Build a Capsule Wardrobe Archives - Page 30 of 87

Packing for Paris – Oddly Stars and Stripes…

December 7, 2018

Every time I'm leaving Chicago, I check my pockets (mentally); if I have my passport, my wallet, and my prescriptions, I figure that I'm good for almost anything!

I then look down at what I'm wearing and wonder what I would do if my luggage were to absolutely, positively, forever disappear...

When I'm going to Florida, I resign myself to probably borrowing clothes from my mother, except for buying some gym clothes and shoes.

But going to Paris? That would be an entirely different story! (yes, I'm leaving Monday, for a week...)

So what if I packed in the same way that I might shop for a few bits, to get me through a week in Paris in December?

First, the very important travel outfit! One must remember - if ... View the Post

Accenting Black with 3 Pantone Spring 2019 Colors

December 5, 2018

Of course I wanted to see how a couple of these colors would look with black! I also really wanted to revisit that cool Turmeric color, so I got a different scarf for that little wardrobe...

First, let's start with the world's simplest 4-piece cluster of clothes - the absolute most neutral, versatile clothes for a holiday season:

With these 4 pieces, our holiday heroine has 4 basic outfits, that she can then use as a base for any kind of scarf, cardigan, jacket...

First up, how will this Jester Red look with black? (seriously, as if we haven't all seen a million red and black outfits...)

The boots really make a difference, if you can manage the "accent shoe" thing...

Any of us who lived ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a Grey and Pink Perfect 10 Travel Wardrobe

October 3, 2018

Last week I left you with a (what I thought was) lovely wardrobe, but it didn't have any accessories! Well, I was trying to share a new idea about how to choose what to pack, so I didn't want to throw too much out there at one time...

So let's accessorize now!

First, let's remind ourselves of the clothing that we had in this 13-piece (Perfect-10 to pack) wardrobe:

In order to make certain that we have enough accessories, I'm going to take a handful of outfits that I previously assembled, and accessorize them. When it's all collected, we're going to have a few too many pairs of shoes (well, unless you like to pack lots of shoes...) and quite a few handbags. One could of course reuse any or all of the ... View the Post

A 10-Piece Packing Plan, and a Wardrobe for a Week in Chicago in the Autumn

September 28, 2018

I'm still out of town, and working on a laptop - if the images here need some work, please let me know!

love,

Janice A 10-Piece Packing Template Let's imagine that our heroine is coming to Chicago for a week, and is planning to pack 10 pieces of clothing. She doesn't necessarily know why, except maybe the idea of having 13 total garments feel about right to her... It's the way she's packed for years, and she has a pretty clear plan!

First, she chooses what she's going to wear for travel. It seems rather monotone, but a pretty scarf makes a lot of difference!

Next, she pulls out her template for the 10 garments to pack:

Because grey has been her wardrobe signature neutral for a long time, and ... View the Post

What Are You Buying for Autumn? I’m All Finished…

September 24, 2018

(yes, I know it's soon to be Spring in the Southern Hemisphere - I'm interested in that too!)

This is difficult for me - I'm not all that comfortable talking about myself! But I think we should all have a deliberate plan for the changing seasons, as far as being prepared in our wardrobes. So I'm sharing my purchases...

I've been gradually picking up things for... six weeks? Maybe longer! As soon as I saw a black and white flannel shirt, I KNEW it was coming home to me. And a new black velvet skirt was imperative - my old one is too big! My rain coat was chosen to see me through those wet but not terribly cold days - I don't have anything truly waterproof that covers the seat of my pants... Other things caught my ... View the Post

How to Decide – Should You Buy This Cardigan? (or anything else that tempts you…)

August 31, 2018

The entire purpose of the garment industry is to tempt you to buy things that you don't need. I think we can agree that we are far past the point of saying that they exist to make sure that we're all appropriate attired for the weather and our social environment. Most people have far more clothes that they'll ever need!

But sometimes, you do want to buy something new. Maybe just a refresh to your existing wardrobe, or a treat because you deserve one. There's nothing wrong with this thinking, in moderation - so long as it IS thinking, and not just an emotional response.

So how to know?

