September 15, 2025
Let’s take one last, lingering and appreciative look at our painting inspiration:
This is the color palette with which we’ve been working, taken from this painting. You can always add faded denim – there’s a glimpse of the sky in the top left corner…
Let’s remember too, that we have four possible color palettes using only three colors…
For our first Six-Pack travel capsule wardrobe, our heroine decided to forego wearing black for a few days!
Garnet brooch – Farra; carved garnet earrings – Mounir London; Ivory merino cardigan – J.Crew; print tee shirt – J.Crew; pants – J.Crew; bag – Cole Haan; velvet loafers – Birdies; Garnet cluster earrings – Mounir London; pearl earrings – The Met Store; Tuscan red sweater – GAP; plaid flannel shirt – L.L.Bean; camel cardigan – GAP; ecru jeans – L.L.Bean; paisley scarf – Elizabetta; ivory turtleneck – Lands’ End; plaid scarf – Polo Ralph Lauren; twig corduroy jeans – L.L.Bean; socks – J.Crew; loafers – Vionic
For her second travel capsule wardrobe, our heroine chose to not pack anything ivory – we can all picture this kind of trip!
Earrings – The Met Store; scarf – The Met Store; burgundy tee – Lands’ End; burgundy cardigan – Lands’ End; black cropped palazzo pants – Lands’ End; weekender bag – Rains; boots – Naot; paisley scarf – Elizabetta; hoop earrings – Classicharms; silk scarf – Elizabetta; bracelet – Saachi; black tee – Lands’ End; striped cardigan – Alex Mill; black cardigan – Alex Mill; camel pants – Alex Mill; flannel shirt – L.L.Bean; bag – Apatchy London; loafers – Vionic; black jeans – Madewell
At the approach of the winter holidays, our heroine focused more on burgundy, and omitted camel for this capsule wardrobe:
Earrings – Auree Jewellery; scarf – Banana Republic; sweater vest – J.Crew Factory; white cotton shirt – J.Crew; boots – Söfft; bag – Zatchels; black skirt – J.Crew; Necklace – J.Crew; burgundy earrings – J.Crew; gold earrings – Talbots; wool scarf – Jessie Zhao New York; corduroy jacket – Alex Mill; burgundy floral shirt – Lands’ End; black cashmere v-neck sweater – Nordstrom; black knit pants – L.L.Bean; flannel shirt – L.L.Bean; corduroy pants – Alex Mill; black flats – Nordstrom; burgundy loafers – Gentle Souls
After the holidays, our heroine focused on neutrals and left burgundy out of her long-weekend wardrobe:
Plaid scarf – Kinalba; earrings – Alexis Bittar; black cotton turtleneck – L.L.Bean; Camel cashmere sweater – J.Crew; black jeans – Alex Mill; boots – Dansko; weekender bag – Barbour; Floral scarf – Elizabetta; hoop earrings – Set & Stone; pearl stud earrings – The Met Store; white shirt – Lands’ End; plaid cardigan coat – Liverpool Los Angeles; striped sweater – Alex Mill; bag – Belle & Bloom; skirt – J.Crew; corduroy pants – Boden; flannel shirt – L.L.Bean; flats – Nordstrom; boots – Comfortiva
So our heroine has four 9-piece travel capsule wardrobes, which should mean that she has 36 garments total in this wardrobe. But she packed her excellent black skirt twice, so this is her 35-piece capsule wardrobe for cold weather:
First, let’s look at her “bottoms.” Because you have relatively fewer bottoms, they need to be versatile, and of somewhat better quality than things you don’t wear as often:
Second layers tend to be the most visible garment you wear, so it makes sense that these should also be good quality – able to transform a simple top and pants into something a bit special:
Happily, if you take good care of your tops, you can get very moderately-priced ones and have them for years! Especially if you watch for sales (I’m talking about you, Lands’ End!).
I’m the crazy person who would rather have a lot of scarves than almost anything else in a suitcase. A scarf can completely transform the look of simple clothes…
And yes, I think I only know ONE person who doesn’t need shoes!
