October 2, 2024
Let’s check in with what the “Start With Art” heroines have been buying!
This month, we’re starting with this heroine and this painting. The more I look at this painting, the more I appreciate it – especially the essential touches of black in a painting that is mostly warm colors. Sometimes, you just want to have some black in your closet…
First up – let’s look at her wardrobe as of the end of September. I’ve divided these into two images, so that we can actually SEE the garments:
Hmm… no dresses, no skirts. That’s this heroine’s preference, and I can support this! I have a couple of friends who may have legs, but I’ve never seen them, so I’m only assuming this is true…
And now her accessories – also broken into two images. Visibility is key, trust me!
Our heroine decides that she would like to have a casual but luxurious second layer in black, as well as a pair of black jeans… Her other two tops kind of fell into place after she made the initial choices.
please note, I’m trying to show jeans that do NOT have any synthetic fibers in them. Synthetics don’t biodegrade EVER, and so your stretchy jeans are going to be with us forever, unless you burn them! And that’s not a good idea either. Why is it so hard to find clothes that don’t do so much damage? When did we get to be so wasteful?
This is the fruits of her October shopping; I think it looks delicious!
Scarf – Artifact.; onyx earrings – Gemondo; sea grass turtleneck – L.L.Bean; cashmere hooded sweatshirt – J.Crew; black jeans – Alex Mill; heather natural cashmere sweatshirt – J.Crew; boots – Sorel
As all clever heroines do, this lovely woman gets her new goodies home and starts assembling new outfits…
Our next heroine draws her inspiration from this lovely, soft, gentle image:
Her tops are lovely – but she only has one ivory second layer… hmm…
Her bottoms cover her quite well – literally! But there are always more shades of brown…
Her accessories are beautiful – I think anybody who has chosen their accessories with some kind of unifying theme will have this kind of lovely collection:
Clearly this heroine wears boots A LOT. Well worth remembering…
She finds a lovely cardigan, and a pair of pants in the interestingly named “coriander.” A classic v-neck sweater (one of those things I think everybody can use!), and a simple tee finish her clothing choices. Nice warm boots are never wrong…
Earrings – Anthropologie; heather muslin cashmere sweater – J.Crew; scarf – Elizabetta; cotton cardigan – Alex Mill; lily pad green tee – Lands’ End; coriander twill pants – Alex Mill; boots – Skechers
Her “dress-up in her new clothes” experiment goes really well – not surprising, is it?
Our last heroine to visit today is this woman with a taste for bold accents of red… sometimes!
Her wardrobe is certainly full of bright accents!
Of course her accessories are lovely, although finding scarves in red and grey isn’t as easy as one might expect! Maybe as winter moves in, she will find something – maybe in the men’s department? Less expensive, and often better quality…
It’s hard to think of what shoes she might need!
Easily enough, this heroine found lovely grey flannel pants (which are lined to the knee!!!), and then decided to check that same website for other things that might be useful. The polo sweater is simply gorgeous (I own this sweater in black, and it is beautiful quality…) as well as dark grey v-neck sweater. She had to scramble a bit to find a grey tee – how weird is that? – and decided to finish her shopping with classic silver jewelry and some boots:
Necklace – Karine Sultan; earrings – Talbots; heather grey polo sweater – Alex Mill; sterling grey v-neck cashmere sweater – Alex Mill; heather grey tee – Rails; charcoal wool pants – Alex Mill; boots – Easy Street Shoes
I don’t think anybody’s amazed to see how easily these purchases fit into her existing wardrobe:
What captures your imagination the most this month?
I’m completely NOT shopping right now, because we have JUST finished moving… From the 24th to the 48th floor – yes our view is amazing…
BUT… I was so excited about our closet – it is all kitted out with that “custom closet” stuff where you have drawers, and places to hang short things, and long things, and some shelves…
It turns out, though, that all of those extra “helper things” take up space that might be allocated to actually storing CLOTHES. We lived in an apartment once before that had exactly this floorplan, and that closet just had a bar (on each side – it’s walk-in) and a shelf. And we could fit TONS of stuff in there…
Our current closet is literally overflowing. Things piled on window ledges, the floor, stored in duffel bags…
Sometimes, simpler is better!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I was just back from Paris and Amsterdam. My post from this day shares info about where we stayed, and what we ate – always one of the best parts of travel!
