May 13, 2026
A favorite of so many of us, and such a rich and striking painting:
And a bright, cheerful palette:
Our heroine came into the month of May with this 20-piece wardrobe; I could live with this for months…
This is a DRESSY heroine! And she started her May shopping with the idea that she would find a pretty floral dress…
Only to realize that she can grab the skirt that matches her printed blouse, and have her dress and separates, too! The rest of her purchases are relatively simple and classic – although green shoes and a green handbag aren’t on just everybody’s shopping list:
Black & white top – Boden; bracelet stack – Ink + Alloy; white linen shirt – Boden; red tee – Lands’ End; handbag – Anthropologie; paisley skirt – Boden; flat shoes – Birdies
Of course, she didn’t add a second layer to her wardrobe this month – that might be something she needs to address next month. But other than that, her template looks pretty sensible:
When her clothes are arrayed without accessories, it’s easy to see how she can get dressed for WEEKS without much effort:
Looking at her accessories is an insight into her colorful style. Her personality is easy to imagine from looking at this:
Here are a few idea of just how she might get dressed – of course I had to take a look at her two-piece dress!
I could do this – replace red and green with purple and denim…
love,
Janice
Would you like to see how our heroine got to this point in her wardrobe? The earlier blog posts can be found here: Christmas Eve Preview, January, February, March, April
p.s. Ten years ago, I saw a painting in Paris that HAD to be shared with you – black, ivory, royal blue and taupe brown…
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
Janice, this is a work of art! To me, it feels like the most balanced wardrobe. Cohesive but with enough colors to play with; dressy but weareable. Great source of inspiration for my work trip comming next month; I want to look professional but also want to feel comfortable! I really like the option of the 2-piece dress and although this print is a bit bussy – maybe is the long-sleeved shirt, it has the wild card power for those days when a heroine wants to leave a stronger impression. At least that’s what I’d plan!
Blessings to all!
This is wonderful. Thank you so much for including such a happy, fun and sophisticated print. I love two piece dresses, especially for travel. They can add a lot of mileage to your wardrobe! I also love that this print shows both colors—but the red and green are in no way Christmasy. I love this painting, but my fear was that it would look ready for the holidays all year long. You’ve managed to pull off an incredible feat–no Grinch included!
Something I’m itching to see with this painting’s wardrobe is more gold metallic. It’s such a predominant feature of the artwork…I’d love to see what a subtle gold blouse or skirt might add….I think it would not compromise the integrity of this look at all. If any, I think it would enhance it!
Yes! I thought about adding more gold as well! Also really love the subtle theme of braided (is that the correct word?) accessories.
I would love to see more gold shoes – sneakers, flats, oxfords, short boots… Metallics are often considered for dress sandals, but I think metallics are even more striking in other footwear.
All the additions this month are really great and add so much to the capsule!
One can never underestimate the power of a two-piece dress!
I can envision this woman in my head exactly. Her entire wardrobe is excellent, but it’s her shoes that I’m stuck on. This wardrobe really calls out the power of unusual shoes to elevate an outfit. The woven green ballet flats are [chef’s kiss]!
I’ve managed to find some cute shoes even though I have plantar fasciitis, but the selection is limited. I guess we always want what we can’t have!
I’ve been yearning for a pair of silver casual shoes. Again tricky to find with very wide feet. A few years ago, I contacted the company I buy most of my shoes from asking if they could produce some silver shoes for summer (they already do some in a soft gold but not my colour). I’m now looking at five boxes of three different styles and width fittings. It pays to ask…
Wow. I would wear all of this in a hot second. It would be completely inappropriate for my casual kid-filled, work-from-home life, but I would still love it.
I would love to see the purple and denim substitutes for two reasons. First I love purple, but I find it hard to work with (hard to find coordinating items). And second, although this is a beautiful wardrobe, he is also rather dressy so I would love to see denim worked into it for those more casual days.
Red trousers and a red gingham blouse would look lovely for summer.
Love, love, love. I will use for the month of December and also for a cruise to italy later this summer. I might add or sub cobalt blue for the green for the cruise.
I love this wardrobe, just as I loved the original wardrobe you did with this marvellous painting. I would add a white cardigan sweater for a summer third layer. (I’m always cold in air-conditioned buildings.)
Amazing❣️
Every day I was looking for next episode-I hardly could wait for it. I love the style of this heroine so much – for me this is stylish and colorful. I would have to adapt the colors a to cooler tones but this is a small detail.
And the grid that Janice provides is quite helpful. In the past I have tried to build my wardrobe on neutral colors (mostly black and white). This worked well for my office job. This specific wardrobe inspired me to change my mind. I am changing now to make the main 2 colors red and green (more into magenta and emerald in my case) and suddenly everything seems to be more cohesive. Thank you and the heroine for the inspiration.