December 24, 2025
Happy Christmas Eve! Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, if you’re alive today, you can have a happy day, right? Every holiday doesn’t have to be your own PERSONAL holiday – we can be happy and full of delight for others… That’s one of my goals for 2026.
Okay, I’ve made the decisions. I hate to do this, because I know that almost everybody but me is going to be disappointed that their favorite didn’t make the cut. Feel free to leave a comment asking me to take another look at your favorite work of art. Just because something wasn’t included in this series doesn’t mean that we can’t revisit a work. Or two. Or three!
My first choice is a wild-card; this heroine isn’t going to be held to a normal budget, nor does she live the kind of life that most of us do! She’s kind of dressy, and kind of wealthy, and kind of flamboyant. But she’s also a lovely, sweet and generous woman, and we will love her:
Her color palette is fearless:
This heroine start with her essentials – nice wool pants, a silk shirt, and a twinset!
Note that this year, instead of starting our heroine with a scarf right away, I’m making sure that everyone has a handbag. A scarf is delightful, but a bag is – for many of us – an essential item:
silk shirt – Banana Republic; earrings – Alexis Bittar; cardigan – Alex Mill; wool pants – Alex Mill; vest – Alex Mill; bag – Donna Karan New York; loafers – Schutz
Our second heroine is also sort of an experimental addition; I’m fascinated by the juxtaposition of blue and green with classic ivory and black. This wonderful woman is much more casual than our first heroine…
I think that these colors are going to be a lot of fun!
This heroine has her neutral tee shirts ready to roll. A timeless cardigan and black jeans, and she’s ready to go!
Ivory tee – Lands’ End; black tee – Lands’ End; earrings – Saachi; merino cardigan – L.L.Bean; jeans – J.Crew; tote bag – Rebecca Minkoff; boots – Blondo
I couldn’t skip the duck! Four colors, but WHAT colors!
This heroine is also more casual than the first woman, and she’s also pretty into outdoor activities and nature. We’re going to lean into her brown quite a bit, as well as making sure not to miss that snappy red. If the duck can have red lips (well…), so can a casual heroine!
These two brown sweater are only a twinset in below-zero weather! But our heroine relies on them both a lot, so they are a legitimate “core” in her wardrobe.
What four pieces would you choose? What would you pack without thinking? What would you grab in a fire? What would you re-buy if you suddenly lost your wardrobe, or changed sizes radically?
Earrings – 1928; toasted coconut cardigan – L.L.Bean; toasted coconut crewneck sweater – L.L.Bean; black denim pants – L.L.Bean; black tee – L.L.Bean; tote bag – Longchamp; boots – Trotters
Lovers of navy are in for an Emile Nolde treat this year:
I might find that I can emphasize one of the four accent colors each of the four seasons – if I had four accent colors in my wardrobe, I would be tempted to assign a signature “season” to each of them:
I was quite tempted to give this heroine a navy cotton turtleneck in place of the Pine Valley tee shirt…
Pine valley & radiant navy tees – Lands’ End; earrings – Anthropologie; cardigan – Alex Mill; corduroy pants – Alex Mill; bag – Apatchy London; loafers – Minnetonka
No, you didn’t see this painting before when we were choosing what to include this year, and I don’t know WHAT happened to me that I didn’t add it. This is quintessential autumn to me – and for a heroine with russet hair and changeable aqua to blue to green eyes…
I know that we often look at wardrobes in blending shades of brown and ivory; I’m hopeful that this heroine’s blue/green is going to make this wardrobe just a bit different:
Our heroine is passionate about her cabled sweater and corduroy pants! A bit of ivory to wear under the sweater, some brown accessories, and she’s off to a good start:
French press cashmere sweater – J.Crew; earrings – Farra; cream turtleneck – L.L.Bean; cords – J.Crew; tee shirt – L.L.Bean; bag – Brahmin; loafers – Franco Sarto
And for a softer palette in warm colors – Georgia O’Keeffe!
I see this heroine as a blond, unapologetically going grey. She still looks good in yellow and gold, as well as beiges that ease into brown…
Classic separates in subtle shades of beige, a comfy pair of sneakers and a pair of eye-catching earrings are all she needs for an overnight trip, or a start to a new wardrobe:
Natural lambswool crewneck – L.L.Bean; earrings – Monica Vinader; poplin shirt – Alex Mill; jeans – Lands’ End; cashmere v-neck – Alex Mill; bag – The Sak; sneakers – Frankie4
I’ve spent quite a bit of time recently looking back at Vivienne’s original work wardrobe – almost 30 years ago!
