Denim and khaki go with everything – I’m convinced! – but some of you wanted to see a capsule wardrobe with a very different feel than the relatively soft and cool pastel version that used mauve pink and dark pastel blue…
How about this for colors?
I don’t have any really exotic travel vision for this heroine – she’s more someone who wears a uniform most of the time, and only needs a relatively small wardrobe to accommodate her “not work” activities outside of her home.
So I’m starting with the six neutral pieces that were in last Monday’s wardrobe, and I finally grabbed a pair of dark navy loafers for her. (although with brown in a wardrobe, don’t discount the gorgeousness of beautiful brown leather goods…)
cardigan – L.L.Bean; denim jacket – L.L.Bean; watch – Rebecca Minkoff; denim skirt – J.Crew; beige cropped pants – L.L.Bean; heritage stone pants – L.L.Bean; jeans – L.L.Bean; loafers – Ugg; sandals – Børn; loafers – Vaneli
I’m NOT going to get into a debate about what color “teal” really is – I know that it is named for the duck that has highlights that are the color of the sweater in the lower right. But in the fashion world, it seems to be almost any color from aqua to the “real” teal. Working with a range of shades of a color gives you some variety in your wardrobe, as well as making your shopping a little bit less like the search for the lost city of Atlantis…
How fun are madly mismatched earrings?
tee – L.L.Bean; earrings – Melissa Joy Manning; scarf – Carte Blanche; feather tee – M&S Collection; sunglasses – Nike; bracelet – Bourbon and Boweties; sweater – Velvet; sneakers – Converse
Here’s where it becomes really difficult to find things! Camel is so beautiful – if I was a designer I’d make camel things ALL THE TIME…
tee – Uniqlo; earrings – Dinosaur Designs; shirt – Patagonia; scarf – Leonard; bag – GiGi New York; sweater – L.L.Bean
Here’s where the fun really starts – finding things that include 2 or more colors from your palette. I can spend a really LONG time looking at scarves, and bracelets… sigh…
I know that when this heroine opens her closet door it’s not going to look like she has a giant assortment of pieces (and I know that she’ll have more than just this!), but I like to think that she doesn’t have to worry a lot about getting dressed, and that she’s happy with her choices.
As always, the accessories really bring these pieces to life, and provide a lot of personalization for clothes that are mostly timeless classics.
She’s got possibilities ranging from getting dressed for very casual errands like groceries, to somewhat nice evenings out, wearing trousers and a cashmere sweater. (and a scarf!)
As well as the “Whatever’s Clean 13” works for travel, I’m becoming more and more convinced that it can work well as the main wardrobe for a lot of women who wear uniforms, spend a lot of time in workout gear (that would be me…), or who would just prefer to have a very small wardrobe. I’m going to think about this…
love,
Janice
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Love this, Miss Janice! This looks like "me" – classic, casual, a leaning a little boho (without the jangling jewelry!) I might want to piggy-back off this and expand it to cover my really-casual business casual needs! (Extra kudos on the Chucks!!) Best wishes always – Chris in Indy
As always, I love your choices. You help me so much when I'm shopping!
Really love these colors! And, thanks for the shout-out! xoxox
THANK YOU!!!
For my trip last week, I packed with denim, black, and white. Similar to this post, my warm layers were a denim jacket and a cardigan (black in my case). But I am just not comfortable mixing denims – wearing a (blue) denim jacket with blue jeans – so I ended up being more limited than I wanted to be. I should have packed my trusty black microfiber jeans rather than the blue ones. – nancyo
Janice,
I enjoy seeing your posts that include three values of neutrals ( denim, pale khaki or tan, and camel ) ! There is also a variation of value in the accent teal color , which makes for pairings with the other neutrals in more interesting combinations than if all the same shade of teal.
A couple of patterned garments as well as some textural variations makes this a very pleasing and interesting casual capsule ! My kind of living exactly ! Thank you and big hugs !
These are my colors totally: All shades of "teal" with navy, khaki, denim, camel. I have been trying to be very disciplined in creating an entire wardrobe that is almost 100% whatever's clean. I love the minimalism, the simplicity, the ease in choosing new things I need and especially the carefree way I now get dressed ALL THE TIME whether very casual or more dressy. And I have you to thank for this! Janice Collins, Washington DC
I always love the anticipation I feel when you write " I'm going to think about this." It always means more intriguing ideas that seem so obvious when you lay them out for us.
This is exactly what I'm striving for. I am at home right now, not working and just want a small wardrobe for things I do outside the home that I can also pack from. I have workout and hiking clothes and a few things for special occasions. But, I want a small all season wardrobe of just my favorite things that all work well together. This has been a process, but I have settled on black, white and light grey with denim, and have a few pieces in olive and camel. (I love mixing warm and cool colors and usually wear gold or mixed metal jewelry with my black, white & grey.) I would love to see what you could come up with for that. In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing more of this idea. Linda J
I also love your idea of mixing warm and cool colors and using mixed metals! We must be on the same wavelength when it comes to a color palette! Today's items are just the things I could live in daily!
Hmm…28 pieces, including jewelry and accessories. Add 5 pieces, and you would have a very practical Project 333 wardobe with zero exceptions to rules! A new P333 season starts on July 1st…and inspired by this post, I just might participate! With this formula, it really doesn't seem hard.
I might add a raincoat, a scarf, a dress, a 2nd bag (maybe our heroine would like a nice backpack or a roomy nylon tote), and a bit more polished shoe option. Also, I would switch one bracelet to a necklace.
-Sara K-
Yep, you'd be in a good situation with just a few personally specific additions! For some amazing reason, I didn't count things here… (that's a rare day!)
hugs,
Janice
I love this color palette and all of the ideas for this combination—jewelry, accessories, and clothing!! Thanks, Janice!
Thank you! This is great inspiration for my wardrobe planning around this scarf (https://www.eric-bompard.com/en/557-hawai-stole.html) which I recently purchased on a trip to paris 🙂 It would fit beautifully into your selections here.
Wow that's gorgeous! and yes, it would be absolutely perfect in this wardrobe! Good eye…
hugs,
Janice
I like the idea of a whatever's clean 13 for my daily wardrobe. But I need more than 13 pieces to get me through a week. So, I double up certain core pieces, like the pants and the neutral shirts. I might change up the style a bit, for example: navy chino and dark wash denim or a tee and a button up in the same color. With different accessories, it never looks like I'm wearing the same thing twice in one week.
Love it when you "think about things". Can't wait to see what you come up with. And I agree with others – this is a terrific wardrobe with lots of versatility. I also keep thinking about doubling up the Whatever's Clean 13 to create a larger wardrobe that would work better for me as a seasonal wardrobe without the necessity of doing laundry so often.
I went up a dress size or two, at the same time as decided on a career change. To my amazement I managed to put together a 13-piece wardrobe (+ 2 pairs of shoes and a coat) that saw me through my last six months of my old career.
This from someone who has three double wardrobes plus unserved storage jammed full of clothes (not a point of pride rather an indication of my lack of skill up to now).
I've never felt more confident or better presented and I have discovered how much pleasure can be taken in the details (turn of a cuff, matching an angle, sympathetic hairstyle, etc) when the major building blocks are no-brainers.
All due to being an avid student of your blog.
Thank you ?
What I adore most about this wardrobe is that you paired the blues with an early color. I always think of earth tones paired with earth tones but that doesn't always have to be the case.
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