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Home » Don’t Want to Pack Black? Start With Art – A Forest by Leon Spilliaert

Don’t Want to Pack Black? Start With Art – A Forest by Leon Spilliaert

August 15, 2025

Back with our heroine and her multi-faceted wardrobe, based upon this painting. Today’s color palette is the one shown here, in which she eschews black and concentrates on the other colors.

Maybe your family thinks your wear too much black? Maybe it just doesn’t feel right for a particular holiday, like Thanksgiving? Maybe you just want to try something different?

Of course you’re not going to quit wearing black just because it bugs your sister, but you can be a bit flexible just to keep the peace. Especially if you get to wear this luscious shade of green!

Earrings – Capucine de Wulf; scarf – Artifact.; ivory tee shirt – Lands’ End; corduroy jacket – Eileen Fisher; pants – Eileen Fisher; crossbody bag – Baggallini; loafers – Naturalizer

Packing in this wardrobe is always so easy – enough ivory to dress up if the occasion warrants (maybe take everyone out for dinner some night, so you can escape endless turkey leftovers?). And enough casual clothes for whatever siblings, nieces, nephews, and stray friends might thrown your way:

scarf – The Met Store; moss agate earrings – Azura Jewelry New York; tortoiseshell earrings – Talbots; gold knot earrings – Gorjana; everglade tee – Eileen Fisher; ivory cotton cardigan – Faherty; messy hearts shirt – Frank & Eileen; ivory barrel jeans – Lands’ End; striped top – Lands’ End; rich ginger brown pants – Lands’ End; brown sneakers – Pikolinos; boots – Tom’s

Looking over this travel capsule wardrobe has to give you a bit of a feeling of comfort, and of being prepared!

As always, you’re going to stand beside your bed, your suitcase, or your laundry rack, and walk through a few outfits. Feeling prepared is important, and if you’ve thought through these ensembles ahead of time, getting dressed can be much less stressful:

Our heroine actually has one more possible “three-color” palette for travel – one that includes green, ginger and black. No ivory! 

I know exactly when one might pack such a wardrobe…

love,

Janice

p.s. Ten years ago, we were working through all KINDS of variations on a warm summer Common Wardrobe. This was the day to add “seaglass” – what a glorious color…

Don't Want to Pack Black Start With Art - A Forest by Leon Spilliaert

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08.15.25 14 Comments

Tags: brown, green, Six Pack, Start with Art, travel capsule wardrobe
<<A Warm Color, Classic Palette for Fall? Start With Art – a Forest by Leon SpilliaertAvoiding Light Colors? Start With Art – A Forest by Leon Spilliaert>>

Comments

  1. Sheila says

    August 15, 2025 at 6:56 am

    This is definitely my favorite of the week. I should look at that and try to figure out why – maybe – could be it’s more colorful and less neutral. Have a great Friday and good weekend everyone.

    Reply
    • Janice says

      August 15, 2025 at 7:20 am

      That’s interesting that you are so definite – if you figure out why, let us know! Is it the absence of black? I know that for many of you, that’s a big difference…
      hugs,
      Janice

      Reply
      • Sheila says

        August 15, 2025 at 8:18 am

        Yes, I think because it is more colorful to me. And I don’t do black. I love the fall-ish colors.

    • Rebecca says

      August 15, 2025 at 8:36 am

      I had the same reaction, and I thought maybe it was more pattern-heavy than the previous wardrobes? It brought more personality to the wardrobe.

      Reply
      • Kristi says

        August 15, 2025 at 11:48 am

        I think for me part of it was the patterns. As I scrolled down I saw them and thought, floral and stripes, I love it!!!! :) What a gift today. I can’t wait to see them all put together!

  2. beth byrd says

    August 15, 2025 at 7:23 am

    Rich ginger brown — what a lovely name and lucious color!!! I could see this paired with many different colors!

    Reply
  3. Sandy b says

    August 15, 2025 at 8:24 am

    Love this series! I would like to see the fourth set with no ivory.

    Reply
  4. Idajo says

    August 15, 2025 at 9:13 am

    This series is making all us warm girlies so happy! Love those fall colors! Looks so comfortable.

    Reply
  5. Ellen S. says

    August 15, 2025 at 9:52 am

    I am madly in love with this shade of brown. The ginger family makes me smile! The ivory is wonderful and feels more autumn than pure white. It’s also pretty flattering universally.

    That being said, I’d need to swap out this particular shade of green. The mossy shade doesn’t work for me at all. I think that, if I had blue eyes and fair hair, this might work better for me. But, with my chestnut hair and brown eyes, it just looks very hospital scrubs. However, I could see swapping hunter, forest or even emerald for the one pictured here. Green is a tough color….there are many shades and some are challenging to wear. Moss can magical on one woman and sickly on the next. I think the big thing is to remember that it doesn’t hurt to try. This is why I prefer going to stores over ordering online, when I can. I can usually figure out my size, but colors often look very different online than they do in person.

    Reply
    • Susan Gauthier says

      August 15, 2025 at 5:40 pm

      Agreed with the shade of green, Ellen S. I am a red-head with olive green eyes – my go-to green (I get many compliments when I wear it) are the olive shades. I don’t wear emerald green – I’d feel like a Leprechaun!

      Thank you Janice, as always, for coming up with such a variety of color groups, especially out of one piece of art!

      Susan G

      Reply
  6. Monica says

    August 15, 2025 at 1:56 pm

    Artifact has the most strikingly beautiful scarves.

    Reply
    • Janice says

      August 15, 2025 at 5:39 pm

      I know! They’re amazing…
      love,
      Janice

      Reply
  7. Isha says

    August 16, 2025 at 6:28 am

    Although I don’t wear brown, I love this wardrobe! You found the most awesome pieces in that lovely green colour.

    Reply
  8. Maria says

    August 18, 2025 at 1:18 pm

    I love this beautiful capsule. 🤩✨️

    Reply

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The Vivienne Files is a unique personal style blog with carefully-selected capsule wardrobes based on color palettes drawn from works of art, nature, and more. It helps women buy less clothing, and to love what they buy. Read more...
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