August 10, 2022
Back to School, Indeed!
That morning, when they got up to load the car, it was pouring…
Happily, anybody old enough to go to college is old enough to pack their many worldly good into the car!
But she wore boots, just in case…
hoop earrings- Madewell; red earrings – Kendra Scott; cardigan – Koralline; black tee shirt – L.L.Bean; scarf – Un Poco; bracelets – West Coast Jewelry; expandable travel bag – Longchamp; corduroy pants – Goodnight Macaroon; boots – Koolaburra by UGG
She was even able to delegate the driving to her eager (and very competent) child! The boots came in handy when they stopped for coffee…
hair clip – Simone Rocha; floral earrings – Talbots; pavé necklace – Nordstrom; earrings with star insets – Nadri; black cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; striped tee – NA-KD; star print small scarf – Rebecca Minkoff; tiny heart print shirt – Frank & Eileen; black pants – J.Crew; floral scarf – The Met Store; cranberry sweatshirt – L.L.Bean; pleated skirt – Samsøe Samsøe; black flats – Softwalk; bag – Coach; red loafers – Sam Edelman
She’s really looking forward to seeing her friends again – meeting up with them and having a lot of fun takes away the sting of leaving a dearly loved child far away…
She heard that a really nice restaurant opened during the summer, so she took the initiative to make reservations for the 4 of them. They always go out for nice meals…
Today’s heroine has two more friends – what neutrals might they wear with peachy pink or purple?
love,
Janice
p.s. Six years ago, we started with 2 scarves, in bright blue and orange. They’re colors that go together surprising well – they’re on opposite sides of the color wheel, after all…
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I like this heroine – practical, down to earth with an easy style; romantic and feminine with an element of the unexpected. You could be describing me! She is good at making arrangements and knows what will suit her companions. Much as she loves her child, accompanying he/she to college is by the by. Seeing her friends is the ultimate purpose. She isn’t showy or frivolous but she likes to make a subtle statement so you don’t take her at face value – I have a pair of purple boots. She is also feminine and romantic with the floral scarf and jewellery (that’s me) but also daring to wear diamante during the day (I would).
I’d wear all of these clothes apart from the stripey tee – it would be floral for me. I would probably wear shades of grey or chocolate brown with this as black doesn’t suit me.
I wear purple with grey and silver based jewellery and I wear peachy pink with either grey, taupe or brown with gold or silver based jewellery.
Interesting. Although these colors are more “me” I like the individual elements of Monday’s heroine better. Love the floral scarf from the Met Store. I seem to be solidifying my personal style. It’s only taken me 67 years…..😂😂 Reading TVF has helped as I discover what appeals and what doesn’t, and stay focused on my real life, not my fantasy life!
What fun to have another four-friends series! I instantly thought of chocolate brown to go with the pinks and light grey for the purple. I guess I prefer a contrast of light and dark clothes in a two-colour wardrobe.
Today’s colours seem so dark but I admire several of the garments, especially the burgundy long cardigan, the burgundy loafers and the use of a solid-toned scarf. The patterned scarves draw the eye but sometimes a solid hit of colour is what an outfit needs.
I’m excited to see what the remaining two friends pack.
Off topic…here in Eastern Canada, this past weekend had us gasping in 35 C/ 100 F temps plus high humidity and then, within ten hours, it plummeted to 12 C/ 53 F! Having followed TVF for two years, I instantly thought of travellers shivering with only light summer things packed in their suitcases.
Fun wardrobe – especially those boots! I would love to see camel as a neutral with the purple. Actually, with the peachy pink, too. But others have made some great suggestions… I always love to see what you come up with.
Janice,
I am so happy to be returning to “ scarf season” once again ! I love how you have used 3 different ones in this post ! This really feels “ Autumnal” with the mentions of college returns once again !
Recently, we were driving home along a major highway from a visit with family at a beach location in NC, and as we were growing hungry ,we watched for roadside ads for restaurants in VA . We exited and followed the road for 4 miles into a town called Radford, with beautiful brick Georgian style campus buildings. It had been an all girls school originally. The restaurant that we sought was closed , but instead , we had our first and happy experience with Moe’s Southwest Grill ! And — I finally got to see Radford, a quest of my curiosity for many years ! My first husband had graduated from VA Tech in the 1960’s and the boys there used to find their dates at Radford !
Hi, Shrebee. Just popped in to say that I am sitting in my home office in Radford, VA right this second, working from home for my job at Virginia Tech. Small world!
Kathy,
No way ! Radford U .was beautiful — love that architectural style ! BT’s restaurant on the corner was for lease, but the possibility of Subway or Moe’s saved us ! Blacksburg was a sleepy little southern town in 1966, when I was dating my husband to be — boy how things have changed ! Especially with the 81 highway becoming multiple lanes around that area !
Kathy, I‘m up in south central PA .
