March 11, 2026
Let’s take a minute away from reality, and think about this exceptional heroine, and her favorite painting:
Someone once mentioned to me that they felt that her wardrobe colors felt too “Christmassy”. I suppose if she wore green and red together that might be an issue, but I’ve never thought of it – what do you think?
At the end of February, our heroine’s 12-piece wardrobe was almost perfectly versatile, albeit a little bit more casual than we’ve come to expect from her. She’s trying to not be TOO anachronistic; her work is sufficient to keep her in touch with history. She’s worked with women who dressed in full Middle-Ages regalia – not for her!
One thing our heroine definitely wanted for warmer weather is a simple black dress. When she found this one, she opted to buy the matching shirt too – it will look nice as a jacket-like layer.
And she loves her black silk blouse so much that she decided to buy the ivory one too. She normally doesn’t wear ivory, but finding a pure white silk blouse is pretty much impossible. (and I can vouch that these blouses are lovely – I have the ivory one and I wear it often!)
And a red cardigan, a summery silk scarf, and red shoes and bag appeal to her taste for the bright and eye-catching!
red cardigan – Alex Mill; scarf – Echo; textured silk band-collar shirt – Eileen Fisher; ivory silk shirt – Banana Republic; textured silk dress – Eileen Fisher; red bag – Veronica Beard; red flats – Camper
Her template is tidy, if not really logical! She figures she will fill in gaps as time passes…
One could easily toss this into a suitcase and be gone for AGES:
It’s easy to imagine how our heroine’s new clothes are going to be worn, but it’s also pretty important to actually take the time to envision one’s new outfits. You don’t want to be getting dressed and realize that you don’t have the right shoes, or that you really could use a scarf or necklace to give that bit of coherence to everything:
Swap the red and green for purple, and I’m all set…
love,
Janice
If you need to see how this wardrobe started, and how it grew, all of the earlier posts can be found here: Christmas Eve Preview, January, February
p.s. Ten years ago, we looked at accessorizing a wardrobe in navy, beige and poppy. It still looks current…
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That ivory silk shirt is lovely.
Question: are the sleeves really ultra-long as shown on the model?
It’s hard to know, huh? Given the fact that most models and lean and lanky, I would say those sleeves would be long on we mere mortals.
I have short arms and either move the buttons (a very quick project) so that the cuffs stay at my wrists or I fold the cuffs in half.
How peculiar! Mine aren’t that long, and I have REALLY short arms compared to the rest of my abundant torso. I think maybe she’s just so slender that the shirt hangs down from her shoulders a long way? Maybe someone there could actually give you some measurements for the blouse. You know, as if we were considering buying something and actually wanted to know what the object in question was like…
Retail makes me so furious some days…
love,
Janice
How can you tell, these days, whether models are real people or computer generated?
I can’t. I don’t know if most people can. AI gets better (if this actually qualifies as “better”) and reality is less and less easy to spot. I’m just waiting for some computer to build capsule wardrobes, and I can retire for sure!
love,
Janice
I truly love this wardrobe’s concept. The red and green, to me, aren’t too Christmasy…but I’m also one of those crazy people who puts up her tree in November. As long as you’re not wearing an elf hat and striped tights, I think the combination is just fine…and rarely worn together in these outfits.
My favorite new addition are the red flats. I think they’re adorable and they look very comfortable too, for those of us on our feet all day. I can see these same shoes looking just as chic with a pair of nice fitting jeans and a simple white tee! I have to say that I’m just not a fan of this particular black dress. I have a problem with black dresses—I swear you can never have too many. I think I have 4 or 5, all of which are very different from one another. This one, in this cut in the crinkly silk, feels like a nightgown to me…definitely not something I could wear anywhere other than around the house. At that price, I think it should be more versatile. That being said, I’m sure that, on a day in high 90’s with humidity, I’m sure it’ll be very comfortable!
