June 1, 2026
I believe that Summer has arrived!
watch, it will snow tomorrow…
Although this painting is of clouds later in the year, I could certainly pretend that the beautiful green landscape is mid-summer. Those are greens vivid enough for Ireland!
At the end of May, our heroine had this wardrobe, shown in two images – one for clothes and one for accessories.
It’s well worth looking at these images for a minute, because there is a world full of people who have this much clothing OR LESS. Well-chosen, a small wardrobe can be enough. I know nobody who deliberately tries to keep their wardrobe small, but there could be good reasons…
I could manage with a small number of clothes, so long as I had lots of accessories!
This month, our heroine deliberately looked for light and bright colors. These long days make it easy!
Cotton striped top – Alex Mill; white cotton cardigan – Vineyard Vines; bracelet stack – Ink&Alloy; green cotton sweater – Alex Mill; tote bag – L.L.Bean; sandals – Söfft; white linen pants – Caslon
Knowing that our heroine filled in her wardrobe template from top to bottom as she added garments, it’s easy to read the evolution of her purchases from stocking up on neutrals to accenting with bright colors:
It would be interesting to see how long someone could live happily with 28 garments. I suspect it could be a long time, once one was reconciled to the limit. It could certainly free up money and brain-space for other projects!
But I might want more accessories. Gym shoes of some ilk, for a start! And more scarves….
All that said, our heroine has no problems integrating her new purchases into her existing wardrobe. It’s particularly gratifying to see that she can use her new clothes in cool weather as well as warm. That’s the kind of versatility that makes it easier to have fewer things…
This wardrobe could easily swap out the navy for a different neutral; with those floral accent colors, I could see brown, or camel, or beige….
love,
Janice
If you want to look back at all of the blog posts about this specific wardrobe, you can find them here: Christmas Eve Preview, January, February, March, April, May
p.s. Ten years ago, I was packing for a long weekend at a very rural college graduation…
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Such a pretty wardrobe and so many pretty pieces! When you first posted the paintings of the year in December, I just knew that this one would be one of my favorites. The balance of colors, the navy blue base…I just knew it would be a great one. You definitely have not disappointed with your interpretation!
That being said, other than the terrific white pants, I’m seeing these as “summery” pieces. I’d wear all of these in cooler weather. Even up here on the Maine coast, we may need a sweater for a unexpectedly cool evening, but our days are well into the 80’s. Unlike the rest of the country, many indoor spots are NOT air conditioned, so it can get pretty warm here in “Vacationland”. I am in love with the flannel shirt, paired with the new green pullover and jeans. But, I probably wouldn’t be able to wear that until late October. I do think our heroine could use some more truly warm weather pieces.
But, this is a gorgeous wardrobe, especially, for someone who rarely leaves the AC.
“I believe that Summer has arrived!
watch, it will snow tomorrow”
Sounds like where I live. We have been Charlie Brown kicking the football this spring.
I’m stealing that Charlie Brown line! The swings from warm to cool are why I love cotton cardigans!
When the paintings were first introduced, this was hands down my favorite. I was incredibly excited to see how the wardrobe progressed through the year. But this wardrobe is not inspiring me in practice. I think the navy combined with the pine green reminds me too much of my former school girl uniform. It is a color combination I just cannot wear.
And I concur with Ellen St. that this month’s pieces veer too “cool weather” for my climate. I was expecting to see items that would work for what I call high summer in the southern US. The cardigans and knits seem out of step. This is not to say that I don’t love the individual pieces. I just have to imagine this heroine lives in a different climate with different needs than mine.
I follow along and build my own monthly wardrobe based on my needs/climate. It is a fun and instructional exercise. This series of posts are my absolute favorite.
I am revisiting the Japanese 24 season posts. Do I remember a post that illustrated all 24 seasons? Looked for it the other day and was unable to find it.
As we incrementally (& schizophrenically) inch our way towards summer, I’ve been thinking about these too! Couldn’t find the list on Janice’s site either, but did find it elsewhere (scroll down just a bit for the table) https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/b09701/.
