September 11, 2026
Before we visit our heroine the wildlife statistical analyst, let’s spend just a second admiring her favorite photograph:
One of the things that our heroine really likes about Common Shelducks is the high-contrast juxtaposition of colors on their body. She’s keeping that in mind this month when she shops!
Right now, after her August shopping, her current wardrobe looks like this – certainly a wardrobe that would get you through quite a bit of time, or a VERY long trip:
These accessories are delicious…
Maybe it’s because it’s September, and maybe there’s some magical, hidden fashion reason, but there’s a lot of brown clothing available right now! Our heroine decides to take a look at where she stands with brown…
She only has six brown garments! That seems like something she could augment this month:
toasted coconut cardigan – L.L.Bean; toasted coconut crewneck sweater – L.L.Bean; brown linen tee – J.Crew; brown linen tee – J.Crew; brown chinos – L.L.Bean; striped cashmere sweater – Boden
Our heroine was thinking about contrast, and so when she saw stripes in two of her wardrobe colors, she was sold! She fills in the gaps with solid pieces and the right accessories:
Striped tee – Lands’ End; earrings – By Anthropologie; ginger tee – Lands’ End; striped cotton cardigan jacket – Lands’ End; handbag – Quince; pants – Lands’ End; loafers – Eastland
At some point, our heroine needs to either find a few more second layers, or decide that she doesn’t need as many as the template suggests. Remember – templates are ideas, not rules!
And when our heroine puts her new things into her closet, she can clearly see lots of ways to get dressed; it’s not as if the relatively few second layers is a problem for her:
Her accessories just keep getting better and better. I’m SUCH a sucker for these things!
After her new clothes are home and clean, our heroine indulges in a brief orgy of trying-on! The pleasure of new clothes should last a long time – the entire season, at least:
If I had to start from scratch, and I had to choose one of this year’s six wardrobes, I think this would be my choice.
I think!
love,
Janice
Would you like to see how this heroine got herself to this position with her wardrobe? All of the earlier posts about this wardrobe can be found here: Christmas Eve Preview, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August
p.s. Ten years ago, we considered if the accent color wine would go with your favorite neutrals…
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Love it. I would add some dark wash denim too. But I will probably so for all the wardrobes.
This is my favorite of the wardrobes this year. I always feel like celebrating when I see it! The brown, black, white and red palette is my preference for Fall (once it finally cools down!) and winter. The pieces you’ve picked for this month are outstanding, too. Honestly, I adore the way red looks like with this chestnut brown too. I don’t think you need to only wear “like with like”. Pairing those two colors creates a very rich, sumptuous palette.
I like Lise’s suggestion of adding in dark wash denim…it fits with the water in the background. The denim I’m envisioning is a shirt, skirt, jacket and jeans, obviously. They’d look good with everything!
What happened to that BEAUTIFUL green, which is in the stores this season?
That wasn’t part of this capsule wardrobe. Her only colors for this painting were black, white, chestnut brown and red.
Lovely pieces Janice, as always.
It’s funny … as I looked at the “wardrobe so far” and “accessories so far” (pre this month’s additions) I was thinking 1. she could use more patterned clothes; and 2. her clothing patterns are stripes, but the motifs of her accessories make me think of less harsh-line patterns and more florals and paisleys. Imagine my amusement when you did indeed decide to add more patterns but doubled down on stripes! perhaps the contrast of stripes and curves is another type of contrast she enjoys. (to be fair, the woven items seem to bridge the two quite well). It reminds me a bit of the mondrian vs calder post previously. I really liked that one – it helped me see why the same color palate can look so different/ appropriate on different people.
Happy Friday all!
Dear Ezzy,
Your analytics are great! And I would love to include something other than stripes in a lot of wardrobes, but there aren’t garments available that really feel “right” to me… Having a personal style is complicated!
love,
Janice
Stripes always feel right to me. I tried to branch out by adding a few floral prints. Although I am thrilled with my floral prints, I have to admit that I will likely tire of them far faster than the stripes.
Yes, this is a grand wardrobe and my favorite, too.. I am not a fan of broad stripes(or at least my body shape isn’t), so I would substitute teal tees and sweaters for even more options.
That wasn’t part of this capsule wardrobe. Her only colors for this painting were black, white, chestnut brown and red.
I know that, but I was saying what I personally would add.
This wardrobe is so lovely, but did you notice that you only combined brown and red once, Janice?
If I only had four colors in my closet, I’d want to be able to combine all the pieces with one another.
I prefer the retrospective view; it reflects my own wardrobe, too—basics in various colors with even more accent pieces that go with everything. 🌈
Hi J!
I looove the stripes on stripes. You are a clever girl!
I really debated with myself about getting two striped pieces for this wardrobe, but things in the perfect colors are seldom available, so I jumped on them! I just wish that companies would branch out with some nice plaids, or a paisley, or a print like a man’s tie with a small, repeating motif… Ah, this things I could do…
love,
janice
The colors in this grouping are so pretty, but stripes are a hard pass for me. My husband detests them for some unknown reason and always wrinkles his nose if I wear stripes. I struggle with plaids after years of school uniforms. Plaids can’t be too uniform-y (uniform-esque? lol)