hugs,
Janice
Janice,
Oh yes, please !
I love this. All great looking ensembles without being too memorable to be reworn in short succession.
Happy weekend!
Cornelia
These are all so wearable, Janice. I love them!
Thank you, Janice – one of my favourites – right up there with the post on lunar eclipse. Please revisit with burgundy/merlot!
I love that you're doing so many navy combos!!! Thank you! That's my core color. Would love to see more, so keep 'em coming!!!
beautiful site i really like it.
http://www.multidesigning.com
Here's another scarf that fits the theme perfectly – not sure about the colours – a little hard to tell.
http://www.shadowplaynyc.com/collections/accessories/products/100-cashmere-starry-night-scarf
I love this capsule!! This year I have recommitted to blue, purchasing some new pieces (including that Treasure & Bond scarf – at full price, unfortunately, but which is so good in person) and pulling together things from my existing wardrobe, and I could *almost* build a travel capsule with just navy and white. – nancyo
I love everything about this capsule! Such great details! The stars on the clutch are just perfect! So many possibilities! You could go just about anywhere with this wardrobe. Thanks Janice! Your eye for detail is amazing!
While the silver is not for me personally, I can see how beautiful this wardrobe would be for the right person.
I love this one soooo much. It's not even my colors but I keep coming back to look at it. The only change I might make for myself is to add some turquoise earrings for just a little color by my face. And maybe a turquoise bracelet, but I really don't want to spoil the lovely quietness of the scheme. So maybe not.
Paris, perfect for insomniacs; this wardrobe, perfect for a well-organized suitcase.
For years and years, navy was my base color. Then a few years ago, for various reasons, I started to transition from navy to black. Seeing this beautiful collection of clothes now has me rethinking that decision. :-)
I love the simplicity of this. I wear lots of navy and silver, and am finding I love the serenity of a monochromatic look. This is perfect for me. Thanks Janice! xo
ps I've struggled with insomnia. I wonder if Paris would help? ;)
I keep going back to this one. It’s so soothing. I have a navy trench coat, navy pants, a white blouse and a stripe top. I could easily use this as a packing guide or as the navy side of a navy and grey 16 piece capsule to expand it.
As above: 1 skirt, pants & jeans in navy. I rarely wear skirts but a really dressy pair of navy pants would be great. 1 white shirt, a striped top, a sweater top and a navy top. The navy cardigan. 8 items total above on the navy side.
Add dark grey pants, white jeans. A charcoal leather jacket, a light grey cashmere cardigan and matching top for a twinset. 3 more tops and it’s a complete 16 piece wardrobe capsule for spring.
I love that silver tote purse. Something in pewter if silver isn’t available. Silver or pearl jewelry and some “diamond” stud earrings.
So many possibilities for expansion.
How did I ever miss this one? This is my dream wardrobe, and I am nearly there. I wear navy and white, with either green, red, yellow (Go Blue!), or coral as my accent color, 90% of the time. (Although I love my job, it necessitates keeping a few black pieces. I just consider them as part of a uniform.)
This is kind of what’s been happening in my closet, without me realizing it. Why not? There are so many possibilities.