September 2, 2025
I love the way this painting feels like autumn, although the leaves in the painting are green! Is it the browns? I think so…
Our heroine’s shopping was… eclectic, this month. She realized from looking at her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe template that she “should” be looking for dresses (while knowing full well that there is no “should” in planning a wardrobe!). And she stumbled across the two turtlenecks in perfect colors, and decided to buy them before they were out of stock.
The jewelry was impossible to resist, as was the scarf. This heroine might find herself in some shoe trouble later, but she will address that when it happens!
Silver pine and oatmeal heather turtlenecks – L.L.Bean; earrings – The Met Store; oat linen dress – Madewell; necklace – The Met Store; wool scarf – The Met Store; brown corduroy dress – Boden
She’s making good progress with her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe – although all of those items that she’s missing from the Summer column might be tough to find between now and the end of the year.
But it’s always been my impression that this heroine lives in a moderate climate, so maybe she doesn’t need all that much summer clothing?
When we divide this heroine’s wardrobe by colors, she’s very nearly perfectly balanced. She has 22 brown and beige things, and 18 navy and aqua. This month’s indulgence in dresses is responsible for the shift. These numbers don’t have to match – there’s no virtue in a flawless symmetric wardrobe!
And yes, if she were packing, it would be easy and efficient to pack everything from one palette or the other. There’s no rule that she has to always include all of her wardrobe colors…
And her accessories – oh my! This next image of jewelry and scarves may be my favorite page of all of the images this year in the Six Scarves series…
When she gets dressed, she always manages to find the right shoes to wear, but I have to admit that this selection is starting to feel… small…
Let’s see how our heroine’s new clothes look when worn with her existing wardrobe:
Yes, this one’s tempting. Heck, I find them ALL tempting! I can’t imagine assembling a wardrobe that turned out to be unappealing to me…
love,
Janice
earlier installments of this wardrobe can be found: Christmas Day Preview, January additions, February additions. March additions, April additions, May additions, June additions, July additions, August additions
p.s. Ten years ago, our heroine and her sweetheart were playing a tempting travel game…
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
Not finding this quite as dark this month. Still love that color of green/blue. Still adore the bird scarf.
I love this painting….and this wardrobe always makes me want to ditch what I own and start from scratch in browns. That being said, you have found some gorgeous pieces and I’m mad for both dresses. I can see both being worn now with cute shoes and then cozied up with a chunky cardigan and boots, as the weather gets colder.
I love this week every month, with an every day post! I’m here for it!
The work you put into these wardrobes is appreciated! Because you emphasize a more classic style, you’re definitely helping us move past waves of fast fashion (silly) trends! Also, we get the added bonus of art appreciation!
If you think this heroine might come up short on summer clothing, let’s assume she lives on the Oregon coast!
Are those the suede Blondo boots? Do they need additional waterproofing before you wear them?
Blondo boots are supposed to be waterproof when you buy them. I’ve had a couple of pairs of their boots and still can’t really say for sure that they’re waterproof or not, because I haven’t stepped into a puddle or anything like that to rally test them. I normal rainy conditions, they are indeed perfect, and the suede didn’t seem to mind getting wet. I’m a fan!
love,
Janice
Still my favorite. Separating the whole thing by color groups changes the mood, in my opinion. Like Sheila said, it helps with the darkness I used to see. Not that I didn’t like it! I can see how the colors can be used together differently, by season or whatever. For example I’m pulling my few brown pieces out of the closet now, and they seem right for September. And a teal scarf I have really works with the brown. Still have navy, but it’s good to have other options. I’m still wary of combining navy and brown, but there’s still time, yet. I will start with dark wash jeans, which are close enough to navy. For my purposes. On the page or screen it may look dark and drab, but I think a lot can be done with it, judging by the outfits Janice has assembled. Looks fairly effortless. And I agree, best accessories out of the six.
I can see the navy, aqua, and cream as a beach holiday capsule. It feels like beach glass colors to me, with the chocolate brown to round out neutrals for the cooler seasons.
