Of course not – there is NO SUCH THING as a must-have item. I know for a fact that there are women in the world who never wear shoes. You could wear nothing but linen dresses all summer. You could wear shorts and tee shirts every day (how ARE things in Georgia?). You could mix it up between capris, skirts, and shorts…
Nobody can tell you that you MUST buy something. As soon as they try to start that kind of talk, you know that they don’t have your best interests at heart, and you can take what they say with the appropriate bajillion grains of salt…
But there are useful ways to approach getting dressed for warm weather, and I think one worth considering is to make sure that your Neutral Building Blocks are all in order before you go swanning off to buy a really fun French 5-Piece Wardrobe in some snazzy accent color.
So let’s visit a few friends, and see what they have in mind!
First up is my good friend the Lady Classicist. She loves navy, grey, red, and white, in all of the traditional cuts. She wears a mix of things in the warm weather, depending on what her plans are for the day. She knows that she’s going to need a cardigan at some stage, thanks to the overdone air conditioning of some places, and she realizes that a pretty sweatshirt might be more handy than one might expect during warm weather… So before she goes shopping for all of her favorite red goodies (well, she thinks that it will be red, but she’s not sure), she makes certain that she has her core wardrobe in place:
cardigan – L.L.Bean; short-sleeved shirt – L.L.Bean; sweatshirt – L.L.Bean; short-sleeved tee – L.L.Bean; striped top – L.L.Bean; tank top – L.L.Bean; shorts – L.L.Bean; skirt – L.L.Bean; cropped pants – L.L.Bean
She knows that before she ever walks in to a store to buy her red goodies, she’s got a good base of (fairly simple) outfits to get her started into the nice weather to come. Her accessories will make ALL the difference here!
My friend Nature Goddess prefers muted colors found outdoors. She will be doing all sorts of things this summer – camping, hiking, hanging out with children and grandchildren. She never wears anything but long pants, and she NEVER wear anything sleeveless. Nevertheless, she likes to be sure every spring that her core wardrobe is ready to roll, so that when she goes out looking for this year’s accent color (maybe peach?), she will have a solid base upon which to go a little bit wild…
cardigan – L.L.Bean; seersucker shirt – L.L.Bean; sweatshirt – H&M; tee shirt – L.L.Bean; polo shirt – Uniqlo; striped top – Fat Face; tan pants – L.L.Bean; drawstring pants – L.L.Bean; khakis – L.L.Bean
She’s owned her nice gold jewelry pieces for decades, and she always has a few pair of beige shoes, as well as the occasional scarf to dress up her very neutral items…
Madame Minimaliste wears mostly black and white. And she loves it… Every season she indulges in some accent color pieces, which always mix well with her core wardrobe. She’s still undecided about what the accent color for the spring will be… bright blue? or maybe hot pink?
At any rate, no matter what she chooses for an accent, she will be ready to roll because her neutral core wardrobe is ready for action:
cardigans – L.L.Bean; striped tank – Lands’ End; sleeveless shirt – Lands’ End; tee shirts – Lands’ End; cropped pants – L.L.Bean; skirt – L.L.Bean; pants – L.L.Bean
She’s be pretty happy just wearing all of her black and white options, which are numerous:
Tomorrow I’m going to have to take my three friends shopping for their French 5-Piece Wardrobe for the upcoming season – what do you suggest for accent colors?
love,
Janice
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
Fuchsia.
Yes a good reminder that a classic straight black skirt is on my need to buy as a basic building block list.
As the weather's really really bad over here in Austria these days, I'd LOVE to see bright colors. Lemon, fuchsia, tomato, royal blue?
Thx for your inspiring input, love your Blog!
Think pink! Or a beautiful aquamarine…..
I think Nature Goddess' wardrobe would be lovely with lavender accents! And either emerald green or bright pink for Madame Minimaliste.
I agree with lavender for Nature Goddess
How about Lemon Yellow with the navy & grey; a lovely true pink (not blush) with the olive grouping and a bright lavender/mauve with the black – just a bit non traditional.
Going to start looking at my summer bits & pieces and make a list of what I might need – I actually have quite a few accent colour options so it will be more a case of adding to my core neutrals (black, white & navy).
Red, fuchsia, royal blue, pale blue….
I am with the black and white grouping with the traditional red and cobalt blue
I just did this same exercise in my closet on Monday! While my fall/winter wardrobe is the black/white/red variety, I find I need a change for warmer seasons;hence, navy, tan, white. Since the above hypothetical ladies probably have usual accessory colors, they should branch out, so yellow for first and third then take Kimm's suggestion of lavender
for nature goddess.
