February 19, 2020
I thought that I’d try something slightly different with these most recent Pantone colors; start with a “2-Neutral” wardrobe base, and then add in 2 of the accent colors to pull together a 4 by 4 Wardrobe…
My theory (correct me if I’m wrong!) is that most of us have 2 neutrals in our wardrobes, and would like to have more than 1 accent color.
The only hesitation I have here is that there’s no light neutral tee shirt or top; I’d be tempted to toss in a simple white tee and white button-front shirt into this wardrobe too!
Let’s see how this works…
First up, the accent pieces in Samba:
linen sweater – Isabel Marant Ētoile; earrings – Samuel B.; scarf – Nordstrom; cardigan – Dixie; plaid shirt – Lands’ End; sweater – L.L.Bean; shoes – Driver Club USA
A different heroine might want a red dress – why not? But this heroine is working now 3 days a week in an office which she has seen evolve from strictly suits to a much more relaxed dress code. No panty hose for this woman!
Our heroine is also going to have some green accent garments and accessories, of course!
cashmere sweater – 1901; earrings – Argento Vivo; patchwork flannel shirt – L.L.Bean; necklace – Rivka; tee – Banana Republic; turtleneck – Banana Republic; loafers – Veronica Beard
Again, a dress or a skirt in this shade of green could be useful if that’s what you wear…
Our heroine has never quite recovered from no longer needing to wear at least a blazer, so she finds a certain pleasure in her blazer/cardigan…
navy sweater blazer – 1901; navy ribbed sweater – Banana Republic; scarf – Treasure & Bond; pants – 1901; dark wash jeans – Lands’ End; driving loafers – Robert Zur
And while, once upon a time in the ’80s, she had a gorgeous camel coat, she’s now more comfortable in simple beige or stone clothes:
cabled sweater – L.L.Bean; tee shirt – L.L.Bean; red jade pig pendant – Jade of Yesteryear; canvas pants – L.L.Bean; cardigan – Eileen Fisher; loafers – Kenneth Cole New York
Since she only goes to the office 3 times a week, she’s perfectly happy having 3 pairs of pants! If anybody notices that she ALWAYS wear her navy pants on Wednesday – bully for them! She knows that Monday is “catch up on emails and have internal meetings” day, that Wednesday is the day that she is most likely to meet with a client, and that Fridays are the “long group lunches with coworkers and then everybody leaving early” days. Not that she leaves early, but some people…
Knowing this, she wears her stone pants on Mondays, her navy on Wednesday (just in case a client meeting is scheduled) and jeans on Friday. Most people wear jeans every day; hard to imagine an office like that 40 years ago!
She keeps her work wardrobe in the tiny closet in the 2nd bedroom:
With all of these options, she never gets bored with her work wardrobe. Once she gets into the office, she NEVER thinks about what she’s wearing (unless she’s too hot or too cold). There’s too much else to do that much more important than fuss about her appearance!
Before she got this sorted out, she used to long for the days when all she needed was 5 suits and a generous handful of boring shirts… Now she’s quite over that little bit of nostalgia!
But sometimes, I feel that way too…
love,
Janice
p.s. Four years ago, we walked through how you can build a travel wardrobe 1 piece at a time, starting with a favorite outfit. It’s very spring-y: navy and white with yellow accents!
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Amazing. None of these colors are mine, yet this wardrobe looks incredibly wearable and lovely. I especially like that red blazer cardigan–I wish it came in a color I can wear! I’m also interested in how you worked in the plaid shirts. I always feel very casual when I wear mine and have wondered if they could be “dressed up” a little bit.
I didn’t have two neutrals, until I started reading your blog…it has made SUCH a difference. Not that I didn’t have any neutral colours but they were a hodge podge and I didn’t think of them in any intentional way. These colours don’t particularly speak to me but I always love seeing the combinations you pull together. This wardrobe particularly showcases, to my eye, how the 4 colour pallette allows one to have a very broad range of looks without a room-sized closet to hold them. And those two neutrals anchor it all so one doesn’t end up looking like a clown.Thank you!
These are my accent colors but my neutrals are black and grey. I love the colorful shoes! I’ll have to work on incorporating that into my wardrobe.
