March 3, 2023
Let’s check on our other 3 heroines!
Boy do I love these colors…
This heroine felt like she was in a pretty good spot for pants – she’s got black jeans, and another pair of black pants; those of us who wear black could go for weeks with just these 2!
AND… she found 2 cardigans she loves, as well as 2 scarves that are perfect with the cardigans. So she grabs a black tee shirt to give herself that “column of a neutral color” that is so versatile, and away she goes!
Earrings – By Chavelli; Indigo cardigan – Alex Mill; pink alpaca cardigan – Alex Mill; teal scarf – Bien Abyé; pink scarf – Aspinal of London; tee shirt – Lands’ End
Her wardrobe now has 11 garments – enough for a week-long trip, if she so chooses…
It’s pretty easy to see how versatile this wardrobe can be!
If someone magically put all of this into my closet, I could certainly look pretty lovely for a while…
Our next heroine is very different – so far, she’s committed to a range of shades of brown:
She’s beginning to appreciate that her colors don’t need to match, so long as they blend together well. So for March, she assembles a new casual outfit; don’t miss the stitching details in her new tee shirt!
Earrings – VUE by SEK; cotton scarf – Brunna.Co; cardigan sweatshirt – Orvis; pointelle tee – Alex Mill; boulder knit pants – L.L.Bean; espadrilles – Soludos
If I looked good in these colors, I would thrown over everything I own and start over with this! I can’t explain the appeal; does anybody else feel drawn to this kind of wardrobe?
I’m pretty sure that there is no way to dress badly from these clothes! But let’s look at six new outfits that our heroine can now pull together with her 3 new garments:
Ah, you can’t go wrong with Monet, can you?
A lacy stitched sweater! A striped blouse with smocked cuffs! Earrings and a scarf in just the right shade of blue…
Earrings – Gisel B; blue pointelle sweater – Boden; Bandana – Madewell; gingham shirt – Boden; grey pants – L.L.Bean; sneakers – Dr. Scholl’s
This is so restful and calm…
As with all of our heroines, we want to be certain that her purchases will integrate both beautifully and efficiently with her existing wardrobe:
Rather than force myself to choose my favorite from among these six wardrobes, I’m going to try to find 11 things in my wardrobe that will give ME this kind of wardrobe…
It’s striking how much mileage one can get from just 11 pieces of clothing. Imagine, if you wear 3 of them, you can pack 8, and a metric ton of accessories, and be ready to see somewhere new!
love
Janice
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The Degas has reinforced that my browns whether light dark or between need to be cool ones. A lovely idea, but too warm in palette for me.
Normally I would pick the Monet, but today the Degas is calling to me. And the color of Street, Berlin is just amazing. The Degas might be too monochromatic for me for the long term, but I’d give it a go! I’m more intrigued by your statement “Rather than force myself to choose my favorite from among these six wardrobes, I’m going to try to find 11 things in my wardrobe that will give ME this kind of wardrobe… ” Though I haven’t had enough coffee yet to quite wrap my brain around it, this could prove to be a great exercise. Thanks Janice and happy Friday!
I think the beauty of the Degas wardrobe is that you literally cannot make a bad choice! Every piece in it is lovely and wearable. The downside for me personally is that it’s TOO calm. I’m a bit loud and quirky and I like my wardrobe to reflect that. I’m also easily bored so I’d need some poppier pieces in there. Of course, I DO have pieces in my closet that are limited because they are a bit wild. I can see the appeal of being able to reach in with your eyes closed and know you going to look pulled together. Learning everyday from TVF!
I could travel with the Kitchener pieces! I’d add a skirt and top to make a 13-piece set.
I love the Degas wardrobe–it’s just my style–with one problem: I don’t wear brown!. Easy fix, just do it all in shades of grey! And I have enough grey in my wardrobe that I can use this as a template for putting together great combinations that I simply didn’t see before–and then I am free to add accent colors as I choose (my favorite is petrol blue)! Thank you, Janice!
I think a wardrobe with every shade of cool grey would be gorgeous – I could wear that when my hair gets greyer…
Good thinking!
hugs,
Janice
Such a great idea. I have plenty of grey and prefer it to navy these days.
The Degas is still my favorite, but I’d add the aqua pieces from the Monet to it!
I like all three of these wardrobes. Pink, blue and purple will always get my vote. Though I’d tone the pink down and lighten the blue. Michelle has a great idea for the monochromatic wardrobe – use grey instead. I like the restful nature of the tones. Though, perhaps add in the red-rust colour from the girl’s bodice as a contrast. The Monet is a clear winner. I hope to see a bit more green in April. All in all they are coming along nicely. Bravo, Janice.
