January 19, 2026
Please note, some things are selling really quickly! I do my best, but you might miss things here if you hesitate at all…
Now that we’re all hunkered down with our wardrobes for the rest of this season (winter for us in the north, summer in the southern hemisphere), some of us will soon be ready for just a bit of something fresh and different…
The easiest way to do this is to find a versatile piece of clothing in a color that appeals, and then add one or two accessories (or maybe a layering piece for your new addition) to bring some brightness to your days.
For some reason I don’t understand, these kinds of quarter-zip tops are a BIG THING right now. I know that a lot of the hype has been around sweaters in this style, but I’m sort of liking the idea of a fleece top. What’s not to love – warm, washable, layer-able…
So which color would tempt you?
This scarf has tiny lemurs on it!
Quarter-zip – Lands’ End; earrings – Anthropologie; striped tee – Lands’ End; scarf – Lost Pattern; bag – Zatchels; loafers – Robert Zur
Yes, this next handbag is expensive, but it’s a lifetime of beauty…
Quarter-zip fleece top – Lands’ End; earrings – Julie Vos; silk scarf – Silk and Bears; bag – Cult Gaia; ballet flats – Talbots; striped turtleneck – Lands’ End
I have a pair of these “sneakerinas”; they’re absurdly comfortable! They’re not built for long-distance hiking, but if you need something comfy for sitting on a plane (or in a car), these are a wonderful candidate.
Quarter zip fleece – Lands’ End; citrine earrings – Mounir London; shirt – Lands’ End; scarf – Silk and Bears; sneakerinas – Vivaia; bag – MUD Manufacture Under Design
I really like the way a shirt with a collar looks under a quarter-zip. It’s unexpected, but works well!
Quarter zip fleece – Lands’ End; earrings – Lila Rasa; striped shirt – Lands’ End; sneakers – Gola; bag – Lefrik; socks – Lands’ End
I love this next color, but what an odd name… If the sky is this color, normal wisdom in the Midwest United States is to head to a tornado shelter!
Fleece quarter-zip – Lands’ End; earrings – Nadri; misty aqua tank – Lands’ End; wool tote – Graf Lanz; scarf – Elizabetta; sneakers – Nike
I’m always so intrigued by olive green shades. This looks rich and unexpected – I think it would be amazing with navy. And what splendid boots!
Quarter-zip fleece – Lands’ End; earrings – Dhwani Bhansal; scarf – Kinalba; moss suede bag – The Sak; tee shirt – Lands’ End; boots – L’Artiste
Okay, this is just plain pretty!
Quarter-zip – Lands’ End; earrings – Alegoria Jewellery; socks – Lands’ End; beanie – Lands’ End; clouds tote – Gyyllstad; sneakers – Adidas; scarf – Talbots
And yes, if I were needing a new accent, this would be it! Variation on an existing theme in my wardrobe…
Fleece quarter-zip – Lands’ End; earrings – Ever Jewellery; oxford shirt – Lands’ End; scarf – Coach; bag – Brahmin; shoes – Minnetonka
Which color appeals to you the most? I’m always so curious about what colors everyone most wants to wear…
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, we started with a happy, friendly painting and built a travel wardrobe with came at the center, and turquoise and pink accents!
Love these colors? Save them to Pinterest!
The whisper lilac and clear blue sky looks almost the same on my device. Love the olive bag and boots! Think I would go for the mint sky in line with mixing blues and greens as you have shown quite a bit of lately and really appeals to me. On this cold day I am drawn instantly to the red and I like the actual red pieces too.
Red, please!
Dijon Gold & Forest Moss for me, please:) The second one is actually my neutral, but i like the combo!
Love the Clear Blue Sky! And the bag actually has clouds on it!
Also, meant to say that I have several of these fleece pullovers as well as the full zip version and wear them both a lot in winter. I size up for layering and coziness. The full zip version I use if I’m running Hot that day, lol, as it’s easy on and off. Wash up well, last a long time!
