February 13, 2023
Our heroine didn’t even TRY to resist this scarf!
She knew, with a long weekend trip ahead, this would be a great inspiration:
For travel, she mostly wants to be comfortable! She chooses to wear her short boots, rather than try to pack them. And her scarf is the perfect accent for her navy “suit” and lavender tee shirt…
Lavender tee – L.L.Bean; earrings – The Pirate + The Gypsy Jewelry; scarf – Luna & Avery; navy chinos – Alex Mill; watch – Olivia Burton; cotton cardigan – Alex Mill; boots – Marc Joseph New York; navy weekender – Vera Bradley
She knows that she wants to bring jeans, and her favorite navy cashmere crewneck sweater. Then she hesitates… her lavender cardigan and shirt? They will be perfect with either jeans or navy pants, and the cardigan can also be worn over the tee shirt in which she is traveling.
Hmmm, what else? She knows that she is going to a dinner that’s going to be crowded and noisy – she fully expect it to be loud too! So she makes her final choices her linen pieces in pacific blue… They will be dressy enough with her navy cardigan, and still cool.
Amethyst hoop earrings – Mel & Alecrim; pacific linen top – Eileen Fisher; labradorite earrings – Gemondo; navy cashmere crewneck – J.Crew; peacock scarf – The Met Store; Kunzite beaded necklace – L’Essenziale; purple cardigan – M&S; dark jeans – J.Crew; purple shirt – Nordstrom Signature; velvet scarf – Echo; pacific linen pants – Eileen Fisher; navy crossbody bag – Betsy & Floss; navy loafers – Bandolino; navy ballet flats – French Sole
Is this going to work? She can certainly wear dark pacific linen pants with navy – she might want navy tights to wear under?
Just to be certain, she assembles enough outfits to get through the weekend with some wiggle room!
I love the idea of being able to travel with nothing but a small bag… sigh…
love,
Janice
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Gorgeous colors!!!!!!
This is really beautiful. I don’t have either of those accent colors in my closet – but that doesn’t mean i wouldn’t like to! I could cheerfully transport all of these and feel just lovely. Thank you for a great start to the week!
This wardrobe is so beautiful. It could be a nice expansion of the White Peacock & Blue Delphinium wardrobe you did a while back. I must admit I am so taken with that wardrobe that I’m trying to do my version of it. These pieces will fit in nicely.
It’s too bad I don’t wear scarves. The scarves for both of these wardrobes are amazing. But with my very casual lifestyle in Florida, I can’t find a way to use them. Except for maybe tying one on my purse or as a headband.
Thanks for another lovely start to my week.
I don’t live in FL but used to travel there 4 x a year for business. I always needed my oblong shawl-type scarves for overly air conditioned restaurants and meeting rooms! I liked the really lightweight ones that could be shoved into my tote bag and pulled out when needed.
I could wear those clothes FOREVER. Or at least for a trip like that.
My favourite colours. Yes this could be an extension to the White Peacock and Dephinium. I saw the M&S cardigan the other day. The collar has a pretty edge which lifts it from being a mundane cable cardigan. It is very soft to the touch and quite thick. It has a bit of brown in the weave so would look nice with taupe. I wear lilac with Pacific blue. Love the grey and purple of the look back too.
I could easily wear these colours today, except I’ve already decided to wear burgundy and pink in preparation for finding my Mother of the Bride outfit.
Belles couleurs mais il manque une robe, à mon avis!
So much inspiration! From the peacock feathers to a scarf that looks like a Jackson Pollack painting to a lavender twin set (which is my favorite piece of fashion from the movie Clueless)— this wardrobe speaks to me.
Today is my birthday and I opened this post hoping that you would have something in colors I enjoy. This is absolutely amazing! I clicked on a couple of items to purchase and both the navy bow shoes and lavender cardigan are not available in my size. I am considering the weekend bag though. Thank you so much for a beautiful color palette and opening my eyes to new possibilities in my primarily blue wardrobe.
OMG! Those colors! Would it be possible for you to expand this amazing werkend capsule into a 4×4 for a two-week trip? Maybe our heroine will attend a fundraising dinner (not too dressy tho), and meet with a potential client for coffee, and attend a nonprofit board meeting, . . . in addition to her down time pieces in this awesome wardrobe?
This is lovely! The colors are just perfect and I love peacock designs!
You know – just a thought here, because I’m having a very good “outfit” day. If it isn’t ok sometimes to buy an “outfit” just because it makes you feel good and you’ll wear it, rather than focusing all the time on whether or not it will combine with other items in your closet. Although everything I have one would combine with many of my other things, I tend to wear it always as an outfit and I think maybe that’s ok? Yeah, first time I’ve felt like wearing something other than sweats for a week, so it could be I’m just happy to be feeling better and dressing more nicely! Have a good day everyone!
Of course it’s okay! If you’re happy wearing your clothes as outfits, you could buy an entire wardrobe 1 outfit at a time – nobody gets to tell us how to get dressed! I like to assemble wardrobes for The Vivienne Files one outfit at a time, while sticking to a central theme, but that’s not even necessary.
Just don’t be wasteful with your money, or the planet – that would be my ONLY advice!
love,
Janice
This is an interesting point, Sheila, that I’m glad you brought up. I agree with Janice that you should do what works for you. I think if you are able to hit whatever cost per wear and/or number of wears goals you have (either specific numbers or in a general sense) for an item, then it really doesn’t matter at all how you get there! If you have figured out a favorite way to wear the items together as an outfit, go for it.
