September 2, 2026
Our typography expert has some travel in her future; she’s been tapped to redesign the colophons and other graphic signatures for a group of publishes owned by one company. What fun! New York in the autumn…
First up, let’s re-visit the painting which inspires and informs our heroine’s wardrobe:
At the end of August, our heroine had added black garments to her wardrobe, and now things look pretty balanced:
Her accessories are delectable…
After last month’s dive into the black clothes in her wardrobe, our heroine thought that it might make sense to examine her light neutral clothes too!
She calls this color – depending on what comes to mind first – natural, ivory, bone, or off-white. Maybe cream? There are lots of color names…
Cashmere cardigan – Banana Republic; ivory pointelle cardigan – J.Crew; Ivory tee – Lands’ End; tank top – Eileen Fisher; ivory tee shirt – J.Crew; linen shirt – J.Crew; ivory sweater – J.Crew; sea salt cotton shirt – Duluth Trading; ecru pants – Alex Mill
She decides that cooler weather suggests a cashmere turtleneck and a pair of corduroy pants in her light neutral. But when she sees the green sweater and striped shirt, she hesitated for a heartbeat – this green isn’t EXACTLY the green in her painting.
Then sanity kicks in, and she remembers that she’s not going to be wearing all of these green things together – they don’t have to be flawlessly matched. The important thing is that they feel right for HER, in HER wardrobe…
Green cashmere sweater – Alex Mill; green striped shirt – Alex Mill; cashmere turtleneck – Lands’ End; scarf – Jessie Zhao New York; bag – Paul Costelloe; corduroy barrel pants – Lands’ End; boots – Aerosoles
She puts her new garments into her 56-piece wardrobe template… she still needs to find a second layer – which should be easier as fall clothes flood in on us all. And it would be delightful if she could ever find more of her favorite shade of blue!
Showing her wardrobe in a more relaxed arrangement makes it clear how complete it is!
It’s quite clear that she has a weakness for any scarf that combines blue and green:
As always, our heroine thinks through in great detail exactly HOW she’s going to wear her new clothes. She really loves the way that she can have “light-ish” outfits and “dark-ish” outfits…
I love how our heroine is committed to her accent colors; that’s one way to have a really efficient wardrobe!
love,
Janice
If you’d like to go back to the beginning of this wardrobe to see how it’s developed, you can find all of the earlier posts here: Christmas Eve Preview, January 2026, February 2026, March 2026, April 2026, May 2026, June 2026, July 2026, August 2026
p.s. Ten years ago, we shared the third of the “navy dress” posts – this one with muted accent colors.
Love this look? Save it to Pinterest!
I very much like the new shade of green (and especially the scarf of course) that this heroine has introduced this month. It softens the whole collection, which previously to me has seemed too sharp and acidic, although that does represent the art work it’s based on. And can she really wear barrel-legged trousers? I know I can’t, without looking totally out of proportion! :-)
This is so practical! Great accessories. More denim please!
Looking at this tells me that I could expand the ivory (light neutral) part of my wardrobe. My dark neutral is chocolate brown which is really nice with ivory. Aqua is beautiful with brown and/or ivory.
Just so very pretty. I’m still super hung up about NO white (pants, skirts and definitely shoes) after Labor Day. I realize that Labor Day is late this year, but I do find this to be a major hang up for Fall. Maybe it’s my posh grandmother’s voice whispering in my ear. Maybe it’s my elegant mother’s carry on with this fashion ‘rule’. Maybe it’s because I live on the Maine coast and have two muddy-pawed German Shepherds. I just cannot do it. I realize these are all ecru. But, it’s so close that it makes me feel stressed just thinking about the BEAUTIFUL white boots for Autumn.
To those of you who do not have my dramatic inhibition about this? Mazel tov! I tip my proverbial hat to you. Me? Oy. The complex.
That being said, lovely pieces and lovely wardrobe.
I have the same hang up. I don’t like light bottoms in the first place , but after Labor Day, definitely not! I guess it’s easier to resist when not a main wardrobe component.
Yes, same here. I can’t wear white after Labor Day, though I know it’s an outdated custom. But I can tolerate ivory for the holiday season. Irrational, I know. This wardrobe is developing into one of my favorites. The black and white/ivory work well with so many colors.
While I respect your inclination to avoid wearing white after a certain day, I find that living in the south often negates that rule for me and I am much more likely to consider the weather when deciding whether to wear white or not. It is going to be very hot the next couple of weeks. I fully intend to wear my summer clothes as much as possible before putting them away for the season.