Wait, just found it! https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2022/04/japanese-24-seasons-of-the-year.html/
Thank you so much!
I am in a similar position – love the color palette but the wardrobe isn’t quite shaping up for me (yet). Maybe it’s the overwhelm of navy that’s making it a bit flat to me. Is this the heroine who was putting together a capsule for an office job in which she thought wearing a lot of navy would give her the professional vibe/statement she wanted? If so, I’m wondering how the very casual white draw-waist pants fit in. If not, where are the other summery and/or casual items? This feels a bit disjointed at this stage, though it may come together as the summer months progress.
I also find myself wishing that the orchid-pink items were more salmon-pink to coordinate better with the other accent colors. Perhaps some heroines would never mix the accent colors, but in such a small wardrobe and tight palette, I would definitely want the option to easily mix and match accent colors.
Hi, Sally! I agree with you about the colors–I’d be happier with only navy and white than with these particular pink and yellow shades, which set my teeth on edge. The golden yellow of the painting, and a pink shading to coral, would work better; or maybe lemon yellow and baby pink. And I’d go more teal than pine, for the green. Perhaps those colors just aren’t out there this year. I also feel like there’s a certain disconnect between the frilly necklines on the blue cardigan and the new yellow shirt and the more sober/tailored aspect of the wardrobe, but maybe that’s just my own allergy to frills and ruffles.
Great wardrobe and lovely new additions. I do try to keep my wardrobe small, but I haven’t got it down to 28 garments yet, so this provides inspiration for another attempt to downsize (not least as we’ve just downsized to a one bedroom apartment with limited storage – but amazing river views).
Well! We are clearly on the same wavelength. I wholeheartedly agree about adding scarves and sneakers.
My 28 pieces would have to be seasonal with some overlap. There are chunks of time where I live with very cold temps in winter and very hot (above 100F) in summer. But, yes, I could pare way down if I had to. 😉
I love this color palette! Thanks!
I have about this many clothing items and accessories. Getting dressed is more about accommodating the weather than making a statement. Everything has to mix and match. The only drawback is that about once every 3 years, core pieces self-destruct. I try to take exceptional care of my clothes, like air drying, because lint is clothes. But after 300 wears a garment just becomes exhausted.
What I love most about this wardrobe is the dresses. even though they are not formal fabrics I can see dressing them up for a swank evening out at the symphony or a nice fundraiser.
I live in an English town with a boarding school in it. The boarders have very little personal storage space in their dormitories and so are instructed to limit themselves to six non uniform items, I’m not sure if this includes shoes. What would you choose if you could only have six items? Jeans seem to be ubiquitous, and sweatshirts and trainers, but they are all teenagers. I think they all have a party outfit too. So 28 garments would possibly be too much choice for them.
I am following this closely for my church and social activity wardrobe. (In warm weather, I wear shorts, sneakers and v-neck tee pretty much daily). My template has 2 tops instead of three. Denim is included in my navy neutral with accents of red, pink, medium blue, and an occasional white. This month I am able to insert a recently purchased light blue and white pinstripe suit for the white pants and sweater. I have a white oxford shirt to complete the row. So far, this is far and away my favorite with my own adjustments. Really am enjoying playing with this and taking a closer look at my accessories. Thank you Janice!
White looks very fresh and summery, but… it’s out of the color scheme! On the picture by Nolde we can notice only thin treads of white. I don’t want to be picky, but wasn’t the whole point of the game supposed to be about discipline? Sorry, I’ts me, I just felt like a child whose rules have been changed :)
Whilst I love this painting, dark navy seems to dominate the clothes, whereas the main striking colour of the painting is emerald green and teal green. There is also a flash of deep turquoise on the horizon. The dark blue is almost a Prussian Blue, similar to a summer dress that I have just bought.
In the space of two weeks, our weather in southern England has gone from unseasonably cold dry temperatures to record-breaking heatwave and back to normal seasonal temperatures with rain and thunderstorms.
Janice,
Did you explain somewhere when this painting got promoted to “1st of. . .”? What happened to the Georgia O’Keefe?