I’m in the midst of parent teacher conference week, so relying on ‘not thinking’ about my wardrobe is key. I have to teach all day, with meetings from 6:45 am before class to 8 pm, afterwards. Having planned by outfits this week, using your methods, has been a godsend…once less thing to worry about!
Red and Green too Christmassy? I think it depends on the shades. The other day I wore a lightweight plaid tunic/topper which happens to include pine green and a dark burgundy in the plaid. Never would I have considered this related to Christmas. My husband’s comment? “OH, those are Christmas colors” sigh. Christmas must be in the eye of the beholder….
You made me laugh!
I don’t think this wardrobe is too Christmassy but I do believe that any red paired with any green can be considered Christmas colors. I make greeting cards for friends, and using burgundy and sage green on the cards is one of my favorite combos. Or a pink with pine green … so I’m with your husband on seeing those colors together.
I’m loving this wardrobe, though it is a tad conservative for one who is an expert in Gothic architecture. Striped shirts are popular in the shops right now. I’ve seen them in a wide range of colours including green and red. I love florals and never tire of them. Perhaps our heroine loves stripes so I can envisage a green striped shirt in the mix next month.
The silk feels much more “her’ to me, yay! My vote would be to be hand off the white jeans, striped buttondown & b/w sweater to a friend, & keep with the tone on tone textures, rich patterns, luxe fabrics, & tailored or elegantly draped shapes… Yes, I’m a glam fan! (No, this is not my real life. But it’s fun to daydream in an alternate universe once in a while!)
And no, I don’t think anyone would think of telling this lady she was Christmassy. She’s far too much of a Personality. And she doesn’t wear the two colors at the same time anyway, except maybe blended w other colors in her scarves.
Lilbear, I agree with you about the style manifested in this wardrobe for this heroine. I, too, think she would tend to richer clothing selections…. richer in colour, fibre content and classic, elegant style. The striped sweater just doesn’t cut it for me either. I think of the word “luxurious “ when I imagine her wardrobe. Janice, could we splurge a bit for this one?
This wardrobe does not say Xmas to me. That dress is perfect. Another beautiful wardrobe.
My favorite painting for fashion inspiration. I might switch out the green for royal blue. I have a cruise in late August with a week in Northern Italy and I think this would be perfect.
Swap the red and green for purple, and the black for navy and I am all set!!
I would like to point out the stylistic similarity between this wardrobe and the shelduck one. I think with the shelduck wardrobe, many of us were expecting a field researcher/bird-watcher with a casual, outdoor wardrobe. Much to my delight at least, turns out she is more of a data analyst or perhaps an environmental policy analyst who specializes on birds. Therefore her wardrobe choices can resonate with many professional women. On the other hand, I had envisioned this woman with an ornate, feminine, ultra-rich kind of a wardrobe (more in line with her choices in previous years). I was expecting more lace, embroidery, bows, gold details and flowy, feminine styles in this one. Also when I initially read about her extravagant budget I must have been dreaming Versace and Prada (certainly not within my budget but a romantic fantasy to follow). Therefore, as the shelduck wardrobe is evolving to be more professional/business casual than expected and this one is evolving as more casual than expected, the two appear to me to be converging in style (except maybe that this contains a few silk pieces).
P.S. I agree with another reader’s comments above that I wish she would just donate her striped shirt, sweater and jeans, but I don’t think she can just do that at this point.
I imagine this heroine has a “strict” sense of style. Everything impeccable and tailored perfectly. No loose layers, no “comfortable” lived-in looks for her!
I admire that strict style on others so much, and sort of aspire to it in my imagination, but now working from home with two drooly rescue dogs, it’s pretty far from my reality.
I came across some old pics of my coworkers and I at work events in the aughts and I’m pleasantly surprised by how nice (and young!) we looked. We really dressed up for work back then, and I kind of miss that. But I also love my sneakers and my comfy, machine washable layers. :)
I adore this wardrobe! I look best in jewel tones, so this is right up my alley. My only issue is that I can’t wear white. I don’t know why, but any spot or stain within a five mile radius just jumps on me the minute I walk out the door.