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I love how cohesive these six monthly wardrobes are. I would be so happy to do this with my wardrobe. But, I am such a magpie. I love diversity and I’ll see a wardrobe or an outfit and think to myself, “”This is it! This will make my wardrobe perfect””. No such thing. So I am trying to have a nice core of my neutrals, navy/ blue, white/ivory, beige/camel. Just a touch of black because sometimes you need a pair of black pants or a skirt or a dress. My mother gave me a beautiful black leather blazer with white and black piping on the lapels over 20 years ago. It’s the last thing she ever gave me. I cherish it and wear it every winter. So, even though black isn’t my best color, I find ways to use it.
AH, closets. I love closets almost as much as I love clothes. When we bought our current house I was so excited. Even though we were downsizing, we were gaining a lovely walk-in closet. Now this closet is for both my husband and me. When we bought it had those coated wire racks on three walls. The attic access is in our closet and to reach it you have to remove everything from one and a half racks and then balance a ladder against the wire racks. They were inconvenient and definitely did not accommodate my magpie wardrobe. Not to mention, this is the only place in our home for clothes. So out of season clothes have to be stored here also.
What to do? I perused House and lusted over all the beautiful closets. I did floor plans on the websites of custom closet designers. Then, sparked by a random comment I read long ago on TVF, I tore out the wire racks, painted the closet a bright white(so I can see the colors in true light), and hung a lovely chandelier. I then bought rolling double clothes racks. One for me and one for my husband. On mine I hung an extra rod lower than the others. My husband doesn’t love clothes and would only wear shorts and cotton shirts for all occasions if I wasn’t involved. So on his rack are all his hanging clothes and on the back side are all our winter jackets and coats. Since we’ve moved to Florida, we don’t need many.
On my rack, I have my current wardrobe on the front rack and my out of season clothes and special occasion clothes are on the back side. My second layers are on the extra rack hanging below the front rack. I added a rolling shoe rack and a chest of drawers for foldable clothes and lingerie.
Everything is portable and easily moved if we need to get in the attic.
My friends look at me as if I’m crazy, but this works for me. At least until I can get my 20′ X 20′ designer closet.
Wow, you came up with the perfect solution for your closet!
Rolling racks! What a brilliant solution for your closet! As I read your first mention of the attic access I thought about dust and dirt falling down on your clothing but rolling your clothes out of the space cleverly solves all of the challenges.
A sustainable fibers recommendation – we were just in Maine on holiday and came across an alpaca farm with a shop full of gorgeous, from practical quarterzips to fab sweaters and socks. Those folks know where every scrap of fiber comes from – sometimes even which alpaca! I’m not affiliated with them in any way, but I was impressed. https://store.mainealpacaexperience.com/products/
The sweaters are lovely but a lot of them are part acrylic.
I know! It’s maddening… If I only used all-natural sweaters here, they would all cost a ton more, IF I could find things that went well… sigh…
hugs,
Janice
Yeah, I can understand the frustration… but for those of us with wool allergies, part synthetic (i.e acrylic) can really help sometimes! (alternate perspective :))
Gosh I love all of these!
Janice, I would LOVE to see the view from your 48th floor apartment! And your new closet once you get it sorted. I’ll bet you’re exhausted from the move. My fave of these three is the second one.
I very much appreciate the way you have them all broken down. It is much easier to see. Still love that one scarf from the red/gray wardrobe. I’m lucky in that with one boy in the Air Force and gone I have totally taken over his closet for out of season clothes except for one small portion. :) I do tend to fold more than hang, because I favor knits, so I also have 2 dressers and then bins for things I don’t wear except the dead of winter when it’s way cold or those I just don’t wear enough to have in the closet, but not ready to donate yet. I like all these wardrobes, most the colors in these particular wardrobes aren’t those I would wear, but all the same they are awesome. Thank you Janice!
