September 26, 2025
If things go REALLY well, I’m flying back from London to Chicago today. I’m writing this on the 17th, so if things are sold out or if something is haywire here, I apologize! I will fix it next week… xoxo, J
We looked at this painting a long time ago, and I still think of it often. The colors are like nothing else!
This could be quite a complete wardrobe in ivory, taupe and black, of course. But adding yellow and rosy coral is a real departure from what one might expect…
Our heroine’s going to a dance competition – having talented children occasionally requires hitting the road for a few days! They’re going by train; the dancer in question has a LOT of gear to bring, so packing small is in our heroine’s best interest…
Earrings – Kendra Scott; neon coral cashmere cardigan – J.Crew; tee shirt – J.Crew; scarf – Bimba y Lola; charmeuse pants – J.Crew; tote bag – The Sak; boots – Söfft
She’s packing the skirt kind of “just in case.” If she turns out to be related to one of the big winners, she will have her photo taken with the victorious duo! And she wants to make sure her child realizes that she’s taking this seriously, and that she cares deeply.
Scarf – Saachi; pearl earrings – Azura Jewelry New York; black & taupe earrings – Jennifer Behr; butter yellow tee – L.L.Bean; taupe cardigan – Olsen; square scarf – Artifact.; Pozzoli pink tee – J.Crew; taupe pants – Varley; black polo collar sweater – L.L.Bean; black skirt – J.Crew; taupe bag – Liu Jo; sparkly taupe flats – 27 Edit Naturalizer; pumps – David Tate
She’s pretty happy with this – she’s got two black “suit-like” groupings, and a taupe suit. In theory, she could wear any three of these garments together (well, a 2nd layer, a top and a bottom!), without horrid disaster. The scarves help pull everything together – and in the cold dance facility, they are nice around one’s neck!
She’s going to have her hands full in the mornings, so it’s nice to have so many options:
I really wish that taupe was much more readily available – it’s so versatile, and if you get the right shade of it, most of us can wear it! But it doesn’t ever seem to break through the fashion world; more’s the pity…
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I paired a bunch of brightly color accent garments with a core of navy. It holds up pretty well!
p.p.s. I know that many of you are fans of Quince – I would show their items here, but they seem to NEVER have “good” photographs of their merchandise. But if you want to shop there, and still support my work, you can click on THIS LINK HERE WHICH GOES TO THE QUINCE SITE.
I’d be grateful….
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I love taupe Janet and agree it’s frustratingly hard to find the exact shade. It’s a fantastic neutral and for me, just a bit more interesting than grey. Hope you’re recovering well.
First of all, I’m so sorry you’re not headed back from London, on what would have been, an amazing trip. I hope your rescheduled trip goes well when it happens and that your ankle is healing. Do you have a walking boot? A teacher friend here bedazzled hers….and it looked amazing. She got a bunch of inexpensive, but vintage looking, brooches and hot glued them. Silly as it sounds, it turned out fabulously.
Onto the wardrobe. I just love it and could see this for myself. I love yellow and pink…as well as taupe and black. This is a great use of color and space. My only caveat would be the short pencil skirt. I don’t know about many of the ladies here, but I can’t wear this style any more. I’m 59 and it just feels inappropriate for me. If I were Helen Mirren? I’d rock that skirt. But, I’m not and I’m okay with that. I found another J Crew knee length skirt, to keep the same idea of not being a long skirt….but might be a bit more flattering on those of us with thighs and a bodonkadonk. What do you think? https://www.jcrew.com/m/womens/categories/clothing/shorts-and-skirts/knee-length-skirts/ME690?display=all&fit=Classic&colorProductCode=CI656&colorCode=BK0001
Happy weekend all! I’m headed to Boston from Maine for the second weekend in a row….and I’m here for it!
I could easily see myself wearing this entire mini wardrobe though I am finding it increasingly hard to wear yellow. My husband thinks it looks great but it doesn’t blend well with the rest of my closet. He also likes a very soft blue which when looking at everything here I could swap out in place of the yellow. It would match beautifully with the first scarf and look great with the horse inspired scarf offered from Nordstrom as an alternative to the butterfly pattern.
I’ve lightened my hair with highlights and it has done a lot to brighten my face which has gotten increasingly wrinkled with weight loss of more than 60 lbs.
