September 6, 2024
Sorry about that unexpected day off on Wednesday; I’ve discovered that grief and fibromyalgia is a potent, and quite miserable, combination!
Let’s get to more fun things – planning wardrobes, especially with fall coming! Here in Chicago, we’re supposed to have at least a few cool days this week, which is quite early for us; I generally don’t expect to wear fall clothes until October, these days…
How seasonal is this next painting?
When I sorted this wardrobe by color, I separated the charcoal grey from the lighter greys – that gives us the numeric illusion that this wardrobe is dominated by red! In fact, it’s still pretty close – there’s a LOT of red in this wardrobe. But that’s what the heroine intended, so it’s just fine.
Her tops feel pretty logical and complete – except she doesn’t have a white long-sleeved tee shirt. I don’t know how one lives through the winter without such a thing! And while we’re looking at tee shirts, she doesn’t have a red one either…
While her grey dress is the kind of thing that can be worn all year, she maybe wants a dark skirt for the cool weather?
Her jewelry and scarves are pretty thorough – although I would really like to find a classic Oxford grey and red silk scarf for her – maybe a paisley?
For some reason, I feel like she could use another pair of grey loafers. No good reason…
So after much digging, searching, and scrolling through HUNDREDS of scarves (to no avail) this is what our heroine chose. She decided to jump into red accessories and be prepared for the upcoming winter holidays…
And I’m quite smitten by the vest and skirt. They match, and the vest is shown worn with nothing underneath – basically a sleeveless top. I think for a holiday party, this could be quite perfect!
Rustic red and white tee shirts – L.L.Bean; Claddagh brooch – Bling Jewelry; boiled wool vest – COS; boiled wool skirt – COS; satin bag – Nina; pumps – Calvin Klein
So how is this well-dressed heroine going to wear her four new garments?
That all worked out well, although I’m still looking for another scarf for her!
If you want to catch up with earlier versions of this wardrobe, you can find them here:
Christmas Day Starter, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August
I have to admit that if I had to start from scratch, I could eschew black and go to navy and white…
Our next heroine is devoted to this lovely painting as her inspiration; she has only picked one accent blue – so far – and that sticks in her mind. But she’s having so much fun stocking up on all kinds of variations of navy and white that she doesn’t really look at much else!
When she sorts her wardrobe out by color, she finds – surprisingly – that her solid navy garments make up only a third of her wardrobe…
She also sorted her wardrobe into tops and bottoms. After looking and looking at this, she doesn’t see any missing pieces – do you?
And when she looks at her paints, skirts, shorts and dress, the only thing she thinks might be useful is a warmer pair of pants…
She’s pretty sure that she could get by without buying any more jewelry, and maybe without another scarf! Of course that’s not how things will work out, but it’s comforting to know that you’re well equipped for getting dressed.
A small, everyday navy handbag might be a good idea…
If you love navy, you look to L.L.Bean for fun wardrobe additions! This is what our heroine added to her closet for September:
striped cardigan – L.L.Bean; earrings – Kendra Scott; dotted turtleneck – L.L.Bean; bag – Coach; plaid top – L.L.Bean; corduroy pants – Boden; loafers – Minnetonka Moccasins
Of course these new garments slot into her current wardrobe easily – this might be the simplest wardrobe possible:
Yep, I could see navy and white. So long as I get lots of dots, and lots of stripes!
Earlier iterations of this wardrobe can be found:
Christmas Day Starter, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August
And finally, our Marc Rothko-loving heroine:
Less than a third of her wardrobe is solid black! And finding more orange would be fun, if incredibly difficult…
When she looks at her tops, she realizes that a couple more long-sleeved tee shirts would not go amiss:
Ah, if we could only find an orange dress for this heroine!
Her scarves are jewelry are pretty much perfect:
But I think she really needs a pair of warm boots! Maybe not right away, but it’s best to grab this kind of thing early in the season when styles and sizes are available…
So after some pretty easy shopping, this is what we’ve chosen:
Earrings – Shaanti Jewels; ivory tee – Lands’ End; striped tee – Lands’ End; marled cardigan – J.Crew; boots – Dansko; scarf – Ingmarson; ivory corduroy pants – J.Crew
You can easily see that her new clothes are going to be worn a lot!
If you want to see how we got to this point, check here:
Christmas Day Starter, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August
Do you have a favorite this month?
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, we assembled a lovely wardrobe based on The Magpie by Claude Monet. It’s a lovely painting – not your “usual” Monet…
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
The Magill is very similar to my personal wardrobe, but I use cobalt instead of bright blue.
