cool weather Archives

December 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #6: The Swan No. 24 by Hilma Af Klint

December 8, 2025

The last day of the last painting! Unless, of course, I revisit these and analyze them a bit...

She had enough clothes - more than enough, as do we all. But she was really hankering after some more brown. There's something about wearing brown - especially with black - that's different from anything else she had ever worn...

Her wardrobe is all set, for now...

Our heroine would still really love to have a brown and black scarf, and you can easily see how useful it would be for her. But she has to find the right one!

Our heroine had a lengthy internal conversation around the purchase of brown shoes and a brown bag. Normally, she would keep her leather accessories to black, beige, or a metallic. ... View the Post

December 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #5: Eiffel Tower by Robert Delaunay

December 5, 2025

Okay, if I wanted to start a new and different wardrobe, THIS would be my choice... Until I get to the next wardrobe!

But this is such a great painting...

I can't believe that this heroine doesn't yet have an ivory cardigan!

And I would love to have found a navy two-piece dress for her, but I think that maybe the dark-wash denim skirt will be more useful; what do you think?

There's something to be learned here; even if your favorite wardrobe color(s) are easy to find in stores, you still don't always see exactly what you have in mind! This puts you in a pretty clear situation: do you need SOMETHING to fill a certain role, or can you wait? I suspect that many of us can wait...

How that we have all ... View the Post

December 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #4: Street Lights by Stefan Johansson

December 4, 2025

Maybe this isn't the most festive painting in the world, but it's still really beautiful... I find it kind of mesmerizing to imagine standing where the artist stood, looking at the lights across the river:

Our heroine took advantage of some serendipitous finds when shopping. She had whappage for a bright orange sweater, but then was very wise and measured when she decided that the green cabled sweater was going to be a core item in her wardrobe.

The striped top is a calculated experiment: she hasn't worn moc neck tops since she was a child, but she has liked the way they look when layered with a sweater. Further, the colors in this top just cry out to be part of her wardrobe. Therefore, she's going to try ... View the Post

December 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #3: Pines by the Sea by Bertha Lum

December 3, 2025

Before we dive into the fund, I have a Public Service Announcement!

Get your wallet out. Take everything out of it, and scan it all, front and back. Now email those files to yourself.

If you happen to lose your wallet, or if it's stolen (as just happened to me), you will be endlessly grateful to yourself for having this information handy... Having to replace your passport 10 days before an international trip is - shall we say - STRESSFUL!

Okay, let's dive into this most lovely painting. Imagine if I get to move to Ireland, and I have to replace my entire wardrobe for some horrible reason. These colors would be so great...

Our heroine was pretty methodical this month! She knew that she wanted some ... View the Post

One Navy Sweater – A Dozen Ideas

November 28, 2025

I love this sweater, you can tell! Cables give a sweater a texture and richness that's appealing, and far from boring...

I was about to start working on this, with hunter green as the second major color, and gold as the jewelry and accessory metallic. But then I saw all of the comments about the red sweater, and made the changes:

Why yes, I'm still following the same overall structure from the first two sweaters...

This skirt is dressier than it looks at first glance - it's metallic! And the pendant is actually a wee magnifying glass. The Met Store has a bunch of pendants that are magnifying glasses - why don't I have one of these? Heaven knows I could use it...

Burgundy is such a lovely ... 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

Packing For the Holidays by Starting With Art – Canyon Country by Georgia O’Keeffe

November 29, 2024

Not your usual "holiday colors," but how many of us really want to wear a ton of red and green? (I know at least one of you is absolutely delighted to wear red and green...)

When you look critically at the painting to isolate the colors, it looks more promising!

Okay, we're going to take that really yellowish patch and focus on the camel edge! If we revisited this wardrobe for warmer weather, we might go full-tilt into a bunch of yellow...

A key to this wardrobe looking festive is the accessories - but isn't that often the case, that you achieve the desired effect by adding just one or two little touches?

Our heroine is packing "outfit by outfit," and then we'll re-evaluate what she has, and see ... View the Post

Needing Some Brightness? Start With a Scarf – The Nina Knaudt & Rianna Kounou scarf by Echo

November 25, 2024

Our heroine has a couple of weekend holiday trips this year, and since the people that she will see don't overlap (that's handy!), she's decided to really refine a small wardrobe and take it for all of her trips...

AND!!! She's really being brought down by the darkness that comes so early in the Northern Hemisphere this time of year. Therefore, she's decided that she's going to work with bright colors to accent her chosen neutral of navy...

This scarf would be delightful in the heat of summer, but she's going to make it work in November and December!

She's chosen her accent colors from the many that she found in the scarf. Orange might be tough to find in November (oddly enough - isn't it a fall color?), ... View the Post

A Navy & Grey Lover? Start Packing with The Common Wardrobe

November 22, 2024

It's snowing like the end of the world here in Chicago - I'm very happy! Of course, it will last an hour, and then melt... sigh...

More heroines than you might expect are committed to wearing navy, grey, and accent colors that vary with the seasons. I hear from you often, and I can entirely agree that your choice is an elegant and pretty foolproof way to dress...

For you, I've chosen to include denim blue in your palette, just to give you options! My idea of what The Common Wardrobe would look like for you is delightfully uncomplicated and versatile:

One could certainly pack this, some jewelry, a handful of scarves, and a couple of pairs of shoes, and be fine...

But our heroine's going to be seasonal for ... View the Post

Love Bright Accents? Start With a Scarf – The Kelsey McKinney Scarf by Echo

November 15, 2024

She likes red and green. And purple. And pink. And blue. And yellow...

She's going away for a long weekend that will be FESTIVE. Not necessarily big splashy parties, but she knows that anywhere she goes, there will be a bit of a holiday fizz in the air! So she decides to travel with her core of black essentials, but to round out her travel capsule wardrobe with four accent colors.

Remember, not every heroine flies to her destination! This lovely lady might be taking the train, or the boat, or driving...

And yes, Vivaia shoes are everything they claim to be; I've got two pair, and I live in them. Both will go to Paris next month!

She reviews her packing... jeans, a skirt, bright but not gaudy or ... View the Post

Love Blue and Lavender? Start With a Scarf – The Julianna Margulies scarf from Echo

November 13, 2024

Yes, THAT Julianna Margulies. Multi-talented, I'd say!

Lovely colors! That blue is just delicious...

Our heroine has to travel, and she wants to at least seem to fit in with the festivities! She's not really a "red & green" type of girl, nor is she much interested in an ugly Christmas sweater...

So she's going to go with a smile and a snowflake. That feels festive enough for her!

Yes, she's packing a few of the same things that her friend packed on Monday - simple black classics look very different when you wear them with a different accent color!

In her world, a pretty sweater and a skirt will be dressy enough! Most of the time she's more likely to be wearing her jeans!

When our ... View the Post

Want a Fresh Palette? Start With Art – Door of Light by Akada Misao

October 30, 2024 Just For the Night... They tell her that's all she needs to do - just meet with the core workers, take the whole staff to dinner, and then come back the next day.

Unless she gets stuck, because of air traffic, or a strike, or volcanoes...

She's not THRILLED about the trip, so she decides to be inspired by something as unlike work as possible:

She seldom wears yellow. But she's in the mood to shake things up a bit, so this is going to be her color palette. She knows that for a longer trip, she could easily add lots of beige, and bits and pieces of green...

It's not a madly dressy office, so she knows that she doesn't have to dress up. Comfortable pants will make all the difference if she's stuck on a ... View the Post