So, if I inherited this wardrobe and was expected to wear outfits from it every day until Spring, I might want to add a few things!
white tee – Lands’ End; necklace – Saachi; Fair Isle sweater – Barbour; Two-piece black dress – J.Jill; evening bag – Fable England; sneakers – Naturalizer; pumps – SARTO by Franco Sarto
Possibly the most interesting thing about reading your comments to every post is hearing about the dozens of different ways you suggest to modify each wardrobe.
It’s really about wearing what we want, right?
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I took on the adventure of assembling a man’s Whatever’s Clean Wardrobe. Men’s clothing is SO easy…
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
I’ve enjoyed this exercise and seeing all the garments together is a good idea because you really can see where the gaps are. Of the four wardrobes the burgundy, ivory and camel is my favourite, though I wouldn’t wear camel. I would have chosen a burgundy dress to add to the wardrobe.
On the subject of boots, I have several pairs of ankle boots in different colours, styles and materials for tramping round the countryside, wearing with trousers and dress boots worn with dresses and skirts. I wear longer length dresses and skirts. With dodgy feet, boots are more stable and warmer.
I enjoyed the look-back. My husband has a much smaller wardrobe than me and everything goes together.
I’m still going through my clothes but creating complete outfits might be the way forward for me. Having lots of choice can be overwhelming. Knowing which items look good together makes dressing much more decisive. Today, I’m wearing a sage green waffle knit top. Yesterday, I wore it with a grey velour lounge suit as it was a cold day. Today, I had a choice between taupe and dark dusky pink trousers (new addition this summer). With taupe, it looks dull. The dusky pink trousers look much better with the top. I have a jumper that is almost the same shade as the trousers creating a column which is a much better profile for a small person. A compliment from my husband seals the deal on another complete outfit.
Please update us, the VF readers, on your progress.
While I have bits of pieces of all of these colors in my wardrobe, this makes me want to have even more! I just adore what you have done here. I’d love to see this wardrobe expanded into spring and summer too. How to take all of these very fall/winter colors into warmer weather would be a fun activity. I love your idea of adding in a light denim. I’d add jeans, a jean jacket and a denim shirt, for sure…and possibly a denim shirt dress.
As someone who wears skirts and dresses a great deal, I would need more of these in this palette…possibly this cord skirt and burgundy print dress, both from Talbots:
https://www.talbots.com/corduroy-midi-skirt/P253018324.html?dwvar_P253018324_color=CARAMEL&dwvar_P253018324_sizeType=MS#q=corderoy%2Bskirt&lang=default&start=1
https://www.talbots.com/ruffle-neck-dress—lively-floral/P253036355.html?dwvar_P253036355_color=RICH%20BURGUNDY%20MULTI&dwvar_P253036355_sizeType=MS#q=burgundy%2Bdress&lang=default&start=1
What do you think?
Happy Monday all!
Both of these would (a) be adorable on you and (b) would go beautifully in this wardrobe. I’d give my left arm for Talbots to include nice flat-lay photographs of their merchandise!
big hugs,
Janice
It’s crazy because Talbot’s does take flat lay photos for the “how to wear” collages. Why they don’t include the clean flat lay in the individual photos for each item escapes me.
I’ve tried to use those images – you know the ones where they cover up the top corner of the pants with the corner of the sweater you’re supposed to wear with them? I tried copying the visible corner, flipping it, and then pasting it in place where the image is incomplete.
Oh. My. Goodness. It doesn’t work really well; the colors don’t match, for one thing!
I keep writing to them and asking them to make those flat images available. I suspect about a week before I decide to retire, they’ll put them all on their website…
Sigh,
hugs,
Janice
Any/all of these are just a beautiful fall wardrobe. I think it’s the plaid shirts and other prints that just do it for me. Like Beth T I am still (always) going through closets. I finished off two boxes for Goodwill this weekend and started a third w/summer clothes I didn’t wear this year. Interestingly enough, a friend encouraged me to start an instagram account and I have found by going through my posts I’ve gotten a very good idea of what I wear most (my uniform) and what I look best in – colors and styles. When I started I never expected that to be a happy result. Anyway, thank you Janice for another lovely series. Have a good day.