I do have the taupe slacks but haven’t found a suitable second layer in that shade and resort to black or cream when packing for Italy.
Do love the pieces in this post!
As a former ‘dance mom’ I love this wardrobe! … wish I would have had it when I had 3 Irish dancers under my care … Thanks Janice, & hope you feel better soon!
This wardrobe makes my heart sing! I am astonished that Janice found such great taupe pieces for this capsule – it is the hardest color to find – in what appear to be matching tones, no less! The taupe butterfly scarf is so perfect for this capsule, it’s hard to believe. I am always a fan of a nice bridge piece scarf to pull a color palette together, and I don’t think you could do better than that butterfly one! My own yellow is a paler one than this, but it feels churlish to quibble :) Brava, Janice!
I would have a good start to a similar capsule I pulled together the pieces from this post, including a floral print skirt that does a good job of bringing the colors in Janice’s palette together (outfits #3 & #4):
https://www.withinaworldofmyown.com/post/soft-pink-color-combos-for-fall-winter-outfits-using-color-formulas-black
I admit that I’ve sometimes questioned black with light pink, but I think that’s because (1) depending on the fabric/texture, black can look overwhelmingly dark and dense, but with “softer” black pieces, I have come to love the combination, and (2) it’s a high value contrast that isn’t ideal for my own soft/light coloring so it sometimes is better in theory than practice for me (though I do have a higher tolerance for a value contrast mismatch to my colors than some people do, so it’s not at all a deal breaker).
While I clicked on your link to explore other iterations of black and pink, what drew my attention was how the paper beads were made. One thing I want to pursue in retirement is learning more about jewelry making and repair so this fits right in my niche. Will need to check your website more often as I saw some other fun ideas as I scrolled through.
I hope you give paper beads a try! It’s fun…and a bit addictive, be warned :)
I agree that taupe is so hard to find. Do you remember the color “mushroom?” I seem to remember it as a darker taupe, maybe from the late 70s or early 80s. If that color was brought back, I’d have a field day!
Deb, I remember mushroom taupe. I loved it and sometimes wore it with charcoal grey. The last time I saw it anywhere was in the late nineties. Too bad, as it’s a great color.
Mushroom is such a wonderful color – I wonder why it has faded away in the fashion world? I would jump on it, given the chance!
I love the colours in this painting! Would you consider doing another wardrobe without the black or with the black as an accent?
With the Quince issue, have you tried asking co-pilot or another AI app to create a flatlay image of the product based off the photos they have on the website? I’ve done this with a lot of my clothes to put the images into my Indyx app. My own photos were terrible and the websites I ordered from frequently only have photos on models. Co-pilot worked really well to generate a flat lay image
I have, and the results so far haven’t been good. I really don’t like using AI for anything, given the damage that the data centers do to the environment. It’s getting to the point that doing the right thing for nature requires constant vigilance!
hugs,
Janice
On my screens, the taupe looks more grey. Pink and grey is one of my favourite colour combinations. I agree with Sally’s comments about black and pink. I would use charcoal grey instead.
I was also a “dance Mum” for about ten years. The amount of outfits, bags and equipment that we carted around was unbelievable. Their partners Mum’s and I made a decision, early on, that we would only go to competitions that we could travel to in a day. My outfit was comfortable and layered. My shoes were sensible because seating was often in steeply raked metal stands in a sports hall that were a trip hazard.
Taupe in it’s many shades has always been a favorite of mine. Jjill often has some pieces just FYI. had to laugh at “in case she’s related to a winner”; writing like that contributes so much fun to TVF!
These colors remind me of the Klint painting this year.
I’ve been lucky enough to find a few new and secondhand pieces in this beautiful color over the past few years. Taupe goes with pretty much any color.
This wardrobe is beautiful again. 🤩
I love your use of taupe as a neutral. It’s a break from using grey and, for me, a substitute for camel, which I can’t wear. I’m a dance “grandma” and, sadly, it’s coming to an end. Our girl is a senior and going off to college next year. So this years competition trip will be our last. This capsule, one color substitution (deep teal for yellow), is going to New Hampshire. Perfect. I did not catch what happened to you on your trip, but hope you heal quickly.
Stunning – I think this is my favourite in a long while.