4X4 Wardrobe Archives

Inspiration is Everywhere! Navy, White, Rose Pink and Deep Lake Blue

April 17, 2026

Our heroine was off to a good start - she was certain that navy is her favorite neutral, and she was equally convinced that white would be her light neutral. That's a LOT more progress than many of us ever make in gaining control of our wardrobe!

She started here - her favorite outfit(s):

So she started building her Spring wardrobe by digging into her closet and dresser, and found all of these things:

At this point, she realizes that her choice of navy and white is really solidly based on her preferences... But what about accent colors?

She looks at art.

She looks at nature.

She looks at brilliant wardrobe blogs...

And THEN, she sits down to watch some European rugby with her best friend, and ... View the Post

Ready for Spring? Start With Art – Costal Image by Theo van Rysselberghe

March 20, 2026

I had hoped to see this painting at The National Gallery in London, but I understand that it's not currently on display. I'm sure I'll find something else that appeals...

With warmer weather approaching (although we had HAIL last night...) I thought that this felt just right:

Yes, we started with this heroine six years ago, at the beginning of pandemic work from home... I did NOT look back at her original wardrobe when I started this; it's interesting that yet again, I chose to work with wardrobe clusters!

Our heroine is still working from home most of the time. They're expected to be in their office four days a month - generally everybody shows up on Thursday because they bring lunch in for everyone. If you ... View the Post

Ready to Start Thinking Spring? Start With Art – Book Illustration by Goyo Hashiguchi

February 16, 2026

It's not quite spring here, although I hear from some of you that flowers are starting to show?!?!?

But it IS the second half of February, which, for the forward-thinking and wise heroine, means starting to look for clothes for warmer weather. The best things sell quickly, especially if you wear a common size...

Our heroine was here last summer...

First, and always most important, let's pause for just a second and appreciate this:

Our heroine has chosen these colors for her wardrobe; it might seem limited, but there's a lot of possibilities if one is patient and focused. We all might want to focus and develop a more signature, personally authentic style...

We're going to start our heroine's Spring ... View the Post

Adding Accessories – Start With Art – Cow’s Skull: Red, White and Blue by Georgia O’Keeffe

February 26, 2025

Of course, our heroine from Monday is going to need some accessories for her work wardrobe - shoes, at a bare minimum! And it's certain that she's going to be carrying a pretty big bag, since she has to carry her laptop, her mouse & mousepad, her power cords, and anything else she needs at her desk each day.

Here's the art which inspires her:

Here's the wardrobe with which we left our friend:

As much as our heroine would have loved to fill this part of her wardrobe with small sharp things, she (for the most part!) has stuck to normal, acceptable choices. If anybody asks about the skull earrings and necklace, she plans to launch into a lengthy Stoic philosophy speech about Memento Mori...

Her ... View the Post

Need a “Back in the Office” Wardrobe? Start With Art – Cow’s Skull by Georgia O’Keeffe

February 24, 2025

It's the most common question I've received since the first of the year - you've got to be back in the office FIVE DAYS A WEEK. And you don't have a clue what to wear, this time...

A specific question was from someone going back into a relatively dressy office, except for the "every two weeks Casual Friday." Our heroine doesn't want a big wardrobe for cool weather, since she only expects another 10 to 12 weeks during which she will need such things, so we're targeting a 4x4 Wardrobe.

She also has all kinds of plans to quit her current job, in favor of a place where she can continue to work from home. Much up in the air for this heroine; let's make her wardrobe simple and foolproof!

This was the color palette ... View the Post

Accessories for a Summer Wardrobe – Floral Strawberry Watercolor Swimsuit by L.L.Bean x Summersalt

February 12, 2025

Remember this lovely swimsuit from two weeks ago? I left us hanging, with lots of lovely clothes but NO accessories!

Our heroine's very pretty, feminine and summery wardrobe was this:

I'm going to take a handful of outfits and accessorize them - I think that should get us everything we need!

For warm weather, don't ever forget sunglasses and a good hat - you don't want to be one of us who have to have wee chunks chopped out of our scalp in our mature years...

Just for fun, I've been thinking that this heroine might be heading out for a Valentine's Day vacation; this might inspire a few of her choices!