Even when selecting items from my wardrobe based on weather considerations, some women at work do point out I am wearing white after Labor Day. I try my best to ignore the rule and those women. I admit it is not easy.
It helps that I can review the history and evolution of that rule. It started out as a pragmatic means to keep cool in the summer months at the shore and then evolved into an arbitrary class-based social code to allow established “old money” families to separate themselves from the “new rich” trying to join high society. Again, those families were based in the northeast. I live in the south.
I do transition from white to winter white or ivory later in the year. Is white different from ivory for you?
Actually I have an ivory sweater dresss in midi length that I love wearing with my black Doc Martens; usually at Christmas time with a red plaid scarf. I also have a 20 year old ivory dressy coat with fur collar that gets used for very special occasions in winter. Still, no light colored pants.
Nope. White and ivory bottoms, shoes, etc., do read as the same to me. In fairness, I do live in Maine, but I’m from San Francisco originally. To clarify, I do wear white/ivory shirts, sweaters and scarves. My son and daughter in law do live in northern VA, just outside of DC. She follows the same rules that I do, but DC is a very cosmopolitan city, with people dressing more traditionally too. She’s also from the north.
I’m sure it’s different in a much warmer climate. I am sure I’d wear the same larger summer wardrobe all year ’round if I lived in a tropical climate, like Florida or Hawaii.
The denim is next I hope!
Love the ivory additions.
A very practical collection of items, and I am so glad of the addition this month of the softer green, otherwise I was finding the colours too acidic. And of course I would swap out the black (which I never wear) for chocolate brown. And I agree with Sandy – more denim please. But tell me, who is able to wear barrel leg trousers and look good? Not me for sure!
I do! I wear them! I am 5’4″ and I wear a standard size 8. I am a pretty typical pear shape. I have a small waist but thighs and a badonkadonk. I love the barrel pants because they glide over the parts I’d like to minimize and they accentuate my waist. The thing with barrel leg pants is that they sort of ‘hide’ your thighs. I have had photos taken and they look good on! But….you need to have something more fitted on top.
I’ve found that, when wearing one more voluminous piece, it’s best to keep the others scaled back. For example, I wouldn’t wear a boxy or oversized sweater with them. I’d wear a slim fitting tee with a slim cardigan. I’d always, always have to tuck in my top. My daughter is 5’9″ and very willowy (she did not get my shape!). They look amazing on her too.
Maggie I have often wondered about the barrel leg pants too. Maybe one needs to tall?
Ah, yes, Sandy, perhaps that’s it. But I’m happy at 5’3″ :-)
I’m only five foot three, and I love them. I love any garment that gives me that feeling of swashbuckling sassiness…
love,
Janice
I think your body shape matters too. I am five four and slim built and feel that I look as if I have left my horse behind somewhere, when I wear barrel leg pants. Like some of the jeans photos Janice shows.
Swashbuckling sassiness … what a great phrase!
Lovely wardrobe. I would probably have less black (just some core pieces) and have more of the grayish-blue, including denim.
I love this wardrobe! I think it still needs a black skirt or dress and a pair os slightly darker jeans.
Such a pretty yet practical wardrobe! I am in love with all these scarfs.
Love the base of black & white with the accent colors of turquoise and grass green! So fresh!
Dear Janice, Thank you for the unexpected words.I had to look up what a “colophon” is, and now can’t wait for an opportunity to insert it into a normal conversation, to sound well-read and educated 😀
I love the barrel look not the exaggerated version but the Eileen Fisher lantern version. Not for everyone but that’s what makes it interesting. Living in a very warm climate means I wear white much of the year. Not white linen or eyelet but definitely denim and sturdier fabrics. I also change up colors I wear with. I lean into darker more “fall” feel colors. Still probably sleeveless! September is usually brutally hot.
Such a lovely outfit.
It’s just hard to find that shade of green and turquoise in the shops.
I’m leaving this comment a bit late in the day – it’s actually tomorrow! I’ll be swapping the black for navy and including silver grey that I can see in there. This has always struck me as a summer wardrobe as I never where light turquoise or aqua in colder months. I could wear teal/blue-greens. I would wear a winter white coat and ivory knitwear. I do see a darker turquoise on the right of the painting and perhaps Prussian Blue. So maybe there is some mileage yet with the additions of dark denim.
I’ve not tried barrel-leg trousers. At 5ft 1, with barrel shaped legs, I think they would emphasise the wrong bits. My favoured choice is wide leg trousers and jeans that fall from the hip and hide the chunky bits.
There’s a nice opportunity here for a Canadian tuxedo with the addition of a jean jacket.