4X4 Wardrobe Archives

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Spring Blossom by Valerius de Saedeleer

April 12, 2023

The last of the "beige-based" wardrobes - and probably my favorite! (of course, this is the only wardrobe with any black in it...)

This is the wardrobe for our last heroine; she has a lot of beige, but her accent colors are unusual, and make quite a statement!

I suspect that this heroine will also find herself with a few pairs of colorful sandals!

Even though our heroine only has 2 black garments, I think that black sandals make sense for her; they bring a real balance to a simple outfit like this:

If you love lime green, indulge in some peridot jewelry too! You'll have it forever...

Floral earrings with a floral top seems nice to me; keep the rest of the outfit nicely muted...

Of ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Drei Häuser By Paul Klee

April 10, 2023

I really love this painting - it seems so simple, but the more you look at it, the more the colors make themselves clear and distinct...

You may remember that this heroine assembled this wardrobe for the eventual arrival of warmer weather:

I haven't yet thought of a better way to add accessories than to go through a wardrobe and put together a bunch of outfits, and then make sure that each outfit can be dressed up (or down, I suppose?) appropriately. I don't think that there's a rigid checklist of accessories that everyone should own - some women don't wear jewelry, some don't wear scarves, some don't carry a handbag... You get the idea!

I enjoyed this - these colors are beautiful and ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Wagen in Silberner Strasse by August Macke

April 7, 2023

I love the accents in this painting...

Here's a reminder of the 16-piece capsule wardrobe that our heroine has chosen for the upcoming Spring and Summer:

Let's walk through a bunch of her favorite outfits, to see how she might accessorize each:

These wee stud earrings are available in 12 different stones - all of the birthstones!

This is our heroine's only scarf, but WHAT a scarf!

I love the subtle coordination of a "denim-colored" bag:

Those of us who own a Longchamp tote bag can vouch that they're SO useful!

Would you get a green pedicure? Or would that be overkill?

A simple beige outfit takes on a bit of shine with some jewelry!

This heroine seems to really like ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Windows by Robert Delaunay

March 31, 2023

Accessories make SO much difference; I think we're going to see that pretty quickly!

Remember this painting?

And this wardrobe?

Let's work our way through a bunch of outfits, to see what accessories our heroine needs...

First up - the all-beige ensemble! Some people make this look wonderful...

For this next outfit, if the weather gets too hot to wear a scarf around your neck, you can always wear it as a belt, or in your hair, or tied to your bag...

One could make a summer-long project of looking for accessories that worked with their summer capsule wardrobe!

Even a very small scarf - literally a pocket square - can add a touch of color when worn as a bracelet, or around your neck, ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Spring Blossom by Valerius de Saedeleer

March 29, 2023

I love this too!

This heroine is committed to switching to a warmer, lighter wardrobe, although it's a bit difficult; those of us who wear a lot of black might find this change a challenge!

She's starting with the same 8 beige garments are her 3 friends...

Her accent garments are a great assortment:

She's pretty happy with how her 4 by 4 Wardrobe looks...

And when she gets all of her things in her closet, she loves the way it looks; she can already see all kinds of options, from crisp black and white to warm green or rust with beige...

But as ALL clever heroines will do, she assembles a range of outfits in her mind, just to be certain that she will be able to ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Drei Häuser By Paul Klee

March 27, 2023

I love this one...

Were I to ever find myself in a situation where I was going to wear a lot of beige (it could happen!), these would be my favorite accent colors:

As is true with all 4 of our "beige" heroines, we are starting with 8 garments...

Our heroine was VERY patient in finding her accents; patience is probably the most important quality to bring to any shopping!

But it was worth it - her selections are varied, and lovely!

She takes a close look at her 4 by 4 Wardrobe Template, just to make sure that she didn't lose her discipline at some stage!

I suspect all of us have some rogues in their closet, eh?

