By Season Archives

November 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – First Painting, by John Nash

November 1, 2024

Sitting up in my desk chair is still a challenge, so I've decided to attack these paintings "one at a time." Well, it's possible that my endurance will increase - we can always hope!

When you've reached the point at which you have 44 garments in your wardrobe, you actually should be in pretty good shape for getting dressed for most things in life. I started keeping track of what I wear every day, and since mid-June, I'm at about 40 pieces. With a bit of thinking, I'm sure that I could assemble a very workable wardrobe of 52 garments, which is our target for these six wardrobes. (12 months x 4 garments per month + the Christmas Day bonus four from when I announce the paintings = 52).

Oh yeah. 52 would also be ... View the Post

Denim and Ivory: Three 13-Piece Travel Capsule Wardrobes

September 20, 2024

I can't believe that September is 2/3 over! You'd think I wasn't awake every day...

Our heroine has looked at her wardrobe with cores of denim and black, and then with cores of denim and brown. Today, we're going to see how EVERYBODY'S favorite of denim and ivory looks...

This is our heroine's starting point - 27 garments in three "neutral" clusters, and then three "accent" clusters.

First, let's take a last look at her hard-working core of denim garments, with yet ANOTHER group of accessories. Wearing things every week is the fastest way to get your "cost per wear" for garments down; you can buy exceptionally nice clothes and still get good value if you wear things consistently!

The ivory ... View the Post

Denim and Brown: Three 13-Piece Travel Capsule Wardrobes

September 18, 2024

When we last visited our heroine with the modular wardrobe, she was packing in denim and black, with autumn-hued accent colors.

Just as a reminder, this is her autumn wardrobe in its entirety:

She's refreshed her accessories, as she moves into a few weeks in which she's going to pack her denim and brown cores. Each week, she will change to a new accent color, so while she's wearing the same clothes most of the time, she doesn't get bored...

Here are her denim pieces:

And her brown things - how yummy is brown?

She's found a new burgundy scarf, with a lot of deep green in it - it will look great with her evergreen accent pieces too. Sometimes that happens - you get lucky!

So for the ... View the Post

Three Travel Capsule Wardrobes in Denim and Black

September 16, 2024

You certainly remember that on Friday, I grouped a bunch of wardrobe clusters into a wardrobe that offered lots of possibilities for travel or for visibility in a small closet:

But we need accessories! While this wardrobe is fine without them, it's not much of a reflection of how women actually get dressed, eh?

Starting with denim! If you find denim shoes that you like, and you can picture wearing them, grab them. Denim shoes aren't growing on trees, and a lot of them are tricked out with lots of sparkles, embroidery and other unnecessary stuff that will just fall off if they get wet or you brush against something...

Today, I'm going to focus on wardrobe that use just two of the neutrals available to ... View the Post

Need an Autumn Inspiration? Start With a Sweater – Fair Isle from L.L.Bean

September 9, 2024

Oh, so many of you are ready to buy something fresh for the upcoming cooler seasons, and SO many of you are hesitating...

A question I receive a few days ago - "I love earth tones - all shades of brown - but does it make sense to add this sweater to my wardrobe?"

Well, let's be honest - I love Fair Isle sweaters! All of the DNA tests assure me that I'm Scottish, Irish and French (of course!), so these sweaters are in my blood. And L.L.Bean does some lovely sweaters, that aren't priced to the moon and back. (I recently saw a Fair Isle sweater that appealed, until I saw the $500+ price tag...)

And if our heroine has a closet of browns and ivories (as she assures me she does), this sweater would be very ... View the Post

Want a Timeless Summer Capsule Wardrobe? Start with a Shirt – the Mountainside Shirt by L.L.Bean

July 12, 2024

While much of the world is getting ready for cold weather (I'm looking at you, Nordstrom!), some retailers are still introducing clothes for NOW. TODAY. Summer... (in the Northern Hemisphere)

One of you spotted this and wondered if it was a good base for a small summer wardrobe:

The three colors in the shirt are obvious for a wardrobe, and I decided to add white to the mix because... SUMMER! If you just don't do white, you can always substitute more navy, or denim, or chambray...

I started with simple navy classics, as well as a bandana, a sling bag, leather tennis shoes and a pair of earrings...

