May 12, 2025
This was the other Artifact. scarf that was requested as the inspiration for a wardrobe, and I can understand why!
The possibilities here are many – there’s camel in the upper left quadrant, beige in the lower left, and even a touch of denim blue in the middle of the bottom right flower! But I’m sticking with the same black and ivory that we used on Friday, to show the range of possibilities within just a couple of neutrals.
The accent color I’ve chosen couldn’t really be more different – a soft pink and bold orangish gold. It’s easy to feel like your accent colors have to go well together, but that’s not the case.
I’ve kept quite a few of the pieces from Friday for this wardrobe. Maybe this is the same heroine, in a different mood? I did this to show the versatility inherent in a handful of simple, neutral garments. This heroine has the same black cropped pants, the same black skirt, the same two sleeveless tops, and the same lovely tipped cardigan. It’s worth the discipline to make sure that your wardrobe includes these workhorse kinds of things!
First up, this heroine has swapped a black cardigan for a rain jacket, and a tee shirt for a really pretty summer sweater:
Black rain jacket – Lands’ End; earrings – Michael Nash Jewelry; scarf – Artifact.; cropped pants – L.L.Bean; mango short-sleeved sweater – Lands’ End; shoes – Earth
This outfit is very similar to the skirt outfit from Friday, except I put the accent color in the shirt, and the neutral in the 2nd layer:
Black sweater vest – ABLE; earrings – Swarovski; sunset coral pink shirt – Lands’ End; bag – Karl Lagerfeld Paris; linen skirt – Eileen Fisher; scarf – Artifact.; pumps – Vivaia
Yes, this tee shirt is the same color as the shirt shown above! That kind of matchy thing can come in very handy. And of course, we’ve swapped out olive green for ivory, but kept to the idea of pants and a 2nd layer:
Cardigan – Caslon; earrings – Anthropologie; sunset coral pink cotton tee – Lands’ End; linen pants – Madewell; scarf – Artifact.; espadrilles – Life Stride
Three new things here, three that I’ve kept from Friday’s wardrobe:
Ivory and black sleeveless tops – L.L.Bean; earrings – Kate Spade; small scarf – Henelle; cardigan – Alex Mill; striped tee – Lands’ End
Even though there are a lot of pieces in both wardrobes, I think that this looks quite a bit different from Friday’s completely wardrobe.
Of course, you could combine the two wardrobes…
Of course this heroine already has three outfits ready to go, but the real strength of this system is being able to combine and recombine things in a LOT of ways. I’m not saying that you would travel for a decade with only 13 pieces of clothes, but I AM saying that you don’t always need as much as you might think!
This kind of “theme and variations” could go on forever. With neutrals of black, ivory and olive, the possible accent colors are truly endless.
Maybe different accents for each season? Or different ones for warm weather vs cold?
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, we started with a BRIGHT orange Hermes cashmere and wool scarf. This is the kind of thing that you should either wear or sell!
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This is a superb smart-casual wardrobe – just my style. I could easily adapt this wardrobe for my colours. The pink is a beautiful colour and I love the cute knitted jackets. I would be satisfied with the pattern/texture details on the shoes, bag and knitted top. I’ve just bought a new floral navy bag and a denim blue textured knitted jacket from charity shops. Instead of a textured knitted jumper, I have a lilac textured short-sleeve blouse which is perfect with linen trousers.
I’m still trying to track down blue linen trousers for plus size petite. I think I shall be doing a large online order to see if anything fits. I did go into Marks and Spencer (M&S) but since they decided Short length was 28 inch inside leg, they don’t alter the rise for short length. The waistband sits at chest height! Trousers with pockets also just crumple and stick out oddly on me. I have to have smooth trousers.
However, I have just bought a pair of crinkle wide-leg charcoal grey trousers in M&S that have a slight sheen to them. I saw them whilst I was hunting down the linen trousers in my size. They were an impulse purchase but just perfect for dinner out on a summer evening; the opposite to velvet that I wear in winter. I wore them at the weekend with a pink and grey lace top and a silvery cardigan (also purchased on impulse in M&S last summer!). These will have mileage. Pity there wasn’t a loose jacket in the same material to go with them. I’ve realised, after lots of compliments, that soft/loose jackets with trousers are the ideal smart-casual outfit for me. I’m actively seeking them out in charity shops and sales.
I am in LOVE with this! I think this is a pretty, practical and highly useful wardrobe. I can see this being a great capsule to wear on a trip, but it’s equally practical to wear at home….especially if you have a small closet.
I’m currently in a state of flux. I am just about to list my house for sale, but have had construction started on my new (one story!) home about 20 minutes away. While my current house is being shown, I need to keep my clothing interchangeable, but spare, so that I can enough pieces for work, to dress up, but also to pack/move boxes, until I move out. I need my pieces to work together so that I don’t feel as if I’m wearing the same thing every single day, but will look lovely if a potential buyer is opening my closet doors. Admittedly, I do have a lot of clothing, but I’ve packed up 3/4 of it. I’m trying to work within parameters for this summer (and fall) to look polished, but be able to be flexible. This idea you’ve created really works for me for this season of life!
i love khaki greens, but i think this wardrobe works much better than friday’s – those cream pants make a surprisingly big difference. & to my eye, the mango & pink are much more cheerful partners than the green & pink… suspect if it had been green & turquoise/teal it would have sung better for me. interesting!
Oh, that yellow top is beautiful. ✨️
This capsule seems more harmonious with the black for me. Is it because of the brighter colors?
And since I was interested,
and Janice put together this pretty capsule with the bright colors years ago, here it is:
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2018/01/travel-capsule-wardrobe-inspired-by-dame-au-chapeau-by-natalia-gontcharova.html/
This just goes to prove that Janice’s wardrobes are truly timeless. I would wear every single piece from this previous one!