French 5-Piece Archives - Page 3 of 6

Ready for a Warm-Weather Wardrobe Update? How about a French 5-Piece Wardrobe?

April 3, 2019

Of course these aren't an entire wardrobe - I hope that's clear. But, to me, the idea of a "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" is the 5 pieces that you plan, and carefully choose, and use to update your normal seasonal wardrobe of classic, neutral clothes.

Let's start here - these are about as basic as you can get!

While this isn't a really exciting wardrobe, it's versatile; you can get two dozen combinations from these 9 garments. That's a working wardrobe, I'd say!

When I thought about doing some French 5-Piece Wardrobes, I was thinking specifically about that Hedge Green color that is so uncommon, and really delightful. But I figured that I might as well work my way through the rainbow... Red, Orange, Yellow, ... View the Post

Accenting Winter White with 4 Pantone Spring 2019 Colors

November 28, 2018

Of course I'm going to have to see how a couple of the remaining Pantone Spring 2019 colors look with black, but first let's try something completely different - Winter White!

One thing to remember with this color - all of your clothes don't have to be "dye-lot matched" to look good together - especially if the fabrics and textures are different. Shades of the same neutral can look lovely!

Of course, it's perfectly beautiful to wear an outfit in just these colors:

I'm coming back to Turmeric again with black... this color is fine, but level of dressiness here is a little bit "off." The shoes might be okay with jeans - it depends on the woman!

I think these outfits are fun - certainly at this time ... View the Post

Accenting Charcoal Grey with 4 Pantone Spring 2019 Colors

November 23, 2018

If, for some amazing reason, I ever quit wearing black ALL the time, I can easily picture replacing much of it with dark grey... I just love the way this looks, and the versatility that one would have with this limited number of pieces.

One of the joys of having a neutral core in this color is that pretty much any accent color will go well here! What might not work? Hmmm... lime green? Think of something, and I'll give it a try!

For example, I could probably use any of the Pantone Spring 2019 colors here. For fun, I've chosen 4, just to see how different the ensembles look when it's all pulled together!

First I want to try out this lovely Living Coral. I stand by my thesis that this color will work well ... View the Post

Accenting Navy with Fiesta Orange or Aspen Gold

November 19, 2018

One of the best things about having a solid core of neutral clothes is that you can completely indulge when you are smitten with a "new" accent color. It doesn't require a massive investment in new pieces to be able to pull together a handful of new outfits that include your new sweetheart color...

Let's say you have a passion for Fiesta! And in the course of indulging yourself in its beauty, you accumulate these items:

Now let's further hypothesize that you've got this tidy cluster of "midnight" pieces that you've carefully assembled over time. This has the infinite value of NOT being black; at lots of events and locations you've set yourself apart from the crowd already!

Now, it's obvious that these 4 ... View the Post

French 5-Piece Wardrobes based on Pantone Spring 2019 colors

November 16, 2018

Of course, there are no new colors. And for what it's worth, these colors don't necessarily show up in store any more or less than any other colors...

That said, I still love looking at these color every 6 months, and giving some thought to what I might add to a wardrobe in order to really solidly bring an accent color into an otherwise neutral wardrobe. (I'm always happy to do another post showing these pieces worn along-side a Neutral Common Wardrobe, if that would be helpful)

And yes, I'm going to evaluate all of the "4 Outfits based on a painting" posts that I've done. They take a while!

In my next life, I want a job at Pantone naming colors...

First up is Fiesta, which is a nice bright ... View the Post

Are You Interested in a New Accent Color? Pantone Autumn 2018 and some French 5-Piece Wardrobes

August 13, 2018

I think most of us wear the same accent colors for years at a stretch - I know that I've been wearing red and French blue since the 1980's...

But it's not that difficult to "test-drive" a new color for a season or 2 - you don't need to buy dozens of pieces to effectively incorporate a new color into your wardrobe; literally 3 to 5 items will do the trick!

So lets look at the "new" colors that Pantone has chosen for Autumn 2018, and see what we could do with them...

