Build a Capsule Wardrobe Archives - Page 31 of 88

Winter Travel: Madame Leon Clapisson by Renoir

January 14, 2019

Oh my... She sings in the opera. Not one of the stars, but she works all the time, and enjoys it immensely!

Even though she's not the primary singer, she's still a bit of a diva; she identifies quite a bit with the woman in the painting:

So when she purchases her clothes, she uses this color scheme - enough neutral colors that she can find what she needs, but with lovely soft accent colors that appeal to her feminine side:

Her opera company is travelling to give a few performances in another city. She will be spending most of her time rehearsing or performing, but she will have a bit of time to sight-see, shop, and dine.

She's quite dressy...

She realizes that packing only dresses and cardigans ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Rhythmisches by Paul Klee

January 11, 2019

She quilted for years - ever since she was a teenager. So when they offered her the position managing the quilt museum (THE best quilt museum in the country, in many opinions...) she jumped at the chance.

The position involves travel... So she's going to try to be organized about this!

It might not be her favorite painting, but this is what she's chosen as her core inspiration:

She wants to dress in neutrals, but she's really reluctant to be pinned down to just cool (or warm) colors; she's going to mix it up! Her palette is this:

She likes to be comfortable and sort of... low key? when she travels - she's visiting women who've made quilts, or other smaller museums, so she doesn't want to show up ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Briqueterie a Tortosa by Pablo Picasso

January 9, 2019

Solar panels. She designs installations for solar panels - big installations, small ones - whatever is ordered, she will optimize both the appearance and the productivity. She's very proud of what she does...

So when she saw this painting, it spoke to her - the angles, the bright sunny feel, the combination of grey (like metal frames) with orange and green - the colors of things that grow and bloom:

She decided to choose a color palette that she could use for all of her travel wardrobes (and maybe all of her clothing, eventually):

One challenge she always faces is that she travels to place where it is inevitably warmer than where she lives! So she dresses warmly for her departure, and ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Between Breath and the River 4 by Susan Osgood

January 7, 2019

She predicts flooding. Flood plains, coastal erosion, river bank frailties - she's the expert. And this is her favorite painting...

Long ago she decided to limit her wardrobe to her favorite shades of blue, and to use navy and shades of grey as her neutrals. She has lots of serious things to think about, so having a simplified way to get dressed every day saves her time and energy for her work!

She's often contracted out to television channels which focus on weather disasters - she will spend a few days at their headquarters helping their permanent staff make predictions about areas that need to be evacuated in the face of upcoming storms...

Ice blockages are particularly hard to evaluation - they can ... View the Post

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