Kathy,
I love the beautiful mountainous corridor along 81 between the southern border with NC and up through Lexington and then into the Staunton area !
Oh, I love it when you do these series Janice! I like the color pairings so far and I think the purple with a light/medium grey and the peachy pink with brown would be fun! Still on my road trip and wishing it was as cool, temperature wise, as your heroine’s. But I did get to meet up with an online fashion friend yesterday for the first time in real life and that was the best part of the day. Just as a side for anyone else planning a long road trip the elastic waist of my linen/rayon pants have been perfect for sitting in the car. I started yesterday with real jeans and the cutting of the waistband sitting for that many hours ended up being a no go and I changed part way through the day. My jumper was also great as it just has a very loose elastic near the waist. And shirts with collars have been the best to keep the seat belt from rubbing my neck for hours.
I enjoyed seeing the hoodie and silk scarf styled together in one of the example outfits today…it’s always such a terrific combination.
I always think of the man in the photograph at the bottom of this post – I think he has SUCH style – relaxed by so elegant…
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2019/12/start-with-a-scarf-lion-and-peacock-scarf-by-aspinal-of-london-in-navy-and-camel.html/
love,
Janice
This post makes me miss my college roomies! One I see every year, but the other I have not seen in almost 20 years! We, like your heroines, all had different styles. We fancied ourselves the girls from Friends. I was the Phoebe. Anyway… love this scarf. Love mixing purple with warm neutrals. Maybe a cool brown or taupe for one of the other heroines?
After looking at a hugely magnified view of the scarf, I believe that my eyes detected not only the warm ivory in the lower right quadrant, but also a lovely silver gray green dot in the purple dotted print area. The ivory would be a lovely neutral for the peachy pink heroine and the gray green would be lovely for the iris purple. In fact the gray green reminds me of the Silver Mound plants we used to have in an enclosed garden as the colour is very similar. Not loving today’s items all that much (not my style or colour), but appreciate the lesson in pulling out items in an accent colour for a capsule. Thank you Janice.
Agree with the ivory for the peach – I was going to say white as that is what I have been wearing lately, but ivory sounds like a better match.
I like these two trip wardrobes a lot. Combine them (and there’s more to come, right?) and it would be a wonderful wardrobe.
Might have to take a new look at that scarf.
Loved this colorway and it is so fun reading and seeing how four heroines would plan a wardrobe around a scarf! I want to let you know that I saw a YouTube video where a young women packed for 10 days in Europe in this Longchamps bag! I took notes and was impressed by how much it held.
I love this grouping … My favorite! A light medium, clear gray would be lovely with the pink and purple, and the rest of the wardrobe!
Following unexpectedly warm weather this week (I’m on holiday in London for the Proms), I have really appreciated the difference that just changing your clothes can give you when you are unable to get back to the place you are staying at for a shower after a busy day before heading to the concerts in the evening. Also the advantage of overpacking – you have the spare clothes available to do this.
I’ve worn my pinks with beige, white and grey this trip – I’ve also got some odd green bits that sort of work with everything and two purple items that I’m reserving for dressing up in the evenings.
Good Morning Janice,
I really like this series as it helps me see various interpretations. The neutrals selected really change the feel ( light /dark value contrast) of the whole wardrobe. For me , this wardrobe would wear dark and heavy. The orange and blue lookback post made me smile and was relatable . So If using this posts scarf, I would wear all the accents colours with tan and light -medium denim blue. Looking forward to the next posts!
Irene, Sydney
While black has its place, especially a lovely rich black, I would so enjoy seeing friends with a core of one or more of these four major colors, or even of ivory which she may already own (especially for a southern heroine, where it may be less mucky outside for a while yet).
I cannot really see the accent colors on this screen, but tops or accessory’s included in them excites my imagination. And perhaps, one of the friends could be over 5’9” with styles that compliment height including high heeled footwear.
Perhaps another maybe plumpish yet flamboyant and carry off her clothing with an elegance her personality exudes. The sky’s the limit, as its all within a fun imagined scenario ~ I have so appreciated your work and found it quite useful in my life.
If I were the peachy pink woman I would probably enjoy lots of creamy off white with the tan of the little round beads part of the scarf in the centre. I’d enjoy a pop of purple and rust and I think olive green accents and I’d wear rich brown leather goods.
If I were a purple type I might enjoy navy and berry into burgundy tones. I’d use a pinch of mustard to annoy people who prefer seasonal colour theory being followed perfectly, but I’d be careful not to wear too much mustard near the face and prove the critics right.
Now this lady’s style is very similar to mine. I have and would wear all off this, though my accent color would be purple (or hot pink, but that’s for another inspiration piece). I even have a similar eager and competent driver who lets me relax while he takes the wheel!
This series is such perfect timing for me. I was just comparing “moving out” experiences with a friend. Our boys are best friends, but attending college on opposite sides of the state. We moms go through such a jumble of emotions at these times. It helps to have friends who are sharing the experience.