September 2, 2019
I’m in Pittsburgh… I’d be a true ingrate if I didn’t give a hearty shout-out to the lovely people at Crazy Mocha who let me sit in their store while I finished this post. If you see a Crazy Mocha location, patronize them!
What differentiates this top from the one you added to your wardrobe last Monday is the degree of print. I see this top as being something that makes a little bit more of a statement – a more visible stripe, or a more pronounced floral. You could stick with something subtle, if that’s what you like!
This first top would be lovely for someone who wears jeans frequently…
Tunic – Alex Mill
There aren’t a ton of guidelines for this purchase: stay in your color palette and your chosen silhouettes and you should be great!
For example, if you love navy, and you see a really GREAT sweater that prominently features navy, and has accents of your favorite colors, you’re in luck! Notice how your neutral pants and shirt take on a whole new look with this addition (and some snazzy socks!).
Earrings – Peter Thomas Roth; navy striped sweater – J.Crew; white shirt – Lands’ End; navy suede loafers – Me Too; metallic pink socks – Raey; navy pants – L.L.Bean
If you like black and white, this is your chance to mix patterns! I personally would wear this outfit in a heartbeat…
Earrings – Simone Rocha; black striped sweater – Madewell; watch – Rosefield; flats – BC Footwear; bag – Coach; dotted skirt – Anne Klein
If florals are your thing, this is the time to add a pretty blouse to your wardrobe. You could wear it with anything in your wardrobe, but it brings a feminine touch to an otherwise serious, work-worthy outfit:
Earrings – Miriam Haskell; navy cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End: navy blouse – All In Favor; navy bag – Mansur Gavriel; bracelet – Miriam Haskell; pumps – Calvin Klein; navy skirt – Lands’ End
But you can apply this idea to casual clothes too! The joy of finding a patterned sweatshirt is that you can easily wear a dark top under your sweatshirt and it won’t show through… And a garment with a couple of different accent colors gives you even more options – this sweatshirt with faded jeans, or khaki pants, would look equally great!
Sweatshirt – Lou & Grey; turtleneck – Lands’ End; navy backpack – Longchamp; loafers – SAS; watch – Fossil; tobacco brown pants – Societe Anonyme
A printed tee shirt (that isn’t faded!) can be dressed up more than you might expect! And the boldness of the tee shirt print doesn’t conflict at all with the subtle pinstriped skirt…
Earrings – JAI; white cardigan – Bobeau; black floral tee – Lands’ End; clutch bag – Venczel Reiera; velvet flats – Badgley Mischka; pinstriped skirt – Boss
This idea is particularly nice when you’re dressing casually and want to bring a little bit of visual interest to your outfit. I love the idea of the tweed scarf with the striped turtleneck and windowpane pants…
And take a closer look at this sweatshirt – it has detailing at the waistline that makes it a break from the ordinary!
Earrings – Natasha Schweitzer; ivory blouson sweatshirt – English Factory; ivory & charcoal striped turtleneck – Lands’ End; scarf – Voz; boots – Chloé; charcoal windowpane pants – Eileen Fisher
Once you’ve decided to focus your wardrobe on a core of favorite colors, mixing garments (and prints/patterns) becomes easier and easier!
What’s your favorite print? Mine would have to be stripes; I can find a striped tee shirt in an absolute OCEAN of other garments….
love,
Janice
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Hi Janice, You do travel a lot! I always think of you having a really fun life. Stripes are definitely also my preferred print, preferably in my core neutral: Navy-cream, navy-grey, navy-white, navy-red-white, navy-teal, etc There are others! The other favored print is dots. I only have one floral print and 2 lovely geometric prints. I look at my wardrobe with pleasure these days but also wonder if everything really coordinates. GOSH, I sometimes think: “ What a first world problem is this!”
Janice Collins Coyle, Washington DC
My favorite print is a small scale or muted floral on a background of one of my darker neutrals. For travel and work, I have a black backpack with small flowers scattered all over it. I always feel more put together when I wear it, even with my workout clothes! I really like that black dotted skirt, too.
Stripes – love them! I have a shirt that is very similar to that blue striped tunic you are showing – but it’s so old that the collar has totally frayed and I am looking for a replacement. Unfortunately that shirt seems to be the only item without a link in your post.
I also own that black & white striped top – I actually bought it a couple of months ago and can finally wear it comfortably after losing more weight and as it is to be a lot cooler at the end of this week it will probably be worn this coming weekend.
This series of posts is so interesting!
Margie-
I was able to locate it by Googling ‘Alex Mill striped tunic’. Nordstrom’s has it, but other retailers might as well. Hope that helps!
Oh, and it’s a popover.
Thanks for helping Margie – you’re so good!
I fixed the hyperlink; I can’t believe I missed that, but I am marginally human so I do my very best!
hugs,
Janice
I fixed the link to the tunic – that’s what happens when I’m working in a coffee shop on a small computer!
Sandra is a heroine, isn’t she?
hugs,
Janice
My favorite pattern seems to be gingham/checks, although I gravitate to stripes and dots also. I’m pretty choosy about florals, but I have plenty. – nancyo
I like oriental floral prints at the moment, I used to like stripes and before that dots and before that geometric prints. Lots of ideas from today’s post and yes that sweatshirt has a unique ruched border which I’ve never seen before – I’m not sure if I like it though as it would draw the eye to an area that I would rather keep hidden.