Me too! I live in LE full zip fleece jackets during the winter. The weight and design are perfect for my lifestyle.
Bring on the red! Red is my favorite accent color…it looks fabulous with both black and navy bases, as well as tan and white. Red can elevate any outfit too. I’m starting to really get into red and chocolate brown, which used to be a ‘no-no’, but is having a moment right now. I have a yummy red pashmina that I wear year round. It looks just as pretty with jeans and a plain white tee as it does with a black velvet dress during the holidays.
My other favorite here is the Clear Blue Sky. During these icy months in northern New England, this light blue just feels fresh and clean. Interestingly enough, red and this shade of light blue actually look fabulous together too.
It’s truly fun to get just a few pieces this time of year (with the understanding that many of these pieces are on sale right now!) to mix and match into your existing base wardrobe to spark some new excitement. If I had to advise any heroine before you make a big investment, it would be to try the ‘new to you’ color in a scarf. You can find them fairly inexpensively this time of year and it lets you try a new vibe without too much of a commitment.
Happy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today to all….may his words inspire us to justice and peace.
Ellen, good advice on color experimentation! As I don’t wear scarves, I look for something simple like a tee shirt, or a deep sale. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I tried a few pieces in brown and teal, playing along with one of the paintings last year. The brown was a fail, but I’ve kept the teal and it looks good with my navy. I realized some experimentation is a good thing.
Tees are a fun way—especially if you pair it with a print that also contains your own core colors…that way you can feel more comfortable easing into something new without a huge commitment. By the way, red looks GREAT with teal!
Justice and Peace! My only value that I pursue is KINDNESS. I believe that it includes all of the other virtues…
And you’re beautiful in red – I’ve seen enough photos on Instagram to say that with confidence!
love,
Janice
Janice, you are very kind. I just love red…it’s my bright color (along with bright pink) that I can add a little or a lot for an outfit. It was never my school color until graduate school (high school and college were both blue & white). I leaned into red HARD when I started my M.Ed. at Boston University. ;-)
Justice + Peace, to me, = Kindness.
Belovedest went to BU…
hugs,
Janice
Forest green is one of my core colors. I have a LE full zip fleece jacket in forest green that I purchased two years ago. I love that LE commits to making many items in a color over several years. I own LE tees and pants in forest green too. It really simplifies planning my wardrobe.
I could be tempted to add a few pieces in misty sky as an accent to my spring wardrobe.
Red for me! Though the Elizabetta scarf with the mint green is just amazing. I also agree with Ellen S about red and light blue – they look very striking in a combo.
I, too, own several of the LE quarter zip fleece tops in dark teal and burgundy and live in them all of January and February here in North Carolina (23 degrees this morning). Thinking I should add the red.
I love all of the pastels, but pink and mint are tops. Lately I’ve been drawn to this pale, buttery yellow. Perhaps it’s time to look out for something on sale?
The coral pink and the pale suburban yellow could be dropped straight into my wardrobe and the results would be an estimated 8-12 new outfits. My neutrals tend to be bright navy and tans & chocolate brown. They’d both look pretty well aqua, apple green, bright blue and Oxford blue. I wear a lot of red, but a red as deep as the one featured here wouldn’t work as seamlessly into my wardrobe as a true red or a geranium red.
A quarter zip certainly works for lifestyle here in the west, especially golf days in the 40s and 50s or neighborhood casual lunches with friends- walks on the Greenbelt.
Whisper Lilac, Clear Sky Blue and Mint Sky (in this order) are my favorites and colors I already wear. I think I need a lavender purse now.
Kim, those are my top 3 picks too!
Whisper Lilac for me, please! Though I notice that Lands End has a rich purple quarter-zip, but only in regular sizes, not in plus (alas). That one would have had me whip my card out right away.
I just about live in fleece during the winter – quarter-zips, full zips, AND vests. Lands End versions are very high quality and will wash & dry with no bad effects on the fabric for a long time – I’m going on 3 years for one and can barely find a sign of wear.