Those accessories are just lovely. The teal is a perfect pop of colour for the browns, beige and navy.
I just love this series of six paintings!
As with others, separating the brown from the navy makes this feel lighter. For me, I would keep all the brown shoes and bags and drop the clothing down to a handful of pieces. Perhaps only the 2 items I currently have, brown skirt and Mary maxim sweater (cream with brown buffalo). I have been eyeing a cool toned brown t shirt dress. But I know I would only wear it in the fall. So…..still deciding.
If I were buying for this heroine, I would look for navy skirts (dressy and casual), navy shorts, navy/white stripe t and some dark denim. Maybe a couple navy dresses to bridge spring-fall. I think she needs navy sneakers and depending on the dresses/skirts a navy wedge or pump. Navy sandals. Also. Beige loafers or flats and maybe a pump. I would keep all the shoes with the exception of the boots as I like brown shoes with navy. The boots just don’t make sense to me here in Houston; I do see other women wearing them, they’re just not for me.
And her scarves? Beautiful. The scarves, shoes, and 3-5 favorite items would be enough brown for this navy lover.
I also love the daily posts for this series! Hooray! And thank you!
I agree that it doesn’t feel as dark this time, maybe because of the particular outfits that Janice featured? Not sure, but I am finding it more balanced now. Certainly the beige is doing a lot to lighten up the wardrobe, but of course I’m thinking about two things:
(1) how some medium to light denim/chambray pieces would work in this wardrobe, and
(2) the mileage our heroine could get from adding even a single print garment to it.
I know some people really prefer solids or are satisfied with the amount of print a scarf can add but I generally find that prints can really pull a wardrobe together and make it easier to create well-integrated outfits, if that’s your fancy.
That said, I am enjoying the prints from the scarves (some really terrific ones in this capsule!) and in the navy-and-blue section of the wardrobe.
I have a print blouse that I pull out starting in October that has a navy background with a fall foliage print in soft versions of brown, olive, denim-y blue, aqua, and light rust that I considered it as an addition this wardrobe. This made me realize how isolated the aqua/teal/blue color is to base layer tops (not entirely but predominantly).
What are your preferences re: accent color cardigans/jackets? Accent color skirts/pants? What reasons do you have for embracing or avoiding them?
I LOVE both topper layers and bottom pieces in accent colors. Why? I love wearing color (and I think it suits my coloring and style). The ease of creating a variety of color formulas – the inner column, the “suit”, the modern twin set – when you have a trio of pieces in a color is great, and this works as well with accent colors as it does with neutrals. Color on the bottom half is somewhat unexpected and I enjoy the impact that it makes. I like wearing print tops, which works very well with both the Neutral Bottom + Accent Topper formula and the Accent Bottom + Neutral Topper formula.
Re: (2) above – when I say “even a single print garment,” I was thinking of a single print item that bridges the brown/beige with the navy/teal blue. Obviously Janice has included a few prints in the navy/teal blue section!
I would love to show more printed garments, but they’re wicked hard to find, and when I DO find something, it’s either almost sold out, or has no good photographs… Maddening!
love,
Janice
I think the number of prints you have for this heroine as well as the number of shoes, is perfecto! Well done. I am enjoying all the selections in this series.
I know there aren’t a ton of graphic tee lovers in the group, but I love to have a graphic tee that fits with the vibe and colors of my season. Right now I have one that says Grateful and in the background has all sorts of fall things I’m grateful for. It is in burgundy/berry which is one of my capsule colors for fall. It coordinates so well with everything! :) I would love to see something like that. Janice, I remember some art print t-shirts from the met store that were wonderful in previous capsules!! And of course I would love to see actual denim under the navy category.
She’s really turning into a skirt/dress girl! These dresses are quite lovely!
This wardrobe has such beautiful neutral colors, so I’d swap out some pieces for accent colors, like the dark green of the leaf tips and burgundy.
I think this capsule is beautiful.