May 30, 2025
We’ve visited this painting twice before, with our heroine who has the lucky habit of dashing into the city for a last-minute date! Opera, or maybe ballet or orchestra – the opera season doesn’t last all year, sadly…
First, she was headed to a ballet matinee on January, and then in March they were able to snag some opera tickets!
In all cases, she packs her tote bag full of beautiful things based on this color palette:
Back in January, she used a navy cardigan/skirt/pants trio as her core, upon which she added four tops:
cardigan – L.L.Bean; bow earrings – Karine Sultan; silk shirt – Orvis; earrings – Ninemoo; Pink cardigan – Boden; rose quartz earrings – Herself Collections; glacier teal tee – L.L.Bean; scarf – Cassandra Hone; scarf – Delinor; yellow sweater – Lands’ End; navy skirt – Boden; suede moccasins – Minnetonka; gold bag – Anthropologie; chinos – L.L.Bean; tote bag – Lands’ End; ballet flats – Bernardo
When our heroine considered what she might add to her bag if they decided to stay in the city for a few more days:
Navy tee – Lands’ End; scarf – Pashmisy; glacier teal turtleneck – L.L.Bean; necklace – The Met Store; glacier teal cashmere sweater – L.L.Bean; 100% cotton jeans – L.L.Bean; boots – Cliffs by White Mountain
In March, when they went to the opera, this is what our heroine had with her. She wore a gorgeous navy dress and wonderful cardigan, while packing pants, a matching tee, and two sweaters:
Heather blue crewneck sweater – Alex Mill; earrings – Nadri; hoop earrings – Nadri; scarf – Cassandra Hone; necklace – Nadri; bracelet – Nadri; navy tee – Lands’ End; ponte knit dress – J.Crew; scarf – Kargede; Caribbean blue cashmere cardigan – Boden; wool lined pants – Alex Mill; cardigan – Süel knitwear; clutch bag – Simitri; pumps – Naturalizer; bow loafers – Bandolino; leather sneakers – Frye; tote – Barbour
Her “few more days” travel capsule wardrobe additions include the blazer that gives her a suit, with her navy pants. Jeans, a tee and a striped shirt provide tons of options:
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
Tonight, it’s the symphony! She’s going to have plenty of time to change clothes after she gets downtown, so she just dresses comfortably, but still very pretty:
Earrings – Talbots; hydrangea cardigan – Alex Mill; scarf – Kargede; ballet flats – Aerosoles; bag – Anthropologie; navy linen pants – Alex Mill
She’s not sure where their seats are, so she’s packing a range of things! (Yes, if they’re in the top balcony, she can be a LOT more casual than if they’re down on the main floor. Honestly!)
Silk scarf – Pashmisy; pink floral earrings – Kate Spade; navy linen shirt – Alex Mill; gold earrings – Karine Sultan; yellow cardigan – Kate Spade; light rose pink tee – Lands’ End; square silk scarf – Pierre Louis Mascia; navy linen dress – Alex Mill; sandals – Trotters
So for her weekend in the city, she’s got these things with her; this should be more than enough unless it suddenly snows. (don’t say it isn’t possible!)
As always, our heroine thinks about what she would add to her bag if she were to find (or decide) that they would stay downtown for a few extra days. Her sweetheart has all kinds of odd and surprising holidays – you never know when Monday might be a day off!
Cotton fisherman’s sweater – L.L.Bean; earrings – Estella Bartlett; pink seersucker shirt – L.L.Bean; white jeans – Alex Mill; scarf – Liberty London; white tee – Lands’ End; sneakers – Vionic
How here comes the really amazing/fun part – this is all 30 of her garments that have made the trip downtown in the last 5 months! Yes, three pairs of navy pants, but one is lined wool that matches her blazer, one pair are chinos (the all-purpose pant, in my life!), and one pair are linen…
And these are her accessories! Oh my, the beauty…
So this is yet another way to assemble a great wardrobe – every other month, pull together six to ten garments, and all of the accessories, for an imaginary trip. (or a real one!)
If you choose the most beautiful things you own, you can’t help but have a beautiful wardrobe!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I was trying to figure out a way to make packing for uncertain weather less challenging. This wardrobe was ALSO based on navy!
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These colours are right up my alley. Even the yellows might work if I had a blue scarf at my neck. I’ve always loved your weekend getaway posts; they’re lovely fuel for the imagination.
