November 11, 2026
Happy Remembrance Day, or Veterans Day, wherever you are and whichever you celebrate.
Every time I watch this, I cry by the time the drum altar is finished: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azBmlXhbRF0
And let’s think about birds for a while… There aren’t enough birds, and there aren’t enough different kinds of birds; remember to do what you can to help them…
Our heroine got a jump-start on the season last month, when she bought a velvet blazer, velvet skirt, a beaded cardigan AND a red Fair Isle sweater. So her wardrobe is pretty “holiday-ready!”
She also picked up some dressy shoes, and a winsome bird brooch:
This month, our heroine split her efforts between practical and party. She chose two long-sleeve tee shirts which will be worn constantly in the cooler weather, a red cashmere sweater can be casual or very dressy, and a dead simple black dress. It’s hard to go wrong with any of these choices!
Are you a holiday sweater person? I have friends who buy a new sweater EVERY YEAR, with some gaudy (and god-awful) holiday theme. It’s like a joke… A reasonable alternative? Treat yourself to holiday brooches, and wear them on a solid sweater that you wear all autumn and winter; imagine this red sweater with a sprinkling of Christmas tree brooches across the shoulders… If you buy a new brooch each year… And don’t forget that Talbots has been legendary for holiday brooches since your mother bought them there!
Red tee shirt – Lands’ End; black & white striped tee – Lands’ End; swan brooch – Macy’s; radiant ruby cashmere sweater – J.Crew; black ottoman dress – Boden; sequined bag – Dolce Vita; black suede slingbacks – Nordstrom
This dress comes in a handful of colors, and is under $100…
Now, our heroine’s 56-piece wardrobe template looks delectable:
Her updated wardrobe? A strong coherence makes this much more than the sum of its parts…
The cardinal brooch from last month was such a hit with her friends and family that she didn’t even hesitate when she saw the elegant, very stylized swan brooch…
I don’t know how much our heroine planned outfits when she went shopping. Maybe she waits until she gets home, and the tries everything on in various combinations, until she’s certain that her new things will really WORK for her.
Buying something you can’t wear in a variety of ways, for a range of occasions, isn’t a good use of your hard-earned money!
I’m smitten with this one, I admit!
love,
Janice
Would you like to refer back to the earlier posts about this heroine, to see how she got to this point? All of the links are here: Christmas Eve Preview, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October
p.s. Ten years ago, we were finishing up the Starting From Scratch wardrobe that we’d been assembling for few days. In reality, a wardrobe is never finished, but you can certainly reach a point where a pause is appropriate!
Like this look? Save it to Pinterest!
Yes, let’s hear it for the pigeons who were messengers in WW1!
And thanks for the inspiration about bird brooches. I’m thinking how that might work for a 12 Days of Christmas theme – at least parts of it.
I do have a couple of Fair Isle sweater, but adding a brooch to a plain top would work perfectly.