I like some things about all 3 wardrobes, but what I’m most noticing is that the 1st two have virtually no patterned anything. In the 1st, 2 plaid long sleeved shirts, 1 print T. The 2nd has only 1 plaid long sleeve shirt! Yes, the colors all work well together, but I would have a very hard time in a wardrobe where only my scarves carried pattern.
Some time ago I made sure I have little images of all my clothes (well most of them!) — most taken from the clothing websites. I’m absolutely with you in wishing that they all had a plain picture of just the garment, not being worn, no wrinkles or interesting angles. Still, even the ones that have a bit of hair or hands, most extraneous stuff cropped out, are a help. Now I can play with a “rack” of clothes right from my computer. I don’t have to wait until the laundry is all done, or worry about bothering sleeping partner, or move stuff around. So handy!
BTW, I’m one of those women who never wear skirts or dresses — or for that matter, shorts. Nobody sees my knees.
Ive mentioned this here before, but can say really good things about the Stylebook app. You can save VF ideas in the inspiration section, or “clip” and save individual pieces from online stores. You can also photo everything in your own closet (this took me a while!). Then, you can put together outfits. I sort mine into seasons (quarterlies) and French 5s to see if I have that many of a specific color. It’s really useful for shopping your closet, seeing holes in the wardrobe, seeing where new or potential purchases might fit, and tracking what you actually do and don’t wear—there’s a calendar feature where you can copy whole outfits, which I find useful for remembering what I wore the last time I met with the same clients. I’ve come up with 40-50 outfits for each season—far more than I actually wear, since I just slop around the house in sweats if I’m not seeing anyone or going out. I make a special effort to come up with outfits for those closet “orphans”, which is easy when you can look at all tops or bottoms. I have it all on my iPad, since it’s pretty small on my phone, but you can share between them.
I’ve been using Stylebook for over 6 months now, and it’s amazed me how much insight it’s given me into my shopping and outfit creation habits. For instance, it’s helped me find my most frequently worn neutrals so I don’t waste money on buying items in colors I don’t wear, and that I almost never repeat an outfit except where the outfit is just a dress. It also shows me what items I’m not wearing much so I can plan to rotate them in and wear them more.
Though I did have to photograph a lot of my “old” jewelry, I had fairly decent luck finding photos of many of my pre-Stylebook clothes on resale sites. I’ve trained myself to immediately grab a photo from the manufacturer’s website of any new purchases.
Dans Le Parc is my favourite.
I do love the Georgia, and almost wish that I could give away everything and start again, BUT, like magpie Jeri, I love diversity. (I am currently looking for a yellow cardigan.) Two different wardrobes co-exist in my closet at the moment. Speaking of which, last time we moved, there were no decent closets. So we got 4 thin bookcases from IKEA, and put up rods at two heights on which hang our clothes, tops and bottoms. Folding stuff is on the shelves, in baskets, and on long shelves above the rods. Works well. And of course, I love to see how others arrange their closets! (That’s a hint, please, Janice) I do hope you manage to get everything arranged very soon. You have had a LOT of disruptions lately, my goodness.
And I have THREE trips between now and Christmas! To New York, then at the end of October to London and Paris (I have relatives in England…), and then AGAIN to Paris, by myself, in December. A “work trip…” HA!!!
hugs,
Janice
My favorite wardrobe is currently the Denis. I’m craving Autumnal colors. It has lots of tee shirts and loafers, which would get a lot of wear, and great handbags!
Jeri, that is a lovely story about your black leather blazer. You should defiantly wear it.
I’m envious of everyone’s nice closets! I much prefer natural fibers. One of my favorite tees (Eddie Bauer) quietly switched to a blend. If anyone knows of a 100% cotton, medium weight, non-cropped tee let me know!