Then I looked at all of the "lake blue" things at L.L.Bean and chose a range of tops. Shorts and sandals ... View the Post

July 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 2

July 3, 2024

Let's drop in on our other three heroines... First up, my second-favorite wardrobe, maybe....

Ah, there was a day when I would have worn the daylights out of this wardrobe:

And the accessories... sigh...

For no good reason that she can identify, this heroine found herself (1) wanting some grey, calm, almost inconspicuous clothing, and (2) wanted to grab some of the good winter things now that it's JULY and they're starting to arrive in stores...

seriously, if there's something for which you particularly hanker for the winter, start looking soon...

L.L.Bean is where she found herself, and this is what she chose:

How can you resist a scarf that reminds you of your favorite painting?

Her new ... View the Post

July 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 1

July 1, 2024

And just like that, the year is half over! We're past the longest day of the year, if not the hottest... Change is the only thing upon which we can rely, but it still never ceases to surprise!

Our first heroine is being very intelligent, careful and disciplined this month...

Her painting inspiration is this:

And the very complete and coherent wardrobe with which she starts the month is this:

With these accessories:

Even though I haven't worn navy since (literally) the 80s, I could cheerfully toss all of this into a bag and travel for a long, long time...

Our heroine looks at what she has - very carefully - and realizes that she owns neither a simple navy & white tee shirt, nor a pair of ... View the Post

Want to Try Warm Accents with Black? Start with a Scarf – The Juan Delcan Scarf by Echo

May 27, 2024

While some of us are loyal to the color palettes given to us - sometimes years ago - by color consultants, some of us are out there experimenting...

This scarf inspires experimentation:

At first, I thought I would tackle something with the light blue background - faded denim and chambray would both be ideal.

But then I really focused on the juxtaposition of black with the warm gold, green and orange creatures on this most whimsical of scarves:

Our heroine, who has a fondness for lacy and textured cardigans, is off and running!

Her wardrobe has many of the same classic black garments as that of her friend from Friday's post, but things look very different with these colors!

Even though ... View the Post

Want Something to Spark a Range of Ideas? Start with a Scarf – Honey Dijon Scarf by Echo

May 24, 2024

If you're offended by profanity, approach this post with caution - there is indeed a word printed on this scarf which might disturb...

We've heard from a handful of heroines who are looking to wear black with pink, and who want to either be more dressy, or more youthful. Maybe this addresses all sorts of desires!

Here's the newest Echo 100 scarf:

Yes, you can just fold the bottom left corner in, and nobody will know. Or you can let it fly free and see what happens...

This inspires the easiest of color palettes; while I didn't include white in any of the outfits, it's sort of an obvious addition to this scheme:

I'm suggesting outfits that cover a handful of weather conditions and degree of ... View the Post

Are You Just Now Adding Accent Colors? Start With a Scarf – The Helena Christensen Silk Scarf by Echo

May 22, 2024

She's never worn accent colors - there are a ton of neutrals, and she's always been just fine with them!

But she saw this scarf...

Immediately, she saw colors that she loves. It's not that she's never liked accent colors, but until now, none of them really felt like her. Who are we to question?

Her Common Wardrobe is migrating slowly toward spring - a black top with ruffled sleeves is about as racy as she's ever really gone! But she does have summer tops and a pair of shorts, so she's off to a good start:

Then one day, she decided to just jump in and shop! She's still not made the move to wearing earrings - THAT feels like too much a change... (yes, I have two friends who NEVER wear earrings ... View the Post

Looking for a Fresh, Bright Summer Accent? Start with Art – Morning Glories by Suzuki Kiitsu

May 17, 2024

If only one could find clothing as vivid and compelling as this image:

Please note that this is just a detail from the much larger room screen that is the original artwork...

Our heroine loves her navy wardrobe, but she feels the urge to really get bright this summer! So she decides to work with her favorite image, and to add this palette to her classic wardrobe core:

Her core wardrobe already includes one green top... she's ready to pile on with the green!

This heroine knows that Boden is the place to look for a vivid accent, and a pretty dress! She takes her time, and assembles the following French 5-Piece Wardrobe for hot weather:

If you're looking for an accent color dress, but this one ... View the Post