When I broke it down into it’s working components, it looked quite a bit like this:
So for at least a few months, I’m going to use this template as a guide. Not a boss, not a mandate, but as a framework…
What do you think? Can you live with these for the next year?
love love love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I addressed the challenges of wearing orange! I love orange, and I own not a stitch of it…
Like these core pieces? Save it to Pinterest!
Well Done Janice! I love all of these for me except the last one. Looking forward to this.
I don’t know if my mailserver is simply slow or late but I did not get a mail notification for this post? Decided to check your website just in case and here it is! A bit dark for my tastes but this is only the first post so too hasty to judge. Looking mostly forward to the last three ones: one navy, yes! (Hopefully leaning more to the green than the yellow but I have a feeling you will go for the yellow with gold metals.) One with blue/green that I hope includes sage, and one light one, hopefully with some silver and/or rosegold jewelry included!
(*leaning more to the green AND pink. I really like navy and pink.)
+ I am glad that you have chosen one wardrobe with silver metals (even if the rest of that colour palette is too bright for me) so not everyone is just gold.
I hope I am not coming off too negative! You do love your blacks and golds and you should do what you love for your last year!
Not negative to me! I also find black dominates more than my taste allows, but black is easiest to find usually and I now look at shapes and imagine it in my preferred colours when I like the shapes.
#zaidie brown That is a great way to look at it!
That is a great way to look at it, Zaidie Brown!
(Got my mail notification now. It was just late.)
On further reflection, I look forward to seeing the differences between the first and third wardrobes. Similar-ish colour palettes but with a big difference in glamour vs. practical! Hoping for a lot of dresses and skirts in the first one! (Or in just anyone of the wardrobes, to be honest.)
And I finally understood what you meant by:
“I might find that I can emphasize one of the four accent colors each of the four seasons – if I had four accent colors in my wardrobe, I would be tempted to assign a signature “season” to each of them:”
Sorry, it was too early in the morning for my non-native English brain to parse it! I actually look quite forward to seeing that!
I’m looking forward to all of these. And while I know some of my favourite clothes are so old (but well cared for) I would never find a close replacement, I would save no clothes in a fire. A wardrobe can be rebought. My sentimental books, sur l’autre main…
I don’t have a favourite wardrobe yet, I probably will by the end of spring though. I have long since stopped looking at your posts for colours (you helped me with my palette years ago, Janice) and now look at fit and structure. Some of my favourites are not in “my” colours, and some of “my” coloured wardrobes I would feel dreadful wearing. Favourite painting for inspiration would be one of the bottom two brown ones though.
I do intend to play along again this year, shopping my own wardrobe every month and filling in your template. We will have far fewer – just over half – of the clothing from last year, and it will be just under half of my wardrobe. Although my template, rather than 3 tops, will probably be dress, shirt, top. I will doubtless look at what I didn’t pick and feel like I missed some favourites though!
They all look pretty – well done Janice! Especially the variation in the heroines’ life and personal styles appeals me the most.
I like the hidden smiley face in the Emile Nolde painting. I can imagine this heroine as a woman with a very serious job, who just brings in a touch of humor when you least expect it (eg a british crime officer or head of surgery).
Thank you for the extra incentive to look forward to the new calendar year :)
Oh help. I’ve just stared myself silly at this painting & I still can’t find the smiley face. Where is it??? I love the idea of a heroine with a lurking sense of humor!
The Smiley Face is just above the ‘mountain/mesa’. Just look slightly up from there! It’s sort of a Muppet smiley face.
Oh, a very lovely selection.✨️
I’m really looking forward to next year.
In case this got lost in the comments… these paintings are very interesting:
Soir de Neige a Terajimay by Kawase Hasui,
Passenger by Sean Scully, L’Encensby by Fernand Khnopff, Stained Glass Window by Henry Clarke,
The Dream by Lugiano Clan,
The Silbury Owl by Catherine Hyde, and SOUTHERN WINDOW BY LOUIS LE BROCQUY.
