August 13, 2020
I Need to do WHAT???
Yes, she’s missed 6 months in the office (although she has worked EVERY DAY…) and now she has to sit for a re-certification…
It takes 3 days. Away from home. In a hotel.
After being locked up with her entire family for half a year, she’s really excited! The whole test thing isn’t fun, but being able to eat room service and lounge around alone in the evenings has a certain appeal…
She starts with her favorite “travel inspiration” painting:
She knows that she could just wear sweatpants the entire time, but she actually feels more awake and more businesslike if she dresses a bit nicer than that. And she doesn’t want to have to do much thinking about what she will wear! This is her color palette:
It’s not really cold enough at home to wear a jacket, so she decides at the last minute to pull on her denim dress over her tee shirt and pants. It looks great!
Shell earrings- Olivia Burton; scarf – Emily Carter; watch – Tissot; black denim dress – H&M; face mask – Love Changes; tee shirt – Old Navy; crossbody bag – Treasure & Bond; driving loafers – Børn; black knit pants – Lands’ End; 21-inch suitcase – Tumi
She doesn’t much want to have to think when she gets dressed each day – she’s going to be thinking about her upcoming exams. So she packs the world’s most straightforward travel capsule wardrobe:
bracelet – Swarovski; earrings – Judith Ripka; sunglasses – Rebecca Minkoff; marled tee shirt – Banana Republic; light blue rayon blouse – Uniqlo; natural fisherman sweater – L.L.Bean; mittens – Lemon; scarf – Tickled Pink; mask – Shou Fabric; grey jeans – Lands’ End; grey denim skirt – Marks & Spencer; cardigan – H&M; ballet flats – Dr. Scholl’s
They say it’s cold there at night; she wants to walk outside a little bit, so she packs mittens! She can always pile her grey cardigan over whatever else she’s wearing…
When she reviews her wardrobe for travel, she’s very comforted:
She knows that she’s not thinking a whole lot about what she’s packing, so she forces herself to slow down a bit. Reviewing her outfits makes her feel prepared, which is important!
It’s bad enough to have had to work in less than idea circumstances, but then to find out that your employer let your certifications expire… unforgivable!
love,
Janice
p.s. 2 years ago we visited the Autumn Pantone colors, and built little Accessory Families… I always LOVE these!
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How restful this pallet is. I then clicked the link for your autumn post of two years ago and Ouch! All the colours seemed so bright and necessitated a quick return to today’s post. Think I must be in the mood for subtlety today in my damp subdued Ireland. Lovely post, great painting.
The individual pieces are quite lovely, and I can appreciate the simplicity of the wardrobe. That said, I really really need more color for me. I would look like a ghost in this! I could well sit in a room in these colors and just absorb the peacefulness. I do love the pieces though. Speaking of color – I found a pair of purple pants last night that fit! Color makes me happy.
Hi Sheila
Well done to find purple trousers. May I ask the brand or website?
Beth T
ah – one of my favorites, and most of my closet. Cabi. I believe they opened up in UK a couple of years ago. I like them because the items are color coordinated even from year to year. Makes it much easier for me.
Love Love Love this color scheme! Please do more with it! Could add a bright pink (not too pastel) in a French 5 piece for a lively accent. Also–the tone of the wardrobe is much less edgy and contrasting as the original painting. For me I would keep that vibe in the clothes, a little less dainty maybe. Thanks so much as always Janice–I look forward to your blog every day. :)
I agree! More contrast in the outfits and a little more structure in the pieces, maybe. But I would happily add nearly all these items to my wardrobe. In fact, I ordered the denim dress, and crossing fingers it works for me. – nancyo
Oh I love this soft and misty palette. I can ‘shop my wardrobe’ with this. My daughter gave me a long slouchy grey cardigan. She’d bought it in desperation from a charity shop whilst on holiday because it suddenly got cold. It was too big for her. When it gets very cold, I have a silver sparkly thick cardigan with a faux fur collar.
I have mostly everything else apart from the grey chunky ‘aran’ jumper. I used to have one like this when I was much younger but it got mòth-eaten. I make do with a chunky plain knit grey cowl-neck instead. I would also like some grey cords as I only have grey jeans and it took me ages to find any that fitted.
My navy core is a Borg lined jacket from Lands End in the sale. I have navy chinos, dark jeans jersey trousers and cords to wear with it. I dont mind if they dont quite match.
Those blue earrings are to die for. I have everything else except the mittens.
Grey is absolutely my favorite neutral. I find it to be the most versatile. So thanks for the leads on where to find more grey. And, though I’ve said it before, thank you so much for doing daily posts during the week.
I would love to see a return to the Pantone colors in an upcoming post!
I need to see if they’ve got any new colors – they come up with new ones about 4 times a year… Those are among my very favorite posts to do!
hugs,
Janice
Looking back to the Spring/Summer 2020 colours, that entire season was cancelled so those colours never made an appearance and companies spent their time trying to flog off trapped stock from pre-lockdown.
Now we are looking to Autumn/Winter – are companies ordering and manufacturing again so we might just see the Pantone Autum/Winter 20/21 colours in the shops and online.