(yes, the idea of new colors is absurd - but I always like to take a look at what Pantone has chosen because it might give us some new ideas... and please note that a LOT of these pieces are VERY expensive - they're ideas, not necessarily a shopping ... View the Post

Revisiting Van Gogh, and Using Cool Sky Blue to Accent Navy and White

July 11, 2018

Someone wanted another visit to this painting, someone wanted some navy and sky blue together, and someone wanted to see another French 5-Piece wardrobe. Here, I present ALL of that, and more. First, let's enjoy this painting, and the idea of the shore...

Warmth, salty breezes messing up your hair, reapplying sunscreen... The stuff of a million dreams!

And although this painting seems pretty monochromatic at first glance, when you look carefully at it for a while you find a whole BUNCH of different shades of blue and green, as well as dark brown, and warm orangish-tan. (I'm ignoring the red signature, except for lips and nails!)

I start a LOT of my blog posts with a core wardrobe of classic, neutral, timeless ... View the Post

Periwinkle! A French 5-Piece Wardrobe, with Grey and White…

March 13, 2018

I have to admit, this might be my favorite color. Most shades and hues of purple are way up on my list... and since my favorite flowers are lilacs, hyacinths, and violets, it all sort of fits together!

These 2 garments work well together or separately, the earrings and scarf blend nicely, and what wouldn't you do for THAT BAG??? What a fresh jolt of spring this brings to the timeless grey and white...

If you start with some nice, casual piece in grey and white, you're in a good place... (this is the wardrobe from last Tuesday, of course)

You've got all sorts of ways to get dressed:

Adding that dash of periwinkle gives you more choices, of course, but it also really changes ... View the Post

Sage and Blush! A French 5-Piece Wardrobe, with Camel

March 12, 2018 I don't think I've ever pointed this out specifically - your French 5-Piece Wardrobe doesn't have to be all one color! It probably should all go together, if only to make wearing it easier, but 2 colors that are beautiful together could be a great idea...

Imagine that you've already pulled together your camel and ivory Common Wardrobe for spring...

Yes, this is the same wardrobe from Monday the 5th - and the shirt is NOT (at this very moment) sold out... You would already have a good many ways to get dressed in the morning without really even thinking - that's handy when you're in a rush, and distracted!

When you add just the 5 new items you purchased for spring, your options ... View the Post

Lovet Green! A Great French 5-Piece Wardrobe, with navy and white

March 9, 2018 I haven't a clue what a lovet is... any ideas? But when I saw this color I knew that we had to look at it a bit - it really calls out to me...

So if you're starting out with this lovely, and very versatile, classic wardrobe for spring... (which we saw last Friday...)

Without adding any accents at all, you're already pretty well-equipped for most of the occasions that you might encounter during the spring (or on a lovely spring break vacation!).

But adding on the green accents gives you some lovely possibilities.... And this is the kind of accent color that would be equally beautiful and useful in the autumn - always a ... View the Post

Strawberry Red! A French 5-Piece Wardrobe with stone and white…

March 8, 2018 It's not quite red, and it's certainly not pink. It's STRAWBERRY! (Yes, I adore strawberries...)

It's a bit soft, and a bit warm, and just not quite like any other color. I think it would be flattering on a great many people, too...So if you're starting with a simple, timeless core wardrobe in stone and white, you're already in a pretty good spot for spring. (Yes, you've seen this wardrobe before!)

Plenty of subdued, elegant outfits are possible...

But the addition of that beautiful strawberry gives you cheery possibilities that are idea for a cloudy day...

Realistically, I think almost any color would look great with this stone and white core...

love, Janice ... View the Post

A Ted Baker Scarf-Based French 5-Piece Wardrobe

May 7, 2018 You don't have to follow the Pantone colors - make your own very personal "French 5-Piece Wardrobe" by starting with something that has some real "whappage" in your life! For me, that might often be a lovely Ted Baker London scarf. (No, I have absolutely no business relationship with them... sigh...) You go shopping - see the scarf - and the path is clear! A couple of simple, timeless garments, classic earrings, and a summery tote, and your spring is ready to start.

Imagine if you were devoted to wearing black and white - you had this lovely 10-piece Common Wardrobe available for spring. (Yes, you've seen this wardrobe before...)

You would already have a wealth of lovely ... View the Post