August 17, 2026
Last weekend, Belovedest and I walked down to the Art Institute of Chicago to see a current exhibit: Beyond Form: Abstraction at Midcentury. As you almost certainly have figured out by now, I’m a big fan of abstract art…
Before we look at art, we usually go up to the third floor of the Modern Wing to The Member Bar, where we can get coffee and pastries. (note, if you’re a member, and you can get free regular coffee…)
This is one of the great people-watching venues in Chicago. I think that those of us who purchase memberships to museums are a special bunch! Every time I’m there, I see at least one woman who is strikingly attractive, usually because she’s “got her own style.”
(“get your own style” is a big comment in our household…)
I was thinking of the women I saw, and then we went to look at the exhibit, and I saw THIS:
And I began to sense a theme to my entire museum visit!
The first woman I saw was wearing this:
Cardigan – Alex Mill; necklace – Saachi; earrings – Way to Chic; cotton shirt – Alex Mill; ecru pants – Alex Mill; sneakers – Kizik
Of course she had blue eyes! And grey/blonde hair, pulled back in the most flawlessly sleek pony tail… She was stunning, in a low-key, subtle and relaxed way!
I didn’t realize at the time that this was the theme of the day – at least among four women that I saw!
(if you see enough people, you can find any theme you want, right?)
The second woman was coming out of the special exhibit space as we went in. Her hair was VERY short, and silver grey.
I considered wrestling her for her necklace, but realized that I would embarrass Belovedest, possibly get hurt, and likely lose…
Grey cashmere cardigan – L.L.Bean; necklace – Saachi; earrings – Ana Luisa; cream tee shirt – Lands’ End; jeans – Levi’s; sneakers – Kizik
I should mentioned that the weather was intermittently pouring rain (absolutely bucketing down…) and rather cool. Sweaters made good sense…
The last two women were in the flocks of people either in the exhibit itself or in the galleries through which we passed on our way out of the museum.
Rain jacket – Lands’ End; necklace – Saachi; earrings – Dhwani Bansal; ivory sweater – J.Crew; linen pants – J.Crew; sneakers – Quince
Why yes, you can wear sweatpants to the art museum! Especially if they’re dressed-up like this:
Linen shirt – J.Crew; necklace – Anthropologie; earrings – Oradina; tee shirt – GAP; sweatpants – Lands’ End; sneakers – adidas
When I got home and started thinking about these women and the way they were dressed and accessorized, I realized that this was a capsule wardrobe waiting to happen!
I feel comfortable thinking of this as a “whatever’s clean” wardrobe – you couldn’t put a foot wrong getting dressed from this!
Some possibilities:
I confess, I didn’t really notice anybody’s handbag, if they had one at all! But to me, metallic would be obvious:
If you come to Chicago, don’t miss one of my favorite places…. We go to the Art Institute at least once a month – more like every two weeks. This makes it possible to go into one or two galleries, absorb something at length, and then leave before we become overloaded. No Stendhal Syndrome for us!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, we started with one yellow dress, and figured out FOURTEEN ways to wear it. Don’t hesitate if something bold really speaks to your heart….
Love love love this. I wear a lot of white and cream in the spring and summer but not so much grey. Maybe something to consider for next years additions.
I wear silver grey linen trousers with a silver grey cardigan and an ivory top underneath. My shoes are silver lace-ups and my bag is grey leather. I love the idea of wearing contrasting jewellery – turquoise, light purple or pink would be my choice.
I love the look back. Just changing accessories can give a new lease of life to the garment that you love but don’t wear often.
Absolutely love this! The lightness. The style! The accessories! Elegant in a very low key way. And the comfort, especially of sneakers. This would be a great early fall sort of capsule for me, and I already have some similar things.