July 31, 2026
It’s the end of July. I’m not quite ready for the end of summer, are you?
You may remember our friend who has an upcoming responsibility to be an election observer. This will be – of course – in November. She doesn’t know how long she will be gone; she’s been told it could be for 5 days to 2 weeks. Happily, she WILL be in a place where laundry will be possible!
She’s decided to use this most lovely painting to inspire her travel capsule wardrobe:
This is the wardrobe that she’s packing – I have a hunch that she’s been told that it might be warm some of the time she’s at her assigned destination? Weather is one of the things that can make it almost impossible to plan a wardrobe more than a day or two before departure!
navy cashmere cardigan – J.Crew; Cashmere dotted top – J.Crew; navy w/green trim sweater – Lands’ End; Emerald tee – Vince; pink heather cashmere cardigan – Boden; heather pink cashmere shell – Boden; chambray shirt – L.L.Bean; striped cotton shirt – Banana Republic; sea salt cotton shirt – Duluth Trading; navy tee – Lands’ End; Ivory tee – Lands’ End; navy rollneck sweater – J.Crew; cotton knit barrel pants – Lands’ End; denim skirt – Lands’ End; jeans – Alex Mill; green dress – Boden
But she certainly needs to pack some accessories! At a minimum, she’s going to need shoes, and probably a bag.
In a world full of accessories (frankly far more than the we need…), how do you choose? I like to think about these things before shopping, and to have a plan before handing over my hard-earned money.
With an established color palette in hand, it’s somewhat easier to make these choices:
I like to work my way through my travel capsule wardrobe, assembling outfits, and then choosing accessories for each outfit. It’s not foolproof, but if you at least have shoes to go with each of your “bottoms”, it’s a good start!
navy w/green trim sweater – Lands’ End; green dress – Boden; green onyx earrings – Heather Hawkins Jewelry; tote bag – Baggallini; ballet flats – Trotters
Just comparing the dress with sweater outfit above, and the denim and chambray outfit below, gives us a pretty clear picture of the range of moods our heroine has at her disposal.
And if you prefer black leather with navy, rather than trying to find navy shoes and bags, I’m not telling you you’re wrong! Men wear black shoes with navy suits, and carry black briefcases…
chambray shirt – L.L.Bean; Ivory tee – Lands’ End; jeans – Alex Mill; earrings – Nordstrom; bandana – Lost Pattern; boots – Munro
Pink earrings just tickle me…
heather pink cashmere shell – Boden; sea salt cotton shirt – Duluth Trading; cotton knit barrel pants – Lands’ End; earrings – Chiarella; crossbody bag – The Sak; loafers – Gentle Souls
For many travel capsule wardrobes, I wouldn’t consider a 4th pair of shoes, but I have a hunch that our heroine is going to be on her feet quite a bit. You have to think about what you are going to need when you’re away from home, and plan accordingly. Four pairs of shoes – three in your bag – won’t break any good packing plan!
navy rollneck sweater – J.Crew; striped cotton shirt – Banana Republic; cotton knit barrel pants – Lands’ End; earrings – Talbots; necklaces – Talbots; oxfords – Trotters
Our heroine might not wear her gorgeous brooch and bracelet at the same time, but then again, she just might! These colors seem made for this wardrobe, don’t they?
I like to think that this heroine might be going somewhere that a denim skirt is part of the normal wardrobe. Maybe it’s not something she wears a lot at home, but it might help her fit in and be more accepted in a new place?
pink heather cashmere cardigan – Boden; chambray shirt – L.L.Bean; denim skirt – Lands’ End; brooch – Loni Paul Jewelry; bracelet – Loni Paul Jewelry; ballet flats – Trotters
At this stage, our heroine has these accessories to either wear on the drive, or pack.
necklaces – Talbots; green onyx earrings – Heather Hawkins Jewelry; navy earrings – Talbots; hoop earrings – Nordstrom; pink earrings – Chiarella; brooch – Loni Paul Jewelry; bracelet – Loni Paul Jewelry; bandana – Lost Pattern; tote bag – Baggallini; crossbody bag – The Sak; oxfords – Trotters; boots – Munro; ballet flats – Trotters; loafers – Gentle Souls
Of course, she could pack a ton more jewelry, or more scarves. Or she could just call it a day and start thinking about other preparations she needs to make.
Sometimes, it’s nice to have your suitcase all set, and focus on other questions!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago (I never cease to be amazed when I type that phrase!), I made a few modifications to the previous wardrobe, and created a travel capsule wardrobe in black, red and white…
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I love the idea of wearing a pullover over a dress, which makes the dress seem like a skirt.
Also, navy has been my dark neutral since I began following TVF seven years ago. I’m impressed that you found navy shoes! Buying shoes online is a bridge too far for me (I try on at least a dozen pairs in a store to find one pair that fits – I shudder to think of how many shipments would be needed to strike shoe gold) and navy shoes are seldom seen in the shoe stores I visit. But it’s nice to know that they’re “out there”!
Same for me with navy as a dark neutral and it being impossible to find shoes (in general, but specifically in navy)!
I can spend hours in a shoe shop and leave with nothing. My problem is that my feet are a half size below the usual women’s sizes and my heels are so so narrow. I joke that I have Cinderella feet..! I would love to wear ballerinas but my feet/heels just won’t stay in them. Sigh.
I agree about the navy shoes because they’re not always the “right” navy…some are too blue/too dark. Same thing about navy purses! I like wearing navy but oftentimes it’s too dark with my white hair and I have to offset it with a color or jewelry.
Oh, I love that Loni Paul jewelry! I would buy the set of earrings, necklace, and bracelet!
I like the idea of brooches but I just so rarely wear them. I think it is the issue of sticking holes in my clothes that makes me wary – even when the garment is a knit with tiny holes you “just” enlarge.
Lovely! I will use most of these ideas…right from my closet. Thanks, Janice!
Such a pretty wardrobe again—so seeing it with accessories and shoes makes such a difference. I do think, if our heroine is going to be in the North in November, I would suggest another warm outfit, a long sleeved navy dress and a nice navy coat. However, if she’s an election observer south of the Mason-Dixon Line, this would be perfect. My favorite piece is the layered longer necklaces from Talbots…how gorgeous are they?
I love the conversation that fellow TVF’ers are having about navy shoes. I remember, back in the day, when I had shoes in every color of the rainbow. I was even talking with the fellow moms at my daughter’s bridal shower last weekend, about the ‘shoe dye’ kits that every bridesmaid had to dye their satin choose to match their gown. That’s a thing of the past now….but I do miss having a wider choice of color besides black and brown.
I agree with you, Ellen, about shoe colours. I used to have court shoes in royal blue, emerald green, and poppy red, and wore them all a lot. I seem to remember a lovely pair of green loafers that Janice included in a previous collection, and was rather hoping to see them again. Perhaps add another scarf too? But these accessories are soooo pretty.