I was happy to see the red pumps instead of another pair of gray flats or loafers for the O’Keefe. They can really dress up an outfit. I find it interesting that you didn’t include them in any of your examples. :)
The Rothko is a wardrobe I’d love to try. I especially love the accessories.
The Denis looks like the wardrobe I wore at our mountain cabin. But, here in Florida it feels all wrong.
The Klee gives so many options for different moods and occasions. It looks more like most people’s closets.
Thank you for being here. We miss you when you’re not, but please know, we all understand that your priority should always be you and yours.
Happy weekend to everyone.
I agree about the red pumps being a nice change from the grey! But I always wonder about the addition of heels to a small, pants-heavy capsule because I wonder how you wear both heels and flats with the same full-length pants. I like the idea of the red heels but would chose a pair of dressy red flats instead. A solid red scarf would be a nice addition with the red shoes to provide an easy bookending pop of color.
Hi nothing to do with todays post which I liked but I recently finished reading The Lost Art of Dress.Very interesting book-makes you sad that dressing has become so so casual. I’m not one to wear dresses anymore but i can remember when pants were not acceptable at work. Sad that workout clothes are mostly all you see anymore and I’m sure the majority of people are not working out.
I agree. I’m so tired of flannel pajamas and sports bras and ripped jeans. (I live in Seattle, and work in a middle school) On our photo day recently most of the staff made an effort, but one coworker was wearing a tshirt with a cat on it and ripped jeans. Really? This is what you want in the yearbook? I don’t get it.
She may have been signaling cat lady for Kamala. Also look for pearls, Chucks, blue nail polish, and really anything blue.
Agree. My pet peeve is women wearing leggings but not with a top that covers the rear. And when viewed from behind, an old phrase comes to mind – two pigs in a gunny sack. Not a pretty sight.
Now that I’m retired, it’s easy to slip into a more casual, comfortable attire especially since I’m focusing on long-overdue home projects. I call them “no makeup days” for those times but still make an effort when going out even if just to run errands. Also, I didn’t think I would be doing much clothes shopping in retirement but I continue to fine tune my wardrobe for this life chapter. We can still grow weary of older clothes, even classics, and long for something new.
My father used to say “two bulldogs in a bag.” Not a phrase you want applied to yourself!
hugs,
Janice
Janice, I’m so sorry for your pain and grief. I relate to both far too much and I completely understand the need to just hit “pause” sometimes. You are a strong woman!
Love all of these, and was just at the LL Bean Flagship in Freeport, Maine last weekend. I tried on the cardigan and fell in love with it. It’s a fantastic weight too!
You take care of YOU!
I just love the O’Keeffe and the Magill. Those are my favorites of the current six. Thank you Janice!
Hi, my favorite is the Rothko but was a bit disappointed in seeing just black and white for September. The fall is usually associated with color and I think that while these choices are nice, they could be a bit boring.
I love looking at these posts, I only wish I could afford the scarves that are shown especially in this collection.
The Rothko wardrobe feels so challenging to wear the hot colors in a true winter environment. I loved the links to see all the months, and I noticed that in January the Rothko heroine was buying for a warm weather getaway in January and in February she was buying early for the summer.
I lived in Houston for 20+ years, so the weight of some of the sweaters (love the broad pink stripes) would be winter wear here. But I find it challenging to think how you add tangerine and hot pink to winter wear. I’m sure you can track down a quilted vest in just about every shade under the sun, but I’m stumped after that.
I wear bright colors year round, and for winter, I lean heavily on solid accent color pullover sweaters and solid or print accent color scarves. Bright colored skirts are pretty easy for me to wear in winter as well (with dark neutral tights and boots).
That said, I do find the Rothko to be not well suited to a four-season climate like Minnesota…and as a fellow ex-Houston resident in the late 90s, I don’t think I ever wore a pullover sweater or any cardigan heavier than a t-shirt knit even in the winter. I just struggle with this capsule in general.
Warm hug to you, Janice. Take care of yourself…we readers understand your need for healing time and are grateful for all you do.
Perfectly timed, as today is cleanout-the-closet-for-fall day.
I took last week off and cleaned out my closet. I ended up with 16(!) large black “Hefty” bags for Purple Heart. I looked at the classic pieces I was donating, and realized that although my style is preppy/classic, I cannot wear button-downs and I no longer care for structured wool blazers. I hope my clothes go to someone who can use them – many still had the tags on. Going forward, I am going to be much more mindful when I shop. I am mostly interested in replacements as needed, especially since I am inching closer to retirement. All to say – my closet brings me joy now.
