August 25, 2025
Our heroine loves black. She loves the way it looks, and the way she feels when she wears it.
But she knows full well that it worries people when she wears unrelieved black, day after day. She’s decided to break out for fall, and add some accents… and she’s starting here:
It doesn’t hurt that these bracelets were inspired by one of her favorite paintings!
Her plan for accents is the following. She knows that she wants to add denim to her wardrobe – long-term – because of it’s utility and endless appropriateness. She wants to experiment with a couple of pastel colors, because why not? And she’s circling back to the red that she wore many, many years ago with black. She dreams about the outfits that she wore back then…
Our very methodical heroine starts with what she considers to be her essential black core garments. This would be different for each of us – a different color maybe, and different garments too.
for me – I would include a black sweater vest, black ponte knit pants, black corduroy pants, a black tee shirt and…. hmm….
Black cardigan – L.L.Bean; earrings – Heather Hawkins Jewelry; necklace – Panacea; cashmere turtleneck – Lands’ End; bag – Apatchy London; corduroy jeans – L.L.Bean; tee shirt – L.L.Bean; denim skirt – L.L.Bean; boots – Comfortview; oxfords – Linea Paolo
Once she had her colors all chosen, finding her accent garments was pretty straightforward. She considered a pair of red shoes, for a REALLY long time, but then decided to wait to see if her love of red was real and enduring…
Mint stud earrings – Eden + Elie; citrine hoop earrings – Nelou Jewellery; Symbolist Lynx Bracelets – Fierce Lynx Designs; butter yellow tee – L.L.Bean; red fleece quarter-zip – Lands’ End; red pants – J.Crew; yellow silk shirt – Banana Republic; jeans – J.Crew; mint floral scarf – Kueen; green striped shirt – Banana Republic; chambray shirt – L.L.Bean; red suede bag – J.Crew
When she gets all of her fall wardrobe in her closet, she finds it very appealing and surprisingly coherent. But the real acid test is what gets worn!
Yes, for those who wear a uniform all day, twelve garments will get them through the autumn without a lot of stress…
Our heroine knows that she won’t have any trouble finding outfits in this closet, but she ponders how those outfits might look, just in case. It would be annoying to realize some Saturday that you don’t have the shoes (or tee shirt, or earrings…) that would be perfect to pull everything together. A few minutes of planning can make all the difference!
The most interesting question now for our heroine is what calls to her when she’s getting dressed, and what does she actually reach for over and over. That’s how you know a purchase was successful!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, our colors were grey, olive, and rose pink. What an amazing combination, for a fearless heroine facing down the criticisms of her family…
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This might be the most practical fall/winter grouping you have ever done….and you have done some amazing ones! I also appreciate your including a skirt in this grouping. My mind is already changing the butter yellow to a deeper tone (closer to a mustard/khaki) and adding in a refined denim dress (such as this one https://www.talbots.com/tie-waist-denim-shirtdress—fairfield-wash/P253036357.html?dwvar_P253036357_color=FAIRFIELD%20WASH&dwvar_P253036357_sizeType=MS#q=denim%2Bdress&lang=default&start=1 ) however, I love the basis for this wardrobe. The Kiss is one of my favorite paintings (as are all of Klimt’s work) and the bracelet is amazing!
I also hope you’re feeling better from Covid. I’m so sorry you have it! I am fully vaccinated but have had it 8 times and it seems to morph a bit every time with different symptoms. Have a good Jewish deli deliver Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls or a Greek Restaurant deliver in Avgolemono (Chicken and Lemon Soup). They WORK!
Not wild about the colors for me, but I love the selection of garments! Glad you are feeling better.
Hope you’re feeling better, Janice.
I’m really loving the black with the light washed jeans. The bracelet is lovely and I’m off to check out the Fierce Lynx website for more inspiration.
Oh! I just love that butter yellow against the punchy red!! ♥️ Someone will need to tell me not to wear it with plum and burgundy…
The wardrobes you’ve assembled this fall are getting me excited! That ginger from previous posts is calling my name! It’s possible it will keep me from being that all-black heroine in the upcoming season. 😅
Thanks for your lovely work, Janice! I hope you’re feeling better asap.