I just adore this wardrobe and the color palette. While I’d go a bit brighter with my accent colors, the navy blue base is fantastic for year ’round wear and can easily be dressed up or down.
One tip: If you don’t like feeling hemmed in by a highly structured blazer (as I don’t), a ponte knit blazer is a terrific substitute. It will give the same structured ‘suit’ appearance, but be much more flexible for your shoulders and body. J. Crew, Lands End, Eileen Fisher and Quince all carry beautiful ones that fit a variety of body shapes. I own the J. Crew one and it’s honestly the only blazer that keeps me from feeling as if I’m in a straight jacket. But, the others are lovely too!
The link to the silk shirt at Orvis is not working.
I have been seriously evaluating my wardrobe this year as I turned 65. My thought is if I make sure I really love everything I have, buy 100% fabrics and prune outliers, I will be good until another re-evaluation at 70. I’m calling it my five year plan. I have realized I don’t like wearing white much, so am donating the 3 items I have while they are still in great condition and someone will want them. I am slowly replacing with ivory; the shade I want is elusive. What I am finding out is that my perfect wardrobe is much like this one! It is based in navy and stone bottoms with some various shades of blues and pinks added in on top. What is interesting is this featured wardrobe does not appeal to me that much looking at it here, but it is based in the colors I wear! There might be a lesson for others hidden in this revelation. Have others noticed a similar reaction in seeing “their” colors on screen?
Cindy, I have found that what I see on any screen, not just at TVF, is nothing like what the thing would look like in real life. I’m glad I’m not the only one! I usually have the opposite problem, in that Janice’s wardrobe usually look so good I want to duplicate it, sometimes, even though it doesn’t suit me in real life. If it’s black based I have the most trouble, as I have changed to navy instead of black. I have been reading here for a while and have developed discipline! Usually, lol. Good luck with the Plan!
I think that is the problem; the navy looks black on my screen and I wear navies that are clearly distinguished from black. Of course what Janice puts together is genius, so I feel like I am on the right track when I can wear her color combinations. I should follow her plan for this and think about incorporating green into my wardrobe 🤔
One of my all time favorite wardrobes and paintings, thank you for revisiting this heroine. Love it all. Wish i could be more disciplined in my shopping to make beautiful wardrobes like this.
Have a great weekend everyone.
I love this post! The colors are for me, although I’d probably add some jewel-toned tops for winter. I especially love the two pink scarves, but I can’t justify another scarf purchase, esp. at those prices. I don’t think a 90″ square would work well anyway.
Thanks for doing this. I come here every MWF.
Bonnie, just to clarify: the Liberty of London scarf is 90cm, not inches. To save you the trouble of converting, 100cm is about a yard (36”) so this scarf would be slightly less than that. Wish I could help on the price, but at least it’s not tablecloth size!
Janice,
Perfect timing with the retrospective ! In a week or so I’ll be flying from PA to Denver , CO , for a granddaughter’s college graduation and then extended travel after that with temps ranging from the 50’s in the mornings (and I’m always cold anyway) to the low 80’s in the afternoons. So this reminder was of great value — thank you !
Inspirational and practical – as usual.
What a beautiful wardrobe post from Janice. I think I counted 30 clothing pieces for our heroine, not counting the shoes, bags, and scarves.I have spent this morning pulling together this wardrobe and it amazes me that I have just about everything, but the number of shoes.
Already this week, I pulled together the “Wear Green” wardrobe post for this summer, and had almost every item or similar to what Janice showed.
Several months ago I pulled together a capsule wardrobe of Black , white, and red from Janice’s post. I also have a wool& travel capsule wardrobe of around 14 pieces, pulled together. Thanks to Janice, who was the first person I had ever heard of who wore a Wool&, black Sierra dress. Since, all of her posts on that dress, I have three wool& Sierras: Grey, Forest Green, and Navy.
After following Janice, some of you for many years, how many wardrobe capsules do you have in your closet from Janice’s lead ? And how many does Janice have, after all these years?
I want to be a minimalist. But after following Janice, since 2015, I don’t think I am.
I really appreciate the concept of this capsule. Not my colors, and I’d like it just a little dressier for my taste. But my everyday life is extremely casual (Gardening is my day job!), and I desperately need a reliable separate capsule for operas, ballets, museums, weekends away…all the lovely little escapes from the mud and manure of my everyday life.
Hey Janice,
Just curious. What happened to your black Sierra dress?. Do you still wear it, like I wear mine. Do you add anymore pieces from Wool& to your wardrobe. I’m pretty sure you won the 100 day challenge and got a gift certificate for another piece.
