April 15, 2022
You know those organizations that always show up where there’s a war or a natural disaster, and they feed (literally) millions of people? That kind of service doesn’t just spring up out of the ground, you know…
There are people who figure out how to actually COOK those huge amounts of food, and make it palatable!
Our ENTIRELY IMAGINARY heroine is off to meet with a group of volunteers that are preparing to travel to one of the current locations where food is needed…
earrings – Kendra Scott; denim barn jacket – Treasure & Bond; bandana – Nordstrom; bright cantaloupe linen shirt – J.Crew; bracelets – Fierce Lynx Designs; moccasins – J.Crew; clay stretch linen pants – J.Crew; denim bag – Queen Crystal
She has accumulated lots of useful information – how to use what’s available, no matter how unusual it might be. How to season vast pots of soup and stew so that it’s tasty, but not overwhelming for people who haven’t had enough food recently… Lots of things need to be considered…
Silver stud earrings – Happy Hari; blue haze tank top – Lands’ End; golden abalone earrings – Kendra Scott; blue earrings – Talbots; jacket – Cocoove; peach linen top – Haris Cotton; layered necklace – Kendra Scott; chambray ankle pants – L.L.Bean; tan round bag – Velvet Heartbeat; chambray espadrilles – Barbour; shirtdress – Alex Black Collection; crisp peach tank top – Lands’ End; tan sandals – Fitflop
Mostly, they sit around a table, drink coffee, and talk; questions are asked, and possible answers are discussed. Sometimes they visit warehouses, loading docks, or other places from which their supplies are going to come. It’s impossible to know what they have ahead of them…
Her time is ALL unpaid – she wouldn’t dream of taking money to do this! She’s just thrilled that she has some accumulated knowledge that can be used.
She knows that she is very lucky…
love,
Janice
p.s. Wouldn’t you love to be able to do something like this? I know I would… but it is possible to donate to these organizations. When you are filled with despair about the state of the world, even the tiniest donation will help both them AND you…
World Central Kitchen
p.p.s. Seven years ago, we dreamed up a Six-Pack wardrobe in navy and beige for a wee jaunt to Paris…
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
This is one of my favourite colour combinations for all year round –
soft blue-greys, slate blue, marine blue, dark denim and warm pinks. It looks as good in the autumn as it does on a hazy day in summer.
A couple of years ago, I bought an inexpensive cotton cable/bobble jumper from a supermarket for about £14. It is a warm rose pink – described as Rosewood on Kettlewell colours. It was darker than the light rose and soft coral pinks I wear in summer but with soft blue-greys, ocean blues and dark denim, it is simply lovely and I recieve lots of compliments. That jumper is one that I wear at least once a week, particularly this year after finding a floral blouse (in a charity shop) that combined all the colours. So cost per wear is currently running at about 26p! It also looks lovely with grey. As it is made of cotton, it is warm in cool weather and cool in warm weather. If If I was packing to volunteer at an emergency kitchen, that jumper would be in the mix.
I would also pack an apron.
Beth T,
Any way you could post us a picture of the jumper and the floral blouse?
What a beautiful bracelet. And a timely story. This looks like a perfect spring/ summer plan. I need to investigate those Bean pants. The whisks are cute!
When I read the premise for.today’s heroine, my first reaction was “this is someone who can haul the heavy pans around”. The colours didn’t matter; with the exception of th e dress and blouse, she could walk into a.meeting and turn it into a.demonstration of a mass make with no difficulty. What the colours do instead is offer a.subtle delicateness to her that allows her caring spirit to show.
A beautiful spring wardrobe, but for me, not “practical” enough for the situation the heroine would be walking into. Maybe if meetings were the only thing expected of her.
As someone who spends 2-4 hours in her own kitchen most days, I agree, the wardrobe is lovely, but not practical enough for intended purposes. I would pack a chef’s smock and aprons as well as shoes with lower heels that more fully covered the feet. A pair or two of rubber gloves would not go amiss. A kitchen that could accommodate food production on that scale is more akin to an industrial setting so she would need more protection than that wardrobe offers.
Very kind heroine — it’s okay to be paid for your knowledge and time! Even nonprofits and foundations have employees and are obligated to follow labor laws.
But I love the more relaxed look of these clothes rather than the form-fitting “body conscious” attire that is often featured, especially for workwear. One can look and be an expert and in charge and fashionable in less tight or more comfortable clothes — and be appropriate to the (ENTIRELY IMAGINARY) activity.