I’m a huge fan of the JC Penney St John’s Bay t-shirts. They are 100% cotton, come in multiple colors, sleeve lengths and necklines. They are also size inclusive from petite to plus and are inexpensive. They hold up well in the wash, too. Another option is Isaac Mizrahi on QVC who has Pima cotton T shirts that sell out quickly.
I will second the St John’s Bay tshirts rec. Not only for all the reasons listed above, but I think the St John’s Bay tops are designed with slightly larger arms for those of us with extra upper arm fluff.
Fair Indigo has 100% Pima cotton tees in long and short sleeves and a variety of necklines. They are also fair trade, so more expensive sive than your average. However, they are great quality. I have several 7+ years old that still look new.
Every month I fall in love with the Nash just a little bit more. If I were doing my wardrobe over again I might go with that color scheme. No there aren’t many prints in it, but the colors are so soft and beautiful that it really doesn’t need a lot of pattern.
And if my skin were a touch more golden in undertone, or my hair were a touch more coppery, the Denis would definitely tug at my heart.
But as it is I am very happy with the wardrobe I’ve assembled using your guidance over the last two years. I have my navy, light to medium gray, cream and white base, with lovely accents of medium muted blue, light blue, petal pink, and soft lilac/periwinkle/lavendar or whatever we are calling that lovely soft, light hazy purple these days. And my favorite floral patterns are the perfect highlight scattered throughout.
Thank you for all the lessons you’ve given us through the years! My wardrobe was such a mess before this. Now my hubbybear always seems astonished at how put together I look. Hehe!
Pepper, we have the same colours. I have shades of seafoam green as well. And for two years, I’ve found it easy to get dressed!
I love all these wardrobes but find I am drawn to the ones that use more color. I like the black, grey, red one but think I would tire of just red. I also think I might need a bit more pattern because -gasp- I’m not really a scarf person. I love scarves and would like to wear them but my job doesn’t really lend itself to scarves and I don’t really know how to wear them well. I have been following this site for years and LOVE it. Thanks, Janice.
So much to think about with these capsules. First, the paintings are compelling… have always been an O’keefe fan, but the Nash is pulling me in. Each of these capsules is remarkably cohesive in every way. The chocolate brown and ivory are very attractive to me, but my accents would be clear, warm and bright. It’s amazing what you can wear with a beautiful chocolate brown! I’ll say the same about grey, whether you go for charcoal or a lighter dove grey. Which is why I have no favorite capsule— I definitely see elements of each that I would pull into what I already have. I see a nice shirt dress in one capsule, but I wonder what each of our heroines would wear if they were attending a banquet or a memorial service or the opera or a holiday event. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect one outfit to go to all of the above. If there’s one thing we’ve learned here it’s that accessories change the tone of well made clothing! Thank you for pointing out the unsustainable nature of stretch jeans. Also, I hope you’ll have a complete roundup of what the women are wearing in Paris. I was in Milan and then Paris a few years ago and was struck by several things: your average woman on the street in both cities is generally quite smart in appearance. They wear simple hairstyles ( no elaborate ringlets and hours of fussing!) Hemlines were reasonable (meaning no glimpses of butt cheeks and other areas that should not show in public.) I saw no garish “statement” necklaces. Clothing was understated in nice fabrics and well-cut. And makeup was polished, not heavy. I’d love the update. There’s always one or two obtainable trends.
When I go to Paris by myself in December, I will spend much of my time sitting in a cafe, watching the world go by… Then I will report back!
love,
Janice
I also end up thinking about what can this heroine wear in a “fancy-light” occasion : banquet/memorial/opera/holiday; but would like to add seasonally accessorised (shoes, i’m looking at you). Sometimes I find that I have the right occasion outfit, and can layer appropriately for the weather, but summer metallic sandals is the only footwear that works. Winter-appropriate occasion footwear is always something I have to be mindful of!!!
Maybe its something that Janice can do with these wardrobes near the end/ full analysis part of the wardrobes she does! At one point, I recall a post that looked specifically at shoes on a grid with the axes being cool –> warm and casual –> formal. Ensuring there was something in each quadrant. I found it to be SUPER helpful!!!
