Lots of you go on cruises! And right now, my mail box reflects that; anticipation is running wild in at least a few minds right now…
So how about a spring cruise in Italy and the near islands? The temperatures might reach into the 70s Fahrenheit, and evenings will be in the 60s. Right now, that sounds SO appealing!
I picked this painting to inspire us, although it is from a French artist, and has nothing to do with cruises… but it’s lovely, and I find this woman getting dressed feels very… hmmm… romantic and evocative to me.
And yes, I suspect that her skirt is indeed black, but this wardrobe is built around navy, so I’m fudging that a bit. You could certainly use black here, or a wide range of shades of grey. Maybe other neutrals?
While there are a few other colors hidden in this painting (like a really pretty light greenish-blue), I’ve chosen this palette for our cruise wardrobe:
The concept of a “travel outfit” doesn’t really make sense when you’re traveling the entire time, so instead, I’m going to organize this wardrobe by clusters. This first cluster is traditional and timeless, and YES I would wear the striped tee shirt with the gingham pants. Not for everyone, but it’s not impossible…
striped tee – Uniqlo; navy short-sleeved shirt – Uniqlo; white cardigan – Lands’ End; linen blend pants – Uniqlo; gingham pants – Uniqlo
I included short-sleeved tops for the warmer afternoons, and a cardigan for the cooler mornings and evenings. A navy cardigan would of course be practical here; your patience will be rewarded!
Since this cruise is in the spring, and since it includes loved ones, I thought that packing a pretty substantial cluster of the beautiful pink/blush color would be fun. I’m not sure that I would ever wear the jacket and jeans together, but having them both with you can still make sense:
white sleeveless shirt – Uniqlo; floral paisley tee – Lucky Brand; jacket – Lands’ End; jeans – Lands’ End; striped top – Lucky Brand
Note – if you see that a company (in this case, Lucky Brand) has a tee shirt or top in one of “your” colors, check their other offerings. It’s normal for a manufacturer to use the same palette in a range of garments…
This cruise is going to involve some dressing up; these aren’t the dressiest dresses imaginable, but I think they can be dressed up somewhat. You’ve got to get a feel for how dressy you want to be, and choose your pieces accordingly. I almost included this lace-top jumpsuit in navy, but opted against showing it again… It would be perfect here, though.
So where do we find ourselves, with these garments? Let’s assemble them, and evaluate…
My first thought is that 2 dresses aren’t enough, and maybe an additional pair of pants (shorts, another skirt, capris?) would be useful. And we still don’t have a navy cardigan; can that cardigan help us dress up our existing dresses? This sparkly cardigan I chose in Cluster 4 will do anything a “normal” navy cardigan does, but it elevates everything with that metallic touch.
In all fairness, I would have a white tee shirt in here too… Maybe the white sleeveless shirt would have short sleeves? I could also see the usefulness of a navy linen shirt with long sleeves that could be layered over a tee shirt, or worn under a cardigan, or even on its own…
But one must make choices, and I’ve chosen these pieces:
grey tee – J.Crew; blush tee – J.Crew; metallic cardigan – J.Crew; white pants – AG; navy skirt – Eileen Fisher
There’s laundry on the cruise, so white pants might not be the riskiest move in the world. But if it feels like a bit too much, grey pants would be a perfect substitute…
After these last additions, this is our heroine’s travel wardrobe. Bear in mind that she will be wearing 3 of these garments onto the boat, so she won’t have to pack all of these:
I’m not going to look exhaustively at all possible outfits, but I do want to at least make sure she’s got a couple of weeks worth of ensembles!
I’m going to assume that you’re interested in seeing the accessories for this wardrobe – since I’m working so far ahead of time (because of the upcoming trip to Ireland!!!) I’m just going to plunge into that for Wednesday…
love,
Janice
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
This is exactly my colour palette! Love!
Thank you Janice I am leaving on a Mediterranean cruise in early April with days in Athens and Venice. This is perfect template for planning as navy is my base in my wardrobe. Enjoy Ireland. I enjoy it too.
What clever choices (as always) !
I love these colours, bright, and soft.
And the clothes style, so simple, then, so smart.
I look forward to discovering the accessories !
Gorgeous Janice, and as a confirmed “Navy IS my base color” fan I love the combo of pale pink and white to go with it! Cannot wait to see accessories! I also really agree with seeing what else is available in colors, those denim pieces from Lands End also have drifters and cardigans in some of the same colors.
