Common Wardrobe Archives

Start with Nature: The Spinning Pulsar of the Crab Nebula

August 29, 2022 Staying at the Observatory Until the Autumnal Equinox

There are all kinds of interesting things to observe and photograph near the equinox; she's going to stay until then, to have everything ready!

She will be alone most of the time, and it will get quite cool before she comes home...

So she starts her small travel wardrobe with some warm things, in the navy of the night sky:

There's laundry in the housing facility at the base of the tower, so she doesn't need much at all for clothing; these 9 pieces will go a long way!

But she realizes that if she takes a few more shirts and sweaters, she won't have to do laundry as often! So she turns to one of her favorite recent astronomy ... View the Post

How Can I Find My Own, Personal, Basic Wardrobe?

November 12, 2021

Ah, I'm going to need a second to remind you of the origins of The Common Wardrobe, and why I was so taken with the idea...

I'm sitting on the sidelines of a big party - about 200 people. These lovely young people (mostly) are my co-workers at an international advertising agency. We are in Madrid, or Berlin, or Chicago - it doesn't matter.

These people are creative. In big bright letters, they are the brightest, most imaginative people I've ever known. And when you look at them, you can tell; they wear sweaters that they knit in their spare time, or shoes made by a friend, or a jacket covered with wee patches that they did to cover holes...

But under all of this amazing color, pattern and print, they were ... View the Post

The Common Wardrobe in Navy and Ivory, accented with Potpourri pink

October 20, 2021

I'm been looking at the Pantone Spring 2021/22 colors; looking may be as far as I get with some of them - there are a couple of truly odd colors on this list!

But we can always start with a neutral wardrobe core, and then use one of the more accessible of the colors for accent, right?

This version of The Common Wardrobe is not a long way from the original, shown below. The jeans are unchanged, the knit pants, long-sleeved tee and cashmere turtleneck are navy rather than black.

For other garments, I tried to stick with the original role that the garment played - 2nd layer, top, bottom - and then looked for a navy or ivory version, in a "long over short" option.

Today's heroine has been wearing her navy ... View the Post

How Do I Make Wardrobe Guidelines Work for Me?

October 15, 2021

Maybe it's because I'm home almost all the time. Maybe it's because almost all of us have been home most of the time for MONTHS AND MONTHS...

But I'm looking at the essentials of a wardrobe. The core; the base; the springboard for all of the bright, memorable, snazzy things that we really love to wear...

And thus, I'm back to thinking about The Common Wardrobe - those 12 garments that I realized almost all of my co-workers owned, about 20 years ago.

These garments haven't gone out of style because they really aren't ever in style. They're available everywhere, at almost any price, and in styles that suit a lot of us.

And if you have these in your closet, you can get dressed. In an emergency, you can pack. You ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Echo Photo Floral Silk Square

February 15, 2021

Let's wallow in some flowers!

This has the potential to take black and white RIGHT into spring - at least in our hearts! What lovely colors:

Today's heroine assures me that her wardrobe is pretty classic black and white, so let's start with a 12-piece Common Wardrobe that will see her into a few warm days:

Now - the accent colors!

I had to splurge and show you this tee shirt, because I think the floral print is lovely...

Coral! Who wouldn't look at least reasonably good in this color? And the sleeveless top brings summer into the room, even if worn under a cardigan:

Okay, one may not be inclined to wear this cardigan every other day, but it is SO bright and fun for these ... View the Post

Start with Art: Untitled 20191210 by Takayuki Yoshida

January 25, 2021

She's dreaming of warmer weather, and she's determined to at least FEEL like spring is coming...

She starts here:

And this is her color palette - her base is going to be navy and white, but she's really interested in these accent colors!

Before she tears off into this project with blinding enthusiasm, she pauses to consider if it's realistic:

their home is always warm in the winter, she's not going to be going out much at all - wearing white pants won't be a problem because she can skip them if she needs to go out into the slush, and she can layer her chosen garments if she needs to warm up.