I still have it, but I haven’t had a dress on in months. Months and months, actually. I’m pretty cemented into a uniform of sorts: button-front shirt, cardigan, sweater or vest, and pants. My guiding principle right now seems to be androgyny…
hugs,
Janice
Yesterday, I pulled my summer things out from the back bedroom to bring to my bedroom closet. I had bariatric surgery a year ago (tomorrow!) and hadn’t tried on these dresses and shirts since about October. OMG! I was able to keep 3 pieces! All the rest are being donated today. Many of those were bought over last summer so they are basically new. In fact, one of them still has the tags on. I am now at my goal weight and I have no idea how to dress for this new body. I still prefer dresses for their comfort and beauty. The too-large dresses taught me that a too-loose dress can make me look like a frail old lady — definitely not me! I’m 76 but I have an aqua streak in my grey hair.
Congratulations!
In my post before, I mentioned Wool&. Go to their website to look at there dresses and read their blog. The Sierra is a wonderful dress to start with. Looks neat and clean, and is comfortable for everyday wear. ✨💖💫
Forgot to tell you to join the Wool& Community Facebook group, to see what the other ladies say , before you buy. Read the on-line blog and their reviews. And listen to their warnings about deodorant that has in the past ruined the dresses fabrics. Be careful with that . Research them before you purchase
There’s also a really robust resale crowd on the Wool& Facebook group. One of my dearest friends buys almost all of her clothing used, and she gets some EXCELLENT deals. For just starting out, small investments might be a good idea…
I went through bariatric surgery 3 years ago and it’s been a definite game changer for me. I would suggest taking a good look at your new proportions in the mirror, figure out what your shape is now, and research some of the best silhouettes for your new shape. Then write down ALL your measurements before ordering anything online both in inches and centimeters, and then slowly accumulate your new look. Places like my local boutique thrift shop, ThreadUp, BloomChic, Amazon, and ChicWish have been really helpful. Just keep packing tape at the ready to return anything you don’t love.
Hugs and congratulations!!
😍 Love this! I so appreciate that you revisited this heroine and painting. These are my colors but I have the accents in shades too. We just returned from a high school graduation in the Denver area. I wore everything I took except a muted pink cardigan and my white skort. At the last minute I swapped my white shorts for a pair of cropped jeans and ended up wearing them several times during the week. Denver weather this time of year can be tricky. By the way, the graduation was at Red Rocks, an outdoor amphitheater. So beautiful.
I love love love this combination. It’s wonderful to see a bigger wardrobe too. I would sub out lilac or periwinkle for the yellow of course, and maybe for most of the green too, but it’s so lovely and soft overall!
My only real issue is just how plain everything is. Other than one striped shirt, it’s as if pattern no longer exists in clothing anymore. Where are the lovely abstracts, florals, paisleys, animal prints, etc? Even color blocking? Anything to combine some of the colors and bring pattern back again. Solids most definitely have their place in the wardrobe but I get downright sad if there is no pattern other than a few lonely stripes here and there. I wonder if designers realize that we LIKE whappage, at least here and there.
Greetings Pepper,
I think the designers have been scared off by all the “this looks frumpy” and “this ages you” type posts. Now they are saying that paisley is aging. It’s a traditional pattern!
It’s like they are looking for something just to get views. I don’t think they realize how much this has impacted our choices and limited our wardrobes.
The only print or pattern that has escaped the criticism is Breton Stripes. Everything else (florals, abstracts, animal prints, chevrons, multi-color stripes) has been deemed too aging!
I also noticed that camouflage has not been banned yet. Honestly, does anyone look good in camo? I admit to loving pink camouflage fabric, but I highly doubt it would look good in any style of clothing that I wear.
I don’t begin to understand the fashion industry. I realize that the end goal is to get us to buy more clothing. Thanks to Janice, I’m opting out!
Since I started following Janice’s sage advice, my closet is more cohesive. Getting dressed is fun again and my wardrobe compliments my personality.
Elisa in Alaska
This is a lovely palette for summer. I too would sub out the yellow for lilac. I’d increase the lighter shades of blue too. I get lots of compliments when I wear light blue with navy bottoms. Maybe it’s my age but recently I’m finding that my beloved florals look a bit twee. I’m drawn more to dotted/paisley/leopard prints. I’ve increased textured patterns in single colours too.