October 3, 2025
This painting has all kinds of potential. Is that background color maybe navy-ish? Is there gold around the edges? (yes) As with pretty much any painting worth it’s salt, this one is worth studying at some length…
As with our other heroines – so far – this most disciplined of women is trying to purchase items from her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe list. Happily, she found dresses that are VERY similar, except for very different fabrics! The ponte knit feels dressy to me, while the corduroy is going to be rather relaxed. If you love the cut of a garment, don’t hesitate to make it a signature.
necklace – Anthropologie; plum jam ponte dress – Boden; gray cotton cardigan – Lands’ End; scarf – Saachi; aster pink/raspberry striped turtleneck – Lands’ End; raspberry sorbet corduroy dress – Lands’ End; grey suede boots – Blondo
Here’s another heroine who is making quite neat progress on her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, but who is moving into the end of the year with only Spring/Summer garments to add. We shall see how this work – do you think we should try to finish the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, or indulge ourselves in more seasonal things?
When we divide our heroine’s wardrobe into two color families, they’re not exactly evenly split. That sort of makes sense to me; I always feel like the classic grey garments need to be here, but the more fun things – especially prints – will be more in the white/pink/burgundy group.
Yes, I always really love the jewelry and scarves. But there’s something about this assortment that’s particularly appealing…
Hmm… I’d love to find beautiful grey loafers for this heroine…
The new garments added this month are really easy to incorporate into the existing wardrobe. And dresses are SO SIMPLE – earrings, shoes, maybe a necklace or scarf…
I wonder if I could be happy with a wardrobe in shades of grey and shades of purple? I suspect I could…
love,
Janice
earlier installments of this wardrobe can be found here: Christmas Day Introduction, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September
p.s. Ten years ago, I was on my way to the Rugby World Cup in Cardiff! This was back in the day when I ran, so my packing is fully of athletic “stuff.”
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I would love to know this heroine and/or see her every day.
The wardrobe is beautiful.
I especially like the brooch and the two dresses.
I hope she gets a second pair of purple trousers.
And she has a gray-purple checked coat in her closet 😉
I wear a lot of purple and grey. I do indeed have purple, plum and lilac trousers. I have a purple boucle coat and and a plum waterproof with detachable fleece. I could wear a purple column with grey top or vice versa.
I’d like to find more purple patterned tops and a daytime purple dress would be nice.
Janice, you are a genius.
When you first presented this gray and purple wardrobe (and painting, for that matter), I was not a fan. These aren’t colors that I like at all….I actually would run away from them. That being said, you have made such a beautiful, cohesive and complete wardrobe that it has me thinking again about my feelings on these colors.
The other piece you’ve accomplished here, that’s frankly blown me away, is how you’ve created such a complete wardrobe with only two colors. Yes, there are shade variations, but at the end of the day, this is just two colors. I love color…and an abundance of different colors. Yet, you have made this seem absolutely manageable to comprehend. While this will never be my preferred palette, I love what you’ve done here. Well done, you!
I’d love to see holiday apparel in this painting also!
I know from experience that I can’t do just two colors, but this is truly amazing, and when I DID do just two colors they were purple and black, so you can see where this would appeal…. I think she’s done quite well on the template and can move on to seasonal items and not worry about “filling out the grid”. Love the colors of the new additions. Happy Friday everyone! TGIF!!!!
Stunning wardrobe and I love it! Grey is a good color on me but I just don’t like it and find it depressing. So I’d just swap in navy and other shades of blue and be very happy with this wardrobe. Definitely move on to seasonal items.
This cool capsule wouldn’t suit me, but it works wonderfully. I hadn’t looked properly at the picture before, but today it has drawn me in and is fascinating. I love the soft layers and the indistinct figures in it. Thanks Janice. Oh, and FYI Land’s End (uk) sale is on, so worth a look :-)
I couldn’t quite figure out for a moment why I was so inordinately drawn to and pleased by the inclusion of this striped turtleneck (I don’t even wear turtlenecks!)…then I realized that it has Cheshire Cat from the 1951 Disney animated Alice in Wonderland movie vibes in the best possible way.
Looking at the jewelry and scarves, I am struck by how classic-delicate-feminine the pieces are – which speaks to a heroine who is either (1) very clear about and committed to that as her style or (2) is accidentally building a one-note accessories capsule because pink tones lend themselves in that direction and it’s easy to keep buying more of the same thing.
A wardrobe this limited in color palette and vibe wouldn’t suit me at all, but one heroine’s rut is another heroine’s groove!
Oh Sally, that’s the best line of the day! I suspect you’re going to hear (well, read…) that again here on The Vivienne Files. All the smartest people are here, right?
love love love,
Janice
Hello Janice,
I would like to buy the Timeless wardrobe template and it seems like the link is broken? Love the colors on this wardrobe. Thank you!
Good question about filling in the gaps. If our heroine buys more fall/winer garments that she doesn’t need, then she’s spending frivolously. If she buys summer/spring garments just to check a box and they’re not really great picks, then that’s not sensible either.
I think this heroine should think long term and wait until next year to get more spring summer items that she really loves. She’s made it this far in sensibly choosing items that are perfect. She can hold out a little longer.
Maybe for November and December she can come up with some great holiday/ fall activity outfits from items she now has in her beautiful collection.
By the way, that brooch is so pretty. My heart skips a beat every time it pops up.
Still loving this and still using it for inspiration packing for my 2 1/2 week trip in November. I’ve started putting a few pieces aside and I am really pleased with how it’s looking. Yes lovely gray loafers would be wonderful. I have a pair of black leather and gray wool spectator loafers by Stuart Wiseman. I remember wondering if I should spend the money, but they came in a Narrow and I did like them so… Turns out 12 years later the answer is YES! They look as good as the day I purchased them.
I love this capsule! My fall/winter wardrobe is navy and light grey/silver basics with “berry” accents. I love these plum accent pieces and the plum jam ponte dress is in my cart. As far as the template goes, the general idea is good but not completely applicable for every climate. I live in a 3-season, temperate climate (plus menopause!) where I seldom wear heavy winter garments. I wouldn’t be running out to buy turtlenecks, down coats, or wool pants. Instead I wear my fall clothing through the winter and layer cardigans or sweaters over summer Ts on those “cold” days.
Thanks for all your work with these beautiful paintings and their respective heroines!
Love the tall grey suede boots, and also the previous ankle boots & sneakers.
Lovely as always! I love purples and greys, and the combination is one I enjoy wearing. That said, I don’t think I have the discipline to wear a wardrobe with only two colours. So your opening really caught my attention…a little navy(ish) and a little gold. I can see slipping a little bit of each into the plan, maybe something in a print with some combination of grey, purple, navy, or gold? Or a special season-appropriate navy dress?
Well, I am off to admire the jewellry some more and daydream.
Oh dear, Janice, I can’t find the Quince link. Did I miss it somehow?
Another truly excellent line of advice: If you love the cut of a garment, don’t hesitate to make it a signature.