She starts by choosing her navy and white Common Wardrobe - the base upon which she will ... View the Post

Start with Art: Revisiting (AGAIN!) The Visit by Marie Laurencin

January 4, 2021

I get happy just TYPING 2021...

We've visited this lovely heroine a couple of times already, last Spring in the early days of working from home, and then later in the autumn when she had to take a road trip to sign some legal documents...

Now, she knows that she's going to be working from home for the rest of the winter (at least), and she wants to be organized. Spending time each morning thinking about what to wear is SUCH a waste of time, and she wants to stop doing it!

This is such an enigmatic painting, when you look at it - why is the woman on the wee balcony handing keys to the woman on the horse? Is she coming in to visit them? What is going on here? Can't she just get off her horse and come in? Or is she ... View the Post

Start with Art: Honor by Elizaveta Egiazaryan

December 28, 2020

She's quite smitten with this painting:

So when they decided, at their family meeting, that they MUST turn down the thermostat and try to cut back their energy consumption, she wondered if the warmth of her flower painting could be translated into real warmth...

Her normal wardrobe is very strictly black and white, and has been that way for quite a while. She really doesn't need a lot of clothing these days, so she's been managing pretty well with just this:

She went back to her current favorite painting, and studied it carefully. Black and white are certainly here, but what makes the painting feel warm to her is the more cream and beige tones. And the luscious pink helps too!

So she created a color ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Echo Patchwork Painted Floral Silk Square

November 30, 2020 You Want Me to WHAT??? Yes, fly to Chicago for ONE meeting....

"If you go to the meeting on Wednesday, you can take the rest of the week off..."

Okay... She will go up to visit a friend with a lovely home along Lake Michigan, about an hour north of the city.

And since her employer is paying for her to check her luggage, it's going to be a pretty big suitcase!

She starts here:

Her favorite wardrobe colors are navy and white, so she chooses this color palette for her trip:

First, she pulls out her Common Wardrobe that she's been wearing this autumn. She includes her white jeans because (a) she loves them and (b) there will be days when she and her friend don't leave the house! Why not?

And ... View the Post

Start with Art: With My Back to the World by Agnes Martin

November 6, 2020 Calm...

She wants accents for her wardrobe this month to be calm, relaxed and gentle - like this:

Her core wardrobe is grey - she loves it. She looks good in it, she likes the way it looks in her closet, and it just feels like her!

But this year, she wants a little bit of gentle color! And so she starts with yellow, including a skirt that might not be a perfect fit in her wardrobe, but which she chooses NOT to resist...

Sometimes, you have to break out a little bit!

The next color isn't at all easy to find! It doesn't make it any easier when it's called all KINDS of names - mineral blue, light turquoise, silver blue, aqua...

But she persists and is delighted:

She originally thought ... View the Post

Start with Nature: Inside the Orion Nebula by Drudis and Goldman

October 28, 2020 Star-Gazing for a Living! There's an opening at the observatory complex, and it's her turn to spend a month working on her research...

The complex is a combination of labs, residential and dining areas, meeting rooms, and of course the telescope. There are laundry facilities, so she doesn't need to pack clothes for 30 days. Her wardrobe is built around the navy of the night sky, and this is her chosen accent inspiration:

She ses the colors this way:

She starts with the core of her cool-weather wardrobe - her "Common Wardrobe" of timeless, versatile pieces:

She hesitates.... for a good LONG while. But then she remembers that she's going to be up there with a bunch of scientists, who won't ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Plum Garden at the Kameido Shrine by Utagawa Hiroshige

September 2, 2020

I've received some requests to add accent colors to grey - I'm always happy to try to oblige!

ROAD TRIP!!! Yes, they're going to visit a BUNCH of gardens... For about 2 weeks or so! They're going to rent a camper (oh my...) and go to all of the places they've talked about visiting for years.

It's quite casual - touring these gardens doesn't require getting dressy! But she loves her color palette so...

She's going to stick with her core of grey garments, and then add 2 clusters of color...

She packs some warm teal tops, and then decides to include her tee shirt with floral prints... Why not?

Her coral garments vary from very soft and pastel to deep, almost rust. And she decides to pack a ... View the Post