I’d love to see your Instagram. I joined mainly to see my cousins posts. I’ve yet to post anything because I don’t know what to post that is interesting. I have a Pinterest board to paste items from here and ideas I find elsewhere.
I’ve also enjoyed this series and if I lived in a cooler climate I can see myself having this very wardrobe, with a few tweaks. But I live in Florida and even in the winter most of these wouldn’t do.
Maybe this idea can be revisited for warmer weather. Maybe in a different color palette.
Janice, you are so right about tops. I’ve had 3 Lands End t shirts that I wear pretty much weekly year round for 10 years. They have held up beautifully with a little care.
I just found this site with bandanas in lovely pictures and patterns. They are all cotton, made in America, and inspired by literature – which seemed like a good fit for TVF fanatics like myself. AND they cost only $18 on average. The small company also makes ‘scarves’ (oblong) which seem nice. I haven’t tried any of these products but I thought I would pass along the link.https://headingprints.com/pages/bandanas
what a find! i do love vintage book design & these are just outstanding. and the bandanna rings! i love the TVF community but darn, y’all are hard on my temptation avoidance muscles.
re: this wardrobe. i’m interested to realiize that i always think of flannel shirts as second layers. but the use of them here as pattern in the middle layer does add a lot to this wardrobe. hmm.
Wow! Fabulous find – thanks for link. I just bought the Fable bandana and found the matching inspiration piece, the Winston Companion Reader book, on ebay. Never too early to do a little holiday gift shopping! This will be a unique and memorable gift for a young teacher.
Please do more cooler weather outfits. Since I am redoing my fall and winter clothing. I don’t go out much but still need something to wear to the grocery store!
I love the idea of a two-piece dress but was disappointed it turned out to be a sleeveless dress with a sweater to wear over the dress. Although this is a great way to wear the dress in different seasons, I was hoping the “dress” was made of a top and a skirt: separate pieces in the exact same color with different textures, or two pieces in the exact same fabric. Either would give the look of a dress and also add quite a few new outfit options. Why is this so hard to find in the real world?
I agree that two white button down shirts are not necessary and am happy to see a white tee-shirt added. And the burgundy bag and dress shoes are smart additions. I’m on the fence about the Fair Isle sweater. I like it and it adds a nice warm and cozy vibe for weekend wear, but I’m wondering if I might rather have a short sleeve sweater top to match the white cable cardigan or maybe a black and white stripe v-neck sweater instead.
Pulling together a wardrobe based on the seasonal palettes method is such a great way to really consider what works best for me. In trying to reduce the number of items in my closet and determine which items are worth a larger investment, these posts are extremely helpful. I didn’t expect to scrutinize each item so deeply, but doing so has lead to some interesting and valuable insights – all making my curating and purchasing decisions so much easier!
We deserve to analyze our clothes and our wardrobes at least as much as we would any other group of purchases that cost this much! It’s amazing to me how often we just buy clothes sort of willy-nilly based on what we like, and don’t have more of a plan…
hugs,
Janice
Amazing compilation! What I love most is how it’s “only 35 garments” (38 with the additions) and yet it feels like a luxuriously full wardrobe!! The accessories are key of course, but I think having patterns really helps fill it out to me – especially since its not just one. Our heroine has a definite preference for plaid and stripe, but still has the floral shirt and the abstract geo t-shirt (and the fair isle now). I also, personally, love the skew towards trousers as thanks to work, that is my “go-to” bottom. Skirts and dresses are lovely, but I just don’t usually have the time/occasion/ability to wear them. The analysis of what gaps exist/ what to add is also a really useful exercise. Thanks Janice – awesome job with this one! I wouldn’t mind a series like this …
I agree – I think this is one of my favorite types of posts: the analysis of a full season wardrobe. Even if it’s not in a color palette I would choose for myself, the analysis piece is still extremely useful.