(We use a lot of Vicks, Epsom salt baths, and antihistamines when COVID comes around. I ought to add masks to my ‘accessories’ and this is my reminder. Thanks again.)
Love the painting! This wardrobe would be easy for me to pull together. I have had a pair of black lace-up booties in my wardrobe for at least 35 years. When they wear out totally I replace them. Always wear them when we travel in cold/cool weather as they can go with anything. INMOP red shoes are never wrong to have. I don’t wear mine as often as my black boots but I’ve had them for ages and they can really jazz up an outfit! The look back was lovely and one I had not looked at in a while so thanks. So glad you are feeling better.
OK, I laughed when I saw the bracelet and color palette because I literally just finished bagging up a long seed bead wrap necklace (120″) that I made to coordinate with a striped button up shirt that has the colors red, yellow, blue, and mint (plus pink and white). Both the shirt and necklace would pop right into this capsule! (Although if I were the black-wearing heroine, I would have included some black in the necklace also. Since I wear both black and navy with this shirt, I did not include either.)
The inclusion of red pants made me happy, though I personally would not get enough use of this particular satiny pair to make it worth including in such a small capsule. I felt the same about the yellow silk blouse, too. I would want more mix-and-match possibilities, which can be difficult to achieve with such a wide range of refinement levels in a capsule. (Maybe our heroine has a lot of holiday festivities where she needs to look fancy coming up?)
I like the old school lace-up boots a lot. The black oxfords are practical, but man, this particular pair gives me all the “women’s tap dance oxford” vibes. I swear my tap shoes (long stored in a box somewhere) look identical these!
You know, I think that’s why these oxfords appealed to me so much. Talk about classic – how many of us had a pair of these, years ago? In my case, FIFTY years ago…
hugs,
Janice
In practice, the oxfords may put an extra “tap” in our step all day long, which would be a lot of fun!
These bracelets are always so lovely! And black! I’m just going to wear it!
I think everyone needs a pair of red shoes! They are such a pick me up even when one can’t be bothered with any other part of an outfit.
I also like the idea of the red satin pants. Not exactly the first place my mind went but I bet they actually get more wear than anticipated.
I couldn’t agree more about a pair of red shoes. Me? I’d love to have a pair of red Swedish clogs with this capsule. I had a pair years ago and wore them for decades. This is inspiring me to want a new pair! https://troentorpsclogs.com/da-vinci-red
Years ago I had a pair of red suede lifestyle sneakers and I wore them to death. They made every outfit a little more fun! Maybe I need to work on finding some color shoes again. I love how the blue shade in this grouping translates into denim. Always one of my preferred fabrics! It would be fun to see more fall/winter outfits with short sleeve tops/tees. I never wear long sleeves, even in winter, it’s not that cold in the PNW and we heat with wood plus I get hot flashes at this point! Just a thought!
Hi! I’m sorry for the unrelated comment, but I am starting to pack for an upcoming vacation, and I remember an old post where you shared a formula for figuring out how many clothes you need (how many days are you planning for, how often you plan to re-wear a piece of clothing, etc).
Can you help me find it? I have it saved on my laptop but I don’t have it available right now :'(
I remember that I built an equation that helps figure out how much you should have in your wardrobe for any length of time; I don’t remember is I used it for travel or not… But I’ll send you the equation again so you ca have it with you!
hugs,
Janice
A pair of red shoes/trainers/boots plus sparkly red earrings would set this off a treat. Hope you are feeling better.
While I don’t love black, I read black denim as charcoal, which I do love 😊
I’m using this wonderful grouping as a template for building a mini capsule- one I can use for a few weeks. I love black, and red is becoming a mainstay in my closet since I’ve gone grey – white actually. And now I’ve convinced myself that red ballerinas would be a required article of clothing in my plan. Luckily, I have a credit at the local consignment shop where I will begin shopping. Be well, Janice.
Oxfords, yes!! Mine ( more than 50 years ago, were red, square toed patent leather. They were cute with jeans and mini skirts/ tights.
The yellow shirt is perfect! Yellow is a neutral in my book. 😁
Someone mentioned they’d have a hard time wearing the satin pants. Just make it a fun daytime look with the denim shirt and the boots or well…. Throw in some sneakers!
I kind of think our heroine might revisit this to bring out more of her key pieces or fill in a gap or two.