March 26, 2026
She likes these colors, and the angular, graphic qualities throughout this painting:
She discovered at the end of last summer that she just doesn’t wear blue – not denim, not chambray, not a tee shirt…
This summer, her wardrobe is going to be these colors:
Last summer, on the last weekend they were at the summer house, she carried out enough clothes to outfit her entire extended family, plus a few neighbors! She didn’t have a plan, she didn’t have a clear color palette, and she forgot what was already AT the house. Not this year!
The weather is changeable, so she’s starting with a mix of legitimately summery clothes, and adding in a couple of sweaters, and a pair of long-sleeved shirts…
Earrings – Kate Koel; faded sage sweater – L.L.Bean; faded sage tank top – L.L.Bean; weekender bag – Béis; sneakers – Earth®; thyme crop pants – L.L.Bean
A good shopping bag is essential if she’s going to the farmer’s market every Saturday morning:
White linen shirt – J.Crew; earrings – Karine Sultan; silver sand short-sleeve sweater – L.L.Bean; pearl necklace – J.Crew; sea salt tank – L.L.Bean; antique white shorts – L.L.Bean; white sandals – Steve Madden; market bag – Clare V.
Pretty floral colors are her chosen accents:
Salmon checked top – L.L.Bean; earrings – Posh Totty Designs; yellow top – Lands’ End; yellow cardigan – Alex Mill; linen skirt – Eileen Fisher; bag – Apatchy London; sandals – Bueno
A couple of extra tops, and a favorite scarf, finish up her first week of building her summer wardrobe. This is for ALL of the weekends, and for at least a few full weeks…
At the end of her first full weekend in the summer house, she has this wardrobe there – except of course she will have to wear something for the trip back home!
How can she wear these things? Oh, she’s not worried!
On Monday (before we start with April’s six “Painting” posts!) I will figure out what she’s wearing for the trip home, and what she’s going to pack for the second load of clothes she’s taking away for the summer.
Maybe she’s going to be fine with just 23 garments? Or maybe she’s going to take more things up later in the summer?
I know people who do this, and it’s interesting to hear from them how very badly they have managed it…
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, it was Autumn Trees – The Maples by Georgia O’Keeffe that inspired a wardrobe in charcoal, light grey and shades of maroon. Our heroine is looking for a new place to live…
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I had to laugh at your last comment “how very badly thay have managed it…”. 🤣. Thanks to you, I think I would be good at sticking to the plan, so all I need is the beach house 😂.
Jokes-to-self apart, I like how this one turned! It seems perfect for changing weather which seems to be the new normal everywhere! Not a yellow fan, but not a hater anymore and I’m trying to put together a multi-light colored accent to my spring-summer clothes. What I mean is adding a top or 2nd layer in 2-3 light colors like this yellow, pink and mint/leaf. I already have a multicolored light scarf and blue as basis.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Blessings to all 🌻.
One of the wonderful consequences of following TVF is opening my eyes to a wider range of different art and artists. Before I even read this, I thought “I think that painting might be by Paul Klee” and I was right! So thank you for an art education.
It’s was amused when you said that this heroine didn’t wear blue in any shape or form. My eyes were immediately drawn to the blue and pink. This is a painting that offers different colour schemes.
Packing for summer holidays is always tricky. In the UK. We can’t guarantee that the weather will follow the forecast. I’m always worried that I’ll be caught out by localised unseasonal cold or wet weather and not have the right clothes. I might end up going to a nice restaurant or theatre trip and not have a smarter outfit or nice shoes. This is already exercising my brain regarding my trip by train to Scotland in June.
As someone who DOES wear denim and chambray a great deal….I’d think that this wouldn’t appeal to me. Yet, it does! It’s a gorgeous grouping in these warm, Autumn colors that would look good on so many of us. I happen to love every painting I’ve seen of Klee’s….and this is no exception. I have never seen this one before and I’m grateful to see an unfamiliar work by an artist that I adore.
This is a great wardrobe! I hope you continue developing it. If not, I am already amazed by what you’ve accomplished here. My one addition would be a pair of khakis…and maybe a skort! Skorts are great for long walks on the beach or around the lake. They also ‘feel’ a bit more pulled together than shorts for going into town.
You have inspired me by showing Autumn colors in a very clearly Spring and Summer wardrobe. I think sometimes I get locked into wearing the colors of the season in that particular season only. I am happy that you have shattered that stereotype in my brain.
What a lovely wardrobe! 🤩
I live in this green
and wear cream, turquoise, rust, dark blue, curry yellow, burgundy, etc. with it.
I like the textured and patterned pieces you’ve chosen.
As a long-time lurker, I love when I follow the link to ten years ago and can say, “Oh I remember that heroine!”
Your gift for storytelling and characterization are as good or better than your eye for art and fashion – and that’s saying something!
Yes! 🙂
Ooh, the lookback was just what I needed – I found a gorgeous black/wine/old-gold scarf recently & was trying to figure out what our Dark Lady heroine would do with it for summer (all her wardrobes were fall/winter). Adding light grey was a good answer. 😊. Altho if you have any updates to her wardrobe for the warmer months I’m all eyes!
This wardrobe is lovely too!
I also do not wear denim, chambray, or blue. Absolutely love this one and can hardly wait until Monday. Perhaps later we could see her expanded dressier capsule for a weekend in the city?
I raise my hand as someone who has managed this very badly in the past. Sadly, our lake place has become a kind of halfway house for clothes I really don’t wear but don’t want to get rid of. I actually cleared most of it out at the end of last summer and I appreciate this guide to rebuilding.
Yes I too have “done this badly” . What makes one think if you don’t love something at your home you are going to be so happy to wear it at the lake? Gradually I’ve just gotten rid of those clothes but it took a few years! My husband and I both change into “lake House clothes” on arrival and wear what we had on back home. This has been the most helpful trick. Too often one of us was looking for some shirt or jeans only to realize it was at the lake.
A fresh and breezy combo! And some cute stuff from L.L. Bean this season. I particularly like that short-sleeve seersucker top, although the navy one is more my palette.
Janice,
I’m loving the varied choices in both accent colors and weather appropriateness here .In southern PA we go from high 30’s one day to high 70’s the next day ! Craaaazy! I’m wondering if you have tried packing with a Beis bag with the bottom shoe section ? I have just purchased another brand from Amazon but haven’t yet packed in it. I’m wondering if I’m going to find myself annoyed at having to unzip the bottom and tilting over the top section ? Two You-tubers that I follow use that bottom shoe area as a packing cube and pack Mari Kondo style , utilizing the full height and width of the shoe section when folding each garment . I’m curious on your thoughts on packing this way ?
Typos above with a lack of a capital and then a period ! I need to edit more carefully!
I have to admit that I would end up packing my shoes AND all of my lingerie in that bottom section. And after a day or two, it would be shoes and dirty laundry. For me, having a separate section for shoes isn’t the best use of space. I tend to pack my shoes VERY LAST THING, on top of my clothes, soles up or against the inside wall of my suitcase.
Yes, I clean the soles of my shoes before I pack them, and I still point the soles away from my clothes. I never worry about smashing my shoes flat for the 24 hours or so that they’re in a bag. Maybe I’m reckless!
love,
Janice