Love it thank you
Thank you Janice for such a lovely soft way to start my morning. I’m going in the opposite direction as it’s possibly we will have snow today. No, I haven’t put away my warmer winter clothes yet – I know better – though I did put away some of the darker colors. This is one of the coldest Aprils on record I do believe (for us)…I would need some different colors (maybe) but I love this selection of clothes. Have a great weekend everyone
Snow! It was 24.3C (75.7F) in London today. Very high for April. Set fair for the whole weekend.
Hi Janice, I noticed in your 7 years ago post that you included many pieces by Linea Weekend. Are they still in business? I can’t find a website?
They were an in-house brand from House of Fraser – if they still exist, that would be the only place to find them!
hugs,
Janice
House of Fraser nearly disappeared a few years ago but was bought out. They still closed a lot of stores. I haven’t seen the Linea brand for several years either.
I had been thinking about a donation to WFK, but you pushed me over the edge. It feels good to be well dressed AND be a better person this morning. Thanks.
*World Central Kitchen
Hmm…this is pretty, no doubt about that, but having actually been into a warehouse to pick up items that had been delivered for my employer and dealing with getting items out from the warehouse loading dock…I think the heroine may need to add a pair of heavy duty work pants, a couple work tops, a jacket and steel toe work boots. Steel toes aren’t cheap or pretty, but they do prevent a painful situation in a dangerous setting like a warehouse. That, in addition to the suggested kitchen workwear (which I hope includes rubber sole safety shoes), would prepare her for kitchen, warehouse, loading dock and meetings. A smart heroine is ready for anything. However, I do think Janice set up a great down to earth look and think it is lovely to start from. Thank you!
I’d love to see you expand this into a fuller wardrobe! Let it be decidedly casual; our heroine isn’t the dressy type, but needs sturdy clothing that lets her take on kitchen or distribution tasks.
This wardrobe is beautiful fir a casual summer trip but I have to agree with others that it’s not so practical for the actual work aspect of her trip. The colors don’t work for me personally, but she will look lovely in the discussions. I need to think seriously about adding linen to my summer wardrobe. The whisks are so cute!
This is a delightfully soft yet striking color palette, and I enjoyed seeing the combination of cool blue and warm peach/clay with the silver tone jewelry. I think it’s safe to assume that this wardrobe is for the meeting with and instructing volunteer aspects of the work rather than any major hands-on component (for which she has a separate set of practical options). With this capsule, she’s also ready to meet with donors and the like; it retains the more casual refinement level appropriate to a service organization while being organized, neat, polished, and evincing an attention to detail and eschewing of waste that feels appropriate to the situation.
Janice,
The color combination is lovely here and God Bless the people who really do volunteer for such needed help !
I love her.
I love this wardrobe – thank you!! If only we could join your heroine. The Lynx bracelet is so perfect. I love all her jewelry!!
Also, thank you Janice for letting your readers know about the World Central Kitchen. My husband and I are glad we can at least help with donations to this organization. We have seen several reports regarding the WCK on the news and they are certainly doing an absolutely wonderful job.
Lovely post on an especially appropriate day. Love, kindness, nourishment of the soul of humanity.
Thank you, Janice!
I’m sorry, I’d go a little farther than saying it’s ‘not practical.’ It’s more tone deaf. But I do like the pieces and colors. I just would not pretend that this kind of work needs pretty earrings, etc.
Please let me clarify – this is NOT the woman who’s in Ukraine right now preparing 20 pounds of rice at a go – this is someone in a much safer place, talking to the people who ARE going to go to feed the world. I wouldn’t begin to know what to recommend for the true volunteers – I wouldn’t presume to!
regards,
Janice
I love this capsule! I have been working on adding my neutrals (navy and denim) to my wardrobe so I have a base to work with. I dyed a couple pairs of linen pants/capri’s navy… so much better! And then (I’m a seamstress) found another chunk of navy knit that I had (a few years ago) made my navy cardigan from. Thinking about what Janice always tells us (buy the matching suit if you can)… I decided to make a flowy a-line skirt to go with my cardigan. It is great… but when I tried the cardi on with it I realized that in three years of wearing and washing it has changed colors… a lot!!! Oh, well. I will still probably wear them together. I thought you might all get a chuckle out of it. Now to sew up the navy tank top!
Janice. You are really good at pallette! I THINK I am starting to slightly catch on…
Hi Janice and Everyone! Very wonderful color palette and background story. This is a good wardrobe for the meet and greet and instructional part of her work. Otherwise I would need a head to toe Hazmat suit to keep the stains off me. Having assisted a Food Distribution non-profit during the pandemic, one would need flats if not sneakers, jeans or cords that can take a lot of bending and stretching, and layers of tops ( one never knows how cold a warehouse can be).