Really loving these but my fave is the O’Keefe. I’m using it as my inspiration for my wardrobe but swapping in burgundy for the red and navy for the black. Also found I needed to add touches of pink for spring.
I just finished reading Georgia O’Keefe Living Modern on Janice’s recommendation a while back. Fascinating book about a fascinating women. It’s certainly inspired me to get back to sewing some of my clothes.
And do take care of yourself, Janice!
Well I love all three and cannot pick a favourite. Probably why I do have a too large closet of many colours, which I am working on scaling down and getting more cohesive. Thanks Janice for your work.
First off so happy to see your post today and yes please take care of you! I really like looking at the assembled wardrobes by colors and then by pieces. It helps this brain to focus. I particularly like to have a sleeveless, short sleeve and long sleeve top in a color (say white or blue/white stripe). Then I like bottoms in three versions (shorts, skirts pants). Dividing the wardrobe the way you have helps to see if I have said sets of three.
I hope the packing is coming along. That can also aggravate the Fibromyalgia I believe. Take care
I want my tops (black, white, black & white striped) in four silhouettes: sleeveless, short-sleeved, long-sleeved and turtleneck. In Chicago, a cotton turtleneck under a sweater makes a WORLD of difference!
But I’m not wearing my shorts that much anymore, except Colorful Standard sweatshorts to the gym… And I don’t wear skirts either! Thank heavens for dresses, or I’d never be able to dress up.
hugs,
Janice
This method for evaluating needs makes so much sense. I’ve frequently thought, “I wish I had a shirt just like this one but with short sleeves.”
Two surprises today. That you’re not wearing shorts much anymore (I remember you once saying that your legs just didn’t get cold) and that (biggest shock) you could see choosing the navy and white if you started over from scratch!
My favorite continues to be the Magill. I need to look for more navy and white prints and weaves.
I don’t get cold, but my knees look like two unbaked loaves of bread! I have arthritis in both of them, and they’re not pretty…
hugs,
Janice
I agree with you on the value of repeating the color in sleeveless, short sleeve, and long sleeve tops. In a cold climate, I’d add pullover sweater to that list as well. If I were building out a small-ish capsule in a limited color palette, I would probably seek out a full trio of top, bottom, and topper in each color for each temperature season (in Minnesota, that would be summer, spring/fall, and winter). I have some trios for each season in my closet and I love how easy it makes it to mix and match in print pieces (I wear prints in every clothing category).
Hey Janice,
I know just how you feel.
Had a day like that yesterday for the same reasons as you. Had to remind myself not to feel bad about doing absolutely nothing and that its not a waste of time. Some days doing nothing is exactly what you need to do. It is simply the recovery time you need.
Mind yourself and take care.
Susan from Dublin Ireland
Great post but yes, grief and fibromyalgia (or any other chronic health condition) are absolutely foul.
Best wishes from the Isle of Wight, England.
Alex.
Each capsule is so beautiful and harmonious in its own right.
You also explained the approach to expansion well and I can clearly see what I would still be missing. Luckily I already have enough checked shirts, they are so versatile.
With Rothko, I can well imagine that she lives in a warmer area where the temperatures never freeze.
Good luck with your move and give yourself the breaks you need. We all understand that.
Janice – I’m so sorry about the grief. I didn’t see who it was that you lost but I assume that it was your mother. I have lost my husband, father and mother in less than 18 months and we had mom’s funeral Thursday. Friday, Saturday and today Sunday, I slept in to almost 10, which I never do. The grief is strange and isn’t linear so please don’t apologize for taking unexpected days off. I wish you peace. And I have to say that looking at pretty clothes and gorgeous colors makes me happy and I hope that it makes you happy too.
ROTHCO is for me exactly what I take to Pam Springs for the winter. I am lucky I sew, so most of my orange pants, skirt, shirt, silk kimono jacket, I have sewn. I love fuchsia, so thankfully there has been lots of recycled garments after Barbie came out. Then I have to have white tops and black bottoms as I volunteer at the film festival (like a uniform)
Keep going the best you can. We love to see what you do and will wait. I have Post-polio so fully understand that quiet days are needed. Pace yourself…. I do one thing a day.
To move bunches of hanging clothes, lay on their hangers in a sheet and wrap up. Retired costume designer. 😊
P.S. I would have added a long black skirt for the evenings.