I would say stripes and polka dots… and floral… and abstract… I am in the process of toning down mayhem of all kinds of prints to more decent ones right now. I really would love to dress more ladylike. BTW these days I am finishing my power poing presentation of my new autumn capsule (I know I know, I am couple of months behind) and I am hanging them in my closet and packing away the rest. I wass following “one at a time”, and now I returned to “starting from scratch” since it better reveals the gaps in my wardrobe.
Usually I just used my presentations for creating capsules. This time I hung key garments that represent my current color palette to compare against that (in daylight) to create coherent feel. This is new level of sofistication and harmony in my closet that is forming!
Also my purchases this year are different than any year before, purchasing only awesome stuff. Thank you for everything, this is exciting journey and allways new and refreshing one!
Here’s a new season “plug” as we begin (perhaps) to add to our wardrobes. I hope we will consider sustainable and ethically-created clothing that doesn’t have such negative impacts on the environment. I often have this discussion with my friends; while nobody wants to pay more for clothing, buying from purveyors of cheap clothing has a huge immediate cost for those who slave to produce them and ultimately on all of us as our oceans, rivers and air become increasingly unable to sustain plant/animal/human life.
Hear hear! One of my motivations in writing The Vivienne Files is to encourage all of us to buy nicer things, that we will wear more often, love longer and use until they become scrub rags or quilt pieces. “Fashion” is a big factor in damaging the environment; we are smarter, and can do MUCH better! Thanks for mentioning this again to us all; we shouldn’t lose sight of this…
hugs,
Janice
Thanks for this – I didn’t mean to sound preachy – it’s a dilemma because ethically-produced clothing can be way beyond the reach of most of us. And your blog truly does help us plan carefully so we purchase wisely and hopefully for the long-term. Thanks for all the thought, effort and work you put into this corner of the internet!
Oh dear.
I was just about to pull the trigger on a few new white drapey tees at Uniqlo, just to be reminded of the horrors of fast fashion. I wear out white tees at an alarming speed and altho’ I truly love Eileen Fisher, there is no way I can afford to be outfitted head to toe.
Does anyone have a suggestion for drapey and/or boxy white tees? Standard shapes are not my friend, they need to be either short or flowy. Between crossbody bags, binocs, camera straps… the left shoulder and breast area of all my tees are a big mess. HELP!
Look at the evolve top at encircled.ca for a flattering tee/blouse that drapes well. It is pricy but it is made locally in Toronto of sustainable modal. I own it in black and white and am always contemplating the royal blue and deep indigo. It is very generous in size so you might want to size down. Good luck!
What about Everlane for tees? They are inexpensive ($18) and transparent about their sources.
https://www.everlane.com/products/womens-cotton-boxcut-tee-white?collection=womens-tees
I carry a large camera bag, and as you say they do ruin many items of clothing. My solution is a Scott e Vest. Not only does it protect your clothing, it has lots of internal pockets, so allows you to go without a handbag, so you have your hands free for your camera. It is obviously brilliant for travelling, and I believe they guarantee you won’t have your pockets picked if you wear it zipped up. I have had mine for 5 years now, and I travel a lot with my camera. It still looks almost like new! It has been one of my best ever buys, I thoroughly recommend. After reading TVF, I now look for sneakers that go well with it, to look more put together, but I must say my camera bag doesn’t help!
Thanks gang! Will check out your suggestions.
And I too have a Scotti Vest that I really love, but living in Texas and gallivanting around places that get hot… really really hot… Vest wearing is tough.
I tend toward stripes. Or polka dots. I love a glen plaid skirt/pants/dress/blazer. And houndstooth…gah, I love houndstooth! Oh! And gingham – especially in summer with white {heart eyes} Thanks for posting on this holiday!
My favorite print is a medium size paisley. I’ve learned to be picky – if the scale is wrong, it’s money wasted because I’ll put it on and then take it off because it doesn’t feel right. And who needs more stress getting dressed in the morning?!
That’s not picky, that’s SELECTIVE! If you know what suits you and what you don’t enjoy wearing, you’re a long way toward a great wardrobe!
hugs,
Janice
This week is tough! I am not a great fan of prints. It was a struggle last week to buy a conservative stripe top(s). But I have them and I like them! Same with the button up shirt. Resisted, did it, love them. Therefore, I will follow where you lead! The hard part is defining the type of top, in particular to focus on. I wear a lot of Lands End Ts, so I’m looking at those. Maybe a tunic?
Anyway, my wardrobe is looking great because of this series, so I thank you!
This has been tough. I reread the instructions. What would work for me? I expanded the definition of “print” to include marl or heather. Went over the examples. Suddenly the light came on! I ordered a “pewter heather” good quality Sweatshirt. Neat looking, not sloppy and works with my casual capsule so far. Suitable for 75 to 80 percent of my retired life. It is soft and warm and I love it.
It sounds like a simple thing, but it is not. Discipline and focus!
Thanks!
I love small florals/botanicals, polka dots (but I’m very selective with those, I feel like they only work for me in certain sizes and contrast levels) and whimsier but dainty prints – I have a cactus t-shirt I really like!
I’m 26 and still studying, so I feel like I don’t need to take myself to seriously…
ahem… *too seriously