I wish you all happy holidays, and for those celebrating, Merry Christmas! 🎄
What a great Christmas present!
I’m looking forward to seeing how all these wardrobes evolve.
I agree that most of them look pretty dark right now, lots of black and brown. But, it’s early days. While the palette for the Lucas the Elder doesn’t work well for me, I’m excited to see what this heroine does. The DK handbag is gorgeous. And it also comes in toasted almond, which would go with the O’Keefe beautifully. I see the brown in the O’Keefe as more taupe on my screen. That’s such a super neutral for so many.
The Nolde had my vote and I’m hoping for a more turquoise type of blue for that palette. I did have to go back and look for the smiley face, Kleo. I think I found it.
The Nolde, Ryder, and O’Keefe are closer to colors I can wear. But like others, I look at them all and try to find what works for me in terms of style and structure.
I like Zaidie’s interpretation of the template. It’s much closer to my own.
I was trying to divide the template into the four seasons. For me, in Florida, it is Spring, Spring/Summer, Summer, Summer/Autumn, Autumn, Winter. Or something like that. Today, on Christmas Eve, the lows are in the 40’s and the highs in the 80’s.
Happy celebrations to all!
What wonderful painting and what a delightful year of art and fashion to look forward to! Each painting is unique and different, rather than repetitive, so I think we will have an amazing year. Personally, I love wearing black, so I’m thrilled to see the black base in several of these. I usually wear black as my base neutral in the colder temps and navy in the warmer ones, so I see this as being the perfect mix of base.
I’m most looking forward to Saints Genevieve and Apollonia and Ruffled Autumn, but I am excited to see what you do with all of these paintings.
I just love the colors red and bright pink…so I am excited to see how these come in to play.
Merry Christmas to all from snowy Maine!
None of my choices made the cut, but I am looking forward to seeing what you choose for each palette this year. I need to pare down my wardrobe so will be participating in this exercise. Thanks for including the warm autumn painting, that’s for me 🥰
They are all beautiful. That being said, the only one with colors I can wear is #1. I’ll enjoy seeing the others on other people, who can wear pastels, tans, yellows, orange, browns…….
Thank you.
Love your choices. I’ll enjoy seeing how you build wardrobes for each of these. The two tha personally appeal the most and fit my wardrobe are the duck and the ruffled autumn clouds, so I’ll be applying those, and enjoying the others as an onlooker.
I am looking forward to Lonely. But also to the Georgia O’Keefe. just switched my closet over to my winter wardrobe, and I am looking at core colors of Black and Grey, with bits of blue, green, and ivory mixed in. As much as I love pops of pink and wine, I do tend to lean toward cool colors, when I actually wear color, which is rare
I will be rebuilding my wardrobe next year for medical reasons, and started reading through your archives to prepare, and mind set. I don’t want to buy mindlessly, and really want to build a wardrobe that reflects and respects 60 years of life.
Can’t wait to see where you go with these, and Happy Christmas Eve! I am so happy you included the Ruffled Autumn Clouds. I hope there is a lot of color there… Regarding the look back, I don’t know that I’ve ever thought I looked good in orange, nonetheless I seem to have accumulated a fair amount of it. I wear it with blue, red, and pink as an accent. Have a great day everyone.
Dear Janice,
thank you very much for your wonderful and inspiring work. I learnt a lot about colors and style, about Art and combinations. You showed me the way!
I wish you a very happy Christmas or whatever you want to celebrate at this time of the year 💫🌟⭐️💛 ☮️
Many regards from Cologne, Germany
Susa
Happy Christmas, Janice…I think you have excelled yourself this year with these choices. I find them all very exciting. I’m particularly intrigued by the idea of having heroines with completely different lifestyles and seeing how their wardrobes evolve, using black as the base.
Thanks for the inspired idea of using a different signature colour for each season. I’ve just been given a new palette and was wondering how to incorporate all the gorgeous new colours without bankruptcy.
Sue
X
Merry Christmas, Janice! All of them – lovely! On my way to find the Autumn painting. Our house is old and small and not a lot of wall space, but that piece is speaking to me!
Thank you for sharing your talent with us!
Merry Christmas and wishing you a wonderful New Year!