I also really liked the higher number of prints in this wardrobe! The row of 4 plaid flannel shirts made me smile (1) because that’s definitely what my husband’s fall/winter wardrobe would look like – a limited (mostly neutral) color palette with flannel shirts, and (2) it adds a nice casual menswear vibe to balance some of the more dressy and feminine pieces.
Thank you for this brilliant series. I’ve loved every combination. I hesitated on camel because of my white hair. I am leaving for a five day trip to Massachusetts and will test out one of the travel capsules with what I own. I can’t wait to finish downsizing my closet and adding more neutral (slowly). It’s wonderful to have a template.
This is a brilliant strategy and I’d love to see more. As a minimalist, this seems like a lot of clothes! I see the flannel shirts as toppers, but that’s fine. I wouldn’t need quite so many cardigans. And I think a set of preferred knit tops in every color would be useful. I see some there, but long sleeved Pima tees are my work horses in the winter. I think the bottoms are balanced by style and color. The accessories are wonderful. As to the issue of too many boots, I think it would depend on where the heroine lived and weather conditions she usually encounters. I hope this strategy appears again with different colors!
I would love to see this concept with different colors. I wear about every shade of blue except royal blue and I am trying to figure out a couple of accents colors. I saw a picture of myself in stone colored pants with a periwinkle top and it was not my best look. I tried the same outfit with navy pants and it was so much better. I am learning that my pants definitely have to be darker or the same saturation as my tops. My husband says I am a minimalist. I do try to buy only clothes that really work. I am not ready to donate the pants yet; they look okay with an ivory top or I may try to dye them🙄. But I don’t mind wearing only varying shades of navy pants either. I doubt anyone really notices. Heck, some gals only wear black, or so it seems.
Another great, useful series. I always get an aha moment every morning while reading your posts and siping coffee. Absolutely delightful. While the black and burgundy are too dark for me,I do wear camel and ivory so I can envisage these with other colours within my own wardrobe. More like this would be fun. Thank you Janice.
Dee, if you don’t mind my nosiness, what other two colors would you include? I usually learn a lot from other posters!
Thanks for this. It reminds me of the 13 piece travel capsules from last year, around sept 20. The denim and ivory with burgundy/wine was my favorite in that series. In this set, my favorite was the ivory, camel and burgundy/wine. #2 was the black, ivory, and burgundy and #3 the black, ivory and camel. Clearly I like a very light neutral, a darker neutral and a color. Also, it seems I like burgundy; I have one piece. A long sleeve T I bought to get me thru the Christmas season in the cold frozen north. We stayed home last year and I don’t think I ever wore it. Perhaps it will go with me to Denver for grandson #3’s Christmas choir concert. And I have just the brooch to wear with it!
I would also enjoy seeing a revisit to this system with navy/dark denim as the dark neutral.
Also! Are we going to be seeing another set with Georgia O’Keeffe’s Abstract Blue? That would be quite terrific for me! Thanks again!
HI Janice,
I had trouble pinning this one to my Pinterest saves…not sure why, but wondered if the link wasn’t working. Did anyone else have trouble?
Not only is this wardrobe really pulled together beautifully, the analysis is incredibly helpful. Our heroine is superbly supplied to dress nicely until spring.
Report from Vienna: lots of camel and brown in shop windows. The styles lean very classic. One tailored dress in a chocolate and camel houndstooth really caught my eye. Hairstyles are simple, jewelry is minimalist and makeup is subtle. I saw only about 30-40% of the all black uniform, but def Women in Vienna lean into neutrals with great use of scarves.
We viewed the Monet to Picasso exhibit at the Albertina. The beautiful paintings from the impressionists, pointillism, fauvism, the blue riders, the bridge artists, etc had me mentally selecting beautiful palettes.
This series was a real winner for me. I will be referring back to it often. I like subdividing it into 4 parts, and as mentioned by several readers, then analyzing. Awesome job Janice!
This is so beautiful it is beyond words! Also, the versatility is wonderful! I love how you have taken 4 colors out of a painting and recombined them for different occasions