March 12, 2025
Remember our heroine from January, who was traveling into the city to go to a ballet matinee? Her inspiration painting is this luscious wonder:
Her wardrobe is solidly based upon blue, and this is her preferred color palette:
Friday afternoon… she’s working from home. Wearing something… comfortable.
“Put on something pretty – I’ve got EXCELLENT tickets for tonight’s opera!”
“I thought they were sold out???”
“Yup, but my boss has tickets, and she can’t make it. She knows how much we love opera, and she’s GIVING them to us…”
“celebratory noises…”
“I will be home in just a bit, so I can change clothes; we’ll drive into the city and stay over ’til Sunday…”
She knows exactly what she’s going to wear, and to pack!
scarf – Cassandra Hone; earrings – Nadri; cardigan – Süel knitwear; clutch bag – Simitri; ponte knit dress – J.Crew; pumps – Naturalizer
She suspects that a lovely dinner is likely, and maybe some shopping. A visit to a museum is always possible; she must check what’s on exhibit right now at their favorites. So mostly “nice” clothes, but a pair of sneakers in case some serious walking is on the agenda.
Heather blue crewneck sweater – Alex Mill; hoop earrings – Nadri; bracelet – Nadri; necklace – Nadri; navy tee – Lands’ End; Caribbean blue cashmere cardigan – Boden; scarf – Kargede; leather sneakers – Frye; bow loafers – Bandolino; wool lined pants – Alex Mill; tote – Barbour
She lays everything out on the bed before she hops into the shower; what a lovely little travel capsule wardrobe!
But before she starts carefully folding and placing into her bag, she double-checks herself for how she can wear what she’s packed. It’s always an amusing, and useful, exercise:
She’s always thinking about packing – what could she add to this wardrobe, if she were to be traveling for a four-day business week, or a longer weekend?
Navy blazer – Alex Mill; crossbody bag – Betsy & Floss; scarf – Pierre-Louis Mascia; green onyx earrings – Mirabelle Jewellery; glacier teal tee – L.L.Bean; jeans – Alex Mill; navy striped shirt – Lands’ End
Yes, her blazer matches her pants. If you have a suit, it’s never wrong to bring it with you, if it’s in season!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, we pondered the possibility of wearing only solid-colored clothes, with patterned jewelry. Why not?
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Pretty!
Love this! I think this painting would work great for a Twelve month painting too. Great job
All the blues – perfect. It would be easy to add pink to extend her stay.
The draped turquoise cardigan comes in different bi-colour ways blue and pink or orange and pink.
Once again, you’ve shown your superior accessory-hunting skills. There’s so much to love about this travel capsule. Anyone who can throw together a weekend capsule this perfect out of her closet has been very diligent and disciplined, indeed, about curating her wider wardrobe. For me, that ponte dress and the navy suit pieces can show up time and again in multiple situations. Leather sneakers are absolutely versatile. I wouldn’t be surprised if this heroine’s sister has the same ponte dress, but wears it differently! Oh, and this is one of those O’Keefe paintings that pulls me in to ponder all the techniques and thought processes she drew upon. Love it! Can we revisit this heroine?
This is perfection – especially with the “bonus” pieces (I would really need those jeans!). Might be one of my favorite capsules you’ve done – the “dressy” of the clothes seems to mimic my normal workwear, and my style of “roaming around museums” etc is basically the same work tops on jeans instead of trousers. And the accessories!!! *swoon* I guess I need to work on that dressy cardigan – seems to be the missing gap for me! Unusual, eye-catching but easy-clean fabrics and comfortable – great find! I would also love to revisit this heroine from time-to-time. Fabulous job, Janice, as always.
What a great inspiring weekend look! I need this dress—it looks flattering on a variety of body types, including my own pear shape, as well as being easy to dress way up or way down. Well done, you!
I also appreciate some bolder, richer, deeper hues you pulled out this time!
Now, I just need someone to take on a city weekend for theatre, museums, shopping and noodling about!
Ten years ago TVF inspired me to take a solo trip to San Francisco to see a ballet presented by the incomparable Montreal ballet company (not the right wording, I know.) It felt like Janice and you all were with me as I filled my small bag anddrove about two hours to the City. I stayed at a small French hotel near good food, shopping and museums. The hotel staff took care of me very nicely and I had a great time on my own! It can be done.
PS: I want rhe Kitch clutch!!!
This is a beautiful wardrobe. I’d skip the jeans and add a navy skirt and possibly some casual navy pants. The accessories are great!
I was expecting a much overall lighter looking capsule based on the inspiration artwork but was pleasantly surprised that it skews more mid-to-dark value with a lot of navy. (and of course more lighter blues and pastels can be added and feel right at home here.)
The cardigan in the opera outfit is very interesting to me. My instinct is that a ribbed knit looks quite casual, but the design of the cardigan with the wide lapels gives it more visual structure than the usual cardigan. I can’t decide if I like it with the dressier opera outfit or not! But I do like it in general.
I’m looking forward to how the pink and yellow accent colors look in the expanded wardrobe.
Love the colors! Not so much the style – way too “fussy” for me – the Cassandra Hone scarf is beyond amazing. However, I can see that this heroine is perfectly put together for her activities. Just lovely.
Georgia O’Keefe always so inspiring. The link to the Pierre-Lois Mascia scarf is not working for me, anyone know where i can find this? Such a lovely capsule.
Oh my eyes are bulging out!!! Thank you so much for coming back to this art and heroine! Beautiful! This was the O Keefe I was hoping would be in the 12 month project and I’m so happy you’ve come back to it again! Thank you!
Wow! So lovely. I would love to have every item and I can pull some of the basics from my current wardrobe. The waterfall cardigan with the wide lapels has whappage. It could go casual or dressy in my opinion. Thank you for your creative vision.
Love these colours and this capsule. It’s very classy and good for many occasions.
Janice, this capsule is beautiful! Everything! Just love the accessories too. Thank you.💗
I had a poster of this painting on my bedroom wall as a teen, so it goes without saying that I love it!
This would be the absolute perfect work capsule wardrobe, if I worked in a more formal office! Pinning this in case of future job change.
Dear Janine, thank you for another lovely wardrobe and its sweet short story. I just want to say how much it means to me that you keep focusing on beauty and order in the midst of chaos and confusion.
*Janice. Sorry, brain freeze is real