I love a 1/4 zip – fleece, sweater, running shirt. Give me them all! Great layering piece for the cold, at least for me. Part preppy, part athletic. They are great!
Now color – I recently asked chatGPT to tell me my color season and the pale sunbeam is my yellow. But I do like all the pale colors.
Cheryl, I’m with you on the quarter zips. I have an extremely short neck, find the V-neck effect attractive for my body type, and with my thick neck, often feel choked by turtlenecks. I have quarter zips in merino, cotton and blends, wearing them year round.
Another 1/4 zip fan here. Saturday saw me in a Karen Scott Navy w/white stripe 3/4 sleeve 1/4 zip layered with an LLBean navy/white stripe long sleeve 1/4 zip – favorite winter work outfit for casual Saturdays.
I tried one from LE awhile back, and it seemed to run small. I may try again. sizing up this time.
Color? Clear Blue Sky reads periwinkle on my monitor, and that’s my favorite color.
Yay French Fives! These collections are always so much fun to look at. Forest Moss & Sunbeam yellow are already in my drawer – the sunbeam is just that little bit warm instead of icy but still calm enough to be very versatile.
The quarterzip trend kinda cracked me up – I get where it’s going, but as a midwesterner quarterzip fleece is just plain basic issue since forever. And a plain dark neutral one does do surprisingly well on zoom calls. Welcome aboard, Gen Z!
The Clear Blue Sky reminds me of the old Laura Ashley Periwinkle, my absolute favorite blue. It pairs well with both black and navy, which are my basics. And I think anyone would be happy to add some Sunset Coral Peach. I’ve heard that everyone thinks they look good in coral! Thanks for doing this post. And yes, the peach clutch is spendy, but isn’t it lovely?
Clear blue sky is very appealing this morning as I see a very grey day today. I added a yellow jacket to my wardrobe, one of those heart buys rather than practical, but surprised myself as to how well it goes with my blues and browns so a few accents in this yellow maybe in my sights. They are all beautiful accent colours so you cant go wrong with any of them.
I love the dijon, red and olive. SO pretty!
I would normally say the lilac, but in this grouping, that soft yellow is just singing to me! So much so that I’m about to head to my favourite clothing site to see if I can find anything appropriate!
My wardrobe is built around navy and learn olive green with cream, turquoise and coral for accents.
Clear Blue Sky is the colour I added to my wardrobe two years ago. I experimented throughout 2024 with all blue outfits inspired by Elizabeth Magill “Glen”. It was surprisingly successful and I get compliments every time I wear sky blue with navy. My best purchase that year was a sky blue boucle jacket bought for £4.99 in a charity shop! I wear it a lot in spring/early summer and late summer/early autumn. It’s warm but not heavy.
Of course my other choice from this selection is Whisper Lilac. I’d love to find a fine stripe lilac shirt and a lilac poloneck. I like the pale coral pink as long as its not too peachy. Mint Sky is a colour that ought to suit me but doesn’t. This pale green needs to be a tad cooler in tone – aqua green or mint green.
These accessories are spot on. The red lemur scarf and the green garden scarf are my favourites. The moss green boots with the patterned heel, which also come in navy, is just the kind of unusual detail that I like. The floral socks and the blue cloud bag are fun too.
Someone got the year wrong.
I’m already equipped with forest moss, mint sky, red, gold, and coral. Forest moss is also one of my base colors. The others are accents.
Oh yes, I like things colorful.
Fixed! Wishful thinking?
hugs,
Janice
Love these accent color posts! The lilac bag and the blue sky shoes are my favorites; both would work well with my winter staples of jeans and olive green/gray green cords.
I’m kind of fascinated by them right now – they feel like a sensible way to freshen and update our wardrobes without going completely nuts. This doesn’t feel like a “going nuts” time…
hugs,
Janice
I just love the clear blue sky and whisper lilac. So pretty!