Marla
Everything, while pretty, is quite dark, saturated & mostly warm-toned. I was hoping there would be at least one palette for those of us who wear cool, muted colours and can’t wear anything yellow or orange. Disappointing that there’s nothing for those of us who find deep colours too harsh, but it sounds like I am in the minority, so I understand your choices, I will have to look back and find a different year to follow. Gray and charcoal with a splash of pink, white & light blue seem to suit me best as my overall colouring fades with age.
Yes, that was a disappointment to me, as well.
I agree with you Cathy. I am a Soft Summer and can’t wear any of these colors (sad face). Maybe when I was young and lively, but not now that I’m “old & grey”. Same thing, grey, cool taupe, white, most blues, pink and most light purples in the lavender range. But I do like the core silhouettes and I’ll see if I can find something similar in my color range.
Is that a Burberry scarf Apollonia is wearing???
Ardith Eisenberg, Now, I can’t unsee the Burberry scarf! Hahahahaha! Maybe Janice will give us some classic plaid this year with it…
Hi Janice, wonderful job!!! Like many, I use the style and structure more than the colors, but I think you’ve done a good job representing many different color ways. I also love the personality factor and look forward to seeing how that influences clothing selection!!! From that perspective, I look forward to the contrast between Apollonia, the Duck, and the O’Keefe (fancy/luxe vs outdoors vs aging – I could already see it in the sneakers for the O’Keefe). I feel like my life will span all of these (well, ok, not the fancy but I love velvet and luxe, we’ll call that one my person style) so there will be plenty to learn. My best colors would be the ruffled clouds so looking forward to that too. Happy Christmas eve, to you and everyone else. And FWIW, my policy has always been that while most holidays are not my personal holidays, ALL holidays are an excuse to be kind, to be happy, and to revel in the better parts of humanity that are brought out in others… And I’ve been very happy with that philosophy. Cheers to you and this wonderful community!!
I am happy to see so much brown in various hues as I am so tired of navy and black in my wardrobe.
Happy Holidays! I really wish you would consider continuing the blog as it brings so much art, color, and variation to our lives, but do what is best for you.
Very excited about St Appolonia – really looking forward to a “wildly extravagant Wednesdays” approach. Fantasy can be so inspiring! And I do love the Shelduck, altho I’m hoping that a bit of that marvellous teal sneaks in. Maybe the Countess might make a cameo appearance one day – her attitude is just so excellent…
Happy Holidays, everybody! 💕
Merry Christmas! I’m not exaggerating when I say I so look forward to your posts and that they brighten each day. Thank you so much!
Beautiful! I am most looking forward to the Klien and the Nolde. As a maturing blonde, I know I would have a difficult time wearing the all-neutral ensemble of the O’Keefe without some brightness near my face.
I tend to look at the style rather than the colors used. Although blues are the majority of my wardrobe, I do not think I need another item (or very few-thank you, Janice!). I do not wear a lot of contrast, so the navy wardrobe does not appeal. Based on style and level of contrast, the duck and O’Keeffe are my favorites, so far. I always learn so much on assembling my wardrobe, no matter what color way Janice is using! I also appreciate displaying bags at the core and love the natural fabrics always selected. (Something I have become a fanatic about). What a lovely way to start this holiday! Thank you, Janice.
Very disappointed in the selections made. Too.much Brown and Taupe,. Too many selections of Winter and Autumn. Many people cannot wear brown, and do not purchase it. None of the suggestions as usual were considered. Mountain Forms that was requested by many, of course, was overlooked. After being a follower of this blog for thirteen years, why even try anymore to suggest something. It never happens. This audience changed during the Pandemic, and only they are considered.
This is very much a personal vision blog. Obviously not your personal vision! I’ve been reading it almost since the beginning. The main thing that’s changed is my wardrobe got a lot better. The nice thing about it is that there are almost never troll ish comments.
Trolls do NOT thrive in this environment; maybe because I have zero tolerance for anybody who exerts effort just to be irritating…
love love love,
Janice
Happy Christmas Janice,
Hope you had a great time in Paris! It would be great if we can have some post on Lucinda as well.
I would sub in denim/chambray for the black in the Klein, as black and I have never gotten along well. Lovely choices!
I love your ideas! that’s all, Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah to you and your family!
I love the navy based wardrobe. This is very close to mine, especially with four accent colors! I hope some of her navy shows up as denim. Merry Christmas!
