September 12, 2025
The last of the four “three-color” wardrobes based on this gorgeous painting:
Our heroine is on her last of four palettes – a perfect calm, neutral color scheme for after the holidays, when one needs to be disciplined and focused for the adventures ahead! Our heroine isn’t even quite sure where she will be traveling, but she’s pretty confident she will be able to pack without stress…
Warmly bundled up – she could easily wear a camelhair coat, or a black parka, over this outfit…
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
Of course, if she’s packing her long plaid coat/cardigan, then her long coat would make more sense. Unless she won’t NEED a coat over her “coatigan”. It depends on where she’s going, what time of year it is, what she’s planning to do, and what the weather forecast is! Not easy to decide, I’d say.
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
As always, getting her clothes where she can see everything makes it easy to know what her outfit options might be:
This should hold her for three days, or even an extra day or two. Some of us have been known to be stranded in the airport, or some strange THIRD airport halfway, or at our destination, or who knows where…
Monday, I’m going to take all of this heroine’s clothing and put it in one place, so we can see how well this works to build a wardrobe. I’m pretty optimistic!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, our heroine was building a wardrobe using the clothing allowance given to her by her employer… I remember those days! Did anyone else ever have this?
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Love this series.
A long while ago I decided on white, light grey, beige & light blue as my neutrals (Intriguing Palette). So four neutrals. Over the last few days I have been experimenting with three of those colours together and at different seasons. My notebook as all sorts of scratchings and scribblings in it. I have had a wonderful time. Great for my brain cells.
Wow! Those colors sound delightful together. The only one that likes me is the light blue, but could I wear the others, this color combination seems very refined in a light tone. Maybe I can work on figuring out my alternative.
Oh, absolutely our heroine will have a remarkable wardrobe from these travel capsules. I’m already picturing combinations in my mind.
Outfit spotted today in Salzburg: simple knee- length print dress in cream and red-orange with a jean jacket and flats.
I have adored this journey with this heroine. As someone who loves brighter colors, I had anticipated this combination of black, ivory and tan would be least favorite. Imagine my surprise that it’s now my favorite. This is just so practical, wearable, stylish and elegant. It also all looks very comfortable, without being in any way sloppy. I have a feeling that I could actually create something very similar—without shopping! I will say, however, that my favorite piece is the plaid sweater coat (or Swoat, as my daughter likes to call them). What a great find! It wouldn’t be warm enough for being the ‘only coat’ if our heroine is traveling to New England after November 1, but it certainly would be a great layer!
That being said, I was browsing on Quince last night and I happened to see this sweater that would also work in place of the gorgeous Alex Mill one—at 1/4 of the price. It has precisely the same feel, but is quite a bit more budget friendly. https://www.quince.com/women/100-organic-cotton-striped-crew?color=camel/black&size=xs&g_network=g&g_productchannel=online&g_adid=1450218406448&g_acctid=978-058-8398&g_keyword=&g_adtype=pla&g_keywordid=pla-302699832618&g_ifcreative=&g_adgroupid=342687987825&g_productid=45898942972074&g_merchantid=128669708&g_partition=302699832618&g_campaignid=44033145496&g_ifproduct=product&g_campaign=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=&utm_term=45898942972074&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=44033145496&gbraid=0AAAAAC4ZeNb5jbRzexwGV4YU9znWEUXei&gclid=CjwKCAjwiY_GBhBEEiwAFaghvv–3aCQrtIedySXAXq5Dzywhsey9egGgMaunTDQ-Vcr2TvEk-P_oRoCBN0QAvD_BwE
Ellen s,
The sweater is gorgeous!
I love quince and while sometimes it’s hit or miss, as it is with all sites, Quince gets it right more often than not.
Jeri B., what I’ve had luck with them about are their sweaters. Admittedly, most of my clothes are from Talbots and J. Crew, but my three Quince sweaters are just excellent add ins.
aargh! i do not need that sweater. i do not need that sweater. but i am a black & tan wearer and it’s gorgeous!
Another Quince sweater that would fit perfectly in this heroine’s wardrobe is this “Barolo Burgundy” 100% Australian Wool Collared Cable Cardigan. I just received it yesterday and it’s fantastic. https://www.quince.com/women/australian-merino-wool-collared-cardigan?color=barolo-burgundy&productPosition=3&searchQuery=barolo&tracker=searchPage__search_section__search_results
I just peeked at it – with the collar it makes a very soft, comfortable alternative to a blazer. Been a long long time since I wore a blazer!
oh gosh, even knowing how much I crave variety and color the wardrobe is awfully tempting. Everything is just beautiful. Have a great weekend everyone.
Same! It’s so elegant in its simplicity.
It is difficult to find fault with this wardrobe…so I won’t! I Love it.
By far my favorite combo. I’m getting ready for Italy first week of October and this is my palette. I replace the black with navy for spring and summer but I’m back to black for this trip. What’s great about this palette is that you can add any spot of color you want, I’m packing a light blue top, a deep red blouse and who knows what color scarf or blouse I might find there?
This is such a delight and easy to pick from my closet but it’s hard to limit myself and not overpack.
Thank you for such a pleasant escape this morning amidst all the strife we wake up to!
I’m the same way—in spring and summer, I use navy as my base. In fairness, I’ll sneak it in occasionally in colder months too, but it’s not my primary dark neutral. Black is what I wear in fall and winter for my dark neutral. I love both dark colors equally, but it’s a lot easier to swap them in and out as seasons change.
Oh, I love it.
These neutral colors are a beautiful base for a French 5 or a few items in different colors.
This is simple and elegant. The kind of wardrobe that would make you feel “put together” and give you courage. Perhaps a tricky meeting or a fraught family time when someone needs to rise above all the emotion and stay calm and collected.
Should you need to stay longer, it would be easy to buy or borrow pieces to fit in plus the burgundy. This is where I would have a top/bottom and second layers in each of the four colours. Mix and match with 12 items and a coat is easy then.
I’m glad that I never worked in a place that had dress code. I assume that this only applies to the women.
Dress codes are largely gone for fear of telling people what to do. However, clothes speak. A well cut pair of trousers and attractive top are better for a smart casual look than cotton trousers and tee shirt. People do notice what you wear and react accordingly.
It would be interesting to see a four neutral wardrobe like this that did include black and navy. Black, navy, charcoal and light beige/ off white. Maybe with denim thrown in as the accent.
I love this idea! Frankly, I like black and navy together, even though my grandmother used to say it was a faux pas.
I love how this wardrobe has been divided into four. What a workable plan! Beth T how is your sorting coming along? I’ve reread your idea/analysis a few times. Do you have 8 colorways you are sorting out? No judgement I have many myself, just trying to understand your process. It sounds informative and helpful. Sometimes I’m surprised at what seems like a “new” idea. Kind of like this current wardrobe Janice has divided for us!
I have loved this series (and the similar one before), even though neither suit my winter/bright coloring and preferences. Would it be possible to try this with two neutrals (navy and white, for example) and two bright accents (bright pink and cobalt, for example)? Yes, these are my personal primary wardrobe colors, but I’d be interested in any winter/bright series with two accent colors. Just an idea I’ve been thinking about. I’ve also been musing if there’s a template for this idea, so one could plug in their own colors. If you’re up for the challenge, it would be fabulous to see. Regardless, thank you for all the hard work you do. It’s very much appreciated.