Janice,
As a , ahem , Nature Goddess, I vote for coral or peach and perhaps a medium aqua or teal, or even a soft sunny yellow or oxford blue, or lavender. I see a secret here, at least a secret to me ! The same color pant can be repeated as long as the fabric or texture or length is is varied. Thanks for that, as I am a pants wearer, and don't want to look as though I wear the same exact pant multiple times in a week ! Still learning !
Make that just one "is" .
{ Madame Minimaliste }
you're speaking my language..
how about a warm pink tone as an accent?
I am curious as to how the same teal (blue-green) 5-piece would change up these 3 starter wardrobes.
Oh this is fun !! I love for summer the colors of the west coast seaside sunsets: so my choices;
Classicist- sea foam/aqua; Nature Giddess- Coral/peach; Minimalist – brught blue
Can't wait to see what you do, Janice. I'm sure it will be lovely
Janice Collins, Washington DC
I think it might be fun to do the same accent color with each of the different wardrobes on different days. There are lots of accent colors that would work with all three.
I also think your Nature Goddess better not come to Arkansas in the summer. She will burn up. 🙂
Pink please ! I have comfortable sandals in fushia and light pink. They need friends in my wardrobe.
I like that red idea. And Royal Blue/Saphire. Teal is a good one too. ~Mary
Something unexpected and spring-like for each of them… Lady Classicist could do pale-to-egg yolk yellows. For Nature Goddess, a hot coral. And for Madame Minimaliste (I suspect her name is Janice), what about a soft, cool pink?
I would love to see you use what seem to be the "colors of the season"–blush pink and Pantone's Greenery. Both of these seem to go with so much, and look so fresh to me. Also, while I'm at it, could I put in a request that you consider an "athleisure" wardrobe? Not what I wear, but people in health care, students, and people working out of their homes wear these kinds of clothes, but often with not much style.
I love turquoise with black and white!
Oh, Madam Minimalist – you're singing my song. Blush pink as an accent, please!
Please don't make your green lady wear peach. It's so pretty but such a dated look from the eighties. Could we see her wear yellow?
Madame Minimaliste here. As a redhead I desperately need Green, in all the warmer tones but NOT Olive, Mint, Neon or Hunter. Can you do this? I have found this a huge challenge to shop for of late. Think Kelly Green and Chartreuse.
I would love to see another neutral wardrobe, as gray, white, black and olive are not my best colors. I like Chez Laurel's ideas as I am also a redhead. I know dark brown isn't easy to find at any time of the year, especially spring/summer, but maybe camel as a base? Thanks!
Christine
I like the warm pink suggestion..not the pale washed out version or the overly bright one..also a lovely coral would work well with all of them. Looking forward to the results!
This navy/gray classicist would love to see some periwinkle or cornflower accents for spring. Thank you for the constant reminder that the lovely accents, no matter what color, need to come after the basics! That is a concept that I still get hung up on!
Also, I didn't get around to commenting on yesterdays post. The cluster concept looks like a great first step for me. I love the capsule wardrobes you show, but I just can't quite bring myself to that level of discipline. Yet.
Thank you always,
Mary
I am craving some colour right now as all my basic blacks and greys feel dull…
Excited about the French post…and I am going to add colour with a new lipstick and a scarf!
Go find yourself a beautiful scarf, and then choose a new lipstick too coordinate with it. Get some nail polish too (and you know that I'm speaking from great love when I tell you to get nail polish, because I generally try to avoid it!). You deserve a treat, and a bit of beautiful cheer.
And a big hug,
Janice
It has to be PINK – it's the color of the season! Maybe a different shade for each of your ladies? If not pink, then yellow, spring green, bright blue, the colors of the beach, the colors of yachting, and absolutely nothing that could be described as "muddy."
– KBG
It would be interesting to see three distinctively different red tones–tomato red to almost fuchsia–that would suit each neutral capsule (and its wearer) best.
Miss minimalist!! Turquoise, mint, mustard, terracotta ….. Something unusual and bold to liven up the stark core pieces
Alice
Maybe you could do lots of versions, make everyone happy? I think every colour has been mentioned except purple, so I'm mentioning it – it's a colour I find very difficult – what does it go with? Linda M
It certainly looks like you will need to do more than one version of each 🙂
As another Madame minimalist, I'd like to see pink or sky blue as an accent. Or maybe turquoise. I think I've got those basics already!
I agree with pink. And I just sub gray for the blacks in your cores, and I'm good! I'm not sure what happened to my closet this year but it is a mess! Time to catch up with The Vivienne Files!! xo
I suggest, rose, medium green or cobalt blue. Please, no pastels.
Classicist- cornflower blue; Naturalist- tomato red; Minimalist- chartreuse or turquoise. I'd also recommend darker colors for Naturalist basics. This woman is likely to get dirty.