It’s nice that brown is on-trend and good to see it used more. Although these palettes overall are darker, I could wear all of them! Almost like a wardrobe miracle. The O’Keeffe palette is intriguing, elegant in its simplicity. The accessories will elevate this wardrobe. As for the other palettes:
The “Saints” – This is my palette for the holidays.
“Lonely” by Klien – Perfect for a cruise or seaside wardrobe.
“Common Shelduck” by Jones – Late fall wardrobe. Again, accents will make this wardrobe.
“Ruffled Autumn Clouds” by Nolde – Would get the most mileage out of this one but would swap pink for coral.
“Spirit of Autumn” by Ryder – Vacation in the Southwest.
Why so dark? Maybe it’s my monitor, but at a glance, five of the six cores have a heavy darkness to them.
True. Thank you, Lily, for being truthful. ❤️
Often the first core is built in the dark neutral. Personally that works for me – easier on laundry! But by the end, the wardrobes don’t seem disproportionately dark. Just takes time to keep adding to get all the colors in the wardrobe. You could always start with your light neutral core first if that floats your boat :)
Love the Lonely palette, for myself. I don’t wear black, but let’s call it charcoal! Also really like the Ruffled Autumn Clouds. Spirit of Autumn is a very different palette (to me, anyway), but I am very curious to see how it develops. Happy and peaceful holidays to everyone, and particularly to Janice!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year To you and VF followers. Looks like an exciting choice this year of paintings so looking forwards to how they all will unfold. As I live in a fire prone area where u might have to leave at a moment’s notice, the wardrobe is not a priority. Family albums, pets and our safety are number 1 priority. You have shown me how to really utilize my clothing so really looking forwards to this years wardrobes and what lessons I can take away.
No. 5 – the new addition after the shortlist – is the one that resonates for me this year. I did feel the original list lacked something for those who’d inherited a celtic hair & skin tone.
But also note that with a Shelduck, the closer you get to it, you realise the black is actually iridescent green (feel like tweaking the template at some point.)
Always exciting to see the art that we will be spending the next year looking at! Others have commented on how dark they are, and one of the common comments on many posts is “I don’t wear black”. Just a noted repetition that might be worth your consideration. But at the same time, we must all remember that its your blog, your time, and your style. Therefore, your rules! I really appreciate the effort put into these posts. I enjoyed putting together my own wardrobes based on some of the paintings this last year and may do the same this year. Im leaning towards the duck – but including the beautiful blue of the water- and the sunset, since it is so colorful. My color outlook has been defined by “cool” and “warm”. We fall into one category or the other and it so clearly steers our color choices. Many of these paintings are warm overall, but the clothing selections you have made lean strongly towards cool since it is your preference. I am so completely warm toned, that I will choose and prefer much warmer choices. Cheers to a new year!
Thank you for THREE potential wardrobes with no black and no pastels! I feel like there will be plenty of inspiration for me this year and I’m here for every post.
Merry Christmas, Janice, and wishing you a fabulous beautiful 2026.
Wait! What happened to the blue grey water color from the duck painting?!
Your right. It looks like Charcoal Grey is missing, listed on the first post in 2020. The brown looks or could be Ochre, not ugly camel brown. Charcoal and Ochre changes everything. Especially, Charcoal. Not such a hopeless year with the duck in 2026, with those colours. Thanks, Danielle! Wish Janice could see those colours, like you do. ❤️
I suspect it might make it back in, in the form of denim, but I’m frankly pretty interested to see how far one can go with just four colors. One might make a case that all four colors are neutrals – there is a school of thought in which red is a neutral. I don’t go to that school, but I’m going to see how it works!
lots of holiday love,
Janice
Right? I will just freelance and add my own denim. I am grateful for the outdoors woman lifestyle! So easy to be grubby instead of a cool hiker woman! I need Janice to help me spiff up my game! No one encourages us to be ourselves quite like Janice does and none of these really hit the bullseye for me. I like bits of all the wardrobes but none as my signature. Who cares? I use so many of Janice’s suggestions and ideas to incorporate into my own wardrobe and lifestyle. Here is to the great outdoors filled with lakes, streams, sandy beaches and dogs! Love you all. So happy to hear EVERY perspective as each of you adds a point of view that I would not hear or consider if you did not comment. Happy Holidays to you all.