However, I would have expected fashion mags and clothing companies to be blazing ‘New Season’ by now and it seems eerily quiet. The current offering is for seasonless clothes in neutral shades with the emphasis on leisure wear.
We know that you have found it hard over the last few weeks to find things in traditional Autumn colours let alone the seasonal Pantone shades.
I just wonder if clothing companies are being ultra cautious because of a second wave that could re-introduce lockdown until next spring thus leaving them with another season of unsellable clothes. Although countries seem to be adopting a strategy of local lockdowns.
Alternatively, clothing manufacture and the textile industry have taken such a huge hit with workers have been laid off and factories closed, some permanently. Perhaps the textile and garment industry is not able to restart or not in a large capacity.
Is there going to be a seismic shift in clothes manufacturing with shorter supply chainsand more emphasis on sustainability. Could we be heading for a return to smaller collections of clothes that are replenished throughout the season rather than new stuff every week?
So after all this, revisiting the Pantone Colours for 2020 might be a challenge but it would be an interesting way to review the Year That Never Happened.
This is a perfect capsule for me. And for the day, actually. It’s a misty grey morning with blue-grey light on the pewter-coloured River, and clouds wafting above the blue hills of the opposite shore. Better get dressed in my blue and grey outfit for the weekly grocery shopping! Oh, and coffee … Thank you for including such pretty accessories too. Wouldn’t it be nice for us softies if there were more marle in clothes!
I like this combination. A simple color palette, but not so simple that it’s boring. It’s casual enough to be comfortable, but work-oriented. And bonus: the pieces won’t break the bank if those powerful disinfectants in public places happen to cause some discoloration. Plus, as we know too well, weight can fluctuate in uncertain times.
Hello, I love all you capsule wardrobe. But currently I was wondering what concept to use for my maternity closet. I am 4 months pregnant with twins. So my bump will show up in summer and autumn and might hugely pop in winter. What would you recommend?
Focus on autumn, and just be certain to have a warm 2nd layer or 2 for winter. I’ve never had children, but I could easily see myself buying a TON of maternity clothing if I ever had been pregnant. And that’s not necessarily a smart thing to do…
Maybe 20 garments – 4 clusters – 1 for truly warm weather, 2 for autumn, and 1 to get you through the cool weather. Something festive to wear as your due date gets near, the weather gets cold, and everybody gets excited!
big big big hugs,
Janice
Make sure you have a small capsule wardrobe for during your hospital stay and when you come home. This was very helpful for me when I had our son
This is genius advice – not just for when one has a baby, but for any time that you’re coming home from something that’s going to leave you tired, busy or distracted.
What about having a capsule wardrobe ready for the first 3 or 4 days back from vacation? I could use that….
hugs,
Janice
I found that I was thoroughly sick and tired of my maternity clothes by delivery time. So I’d say don’t make your capsule TOO small. It’s funny; I was pregnant in the 80’s jewel tone years and I’ve never been able to look at purple or royal blue in quite the same way. – nancyo
Waterfall cardigans! Plus they transition to nursing time wonderfully well.
Oh my. I love the colors and the entire wardrobe, but our temps in CA are going to be around 108 for the next few days. IF I go outside I will put on a light shirt with UPF 50 to screen out the rays. And this year I’m not in airconditioned buildings (except at home) so I probably won’t wear a sweater until December! During the 1980’s I bought a beautiful heavy wool coat during a business trip to Chicago at Christmas. What was I thinking? When I got home, I saw a salesperson follow me around a store because the swing coat made me look like a shoplifter. I’m a Northerner at heart, trapped in a sunny state.
Please keep up the great work. I love Vivienne Files.
I love this post. I am putting this together but using navy and peach. The pants I replace with skirts. This is great for me on a lazy weekend during the winter here in Arizona. Thank you for all your hard work!
I love these colors and these garments, although they come across a bit yellow (could be my screen) and I would need blue and red undertones myself. What a great, versatile wardrobe this would be.
My daughter is getting married next year and I’m starting to think about dresses because we went wedding dress shopping. I’d rather think wardrobe, like this!!
I am a recent follower and so inspired by your blog. I have always been a cruiser when it comes to shopping. I would cruise around the store and purchase items that caught my attention with no particular purpose in mind. This resulted in a wardrobe that sometimes looked great and sometime, not so great. I love the idea of assembling a wardrobe of purpose bought clothing that can mix and match and will help me look good if not all of the time at least most of the time. So again thank you for what you do and the inspiration! I particularly like this collection and want to buy the Denim dress from H&M however I am unsure exactly how to wear this. It seems that in some of the idea blocks it is worn over a sweater and pants, like a jacket but in some of the other idea blocks it seems that there is just a sweater underneath, so I am not sure what if anything is worn on the bottom. If it is just a sweater worn under then is the dress worn open at the top so you can see the sweater and closed at the bottom? Would you please explain? Thank you so much.
Exactly right as you’ve understood it; you can wear things either under or over a shirtdress of any sort – they’re amazingly versatile and so worth finding!
And welcome to the friendly neighborhood that is The Vivienne Files – you’ll get lots of answers to questions here – if not from me, then from some of the amazing people who comment here!
big hugs,
Janice