Untitled by Wilfredo Lam
Sleek and calm, but with that tiny little pop of gold eye shadow, and those hot pink lines…
As has been the theme so far this week, I’m starting with a very small, very neutral capsule wardrobe that might be found in almost anyone’s closet, and then I’m adding just a few accent items. This gives you the opportunity to test-drive a new color in your wardrobe without going crazy…
Black tee – L.L.Bean; turtleneck – L.L.Bean; white shirt – L.L.Bean; white tee – L.L.Bean; cardigan – Lands’ End; shirt – Topshop; stone pants – L.L.Bean; black pants – L.L.Bean; jeans – L.L.Bean
As before, these few pieces give you a fair number of ways to get dressed:
This is basically the “French 5-Piece Wardrobe” idea- adding a handful of pieces each season to your core wardrobe. It’s a simple way to try out a new accent color, or just to refresh and renew your basics.
But you could certainly take this opportunity to see if you’re ready for a new or additional neutral. In this example, maybe you’re feeling like this might be a good time to start adding some grey to your wardrobe. (maybe phasing IN some grey, and gradually phasing OUT black?)
So you make a few well-considered purchases. Note the gold hardware on the grey earrings – a nod to that gold “eye shadow” in the painting!
Flannel shirt – Uniqlo; nail polish – Deborah Lippmann in“Whip It”;
earrings– Alexis Bittar; scarf – Caslon; sweater – Steffen Schraut
These few pieces mix in beautifully with the core wardrobe pieces you already own:
Maybe a month or two after you’ve integrated the grey pieces into your wardrobe, you decide to venture into the idea of soft teal/jade as an accent, too. Note again that this little experiment also includes a try-out of mixed-metal earrings. (and of course some snazzy pink lipstick!)
cardigan – Miu Miu; lipstick – Chanel, in Extatique; earrings – Gurhan; scarf – Caslon; tee – Marks & Spencer
As always, your small wardrobe experiment gets a lot of usage, because you’re starting with a stable core of basic clothes that can be worn with almost anything:
If, after a season or two, you find that you’re not completely sold on your color adventures, you can always consign the pieces that you purchased, without feeling madly guilty. And if you’ve discovered a new neutral color, or a new accent, all the better!
love,
Janice
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That gray would look great in pants, too. And gray pants would look great with that teal…..
I love how the style of the new pieces makes such a big difference to the wardrobe. It's not just the colours that have shifted – phasing out one style and phasing in another is an aim to consider alongside e.g. phasing out black. It would be great to see more of these, based on modern art.
Alice
Genius solututions to basic wardrobe – thanks -Chris from Oz. X
Great way to affordably experiment and keep your wardrobe fresh and up to date at the same time.
This series keeps reminding me to ensure I actually have a core set of the "boring basics!!!
Deb from Vancouver
I've been doing this… integrating marine teal (or petrol blue or whatever that darker slightly green, but mostly still blue color is called) into a wardrobe that was all cool neutrals (navy, grey, black) and red. It's interesting, though I'm still figuring out how to get red and petrol to play nice together.
You're cheering me up about my boring collection of pants (I'm a difficult fit, and anything remotely suitable after alteration seems inevitably to be black, denim or navy).
i like the idea of playing with different colours just a wee bit to see how they go. It conforms to your principles of using what you have as much as possible, planned spending, thoughtful wardrobe building or changing, and allowing fun with clothes.
Today's project is another winner. For me, teal and gold are a match made in heaven.
Robyn in Tasmania
I wear a lot of gray and those jade/turquoise colors, but usually wear them with silver jewelry. I'll try out with gold next time.
Love the art! And this series! The gray and this teal blue green are very pretty!
I would never have put aqua/teal together with gray, but I can see how well it works together. Blue-greens are my favorite colors. Thank you for your blog.