Really like this one!
Nancy
Traveling light for a cruise is so much less stress! I did one with a single carry-on bag a few years ago; when we had disembarked and were waiting for customs/etc, my single bag was a source of admiring comments from other passengers (and may have sparked a few marital disagreements, oops) BUT also drew a few extra questions from the security/etc folks who were suspicious! So just prepare yourself to stand out if you go this route! hahaha!
I would love to see a wardrobe in the colors of the wake made by the cruise ship. That picture could be the inspiration for my wardrobe as it is exactly what I sm working towards!
Just ordered the navy wrap dress from Lands End. This looks like a great travel dress to dress up or down, not too short, not too long. I hope it’s good in the “no wrinkle” department. Janice your soft pink is so pretty with all the navy.
Brilliant! This is exactly my palette including the blue-green in the picture. I have many navy clothes like the examples in my closet even now. I need more pink choices and especially that pink jacket. Looking forward to seeing the accessories.
Janice,
While this would not be my color scheme, the individual garments themselves within the clusters are totally inspiring ! I can’t tell you how much I adore your cluster concept ! Keep’em coming !
Janice,
Lovely color palette and I would wear the matching pants and jacket together, but then I love sweater twin sets too. Looking forward to the acessories.
I have a request for a slight variation on the cruise theme – a summer cruise to Alaska (warm colors palette). The additional challenges are that I live in the southern US so the to/from travel outfits need to be practical for hot humid weather, I don’t own a lot of cold weather clothing, I don’t own any dressy clothing (but am willing to purchase an outfit), and the Alaskan weather can be rainy as well as cool.
No rush, we’re planning for summer of 2020!
Thank you so much!
I’m curious. Do many of you return to certain places in your travels? Or do you choose new destinations each time?
We went to Portugal 18 months ago. We’re thinking of another trip soon, and though we would love to see more locales, Portugal is tugging at our hearts.
Oh my yes, I’m sort of nutty that way! I’ve been to Paris… 50 times? maybe… and I used to go to Venice regularly. I quit visiting there because of the environmental damage that tourism does to their infrastructure. Sad sigh for that decision… And Belovedest and I go to Ireland often, because he’s an Irish citizen, we used to live in Dublin, and we’re planning to retire there.
But the big-picture answer is that one can visit a few places often, or a range of places once or twice. We discovered that we like that balance of familiarity and novelty that comes from visiting a foreign city regularly – it’s still not home, but we know our way around and can enjoy discovering changes that have taken place since our previous visit.
clear as mud, eh?
hugs,
Janice
When I opened up to your site I saw the beautiful photo of the ocean wake and the works “packing for a Spring cruise!! I was so excited thinking there would be a wardrobe based on this photo! We are going on a cruise to Alaska in June and these photo is exactly what I want to build my wardrobe. I echo Cindy above. It would be so great to see wardrobe with these colors which are my favorite.
That being said, this wardrobe with the navy and pink is so lovely – as all of your wardrobes are.
I wondered if the two dresses might feel too similar to give a huge sense of variety.
Depending on the woman, that’s possible. She might want to look for a 2nd dress in a print or pattern, or maybe a solid in 1 of the accent colors. For me, this would be fine, but each person has to evaluate their own preferences and comfort level to choose the right things to give them enough variety and options without overwhelming them with luggage!
hugs,
Janice
This looks like a versatile and varied collection of clothing for our cruising heroine. I’m not sure that I understand the cluster concept, especially if you end up mixing all of the pieces. Am I missing something? – nancyo
I am intensely curious about the blush pink jeans, or rather blush pink pants in general. I owned a pair many years ago and every single time I wore them someone would say something like “When you walked into the room I thought you had forgotten to wear pants.” And I do mean every single time! I tried them with similar hues on top for an elegant monochromatic vibe, nope then I was even more naked. Is there a way to wear these and not cause others anxiety about your state of undress? I always feel sad about those old pink jeans, they seemed so chic and loaded with potential when I bought them. And eventually became a source of annoyance. So please, share your genius tricks for making my ‘naked pants’ work. Because blush pink is making a good showing in my wardrobe right now. And I probably need pants!
I’m gobsmacked; if someone said that to me I don’t quite know what I would say…
Does anybody have any suggestions? I would think that if you were wearing a different-colored top, and shoes, it would be clear that you had pants on…
hugs,
Janice