June 23, 2025
Another conference? (She did this before.) As the trailing spouse? What an absolutely horrible term…
But she’s going, and she will be beautiful. She has the best inspiration; this is one of her favorite paintings, by her favorite artist:
But she’s feeling uncertain… her favorite pink clothes are NOT this shade of pink. Does this matter?
After thinking for a few minutes, our heroine realized that unless she carried a big reproduction of the painting around with her and pointed out to people how badly the shades of pink clashed, nobody would ever know. She can put it out of her mind, if she tries!
So she’s preparing for the “weird meet and greet/maybe go out to dinner with people they know” arrival. The trip is short, so wearing a dress won’t be a big deal:
Bougainvillea cardigan – J.Jill; earrings – Swarovski; bag – Baggallini; scarf – Jessie Zhao New York; tee shirt dress – J.Jill; flats – Vionic
This is the corporate-wide summer meeting, so for some reason it’s quite a bit less dressy than any other function of the year. It’s not as if they meet outdoors, so they could still wear business attire, but far be it from her to question these things!
So she packs things that are in that middle ground of relaxed but still polished. She thinks…
Print tee shirt – Desigual; black & pearl earrings – FV Jewellery; black cotton cardigan – J.Crew; pearl earrings – J.Jill; pearl bracelet – J.Jill; linen dress – J.Jill; black linen tee – J.Crew; scarf – Etro; black linen pants – J.Crew; black & white floral top – GAP Factory; sandals – Naot; mauve flats – Vivaia
When she gets everything ready to pack, she’s delighted:
She and her poor sweetie (who has to go to all of these meetings!) will only be in the hotel for a couple of days, but our wise heroine makes certain that she has more than enough clothes. Delays happen, and wise heroines are prepared!
She may yet toss a black skirt into her bag…
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I wrestled with a skirt that wasn’t working out for me…
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The following quote is the best reminder that we don’t have to be matchy matchy with our color choices and inspiration painting.
“…unless she carried a big reproduction of the painting around… and pointed out… how badly the shades of pink clashed, nobody would ever know. “
I couldn’t agree more!
Love the painting as it reminded me of the colours of a Galah. As well as having a dusty pink body, the Galah also has gorgeous grey wings with a cute pale pink on its head.
Being a business trip I can see that black is probably more suitable but I think for a more relaxed trip, mid greys would look nice.
Oh, Janice, I just love this. Your reminder that the beautiful paintings you feature are used for inspiration, but not as a ‘follow this exact shade with a microscope or no soup for you’ rule.
As a woman who spent decades as the ‘trailing spouse’, but had my own teaching career, I know that there is a fine line at these events between looking casual and looking far too casual for a setting like this. These clothes really bridge that important distinction. As my grandmother used to say, “Dress to open doors”. She meant that your clothing should reflect the image you wish to make on a first impression. These clothes would travel very well, make a positive impression, but not have people scratching their heads, bewildered at your style.
One last point I’d love to highlight about this excellent wardrobe is that you went with a very specific shade of pink/lilac. When doing this, it truly does help that you sourced these items all from the same store. That means that the dyes are going to be very, very close to one another. I think that’s an important idea for putting together an accent that works well. I also love that you included two dresses….always a winner in my book, but especially in these hot summer days!
I agree that getting the dress and cardigan from the same source in the same shade of pink really makes this capsule work!
I love the Jessie Zhao scarf. I think I’ve loved every Jessie Zhao scarf you’ve ever posted. Thanks!
Ditto Bonnie – I love Jessie Zhao. I do have quite a collection. Mostly in blues and greens I think. In any case, I just love love love this. Back in the day (early-mid 90’s) as a “trailing spouse” I always seemed to overdress. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing, but I never felt like I fit in. Things are much more casual now, but not all the way jeans and tshirt casual! Love the pearls from J. Jill. Great way to start a Monday – thank you!
My fairy godmother (favorite aunt who always signed her cards to me “The Contessa”) once said to dress better than you think you should. If you end up overdressed for the occasion, tell the hosts that you left a different event to visit with them. They feel more important and YOU feel more comfortable in your outfit.
You can also be the frontrunner setting the dress code. My husband has chaperoned prom at his high shool for many years. In the beginning, I would attend and always dressed up. Teachers showed up in their regular school outfits. After a few years, they started dressing more formally too. It elevates the event for the kids to see their teachers dressing up for them too.
I’d rather be overdressed than turn up to an event looking shabby. Why is it that some people seem to use the word “casual” as an excuse not to bother with their clothes or appearance?
Pack the skirt! Pack the skirt! Long and swishy! Too bad the black and white print top doesn’t have a matched skirt…
This wardrobe is so not my style. I so wish it was! Ditto with the colors. Elegant and versatile.
Absolutely love this. I could easily live for a month or two with just this capsule.
I’ve never been “a trailing spouse” as my husband is usually the conference organiser. Conferences, travel and accommodation are also so expensive that partners have to be personally paid for. I occasionally attend the conference dinners and stay overnight now that our kids have grown up as long as there is something for me to do during the day and the weather is likely to be good.
However, I do love the colours in the painting but I would veer towards dark grey/silver as the neutral. I’m wearing a pink and white striped shirt which has two shades of pink. I’m creating a capsule of grey/silver and black/navy to wear to semi-formal events. I prefer trousers so that I can wear sensible shoes/boots. Pink and purple would be good accents.
This is such a pretty wardrobe. At first I was put off by the printed T but upon closer inspection with its lace inserts and subtle sparkle it would be a lovely accompaniment to any of the bottoms shown. I agree with a previous comment about the matching dye lot. At first I was unsure of the pink sweater/pink dress combo but since both hale from the same manufacturer there would be a matching tonality giving a contemporary flair! Important when mixing such items to avoid the dreaded ‘neither match nor contrast’ situation. Otherwise matchy matchy looks a bit dowdy and less intentional.
Also I love this berry toned pink! Unlike blush or fuchsia it looks lovely on many skin tones. Pink can be a tough one! Like red it’s not one size fits all…blush looks horrible on me I can wear more blue toned powder pink but I don’t feel comfortable in it. Fuchsia is my colour but at a gathering like this not sure if the plus one wants to draw too much attention….well, maybe they do! I’ve been to many a corporate ‘do’ when some of the outfits at a cocktail party, held in honour of a visiting upper executive, ranged from JEANS ( albeit designer) to gold sequins and lamé!! All the employees dressed in full business attire ( men and women) though the women a tad more dressy than business….about those designer jeans, worn by a male with a huge cowboy hat!!! He rocked it. He was wearing a shirt, tie and blazer. T’was his style….
Good for him! If you have confidence in your style I say wear it !
Love these colors they remind me of the Magill painting in some ways.
I am not always a fan of black with soft pink accents, but the pink here has enough depth that it works quite well with the black (though greys from mid-tone through charcoal would also look lovely with it). And HURRAY for the print top that mixes the two colors!
I don’t often wear pink and black together, but I like every element in this individually. And yes, goes together marvelously.
Eee! That pink tshirt with the watercolor florals is GORGEOUS! And the black and white blouse! I’m so so happy to see patterns again! This is a wonderful wardrobe. Thank you!!!
That’s such a beautiful shade of pink. I know they’re calling it bougainvillea, but actually how would you describe it?
Dusty mauve. That was the search term that had the best information yield…
hugs,
Janice