July 30, 2025
I could easily see using this painting next year for the “6 Paintings – Twelve Months”. This is the kind of palette I could see committing to forever…
Our colors are all neutrals, but WHAT neutrals! There’s no way to make these colors clash…
She’s Ready for Hot Weather!
It’s been a while since it’s been truly warm where she lives, so when she realized that she’d better visit her mother for a few days, she was more than happy to do so!
For the flight down, she’s going to dress rather warmly – heaven knows that one seldom is on an airplane that isn’t nippy…
Cream sweater – L.L.Bean; earrings – Anthropologie; chambray shirt – J.Crew; scarf – Artifact.; chambray bag – Vera Bradley; cotton canvas pants – L.L.Bean; cotton weekender bag – Anthropologie; loafers – Style & Co.
These are the easiest trips – she can always borrow what she forgets, and anything that she wears will be greeting with “oh honey, you look lovely!”
That’s never hard to take…
earrings – Opium Jewels; necklace – Marie June Jewelery; bracelet – A Weathered Penny; Scarf – Elizabetta; white tee – Lands’ End; green tee – Lands’ End; blue gauze top – J.Jill; dress – J.Jill; blue gauze pants – J.Jill; print pants – J.Jill; sandals – Naturalizer
The night before she leaves, she assembles everything and gives it a careful review. These colors fill her with calm and peace, which is always a really good way to feel the night before a trip.
Of course, she’s not going to struggle to get dressed each morning. She has more clothes than she will strictly need, but if you’re carrying a “weekender” bag, it’s worth filling it, right?
She knows that she could wear a burlap bag to visit her mother, and she would still be told that she was beautiful! But she likes to show her love by taking care with her appearance…
I know how that feels!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I shared my ideas about how one could wear a beautiful scarf every month of the year.
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I love these colors too. I think that I could easily take this gorgeous painting as a basis from my own wardrobe and make a 4 x 4 grid with it right now! I would love to see what else you can curate and cultivate with it, as these neutrals just work well for so many of us and could easily be dressed with more structured pieces, as I tend to prefer. This dress, which I saw in person at J Jill, reads far too nightgown to me to be anything other than a lounge dress. That being said, I love the IDEA of it…I would just need to be far taller to carry it off and not look as if I’ve stumbled out of bed.
Thank you for including J Jill in your finds. The pieces from this store are such good quality and I appreciate how well they last. While Talbots and J Crew are my ‘go to’, J Jill is in my top ten, along with Coldwater Creek, Beans, Soft Surroundings, Loft, Anthropologie, Banana Republic and Boden.
On a personal note…my 32 year old son-in-law has been in the hospital since Saturday, with a life threatening condition that required emergency surgery. For 36 hours, I sat by my daughter’s side, along with her in laws, praying for this amazing young man and offering what support I could to her and to his family. He has a long journey ahead of him, but, he is out of the worst danger. Because the young couple was here in Maine for the day when this occurred, I ran down to their house, just north of Boston, to pick up clothes for my daughter, since she literally only brought one outfit. I picked a color palette and a level of comfort and packed her the equivalent of one your packing guides instinctually. It all goes together..and all is appropriate for being in the hospital with her husband, as well as driving between the hospital, my house and her in laws’ house (all of which are not far from one another). I am so grateful to you for providing me with this framework that I could tap into mentally during a time of tremendous stress and fear, so that I could best support her. Thank you, Janice. I know that clothes are a small thing in a situation like this, but I was able to give her something to wear that would be easy and work for her (other than the ‘out to a fancy dinner’ dress she came to Maine wearing.
Thinking of you all! Caregiver burnout hits crazy fast, but it sounds like you’ve got a great family team to take it on strong. Very best wishes for the fastest, smoothest recovery possible!
I’m so happy that I could help in any way at all – and clothes aren’t really a small thing. Having to hang out in a hospital for days at a time without clean clothes that are comfortable and feel like “you” is just one more annoying mosquito buzz in a situation that’s full of annoyances, in addition to the huge burden. I’ve been there, and I know that every little bit helps!
Give your family all the love in the world, and then take all of the love I’m sending and pass it on. We are all here for you…
a million hugs,
and a planet full of love,
Janice
I can relate to Ellen and how these wardrobes are so helpful. Last summer my dad ended up in the hospital and was not expected to make it. I got the call one evening and was on the road the next morning. I was a wreck trying to pack for I didn’t know long, but I remembered how you put these travel wardrobes together. I was gone two weeks, but never had to think about what I was wearing, but felt confident and comfortable talking to hospital staff, funeral home directors, and everyone else I encountered during such a difficult time. Having nice pieces that coordinated well was a godsend.