She then arranges all of her clothes in a more natural way to view ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Wagen in Silberner Strasse by August Macke

March 22, 2023

Our second heroine who plans to use a LOT of beige in her Spring and Summer wardrobe!

Here is the art that inspires her - she is captivated by the dark, intense lines against the neutral background...

this wardrobe would work really well with chambray/faded denim as a neutral, too!

She's excited about the prospect of wearing deep, saturated accent colors with beige; her coloring is intense, and she is confident that she will look just right in these high-contrast outfits...

For starters, she assembles the beige core wardrobe that all of our heroines will have in common:

And THEN she finds 8 garments for accent - chambray shorts and a matching cardigan, and then navy, green and cranberry shirts ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Windows by Robert Delaunay

March 17, 2023

This is pretty cheerful! And I always sense a feeling of the Eiffel Tower when I look at this...

So I have FOUR heroines that I'm thinking of, right now... Each of them is going to start the spring with an 8-piece core of beige - lots of linen!

And then each will channel her favorite painting to choose 8 accent garments... What colors might be chosen from our first painting?

First, let's look at what our heroines are each going to use as their wardrobe base...

Frankly, if you want a handful of linen garments for this summer (and then next 10 summers, to be honest; linen lasts a long time!), now is a good time to start looking...

I'm not going to show you the various outfits possible ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Flowers by Sir Cedric Morris

March 15, 2023

Beware the Ides of March...

Or maybe not! Maybe the Ides of March bring flowers to you...

This palette is particularly good for someone who wants variety in their wardrobe - it would be possible to find maybe 10 accent colors in this painting!

Our heroine starts with beige; you can do a lot and go a long way with a simple beige outfit!

Next, she indulges in olive green...

Before she forgets, she tosses in her favorite blue spring sweater, and a pair of jeans in a very light beige...

She wants shorts! So it makes sense to stock up on olive - some accessories will be useful...

Now let's get to those accent colors! A beautiful cotton sweater in a delicious shade of purple? Don't ... View the Post

Accessories! Project 333 based on Morris Graves/Rain by Kay Russell

January 30, 2023

Just to refresh our memories after the weekend, our current heroine is working on a Project 333 wardrobe based upon this painting and color palette:

Her plan is to include 16 garments and 17 accessories in her 3 month plan; the clothing that she's chosen is here:

She's going to be logical about this, and work her way through an assortment of outfits, making certain that she includes the appropriate accessories for each...

Finding both earrings AND a scarf in her favorite dusty green is a small victory, I'd say!

She's going to slightly dress up with her vest - a stunning pearl brooch, and some pretty loafers will do the trick:

Something warm and casual is always useful!

Her favorite ... View the Post

What is a “Temporary Wardrobe”? And How Might One Assemble Such a Thing?

March 23, 2022

Two emails, asking the same question from 2 opposite points of view:

"I'm going to have chemotherapy, and I'm going to probably lose enough weight to be 2 sizes smaller than normal. I expect to gain all of the weight back... What to wear?" "I'm starting a new medicine that I will have to take for 3 months; I will gain about 30 pounds during that time. I will lose all of the weight when the therapy is done... What to wear?"

Thus, I'm trying to devise a plan for all among us who might need a "Temporary Wardrobe."

This isn't just for those of us being whipped around by the whims of medicine; imagine living in Singapore and being sent to Ireland for 6 weeks to work! Or vice versa...

Of course, you could manage ... View the Post

How do you choose accessories for a LONG trip?

January 26, 2022

Okay, our heroine has a great color palette chosen for her quite long trip to Europe:

And all of her clothing is chosen too:

Because our wise heroine has already figured out what she wants to wear for travel, and what she's taking with her in her tote bag for that quick change in the airport, she has some of her accessories already chosen:

But she will need more accessories, almost certainly! (well, technically, she could get by with just these things...)

And there's so much to consider:

My favorite approach to choosing accessories when I travel is to pick out a LOT of outfits - making sure that I've included all of my garments at least once. Then I accessorize each of the ... View the Post