April 22, 2026
If Rothko couldn’t choose a name for his painting (or technically a number…), then you don’t have to pack with just one accent color.
I’m sure Rothko never, once, worried about what he packed. But we aren’t modern art geniuses, so we think about these things!
Let’s start here – this feels SO MUCH like warm weather to me:
No. 7 or No. 11, 1949 by Mark Rothko
As soon as she saw this painting, she saw this color palette…
Our heroine is committed to denim, and chambray. For many of us, that’s a sensible choice. It’s readily available, in every style imaginable, and if you care for it properly, denim is a true “buy it for life” fabric.
I have jeans that are going to be with me until the end…
So when our heroine has to go away for a weekend, she’s starting here:
bandana – Old Navy; earrings – Kate Spade New York; sweater – J.Crew; 100% cotton shirt – J.Jill; sneakers – On Foot; weekender bag – Patricia Nash; 100% cotton jeans – L.L.Bean
It’s a family function. She’s not at all sure what the weather will be, and she’s equally unclear on what she’s going to be doing! It could be a lot of sitting in a shared beach house, reading and baking desserts. It could be that she will attend an ENORMOUS university graduation, if there are enough tickets.
The weather is going to be somewhere between 40 and 80. Literally. Plus, she absolutely isn’t in the mood to pack a back-breaking ton of clothes.
Can she Six-Pack?
Hmm… her first outfit fits into this template like this; if nothing else, this forces one to focus on what else they think will look right in a template:
This is a big year for yellow, and a yellow outfit could be really handy if they get a warm day. Conversely, a cardigan and a couple of matching tops can be worn when it’s warm OR cool…
And if she completely midjudges everything, she will have a dress with her too!
Brown leather goes with everything, so she’s sticking with that for all of her leather goods.
It all comes out like this:
Red bandana – Centinelle; enameled hoop earrings – Urban Outfitters; rose stud earrings – Unaloe; tomato red cardigan – Alex Mill; striped linen shirt – Alex Mill; red tee – Alex Mill; dress – Lands’ End; handbag – Ecoterie; enameled bracelet – Urban Outfitters; yellow linen pants – Lands’ End; yellow linen shirt – Lands’ End; ballet flats – Taos; belt – Lands’ End; sandals – Franco Sarto
Why yes, it does look as if she could be a kindergarten teacher. She’s fine with that; there’s absolutely nothing in the world wrong with primary colors!
When she gets everything in one place, she has to admit that it’s bright, but she also gets to admit that she loves it!
Yes, she could certainly wear yellow and red together, but she can see already that her small travel capsule wardrobe gives her plenty of ways to get dressed that won’t require anything that bold:
She may have to wear an outfit twice. THE HORROR…
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I shared with you eight ways to wear a navy cardigan. I saw an outfit that sparked my imagination…
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I’m in love with this. From the happy and exuberant palette to the inclusion of denim as a base layer, this grouping just speaks perfection. I’d always thought I couldn’t wear yellow….until I just had fun putting on a yellow sweater to try on at a shop…and voila! I can wear yellow. Even if you’ve been told you CAN’T wear yellow in the past? Try it again, ladies. We make our own rules!
I’d love this mixed up even further. How cute would the red and white striped top look with the yellow sweater?
Well done and Happy Earth Day to all!
What would she wear to the graduation?
I’m not sure there is anything appropriate for graduation, but there are lots of options for other functions. :-)
I think a dark blue cardigan would be more practical and give even more options
This is bright and breezy. I love the chambray. However, what she would choose if she did get a ticket to the University Graduation? In the UK, graduations are still smart occasions.
I’m going to a funeral today. We have been asked to wear bright colours and no black. I’ve takem a poll amongst my friends attending. Most are wearing a colourful outfit. I’m wearing navy trousers and a pink top. Although it’s a lovely day, it’s quite breezy. I have a light blue jacket for when we’re standing outside. I don’t have a navy jacket or cardigan that matches the trousers. Somehow it just feels wrong.
Maybe it’s just me, an older generation, here in Canada, but I would also want a dressier option for attending a graduation ceremony. I like to honour the occasion, whether it is a wedding, a funeral or even when somebody has invited me to a dinner they have prepared!
I agree. I’d swap out the denim dress (although I do love a denim dress!) for a print top & skirt (matching… and I’m thinking polka dots for fun) and go one over the 6 with a blazer (or perhaps it doesn’t count, being an ‘outer’?). I think that covers all bases. And the six pack travel wardrobe template is a great starting point. Now I just need to plan some travel :-)
I’m with Maggie. Swap the denim dress for a yellow, pink, blue print. And call it good!
