May 21, 2025
Today’s heroine has such a lovely inspiration:
She’s particularly excited because she’s about to break out of her navy and white routine. Her travel capsule wardrobes usually look like this or this.
So she’s making just a little bit of a change; if you’re one of us who’ve dressed in a monochromatic wardrobe for YEARS, you understand what a big change this is!
Our heroine’s core wardrobe is based on her navy suit. When you buy a suit, you should assume that it’s going to be worn a lot, in a variety of ways. (Suits are expensive!)
For short trips, during which our heroine might only have one “serious” meeting, this is typical of her travel wardrobe:
bow brooch – Bling Jewelry; earrings – Shabella NYC; white shirt – Lands’ End; navy blazer – Alex Mill; small dotted scarf – Lauren Ralph Lauren; striped tee – Lands’ End; navy pants – Alex Mill; navy cotton sweater – L.L.Bean; white jeans – Alex Mill; striped socks – Comrad; bag – Baggallini; loafers – G.H.Bass
It’s going to take our heroine all summer to accumulate these 10 things—you shouldn’t just rush out and buy a stack of things all at once! (No, a haul is NOT a good shopping strategy.) But she’s excited—and a little bit nervous. She’s decided that she’s going to get a simple black top that she can wear with her white jeans, but ALSO WITH HER NAVY SUIT. Navy and black together?
I’m getting lightheaded just thinking about it…
Rectangle scarf – Elizabetta; black tee – Lands’ End; green earrings – Bling Jewelry; red earrings – Donatello Gian; green cashmere sweater – J.Crew; bracelets – Fierce Lynx Designs ; red linen pants – Alex Mill; square scarf – Lazyjack Press; red loafers – Robert Zur; white loafers – Earth
This is what her expanded travel capsule wardrobe looks like – quite a change! She can still wear navy and white on those days when she’s not able to face a new color, but she has some interesting possibilities now:
Let’s take a look at ten ways that she can get dressed:
The idea of adding colors to a wardrobe that’s been very stark, for a very long time, is fascinating to me. I did this when I started wearing all shades of blue denim, and of course some purple!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, we considered red cowboy boots. And we decided we like them!
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These are great colors and clothes. As always, the bracelet is lovely. My sartorial life would be So much easier if I were brave enough to wear navy and black together!
Love this! This is such a practical wardrobe for so many women.
I freely admit that I’ve never been a suit wearer. As someone who has worked in the arts and in education, a suit has never been my vibe. I will wear a blazer at times, but unless it’s incredibly comfortable, I have to admit to feeling suffocated in one….especially a fitted one. I have made suits out of cardigans with coordinating skirts, pants or dresses. That being said, my denim jacket loving self (even at age 59) is still dedicated to that classic look, but in updated styles, such as sleek blazers in refined denim (Talbots has a great one!) or collarless (mine is from APNY). They give me the overall vibe of a blazer, but aren’t as stuffy, in my humble opinion.
Finally, for what it’s worth, I’ve worn navy and black together since the 80’s and I love the combination. However, here is my personal rule: the navy needs to be vibrant enough that it cannot be mistaken for blacks that don’t go together, if that makes sense. It has to be a firm navy and nowhere near midnight, or it just looks off to me. But, it can be a beautiful combination.
Janice, I’d love to see what you can do with refined denims, such as these from Talbots. There is an entire refined denim collection that I adore.
https://www.talbots.com/refined-denim-jacket/57776774.html?recommendation=adobe_rec_pdp
https://www.talbots.com/refined-denim-dress/57776460.html?recommendation=adobe_rec_pdp
Lands’ End has a navy called Deep Sea Navy which goes beautifully with black.
I concur that a very distinct navy blue is required when wearing with black so that it looks intentional and not a poor lighting in the closet accident…at least for me. I’m more likely to wear a bright navy blouse with a black suit than a black blouse with a navy suit for this reason – though if you have a bright navy suit, go for it. I can’t tell from the photos whether this suit fits the bill or not.
Navy & black look great together. Love the navy suit with black tee – very safe combination.
Love the red loafers too.
I love navy and black together, so chic… I just this week put together a travel wardrobe (including black and navy) and took photos as an aid to memory, for 12 days in Adelaide, South Australia, in July. 9 pieces and two scarves has given me 10 outfits to be excited about and I have never felt so prepared.
Your work is an inspiration.
I love everything about this capsule ~ beautifully curated.
Perhaps this heroine will find a patterned top that incorporates all the colors.
Yes, great patterns are something I’ve been missing a lot lately. There used to be some lovely ones “back in the day” but now it’s all ditzy florals. Le sigh I don’t look right in ditzy florals. I’m more of a medium size softly stylized florals and water patterns type of girl. Ah well…they will come round again some day!