(((Deb)))
Thank you….we are incredibly lucky that they were near the only trauma center in Maine when the emergency occurred. My daughter is only 30 and her husband is 32. Things were bright and happy, until the scariest moment arrived. There are so many things to be grateful for in this…and while it’s not over yet…being able to simply life for her has been tremendously helpful. I appreciate the part you were able to play in this…
I am holding you and your family in my heart as you navigate this medical crisis. Having gone through something similar with my daughter I have an idea of the situation. May the Vivienne community be a balm for your soul. Sending love and healing thoughts.
Annie
Ellen, prayers and hugs for you and your family.
Waving from just across the border in NB and prayerfully sending you a virtual hug and strength!
Please keep us posted on your son-in-law’s progress.
I love this painting and these colors. I am fortunate enough to live where I see views like this every day and they inspire me both in how I want to look and feel. I vote for using this painting as one of next year’s 6 Paintings – 12 months inspirations.
DITTO!
This restful painting would be a great jumping off point for a beautifully curated wardrobe that would suit my West Australian lifestyle to a ‘T’.
Thank you.
I would love to see a whole year of this painting! This is lovely. I’d also be curious to see how this heroine would use her palette in the winter. Would she wear pale colours through the winter, or rely more on olive and sage green?
I agree! I love this color palette & would love to see it carried through the year. I would love to see navy and/or brown carried through to fall…
Beautiful—will peruse my closet for anything even close to resembling this lovely collection.
At first, I thought this would be too pale for me, but this combination is lovely. It feels very restful and fun at the same time.
Oh I love that floral silk scarf! That violet/lavender/purple shade looks so gorgeous next to the other colours. If one were to expand this to a five colour wheel, what would be another lovely addition? Perhaps something a little darker, or keeping it all light?
It is a ‘yes’ from me for next year’s “6 Paintings – 12 months” project!
I absolutely love these posts not to mention the beautiful paintings and/or scarves used as the color palette. Nearly everything shown is doable except when it comes to the scarves. Don’t get me wrong, but these are out of my price range. Considering the percentage of items with reasonable price tags, I often wonder why there are not more choices (price wise) in this one category especially when they often get abuse when tied to a purse or luggage.
But make no mistake, I love reading the stories and seeing the outfits and how I might put some of these things together even though my days of business travel are over. Now, travel is for pleasure!
Scarves are hard! I insist that they match perfectly, and so I’m often not able to find scarves that are more affordable. I do try, though…
love,
Janice
I am challeneged on how to wear that large of a scarf in the spring/summer if not blessed with a long lovely swan like neck nor a super slim torso to wrap as a belt. I only use scarves in the fall/winter under jackets/coats for a pop of color. I don’t carry top handle purses, only small crossbody ones, so tying them onto a small bag would be too much fabric.
I agree this is quite lovely and peaceful. Looks like something I did a few years ago, until I discovered how much I loved COLOR. I also agree about it being part of the 6 Paintings feature. I think it would be great to see these colors used in a year round wardrobe….
Agree with Kathy. I wear a similar combo with olive green but use periwinkle instead of chambray/blue. Flattering to most of us.
I too, love the idea of this painting for next year’s 12 months wardrobe. Will start working on this today. Thank you so much for this. Love the colours in this post.
Also, Janet.
More Labradorite jewelry as accessories.
Beautiful 😍😍
Gorgeous capsule from a gorgeous painting, thanks Janice. I’m going to research more works by Peter Schmidt, who I hadn’t come across before.
And I agree with previous comments, that this would be a great base for a 12 month wardrobe – and right up my street with no black or white! :-)
Love the painting and enjoyed the wardrobe you pulled from it. Please use this again. I do have to admit that as I looked at the “everything” page the print pants morphed into a skirt and the blue pants into a pair of jeans and then into a blue skirt, lol. I learn something from every post.
Love the painting! And the style of the clothes. I also see a grey and possibly black at the very bottom. A lot could be done with this, through the seasons. I’d love to see it for one of next year’s paintings.
To Ellen, I hope your son in law recovers well, and healing thoughts to your family…
Sending thoughts and prayers to Ellen’s son in law as well. This is another calm wardrobe and reminds me of The Pines series this year. I love how many different wardrobes you have managed to use the Artifact scarf in, this is a great lesson, thankyou.
This reminds me of the pines too, but without the darker colors it feels just right for summer. At least for me, these muted, not drab, colors work with my coloring. And this color of green feels more sage than olive, and is always appreciated. And unlike someone else, I always need some white or light cream. Thanks!
Ellen, you can add a hug and my prayers for your family and yourself. Challenging times remind us the importance of being part of a community. Even the smallest show of care / empathy, go a long way.
This is just lovely. I agree that it has lots of potential for a year-round wardrobe exercise.
Cheers and blessings to all 🙏.
Very nicely chosen.
I want that picture as a scarf. Such beautiful, soft colors.
I’m also in favor of you using it next year.
I love the very different patterns of the scarves…and this jewelry.
scafos.com can do that!
xoxo,
Janice