I love the energy of the black Street Berlin wardrobe. The Monet is pretty but I want more mint (and honestly, I would soon need another accent color too). The Degas…I admire this heroine’s commitment to her color but I could never do it, not even in my very favorite color, which is NOT any kind of warm brown!
Janice,
The Degas is an obvious choice for me as a core base, but I would soon tire of the monochromatic look and need some complementary accents put into the collection , like coral and teal for a sense of balance .
I actually prefer the color versatility in the Kerchner grouping of items !
Janice – these are gorgeous.
Can I please ask a favor? When you do these running series, can you please put a link at the bottom to the prior installments in the series? On Wednesday, I had to search quite a bit to find a link to an earlier garment – and it’s only March! Same today – now I need to go find the grey coat.
I do love the colors in many of the scarves (and paintings too). Unfortunately, having retired and temporarily moving part-time to Arizona I don’t think I’ll be wearing many scarves in my day-to-day hot weather look and will have to rely on patterned tops and blouses.
Although I did buy The Met’s peacock scarf that you showed last week and am in love with it. Do you know that you showed that scarf in 2011 and that I’ve saved that post on Pinterest for at least 10 years? I think at the time, the scarf was too expensive – much more than it is now. And I love the scarf and the Eileen Fisher tank, pants and linen shirt that go with. https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2011/09/wardrobe-tiffany-feather-peacock-shawl.html/
Dear Laura,
Thanks for the very good idea! And yes, I’ve been very fond of that peacock scarf for a very long time – I believe in wearing timeless classics…
hugs,
Janice
Degas has my vote. That range in brown just feels like it should be very classic and elegant. The whole group is a bit weekend feeling currently as far as the items, but the heroine may add a few dressier pieces in the coming months. Even if I long to see dressier things, I still love, love, love the brown. Thank you Janice for not neglecting those of us who have a difficult time with very dark neutrals.
Street, Berlin is my favorite! It is my colors just navy instead of black. I adore cardigans and these are lovely! And my last name starts with A so it seems like that scarf should be mine. Although I like looking at them more than wearing them. :)
Don’t shy away from blouses with smocked sleeves. I recently bought one and it’s so comfortable under a second layer. I didn’t think I’d like it but loved the fabric so I bought it. Glad I did. It slides with you when you extend your arms.
Hi Janice, broken link to the indigo cardigan in the Berlin capsule (my favorite!)
And it refuses to be repaired. I don’t know if Alex Mill is no longer paying commission to bloggers, or if there’s something broken in the system. Sigh…
Thanks for letting me know!
hugs,
Janice
I love all the art work, but for my clothes, it is Monet. I already have a lot of gray and blue in my wardrobe. I love the combination of those two colors. I use pink and lighter greens as accents. Of course, when Autumn comes, I have to add some of the warmer olive and spice color. Thanks for the inspiration!
I don’t know if this is the case for anyone else, but I ‘m still not getting the emails, even though I have signed up twice. They are not in my spam folder either.
I am missing them :-(
Love the camel pullover! Details, please. Thanks!
https://shopstyle.it/l/bTywm
Use that link to go straight to the sweater at J.Crew!
hugs,
Janice
Oh help, is anyone else having trouble getting (our) my favorite blog by e-mail? I have to go to Janice’s Instagram page which is most unsatisfactory, as of course it doesn’t include everything…I am desolated to be abandoned in my hour of dressing-need, Besides, it’s more fun to read than anything!
The email system got messed up! If you don’t see an email tomorrow (Wednesday), try re-subscribing; just put your email in the wee box on the main page of the blog!
So sorry for the weirdness…
love,
Janice
I began this journey with Berlin, but found it a bit strong of a palette for me, although it was nice to pull together a few pieces to use my black wardrobe, and I may add some more pieces to this one. I adore the dressier feel to it – we all need snazz it up sometimes! The Degas is gorgeous, and since I was born a redhead, very appealing to me (I’ve turned white!) so I purchased a few things to make this one work. But it’s the cool and casual Monet that sings for me. Like others have mentioned, I love the mint color, and have added a linen blouse and a spring cable sweater in the color. What a versatile wardrobe this is for me! I have a perfect blue sweater that has a thread of grey, and the creamy yellow and white that’s in the painting!
I couldn’t decide between these three, so when the year is done, I’ll be VERY pulled together! Always excited for the first of the month, but a specific link to this article for prior months would be helpful. Thanks Janice! XO
I got booted too! Hope my re-subscribe worked. :)
I love the tan on tan–tone on tone. It looks really elegant to me.
Camille