I have always kinda thought closet organizers looked…contradictory, lol. Oh, such lovely organization in those pictures! But there’s only eight things hanging in that single high bar…. If one were a serious wardrobe minimalist, it might work. Maybe.
Even with very gentle laundering, elastane/spandex just doesn’t last as well as pure cotton. Because of its lack of durability, I thought it was a natural rubber. Thank you for correcting me. Now that I know it’s synthetic, I have another reason to give it a miss.
Am loving your blog and I’m learning so much. Thank you
Tracking my wardrobe and using insights from your blog has helped me discover my true style. I love colour but realised I don’t need many items in each accent shade. I enjoy my clothes more with a solid core of basics and just a few accent pieces, so thank you for that.
This year, I’m challenging myself to buy only items I’m confident will be worn at least 30 times, which means I’m falling out of love with white.
A lovely new cat in my life is also making black more difficult.
So I’m gravitating toward the middle: away from sharp contrasts, towards muted shades that meld nicely.
Recent summers have reignited my appreciation for soft, natural colours like greys, denim, chambray, and muted tones of dusty aubergine, olive, beige, and silver. These colors now inspire me as much as the Australian bush near my home with its muted hues and lively birds.
In the past, I would have chosen wardrobe number 3, but it feels like too much red now. The first two options, however? Swoon!
I have a question and that is: can I move my favourite accents of magenta, red, cobalt and emerald over from a black and white wardrobe to a softer-hued core of denim, light grey, charcoal, and aubergine? (Yes, I have enough aubergine pieces that it counts as a neutral for me)
I am particularly thinking of winter, as I pack away my winter clothes and reevaluate before our Australian summer.
Thank you for your lovely blog.
I forgot to mention my new favourite accent of grass green.
I have been wearing my taupe trousers such a lot this summer, influenced by the Nash painting. Green – seafoam, aqua, jade green and light teal a look lovely with it. Every time I put light blue, i just think it’s ‘off’. I have some dark brown cords for autumn but I tend to put away pastel blue in favour of mid-blue. I would add a soft mid-blue to this wardrobe. Years ago I had a soft brown top with blue and ivory flowers. So for the moment, until I can rationalise blue and brown, I’m wearing brown with pink and green.
The O’Keefe is another favourite. I like the grey additions which make it more balanced. For autumn/winter I would be adding the darkest burgundy/wine in the picture – top/bottom and second layer.
Your closet sounds as if it was designed for the clothes of the previous occupant. The idea of a walk-in closet is a dream for most people in the UK unless they have a really large house or sacrifice the smallest bedroom. Houses in the UK are often built so small that you can barely get a bed, a small wardrobe and a chest of drawers in them. Sometimes, they have a built-in wardrobe which is part of the stud wall between two bedrooms. The adjoining bedroom has a built in wardrobe next to it. That is usually just a cupboard with a hanging rail. We have a furniture suite – two double wardrobes, two large chests of drawers. I also have another chest of drawers and a dressing table with drawers. Ideally, I’d like a run of built in wardrobes and drawers but that is an expense. I’m about to acquire a triple wardrobe for our spare room which is a double wardrobe with hanging rail, a single with shelves and four drawers underneath. We have a single built in wardrobe in the smallest bedroom in the space over the stairs. Another option would be to build a walk-in wardrobe in the under eaves storage area but that is another expense but it would make the smallest bedroom a bit bigger.
My challenge though, having learnt so much from you, is to really rationalise my wardrobe for an entire year of clothes in different colourways. I’ve barely worn summer clothes because it has been the wettest 18 months in England on record and certainly the wettest September, with more than three times the monthly rainfall in some places, including where I live Official weather records began in 1836. I’ve worn a couple of summer dresses and a few tops but always took a cardigan or jacket with me.
Hello
After I often wore my linen trousers in the summer, I have now bought myself a warm pair of trousers in taupe. I prefer to wear them tone on tone or mauve.
So I still really like the first two capsules.