Janice,
Oh my goodness — you are speaking my wardrobe color language here ! Precisely what I wear ! Saving this post for sure ( as I do so many of your others ) , and shall be revisiting often !
I love this wardrobe especially that plaid shirt, too bad it doesn’t come in xxl or it would be mine. I would substitute grey for the stone/beige but otherwise I just love it.
When I was a child, my red and green crayons always ran out first. I love these colors so much that I have two pairs of prescription glasses: one pair in deep red and one in dark green!
Now I just have to find that lovely deep green in styles and fabric suited for the tropics….
You are a star!
I feel like the work dress code is getting too casual. Although I admit I never had to wear suits and I can understand those that did appreciating having more choices.
More casual work attire is perhaps a reflection of a more casual approach to businesss. We are urged to build relationships with clients/customers rather than maintaining our distance.
I too have never had to wear a suit in my 35 year career. However, I felt that looking smart was important as my roles were mainly public facing. Choosing good quality fabrics and subtle patterns plus wearing more fitted garments provided structure in a smart/casual world. If I needed to really smarten up – a jacket and scarf raised the game. In my present job, I rarely meet the public, so I do wear more casual clothing.
I like Janice’s suggestion on this post of wearing a knitted or soft fabric jacket with matching smart trousers to create the idea of a suit.
I agree, 3 cable sweaters and 2 checked shirts seem to be the perfect wardrobe for apres ski on a winter holiday. If you change one pair of loafer for some boots. Besides I am in my fifties and always sweating, never could wear a shirt under a sweater. Always happy when Janice shows tshirts and cardigan Kombis. Love them together with A-line skirts.
Happy “Weiberfastnacht” wishes from Germany (kiss for a tie 😘 ) Anne
Thanks for another great idea. Red has always been a winter colour for me but putting it with stone/beige could brighten up my summer wardrobe and add mileage to my red tops.
I enjoyed the link back to that lovely navy, yellow and white wardrobe. Oh how I wish I could wear yellow and you chose such a fresh shade!
My choice instead of yellow is coral pink. Over the past few years, I have created a small capsule around coral pink, shell pink, navy, light blue/denim and white/ivory. It began with buying a navy skirt with coral pink roses on it and a Liberty print short sleeve shirt of pink/white irises on a navy background (found in a charity shop). A navy, white and pink shirt was also added. A variety of coral pink, navy and ivory/white tops with navy, dark denim and light pink trousers, plus knitwear in navy, coral, pink and white gave me lots of variations. I wore these garments a lot. Last year, I found a chambray coloured dress in Marks and Spencer with tiny coral, white and beige floral motifs. I also found a floral tee in pale blue and shell pink. The tee looked good with light denim trousers and I also included light blue tops. This year I’m going to add in the stone/beige trousers as coral and navy cardigans will look great with them. I am currently waiting for an embroidered chambray top to arrive. It is in the Falmer brand (remember that in the 1970’s) which is sold in the UK through the Matalan budget clothing stores.
I’ve had fun creating this little ‘wardrobe’ and it makes packing so much easier!
Oooh, as a green-eyed navy girl I am very tempted by the green sweaters and turtlenecks, not to mention the navy ankle pants and knit blazer! I tend to change my second neutral with the seasons: gray in winter, tan in spring and fall, and white in summer.
Hi Janice,
This has nothing to do with today’s post, but do you know about KettlewellColours.co.uk? It’s great UK company that specialises in colours, and what colours! Their website is like diving into a huge paintbox, sometimes I check it out just to indulge in the rainbow, not to buy. Good quality too.
Regards,
Amanda
THANK YOU!! I have been looking for a pair of black pants just like the 1901 pair you posted, so I went over to the website and bought them!:). Love 1901 clothing, so hopefully these are just perfect. Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh my! These are exactly my accent colours and I have the exact green turtleneck and tee! The Banana Republic turtleneck is one of those pieces that can be worn gazillion times. I wear mine with my grey and navy neutrals.
Thanks for new ideas!
Referring to Amanda’s post about Kettlewell colours. I wish more companies sold their clothes using colour spectrum. Colours are rarely the same in reality as they appear in photographs. Using Kettlewell colours I’ve been able to define some of the grey-brown shades I could be wearing but don’t know if they suit me.
I bought that purple and red scarf from Nordstrom to go with my red winter coat. Love it!