Let's say that you've seen a cardigan that you really love. REALLY love...

First thing is to determine if the colors of the ... View the Post

Blue by Kinuko Imai Hoffman, Revisited for Summer 2018

August 8, 2018

Remember our friend the educational consultant, who visited schoolrooms to help find ways to make things work better? She traveled for work back in January, and then again in April, wearing her signature navy blue and white wardrobe...

Her wardrobe inspiration, and all-time favorite painting, is this:

Yes, THAT Music Festival... The really big one. She's going.

She spends her work life in classrooms, and she always hears students talking about their favorite bands. She's open-minded, and can tolerate a lot, so she's decided that she's going to drive into the city for a couple of days and go to hear just a few of the bands that she has heard about the most.

It's a relaxed trip into town:

Of course ... View the Post

Paysage de Neige by Renoir, Revisited for Summer 2018

August 6, 2018

She first got in the habit of going up to the resort in the winter... She went by herself, but ended up making... a friend... In April she went back - partly to see spring flowers, and partly to spend more time with her new friend...

Our heroine is a very informal, relaxed woman. She loves nature, and quiet, and peace... She draws her style inspirations and color palette from a favorite Renoir painting:

I'm Off After 5 Every Day This Weekend... And so she's headed back to the lake resort... beautiful days by the lake, and evenings with her new friend!

She wants to be careful not to be too dressy, but this is a special weekend, in her mind - worth packing a couple of dresses, and her prettiest tops and ... View the Post

L’Oiseau Forestier by Ernst, Revisited for Summer 2018

August 3, 2018

She's the toughest negotiator in the office, and nobody can quite believe it! She managed to settle one of the toughest ongoing negotiations her company had on their docket back in January, and was made chief negotiator in recognition. Her co-workers really didn't "get it" when she was sent to represent their firm at a weekend retreat to discuss negotiating techniques...

She takes her style inspirations from this painting - it doesn't seem particularly intimidating or overbearing, does it?

We're Not Quite Sure... "What the client wants or expects. It could just be a get-together with the union officials... you know - a picnic, a few rounds of golf, some pressing the flesh..."

"OR. They might be planning for ... View the Post

Trojan Gates by Frankenthaler, Revisited for Summer 2018

July 30, 2018 48 Hours in Paris... Remember our heroine the translator? She won a translation award back in January, and then in the Spring was interviewing with HIM to translate his autobiography...

She's very quiet, and tries to keep her appearance somewhat muted so it doesn't distract from what she's translating. This painting, and these colors, are her wardrobe inspiration:

To nobody's surprise, she got the job translating the AMAZING French guy's autobiography. And for reasons nobody can quite explain, she has to go to Paris to meet the publishers and sign some release documents... Oh dear...

So she hops on the train!

The only 2 things she has on her agenda are dinner with the author, and then meetings the next ... View the Post

Shallow Deep by Kandinsky, Revisited for Summer 2018

July 27, 2018 Who Knew? She's the school teacher who loves to take her students on field trips - even really complicated-to-organize, spending-the-night-in-hotels field trips... She took 20 6th-graders to New York after Christmas, and she's also done quite a bit of traveling on her own...

So when she found the job posting for a field-trip coordinator at the STATE Board of Education, she applied so quickly that she's still amazed that she didn't mess up something in the application process...

Now she's going to the Capital to be interviewed! Happily, as a woman ideally qualified for this kind of position, she has no trouble getting packed. She bases her wardrobe choices on her favorite painting and color palette:

The weather ... View the Post

Flowers in a Crystal Vase by Manet, Revisited for Summer 2018

July 23, 2018

Our friend the soil conservation engineer! She went to a conference of engineers back in January, and then she got to be a guest speaker at a University, in April... Although she works with dirt (soil, PLEASE!!!), she's inspired by this painting and colors for her personal style:

The Phone Woke Her Up... So she knew it had to be important!

"Can you be here by lunchtime? The hillside's eroding away because of the rain, and we've found strata that we've never been able to reach before!!!"

Only another soil engineer would be this excited...

"You can stay with me - we're going to work until dark, and then have dinner... Today is probably the only day we'll be able to get to this level. It could be ... View the Post