July 20, 2026
I used this painting here on The Vivienne Files back in April of 2020. Doesn’t that seem like a century ago?
This color palette comes up at a great time – one among you is going to be an election observer in a town A LONG WAY FROM HOME. And it’s expected that she will have to be there for anything from 5 to 14 days. Sounds fun, eh?
But to be practical, she wants to avoid both bright blue and bright red clothes, she doesn’t want to be TOO dressy, but she wants to be able to dress up if it is necessary.
I always start a travel wardrobe with a cluster of clothing that could be worn (along with a travel outfit) in a lot of different ways. In theory, one could survive a trip with 8 or 9 garments, presuming that some kind of laundry is available…
Cashmere dotted top – J.Crew; chambray shirt – L.L.Bean; navy tee – Lands’ End; navy cashmere cardigan – J.Crew; cotton knit barrel pants – Lands’ End
This heroine is also using the 4 by 4 Wardrobe Template to keep herself on track; this is where she finds herself:
Our heroine is choosing the very softest version of the rose/bright pink color found in “her” painting. It’s a nice calming accent color, if you’re feeling stressed, or if your environment is in need of a gentle touch…
Ivory tee – Lands’ End; navy rollneck sweater – J.Crew; pink heather cashmere cardigan – Boden; denim skirt – Lands’ End; jeans – Alex Mill
She rearranges things a bit in her planning template, to help make decisions both logical and easy…
She may never wear the two pink sweaters together, but any accessories she brings to wear with one will look nice with the other (I’m thinking of scarves and necklaces…). The green dress can have anything navy layered over it – especially the green-trimmed sweater!
And a light neutral shirt is what you wear when you don’t know what to wear…
green dress – Boden; heather pink cashmere shell – Boden; navy w/green trim sweater – Lands’ End; sea salt cotton shirt – Duluth Trading
She is only going to pick two more pieces to pack…
Two tops that can dress up, dress down, and be layered under all sorts of things!
She prints this out and tacks it up on the mirror in the bathroom for a few days; she studies it while she’s brushing her teeth…
I think I might be more likely to use this image for pondering my choices; I’m not sure why but this lends itself to arranging outfits, in my mind:
And what outfits can I imagine? Plenty more than these, but this is a start!
Even though these aren’t colors that I normally wear, I could easily grab this big suitcase and be gone for a good long while!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, our heroine was retiring, and trading in her navy and grey for brown, beige and pink!
A capsule wardrobe inspired by Art – Rising Green by Lee Krasner – Pin it!
Love this plan. Different accents, different moods. I do think she will need one more pair of pants.
I love this! I think this would be a practical wardrobe for many women for work or pleasure. The colors are wonderful. The ease of the clothes belies how elegant they are. I maintain that well cut clothes can be joyously simple.
My daughter’s best friend worked on a presidential candidate’s campaign before law school. She was sent from location to location during the primaries, often with very little notice. She kept a ‘go bag’ that she kept packed. It had to contain clothing (and shoes & accessories) that would appropriate for March in Iowa, Florida, Massachusetts and Illinois. As you can imagine, there was tremendous variation in all of these states. So, I love that you picked clothing that would work in any of these places.
I love this wardrobe! Would you consider adding to it like you do for the 12 month versions? I can happily see myself purchasing all these pieces. Perhaps some accessories?
I do like the painting. Rose pink or mauve is a lovely soft colour. Teal would be my green.
However, would swap the denim skirt for another pair of trousers or a skirt. I’d swap the pink shell top for a blouse or tee-shirt.
Yes, a lovely painting.
My green would be more olive, my ivory more cream, and my pink more burgundy, but I love this capsule and hope we’ll see more of it, expanded, as & when.
In such a small capsule, I think I’d prefer my accent colors to mix and match well. I would either increase the brightness of the pink or mute the green (to an olive/sage/aloe type green) so they would coordinate more easily.
Love this! If I had to replace my whole wardrobe, this would be a perfect start.
Me too.
Me three!!!
I love the idea of a denim skirt, but not on me. I always feel like either a member of a religious sect or a ranch hand. Go figure!
In this heat, I can’t even think of a sweater or long sleeves right now. However if I had to start my wardrobe over for whatever reason, this would be a good start.
I think for my green I would go for a soft Burmese jade. All the other colors are lovely. I recently got back from a trip to Denver. I packed navy and white with little pops of pink and medium soft blue. Not quite denim but close. It was a lovely trip and I always felt well dressed and unbothered by my clothes thanks to reading your articles for the last several years.
Liking the way this new template is playing out, looking forward to seeing more.