Of course, the challenge is to find one!
Wow fabulous painting and great colours, well done Janice. This just lifted my spirits this morning. My husband has copd so as his main caregiver I can get busy at times and do not get to comment as much but this just sang to me.
I am hoping to get away to visit my daughters for Mothers Day, a wee break for me, so will definitely be using this template.
I totally agree with Ellen St, just try a yellow garment, it might surprise you. I saw a lovely yellow jacket last summer and broke down and bought it. Yellow is not a great colour on me but I was surprised by how many things in my close it went with and how many lovely comments I get when I wear it.
It’s so interesting…when I saw the painting, I perked up at the soft salmon pink and dark coral accent colors, and just ignored the tomato red (which is a known “not great” color on me). I could easily wear the denim/chambray and light yellow from this capsule and substitute pink and/or coral for the tomato.
I feel like we’ve been seeing a lot more “matching sets” in the last few years, which is great for putting together a small but coherent capsule. (I agree with commenters who suggest adding a print dress – preferably a mix-and-matchable two piece – to this capsule.)
The tomato pieces from Alex Mill and “pale sunbeam yellow” ones from Lands End follow this logic, though they aren’t sold as sets and the websites don’t make it automatic for you to see what other items they offer in the chosen color. But when I put “tomato” and “pale sunbeam yellow” into the respective search bars, multiple options did appear for each color. If you have certain color formulas you come back to often (like the “modern twin set,” the “inner column of color,” the “outer column/suit”), I think it’s worth checking out what else is available in that color…even if your plan is to fill a hole in your wardrobe (e.g., buying a cardigan to go with a pair of pants you already own). I have been happy to add an inexpensive scarf or piece of jewelry in the color to bolster my “beauty bundle” of accessories in the color and to make putting the piece into outfits easier. It can lead to a lot in a color, as Janice showed in the “overboard on red” post, but if you’re feeling good about that color in your wardrobe and you know your favored outfit formulas/color formulas, I think I’d rather have one piece too many in a color rather than one too few…which can mean that the other piece(s) don’t get the wear they should.
What do you all think of the tan/cognac shoes, bag, and belt? It’s potentially very matchy-matchy, but I like it! I have a trio of pieces in pale yellow that I wear together or broken up, and they look great with brown leather. Props to Janice, who years ago answered a query for me in the comments of whether I should buy the tank top that was available in the same yellow color as the ankle pants and 3/4 sleeve cardigan with a “yes” – it was SUCH a smart idea, and I continue to advocate for this logic, as you can see!
To the recent question about what is the oddest color in our closets…mine is not a general color like “red” or “brown” but rather a few pieces that are in an odd shade of an accent color that doesn’t really match anything else I have. Good candidates for weeding out, sure, but since they are pieces that I otherwise love to wear, I find they earn their keep by providing a pop of color in an outfit, especially one that is neutral based. (Ones I did not love to wear have been let go.) This odd-color experience happens the most often when I buy things secondhand and can’t source anything else in the color. I think that’s part of why thrifted-heavy wardrobes can get out of hand. I definitely support purchasing secondhand (in a “shop your closet, then secondhand, then new” hierarchy), but I find that I have to be mindful of the randomness factor.
I fly for combined business/leisure once (often twice) every month and almost always travel with only an airline approved personal-size item that fits under the seat – sometimes a backpack, other times a zippered tote bag. I’m lucky to be able to stay with family each trip 🙂 so I definitely need to pack appropriately for business meetings as well as playing with two large, loving dogs once my work is done. Add in wild temperature swings and Janice’s packing template is an essential tool!
A shortcut I use when packing a six-pack for crazy weather swings is to select my tops based on specific categories that I have found allow for excellent mix-and-match combinations to meet whatever the temperature is:
– sleeveless top
– short sleeve t-shirt
– button down shirt
– v-neck sweater
– button down cardigan topper (can be worn alone as a sweater)
– another style topper (blazer, denim-style jacket, waterfall cardigan, zippered hoodie, etc)
Then add specific bottoms:
– causal pant or jeans
– dressier pant (these days I prefer a wide-leg pull-on pant that can be dressed up or down)
– skirt or dress (bonus if the skirt and one of the tops are the same fabric print to make a “dress”)
That covers me for weather from 40 to 80 degrees and most occasions – including being loved on by excited dogs. And it makes packing practically effortless.