Annie
ps. I secretly pine to be our first heroine. Stylish sophisticated urban lifestyle. New York, Chicago, Milan? Yum!
Janice, what a Merry way to begin Christmas! I love these paintings and can’t wait to see what you do with them. I would love to see one of them (maybe the last?) lean into feminine cuts and shapes rather than straight / boxy / androgynous… I find I need to wear things that are designed more feminine or I look like an imposter.
Can I just say I will savor every single post of yours this year. I can’t begrudge you a well-earned retirement, but I WILL MISS YOU!!!! Your posts are the highlight of my days.
Thanks, Becky! Yes, please, to more feminine cuts and shapes. My face and figure have resembled Granny Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies for the last several years, so straight and boxy clothes aren’t flattering any more.
I like all the paintings this year. The new choices, Spirit of Autumn and Winter Cottonwoods, are lovely! My favorite core is Common Shelduck, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with the red accent color.
Excellent choices! Can’t wait to see how they develope. Happy Holidays to All!
Dear Janice,
I am really looking forward to this series for the following reasons:
1. The surprise painting you threw in – The Sprit of Autumn – is stunning! I just stared and stared for 5 minutes. I see decadence and opulence. I thought of bittersweet chocolate and roasted coffee beans, cappuccino foam and what not on one hand; and the rich gloss of mahagony and cherry wood panels on the walls of old, wealthy homes on the other. And the rich color of the “French Press” trousers and we already on to a great start.
2. I absolutely love the story of the first woman – wealthy, flamboyant, feminine, exquisitely dressed. Getting so much harder to find everyday that I really look forward to following this woman’s wardrobe development. I am also hoping to see dresses and skirts. Though I see opulence in the Sprit of Autumn as well, I can well combine the two in my head. It can be a great exercise.
3. The Autumn Clouds strategy is fascinating. While I do not wear navy, I can see dark indigo denim as part of most people’s wardrobe. And then one can pick not one, but at least two accent colors for any season/preference. I would switch out the pink for orange in my head, and happily wear the mustard and perhaps occasional pops of the basil green.
4. The other surprise painting by George o Keefe is stunning as well. Such beautiful colors for those who prefer softer colors. I can totally see a woman with platinum gold hair who is going grey. I can see a woman who can wear both gold and silver.
5. Most importantly, I think your choices cover multiple grounds. I can see you are providing options for many neutrals here – black, dark chocolate, light chocolate/cognac, navy, taupe, white, cream, beige, and even greyeige; opportunities for both metals, and mixed metals (for e.g., if my coloring was cool I would wear both the Duck and the Cottonwoods palettes with silver instead of gold); colors for warm, cool and neutral skin tones as well as bright and soft coloring; all neutrals, bright colors, soft colors, etc., etc., etc. Well done! This is a very exciting mix.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!
NF.
I really wanted to see Lucinda. I don’t wear brown, black or yellow/orange gold/bright red/bright green. Like others I’m interested in seeing wardrobes for different style types though.
Wishing everyone peace and joy, no matter what you celebrate this season!
Merry Christmas, Janice! What a beautiful selection! I’m excited to see what you’ll do with each of them. The Emile Nolde painting really jumped out at me, and I’d never seen this Georgia O’Keefe, so it was a pretty surprise. The Erika Giovanna Klien painting caught my attention, too. The rich brown and a blue/green is a lovely combination in the Ryder painting, and it’ll be fun to see what our wealthy friend will be wearing!
Merry Christmas Janice, and thank you for this gift. I am hopping right on that duck wardrobe, although with my faded blonde and blue/green/gray eyes of the other heroine I may have to watch that wardrobe evolve as well. I am lured by the casual, outdoorsy element of the Shelduck wardrobe as this is a good part of my lifestyle and one that I seem to grab any old thing to wear.. I have far too many dressy clothes that don’t get worn anymore. I may plan on subbing out some of the black for a dark “iron” gray to soften things. I already have jeans in that colour and they will fit right in. Oh, and a small collection of tiger-eye jewelry (what serendipity). Happy New Year, and l look forward to the first installment in January! It will be fun to play along.
Merry Christmas, Janice! I’m excited to plan and sew a new wardrobe next year, and I expect the first three wardrobes will provide plenty of inspiration. I like all the paintings you’ve chosen, and can’t wait to see the wardrobes develop.