I think the mix-and-match advice is frequently given even for outfit-based wardrobe building because of the risk of your outfit degrading into wardrobe orphans over time (and before you hit your total wears /cost per wear targets). Some people love an outfit, and wear it several times, then they’re tired of the outfit and stop wearing it…and then what? If any item in the outfit falls out of favor for any reason (stains, worn, stretched out, shrunk in the wash, doesn’t fit right anymore, feels dated to you, sick of the item, etc.), again they are left with random pieces they don’t know how to wear.
I think having some favorite go-to outfits can be a really great strategy whether you have a capsule, curated, or chaos/eclectic wardrobe. Sometimes you just need an outfit that you know will look and feel great without a lot of effort!
I find travel capsules so confusing! A long weekend trip with 4 tops, 3 sweaters, 3 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of shoes…that seems like so much, and that it wouldn’t all fit into a small bag (esp. one you add in all the other things a person needs when traveling). I am an inexperienced travel packer, so I always expect the number of items in a travel capsule to scale up in a more linear way with the length of the trip. I haven’t been able to figure out the disconnect. Maybe my travels don’t involve a wide range of activities I need to dress for, going through a lot of outfits in a short time period due to wearing many different outfits per day.
That aside, this is a really great capsule. Love the color palette and the balance of colors in the capsule. I like seeing a twin set and a column in non-neutral colors, too. I do wonder a bit about the linen pieces in winter, but maybe it makes more sense given her destination.
Love all of the color combinations – so far this is my favorite! Thank you! Look forward to your emails!
This capsule is right up my alley, color-wise. And I have that peacock shawl!
Sheila, you have a very good point. I have some things that I bought as outfits that when new were really great, but then, as Sally pointed out, one piece wore out…and I hate to discard a comfy item, but since I didn’t also find a 2nd way to wear each piece, I have the orphan garment blues when looking at a few items. My thought now is that if you want the outfit, get it, but also find a 2nd way to wear each piece in case one wears out. I make a chart of how many ways I can wear each piece to decide if the cost is worth it, but that’s because I am not in a high paying job and have to think hard about each item’s usefulness and possible lifespan.
Awesome. I knew you’d (collectively) have some thoughts! Thanks!
My colours! Love, love, love this wardrobe, especially with two peacock scarves! I really, really wish I wore scarves. I would snatch these up in a heartbeat. Then I could add them to my collection of loved but not worn scarves I inherited from my grandmother. But I will be strong and restrict myself to admiring them from afar.
I love the color combination, especially the teal (on my screen) with the navy. I have a button down in a similar pattern as the peacock scarf. I changed the buttons but have yet to wear it. This wardrobe is my inspiration. Tomorrow, navy slacks and peacock shirt with tank underneath as it is a bit sheer. I am attending a service recognition event. I hope there’s food! I have too many lovely things to wear but your outfit and wardrobe posts help me to creatively mix and match. Thank you from a native Chicagoan living on the east coast!
Oh, wow! All my colors. Janice, this is so pretty! I’m so sad that the lavender M&S cardigan is sold out. But I bought the Eileen Fisher Pacific tank to go with my navy jackets and swackets – love the peacock color. And I also bought the Met peacock scarf. I think the Wolf and Badger scarf is prettier but less useful for my recent-retiree wardrobe.
When I was in my 20s I had a long navy coat that I accessorized with a lavender-colored knit beret, scarf and gloves. I always felt so fashionable whenever I wore that ensemble. Today’s post took me back to that lovely color combo!
It’s gorgeous!
Sally In St Paul I would consider this more of a 1 week capsule for travel. 2 -3 weeks I’d add a couple of extras. It’ll easily go into a carryon if I keep the shoes down to 2- 1 on, 1 pair in the case. Weekend travel is 1 pair- whatever is on my feet. Usually nice leather loafers.
I go where laundry facilities are available – cruises or family visits so that figures into my packing math. I wear my clothes several times before washing and I like repeating my outfits especially when travelling. I hang it all up overnight to air out and shake the wrinkles out.
A weekend for me is usually a second pair of pants (wearing the first) and another top plus a thin pullover sweater while I wear the first top and a cardigan plus overcoat. I pack 1-2 undies, just the bra I stand up in and 1 pair thin wool socks. I expect to hand wash those as needed and dry overnight.
So altogether for a long weekend I have 2 pants, 2 tops, a cardigan and a pullover sweater. I wear a scarf and a favourite pair of earrings. Nice but comfortable leather slip on loafer shoes.
From experience this all fits in my Longchamps le Pliage purse along with the minimum of necessary toiletries, pills and cosmetics plus my very small x body purse. Just roll it up firmly or use a compression packing cube. I’m a 1X or size 18 but it all fits. Keep to a thin merino for any packed sweaters.
I use small sample or travel size jars for my essential skincare. I prepour my Rx pills into a small day of the week pill organizer and use only my most essential cosmetics.
I go double duty- my bronzer doubles as eyeshadow, and I have 1 lipstick and a gloss from in my purse. I use the lipstick as a cream blush worked into the tinted moisturizer. I use a tinted moisturizer and a powder foundation to amp up the coverage as it sets things. That powder foundation doubles as eyeshadow along with the bronzer. Mascara and an eyebrow pencil and eyeliner pencil round it out.
Even if I’m not flying I still use the tiny travel size toothpaste, hand cream etc. I can fit the liquids into the TSA liquid allowance bag and that also keeps it light.