That’s a helpful observation about patterns; and there does seem to be a lack of wide choice in clothing, jewelry, and cosmetics lately.
My favorite florals are enormous, gaudy tropical designs. I’m going to try the medium softly stylized types you mentioned , though – I’m supposedly a “summer”, so I may not look as good in the tropical patterns as I hope I do.
I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I ALWAYS try to find some kind of patterned garment for every wardrobe I work on. To find a garment that’s not made of some kind of ugly upholstery fabric is difficult! Even the simplest stripes are scarce; I hope that this changes…
love,
Janice
This is great. I would pack this in a suitcase and go for a long time. I’m wondering about the red pants though. For someone who is new to adding colour, adding such a bold colour of pant is quite a step. I wonder if she should have gone for a red shirt instead. I wear a lot of colour and still struggle with colourful pants.
I think in part, one would need to really commit to wearing them at least once per wash cycle to really get used to them. Cycle through tops with them to find your favorite combinations and then make sure to include them often.
My thinking for her was that the color would be far from her face, and thus easier to wear. I know that doesn’t make sense for a lot of us, but I was out of the box!
hugs,
Janice
I like golden (mustard) yellow, but it doesn’t like me. I recently thrifted some linen pants in that color that I plan to wear with a white tank and white sandals. Like Janice suggests, I’m wearing it away from my face. Also not a big expenditure in case I change my mind.
Great combination. But sadly, I realized years ago that I simply cannot take white or even very pale colored clothing on a trip. Too many occasions when I got food on a white shirt in a situation where I couldn’t wash it out right away, and that was the end of the shirt. It’s just safer for me to assume I’ll get myself in a mess.
I don’t think I could manage without a skirt or dress, but I know that some people never wear them. To me, they’re so much more comfortable. I value your introduction of Wool& dresses — I now own 3 of them and adore their versatility. The black one even went to my trip in November to the Caribbean!
The wardrobe would carry me through a trip beautifully. I really like the idea of a suit and have gotten to the point where I’d like to invest in a good one (or the pieces)–and as you say they are expensive. At 5’3″, finding both the blazer and pants that won’t need a ton of alterations is proving tricky. I really need a petite blazer; it’s not just the sleeve length, it’s the other proportions also. And don’t get me started on pants. I am so envious of people who can buy off the rack and then have simple alterations. I’d welcome some petite suggestions.
Mary S,
As Ellen suggests, try Talbots petites. They usually have a nice selection and you may have luck finding something at a better price point there. Not all petites are created equal. My experience with Talbots is that their pieces need little to no alteration. You’re a bit taller than me , I’m right under 5’0”, so they may hit you just right.
The start with six in neutrals is one of my favorite starting points. I can come up with a summer set or a spring/fall set or even winter set if I’m going to the cold frozen north. Regarding colored pants. I still have a pair of medium blue cropped pants that haven’t been worn. I think part of my challenge is that if it’s cold enough for pants, I want to wear my jeans. I really like jeans and always have. After 5 months of brutal summer I look forward to wearing them again.
Another great inspiration wardrobe for me to adapt! I’m currently packing for an 8 day trip to my son’s National Speech and Debate Tournament – so exciting! – where the teens all dress like mini executives and I will be expected to judge them all week. Office casual will be the style for me.
The weather will be changeable, from hot to cool, dry to thunderstorms. I am always torn between black and navy as my neutral, but in warm weather I tend towards navy and white, so today’s wardrobe will be helpful. While thrifting recently I came across a pair of hot pink, soft, wide leg jeans that actually fit me! So those will be my red replacement. I also found a beautiful navy blouse with soft, medium flowers in purples and pinks. That may end up being my inspiration piece for this trip, though I usually end up with several accent colors – I just can’t help myself!
Btw, I think my son has learned capsule wardrobe packing too well – I am trying to convince him to bring more than 3 button down shirts with his 2.5 suits! At least he has multiple ties and pocket squares, as well as assorted lapel pins and tie bars. One good thing about debate – they do learn how to dress well! We are discussing buying him an additional pair of shoes, either burgundy or brown, with a matching belt, of course, for next year. He currently only has black.
So great that debate is teaching your son about professional dress. An oxblood/burgundy shoe looks so great with a suit and I think maintains the formality level a bit more than a brown shoe would, so I would probably make the burgundy vs brown shoe/belt decision based on whether the need is to maintain the same level as with the black accessories or to come down from that a bit.
This is a lovely wardrobe I could happily travel with! I love the color combos – bright colors in small, strategic doses alongside my black & navy make me happy! I also enjoy wearing my brighter navy pieces with black. Love it!