When she gathers up all of her accessories, this is the absolutely lovely ... View the Post

Pink, Orange and White for Summer? Start With a Swimsuit – Floral Strawberry Watercolor Suit by L.L.Bean x Summersalt

January 31, 2025

I don't believe I've ever before been SO happy to see January end...

You asked for another swimsuit, and I hasten to satisfy. This was a specific request, and I can see why!

Honestly, isn't "Summersalt" the best brand name for swimwear?

My first instinct - I think it would be so for a lot of us - was bright colors. But then when I really spent some time with the image of the swimsuit, I found myself more and more drawn to the soft pink, and the lighter shades of orange..

But let's start with white - always right for hot weather and being near the water:

Next I knew we had to find some soft pink. While the cardigan might seem sort of dressy, I thought that (1) it was worth showing to you, because ... View the Post

Looking for Summer Accessories? Start With a 4×4 Summer Wardrobe

January 29, 2025

Of course you remember our swimming heroine from Monday - a new swimsuit spawned a full 4x4 summer wardrobe plan!

This is her new suit:

And this is the 16-piece capsule wardrobe she chose to go with her swimsuit - you have to start somewhere!

So that our heroine can be sure to get all of the accessories that she needs, she's going to take a handful of normal outfits from her wardrobe, and accessorize each of them. The most important thing might be to include all of your "bottoms" when you do this, so that you don't show up somewhere with a lovely outfit and the wrong shoes. Worse things happen every day, but if you can avoid this...

Let's start with the essentials - a hat and sunglasses!

For ... View the Post

Need a Summer Overhaul? Start with Swimwear – Ditsy Lilies by Lands’ End

January 27, 2025

She swims EVERY DAY. Everybody who lives in her very large building has seen her in the elevators, in her swimsuit and robe. She's long past the point of feeling self-conscious!

But she's realizing that she needs new swimwear. And new summer clothes. The whole exercising, eating right, avoiding junk food project seems to have worked!

In the summer, she swims every day, outdoors. Hours by the pool. Swim wear is what she's wearing most often, so she realizes that she might want to start there to re-build a summer wardrobe:

She's pretty methodical about this - her first choice is a dress that will certainly be considered a "cover-up" in her life! A navy tank and shorts seem logical, with a striped shirt to wear ... View the Post

Want a Wider Range of Colors in a Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Revisiting Start with Art – Mirage by Max Ernst

June 21, 2024

Remember this from last week?

Well, our (quite real!) heroine was pretty pleased with the blue and white wardrobe, and was wondering what might happen if she added some brown and pink...

Just for clarity (and to help those of us with a less than stellar memory!), this was her original travel capsule wardrobe:

Our heroine's first instinct was to add another 10 pieces of clothing, to try to keep everything even and balanced. But she realized that this might be pretty ambitious, as well as making the wardrobe rather large. (if she was just planning for a summer wardrobe, it might make sense to do this; since she specifically asked me about travel, I'm trying to keep the wardrobe reasonably small)

So after a ... View the Post

Need a Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start with a Scarf – the Tracy O’Neill silk scarf by Echo

June 17, 2024

I love this scarf - I need another scarf like I need a bad headache, but a silk bandana? With wee ducks all around the edge? Be still by beating heart...

"It Will Be Cool in Paris in October..." And she's going to be there for at least two weeks! She's going to be tutoring English students in perfecting their accents - how fun is that? If things go well, she could be there are long as six weeks! Was there ever a better motivation for doing your best work?

She's keeping it simple:

She's going to have a place to stay - a VERY TINY place to stay, she's been warned. They were particularly specific about letting her know that she shouldn't bring much luggage, which is true of so many trips we make in life!

Her ... View the Post

Need a Wardrobe Plan for Summer? Start with Art – Blue on White, White on Blue by Paolo Quaresima

January 17, 2024

Since the temperature here is a whopping THREE DEGREES Fahrenheit, let's help a heroine who is planning her summer wardrobe!

We're going to try something kind of new - assembling a 4 by 4 Wardrobe by choosing four 4-piece clusters! Each cluster will give her at least 2 outfits, and all of the clusters will be able to work together. This is a good approach if she wants to shop (or closet-shop!) gradually, and if she's finding that clothes in her favorite colors are proving hard to find...

She wants navy, she wants white, and she wants accents of bright blue - maybe this painting is a good starting place:

One thing I've been assured - our heroine doesn't like white leather goods! I can understand that; ... View the Post