September 14, 2026
Almost halfway through September, and in Chicago, we’re still wearing linen…
But our most elegant heroine, the architectural historian, is preparing to spend the autumn semester in Paris, teaching!
She shops VERY carefully, and bases her personal style on this most gorgeous painting of two saints:
She currently has this 36-piece wardrobe, which she could just toss into a (really big) suitcase and be just fine!
She will need another bag for her accessories, but they’re what really makes this wardrobe sing:
She would like another skirt, and a couple more sweaters. When she saw this classic black jacket, she knew what her plan would be for the month:
Green cashmere turtleneck – Boden; earrings – Unaloe; silk tie scarf – Talbots; black jacket – J.Crew; scarf sweater – J.Crew; skirt – White House Black Market; shoes – Vaneli
Her wardrobe tucks neatly into the 56-piece wardrobe template. Are we at ALL surprised?
This is how her 40-piece wardrobe looks. She might not pack EVERY piece here, but if she has the luggage, and will have the storage space in her temporary apartment, there’s no reason not to!
The weather could get really warm. Even in Paris. Even in the autumn…
Similarly, she could leave her sandals, and her gold straw handbag, at home… It all depends on luggage, closet space, and weather forecasts. Not the easiest decision!
So our heroine hand-washed her new sweaters, and steamed the daylights out of her jacket and her new skirt.
The she opened a bottle of something delicious, put on some glorious music, and tried on new outfits:
Just give me the job, and the apartment in Paris, and the suitcases…
But I want to bring Belovedest with me!!!
love,
Janice
Are you curious about how this heroine got her wardrobe to this point? You can see all of the earlier posts about this wardrobe here: Christmas Eve Preview, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August
p.s. Ten years ago, we experimented with how an accent color of cinnamon (sort of rust, or ginger…) would work with six different accent colors.
Oh dear, I wish I were her… This wardrobe is spectacular!
I’m a teacher! Can our heroine pack me in her suitcase to teach in Paris for a semester too? Pretty please? Jolie s’il te plaît?
My favorite piece here is the scarf sweater from J. Crew. How adorable is this? I have a J. Crew red sweater with a ruffle neck, so I don’t NEED this one. But I WANT it. Sigh.
My favorite heroine although I can’t wear that much black. How about adding a little red dress?
Given how warm
the temperature still is here in Europe, I would make sure that at least two of those trousers are linen or lightweight cotton. Despite the heat, the fashion season has shifted, so I would leave the straw bag at home and if she’s using public transit, I would also suggest leaving the white trousers at home too.
I just love this series every month. The heroines’ stories are part of the fun! Every one of the wardrobes is exquisite and well planned. I roughly follow Ruffled Autumn Clouds just because I wear a ton of blue. But Winter Cottonwoods most closely follows my low contrast aesthetic. Looking forward to October for the wardrobes and maybe some fall weather🤞
I echo Cindy. This series is my absolute favorite. I follow along using a combination of my existing wardrobe and new purchases. It is a lot of mental work. I can’t imagine having to do six wardrobes. Thank you, Janice, for putting so much time/effort/work into this series.
Although I love templates, the clothing display by color is more useful to me. Since I rotate my wardrobe seasonally, and there is no overlap between the seasons, I have to break the wardrobe into winter and summer. If I don’t separate them, I might *think* I have my light neutral covered, only to discover that all of those items are only appropriate for one of my two seasonal wardrobes.
Beautiful wardrobe!
Are you still wearing linen in Chicago? Here in my part of Ontario it can get warm in the middle of the day for a couple of hours, but mornings and evenings have started to come cool enough to want a light jacket or sweatshirt. I think linen weather may be gone.
Yay!! I am headed to Ontario in October and cannot wait for cool weather!
ditto! (we’re headed up at the end of the week!)
Where is the green (woven) bag from?
thank you
I’m not positive, but I think it was polyurethane. And it’s sold out in this color!
hugs,
Janice
I love this wardrobe! My own color palette is red, white and black. Looking now for a red long-sleeved tee shirt but coming up empty—most “red” clothes seem to be on the tomato side rather than true red.
Did you see the one at Lands’ End? Their tee shirts are lovely quality…
https://on.ltk.com/+wQX6otJxUCkPFF6SNilk1A
love,
Janice
I too would like to see a red dress or skirt in this wardrobe – perhaps a plaid that incorporates red and green?
I’ve now moved into dark denim, 3/4 tops and long sleeve cotton shirts. A light jumper is needed too. At the weekend, I wore a lacy wool jumper over a floral dress. Today, it was a light aqua cardigan over a blue and white floral top (the flowers were aqua and blue).
I think she needs a really elegant tailored red silk gown with a full or gored skirt. It will show off her perfect white updo beautifully. (Maybe a two piece dress so the skirt can be mixed with other pieces?)
I love this heroine and her wardrobe. I could live with these for a very, very long time. I also hope that this heroine gets a beautiful red dress, one that can be used for meetings, lectures and with the right accesories the upcoming holidays!
I don’t see any links to the accessories….is this the fault of my computer?