I will miss your posts when you retire. Thank you for giving us a heads-up so we can all pull up a front-row chair for this fabulous last year.
Janice,
Merry Christmas to you and yours ! Great selections, and I am thrilled that you’ll be doing “ Spirit of Autumn” . A huuuuuuge thank you !
Sadly, only Ruffled Autumn has navy as a base. The colours are mainly autumnal in all these paintings. Disappointing that something with cool colours like blue, pink and lilac didn’t make the cut.
I’m excited for these choices, Janice. For years after having my colors done, I stuck slavishly to my palette. But recently, I began craving browns, greens and ecru. So several of the heroines will be giving me ideas on how to incorporate old, beloved colors into what I have. This should be fun.
Can you live with these paintings for a year? I doubt it, as I didn’t like any of them, most are too dark (black and brown) and the one navy offering was too garish. Janice, I hope you reconsider and choose one of the requested paintings that cater for us bright navy, grey and silver lovers who also like berry, teal and denim accents. Thank you.
I love them all. Great choices. I’m excited for the new year.
I love your posts and will read them all regardless, but I’m disappointed that they’re nearly all warm brown-based wardrobes in yellow tones except the ones that are black with jewel accent colors. Nothing for pastel or light, blue-based tones.
Thank you for the pictures. Only one is really for me, the Shelduck, I already loved it, when you started with nature some years back and it is close to my wardrobe.
Just an idea I might try, as the duck is not black but really a dark shimmering green If I can find some pieces in the new pantone colour Phthalo, it might make a nice addition.
Have some relaxing days and all the best for the coming year.
I can tell you what I took out after a lightning strike/fire. Two pairs of jeans, two pairs of brown loafers, one pair of trainers, one pair of black dress pants, two blue/green shirts, five tee shirts, one olive green hoodie, 3 days of smalls, one pair pajamas and robe.
Most of my wardrobe will be replaced over the next few months; I will especially watch all browns, beiges, greens and blues in this year’s paintings. Can hardly wait.
Ps. We walked out of the house, no smoke inhalation or injuries, thanks to our wonderful neighbors.
Excellent suggestions. I am trying to decide which one will be the sleeper hit for me. The last couple of years I have been unexpectedly besotted with one wardrobe or the other, I think it may be the Georgia Okeefe or the duck, but time will tell.
Thank you for the preview. Oh, these are going to be lovely and interesting. I am especially looking forward to Lonely and Ruffled Autunm Clouds. I do confess to being a bit disappointed that none of my favorites were chosen, but that’s on me for not getting a chance to respond to your original post. As a Clear Winter who wears both black and navy as base neutrals, and who loves lots of bright accent colors, I was really hoping for Colored Rhythm, or Lucinda because I love pinks and purples. Lonely should do pretty well for me though, with the black and brights. Petit Matin was another one I liked, but I can see that the colors are similar to those in Ruffled Autumn Clouds. I will be definitely interested to see how it all works with the new (old) chart.
The selections are great for this year! I can’t wait! I did wonder about the color
Selection in the painting Lonely. There is much more blue/gray than black yet
It is not even on the color wheel! Thanks for all your work on the wardrobes it is my favorite every month Have a Happy New Year
Oooh I hadn’t checked your website for a couple of weeks. I’m so excited to see what you choose for the Saint Genevieve and Apollinaire wardrobe, she’s my favourite of your heroines. I will be checking back regularly. I’d been meaning to suggest that you did a summer wardrobe post for her as her previous wardrobes had skewed winter and autumn and it would be fun to see summer wardrobe choices for this dark dramatic palette. Thanks for all your work on these posts Janice.
Apollonia even! I went to see the painting at the National Gallery in the summer too when they reopened the Sainsbury Wing galleries. I was mildly annoyed that the label in the gallery just said ‘The St Catherine Altarpiece : Reverse of Shutters’, with no names of the saints.
though I do miss purple you have done plenty of that for me to look back on and it is time our warmer sisters got a big hunk of fashion. good luck on the hunts.
Oh, Janice! I am thrilled at the selection of paintings! Thank you so much for all the hard work you do in assembling so many wardrobes for our viewing, purchasing, & dreaming pleasure. I will miss you desperately when you retire.