May 18, 2026
We first visited this painting, and this heroine, back in February. I think my plan is to look at this painting four times over a year, and see what happens…
If you used a painting like this for your wardrobe, there are at least eight colors here to inspire you. Enough to have abundant neutrals, and a couple of snappy accent colors too…
This is the current color wheel – I need to update it! There yellow to be included, and gold, and a true grey, and a great shade of putty taupe…
Our heroine’s first travel wardrobe, back in February, was muted, warm and versatile:
Our heroine is anticipating warm but not scorching hot weather for her next trip. And, inspired by her jewelry from February, she’s plunging further into her fondness for sunflowers…
Earrings – Hye Jane Jewelry; straw cotton rollneck sweater – L.L.Bean; linen shirt – J.Crew; scarf – Ferragamo; espadrilles – Lands’ End; tote bag – Betsy & Floss; linen pants – J.Crew
She knows that she’s going to want a casual outfit for evenings, and a tote bag for hauling around something to read when she’s relaxing in the park after meetings:
Sunflower earrings – Lily Charmed; brick waffle top – L.L.Bean; tank top – L.L.Bean; watch – Olivia Burton; tote bag – Ornamentally Yours; shorts – L.L.Bean; sneakers – Vionic
And she’s been assured that some executives are flying in for the last day of the meetings, so she is going to dress like the serious professional that she is!
Sweater jacket – Alex Mill; narrow scarf – Echo; pearl & onyx earrings – Macy’s; tee shirt – Lands’ End; handbag – J.Crew; skirt – J.Crew; shoes – LifeStride
To finish up her packing and give her a wider range of outfit possibilities, our heroine includes a stack of tee shirts, a pair of pants, and some brown accessories. It doesn’t look like much, but when mixed in with the clothes she’s chosen so far, these things offer flexibility and some always-welcome brown!
Cacao brown tee – J.Crew; ivory tee – Lands’ End; pale sunbeam yellow tee – Lands’ End; cacao brown pants – J.Crew; bracelets – Saachi; rattan bag – J.Crew; sandals – Franco Sarto
Her entire travel capsule wardrobe, when assembled in one place, has an interesting coherence. And yes, this heroine is sort of “handbag mad.” Everybody’s got something – you should see the scarves that go into a suitcase of mine!
Now, our heroine has no real worries about how to get dressed each morning of her trip. She has quite enough things to think about; some of her co-workers are… high-maintenance, I think we can say!
It’s been on our heroine’s mind – maybe she will use travel capsule wardrobes as a vehicle for cleaning out her closet!
Anything that doesn’t get packed for these four trips (another post is coming up in August, and the last in November) doesn’t stay in her wardrobe. At least her work wardrobe…
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I was asked to build a capsule wardrobe for casual wear, based on black, grey and denim-ish blue. One could wear all of these things today, which is how it should be!
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This is such a beautiful wardrobe. I think anyone with ‘warm’ coloring could carry this off with ease and panache. My favorite piece, from the larger collection, is the brown and white skirt. I can easily picture that with many of the new tops, shoes and accessories.
The 3rd outfit you picked is a dead ringer for an outfit my very stylish Aunt just worn down to visit my mom and me for lunch this weekend. She used to own a top notch boutique in Camden, Maine, and quite literally dressed me until I was nearly 30. In any case, she is always dressed to the nines–even if it’s just a quick trip to the grocery. So, it made me smile. It’s also completely timeless!
Have a great week all!
I really like this wardrobe, especially the sunflower accents. (Although I’m loathe to wear yellow myself.)
The brick color is a lovely addition!
I agree! It’s a very popular color here in New England too. It’s pretty much treated as a neutral.
Luscious. What a complex painting. Brilliant choice. Some of these colors wouldn’t suit me but I love this collection, especially today’s travel outfit. Those espadrilles! And the surprise of brown. Brown with black. Very French!!! Thank you always.
Geez, that watch is awesome… if it only had actual time markings on it! Sigh. Some of us need more precise help staying on track.
I’m imagining this lady & our current Georgia OKeefe heroine doing a bit of wardrobe sharing – all of which is excellent inspo for my summer this year (although I still need my robinsegg & dark olive accents). LLBean has that waffle sweater in a pretty pale yellow, too…
I like the inclusion of that pretty rusty pink (“sienna brick”) top and shorts that don’t match anything else in the capsule…which kind of goes to show that maybe a heroine doesn’t need such a strict color palette to create a wearable wardrobe! The two pieces are shown worn together like a matching set, but they could also be individually mixed-and-matched with any of the three neutral colors if desired.
It’s my opinion that a wild card color like this can add some zest to a wardrobe, and truly, if you have your neutral(s) well-represented and your foundational pieces in place, why not add a piece or two in a wild card color if you really love the item/color? And it doesn’t have to be the commitment of a full French 5 purchase – even a single “odd” but loved piece can work.
Of course the risk is that a heroine starts shopping willy-nilly with no plan/no intention and grows her wardrobe out of control. But especially for things that you already own or that you find second-hand or that flat out make your heart sing in a rare and exquisite way…it’s OK to color outside the lines a bit. Let the color palette be your guide, not your master. It is YOUR wardrobe, after all.
Oh I do agree with you, Sally. My ‘wildcard’ colour is turquoise/azure blue that I only wear in the summer when I have a bit of a tan and it’s a sunny day. It’s a ‘seaside’ colour, even though I live 70 miles from the coast! I have a couple of tops that look lovely with silver grey trousers or a toning floral skirt. It just adds a bit of oomph to my wardrobe. I’ve found that it looks lovely with a brighter pink that I only wear in the summer too.
Another lovely wardrobe. I have warm colouring but not sure I could pull off this whole wardrobe although there are certainly enough items one could pull from.
Janice, you always amaze me at how you can create such functional, yet fun wardrobes. Trying to learn some of your skill though at times I still fail miserably lol.
I like the balance of colours here – not mine but I can adapt it. This is my wardrobe – mainly casual with a few smarter items to take it up a notch. I do like the idea of dressing up a bit just to go to the shops. A jacket, tailored coat or structured knit rather than a jumper or loose cardigan adds a bit of polish, even if it’s over jeans and a top.
I hope she has a lovely rust-pink dress in August. We have had a cold Spring in the UK – my central heating still comes on! However, by the end of this week, the forecast promises hot sunny weather with temperatures up to 27-29C, at least ten degrees higher than it is today. This coincides perfectly with our late May bank holiday. Time to finally get out my summer clothes.
The straw handbags are a thing of beauty! Well done!
I love these colors and keep imagining the grey blue and a mid-denim tone! :) Of course, I have to have denim in some form. In fact I just combined two pairs of jeans into one to keep them both out of the landfill! I’m pretty excited about it!!!
Brilliant! We all need to do LOTS of that sort of thing!
love,
Janice
I have enjoyed your post for years. You have enabled me to put together a travel wardrobe for the southwest USA for 10 days, using a navy core base and accent colors in tan army, green ivory and taupe. I have a coral colored every day bag and a little striped Crossbody wallet. I think I’m well equipped for my trip using only five tops and four bottoms. Thanks again for all your put together looks.