Capsule Wardrobe Plans Archives - Page 23 of 62

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

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Palace Blue (with grey and white)

March 6, 2018

Maybe she has grey hair and bright blue eyes?

(Yes, white linen pants require "granny panties" in YOUR nude...)

She likes subtle, understated, and relaxed looks that flatter her hair...

But this spring, she decides that she's going to be ALL ABOUT her blue eyes... Just for a bit of a change - why not?

Now when she wants something bright, she has an abundance of choices! And she can still wear her subtle greys and whites when that's the mood...

I'm going to revisit each of these Common Wardrobes, but I'm going to go rogue and abandon the Pantone colors (trust me, I can't find the colors available to buy in any form I'd happy recommend to you!).

Instead of Pantone, I'm just going to show you ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Ash Rose (with Camel and Ivory!)

It's not easy to find camel, nor ivory, but I did my very best! And I included this print shirt (although I know I've used it before) because I like it a lot.... Sometimes that all that's required!So before we go off in search of a pretty French 5-Piece Wardrobe for spring, let's assemble a very practical, but lovely, Common Wardrobe:

As should always be the case with a well-chosen Common Wardrobe, plenty of combinations are clearly available, for a wide range of weather and dressiness:

Here's where the fun/work starts! Even though Pantone tells us that this is one of the colors of the year, not a lot of clothing companies have jumped onto this particular bandwagon. That said, a big of persistence turned up some really lovely ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Ultra Violet

March 2, 2018

I can't explain it, but I'm really fascinated by (bordering on obsessed with) navy and ultra violet together... I don't own a STITCH of navy clothing - I haven't since the late 80s - and I'm not about to start buying it now! But I just find it beautiful and... gratifying... in a way that I can't explain.

How about another 90% Eileen Fisher dream wardrobe, this time in navy? I could NOT find a good photo of a skirt in her navy - which she calls midnight - so I grabbed one from Lands' End. Remember that different fabrics don't have to be "dye-lot" matched to be worn together. They should look like they're from the same family, but not necessarily like they're identical twins!

As should always be the case with a ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Blooming Dahlia

February 28, 2018

Maybe black and white isn't your thing... maybe now that warm weather is approaching, you're in the mood for LIGHT...

And maybe you're very casual. Not a scarf person. Really, VERY casual, relaxed, leisurely...

Maybe start with this:

You've got every kind of white top from sleeveless to long-sleeved, and everything to cover your legs a little, a bit more, or all the way! Layer on a sweater or a sweatshirt and you're good to go.

This is NOT boring.... this is subtle!

You're ready for an update, and a bit of an accent color for the upcoming warm weather. But nothing overly dressy - why buy things you won't wear? You can update just as easily with canvas shoes, tee shirts, and a fresh ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Tomato Red

February 27, 2018 When the weather gets warm, many of us get the urge to shop! And so let's think about limiting our purchases to whatever essential, core items we need, and then a French 5-Piece Wardrobe to freshen and update our classics...First, every change of season has me dreaming of tossing out all of my clothes and buying an entirely new wardrobe from Eileen Fisher. (NOT going to happen, but a woman can fantasize, and then use that fantasy to create a better reality, right?)This is what I'd be buying, if I was going to do such a madcap thing:

Of course, when you look at this wardrobe for a few minutes, you realize that you don't need to buy ALL 10 pieces to get the desired effect - maybe just 2 or 3 of the real signature ... View the Post

What Accessories do I Want for a Trip to Bermuda?

January 26, 2018

Not just a trip to Bermuda, but a trip in March, when the weather is still cool, and the crowds aren't pressing...We're working with this color palette:

And these are the accessories that our heroine has already chosen to pack for her romantic get-away...

And this is her wardrobe that she's planning to have with her - 3 pieces to wear and a lucky 13 to pack:

Here's the accessories that she has included with her two core outfits... With the exception of shoes, she could of course travel with just these pieces and manage just fine. But in the interests of fun, let's expand her options...Please note that I'm not suggesting that this is going to be all of the accessories that one owns - unless ... View the Post

A 4 by 4 Wardrobe for a Vacation to Bermuda in March

January 25, 2018

This is similar to the very recent wardrobe about traveling to Italy, but sufficiently different that I thought it was worth a look...First off, I'm going to take a clue from yesterday's thoughts about accent colors and include some muted, pretty colors with the same navy and beige that we've already used... (navy and beige are on purpose - I'm pretty sure that this reader is a navy/beige person; if I'm wrong, I apologize!)

This is the easiest possible way to dress for travel - a "suit" in your dark neutral, with a contrast blouse, shirt or tee shirt, and a pretty scarf to tie everything together! I'm re-using a lot of the accessories from the earlier post to show how versatile they are... I changed the ... View the Post

What Accessories Should One Pack for an Italian Vacation?

On Friday, I pulled together a wardrobe for one of you who has a fun trip planned with adult children:

This was the color scheme with which I was working:

There are already some accessories in her wardrobe...

So let's start with my new template for accessories, and plug in the pieces that we already have:

For me, earrings are VERY important - I'm choosing an accent pair in aqua, and then a really simple pair of gold studs that can be worn for days without thought... Similarly, both an accent striped bracelet and some classic gold bangles are being added to her accessory wardrobe...

I ALWAYS believe in a good brooch! And necklaces don't take up much space, but can really change the feeling of an ... View the Post

A 4 by 4 Wardrobe for a vacation to Tuscany, Florence and the Amalfi Coast

January 19, 2018

A true story - requested by, and written by, a reader! How much fun is this?

This was the color palette she requested:

She is finally getting to travel with her ADULT children. She doesn't have to worry about packing for them, or making their plane reservations, or making sure they've taken Dramamine, or keeping them occupied at the airport...

She can concentrate on packing for herself!!!

Her children will magically show up in Italy for a cousin's wedding, and then they will travel together afterwards - Florence and the Amalfi Coast!

She will probably stop in Switzerland en route to see a childhood friend.

She won't have to wake her children up for breakfast every ... View the Post

Brown with Blue – Start with a Scarf! Hermes Electrique

December 29, 2017

Recently, someone asked me to re-visit a post that I did over 5 years ago, in blue and brown...After 5 years, absolutely NOTHING shown in the original post was still available - I know that's not a surprise. So I have recreated the original outfit, and what was packed, as best I could - it's a rough approximation...

The hardest thing was that I could NOT find a trench coat in the same turquoise blue that was used originally, so I've migrated the entire capsule wardrobe into a more "brown and blue" color scheme, starting with a wonderful scarf!

I isolated the colors with which the wardrobe will be built; I didn't really define the style because I'm somewhat duplicating an existing ... View the Post