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Part 3 September 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

September 9, 2022

Let's get back to these last 2 scarves - I'm quite chuffed about the pretty things that I've found...

This heroine has a LOT of navy in her wardrobe; maybe we should look for something lighter to serve as a neutral for her...

yes, one of these scarves is so expensive it might give you chest pains... but it's lovely, and even a cat may look at a king!

These new clothes blend into her wardrobe perfectly, but the overall feeling of things is (of course) a bit lighter and softer:

Her accessories are lovely; her scarf drawer is enviable!

All of her new purchases bring options to her each morning - she has a wonderful new way to get dressed up with her ivory skirt and pumps!

Last, this ... View the Post

Part 2 September 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

September 5, 2022

Has anyone else read Ruskin's "Stones of Venice?" I own a gorgeous antique set of the FULL THREE VOLUME painfully thorough books... They're beautifully bound in green leather, with gold tooling, and they're sized to be packed when going on the Grand Tour of Europe.

I confess that I took 1 volume with me a couple of times I traveled to Venice; it was amazing how little has changed there since Ruskin's time...

So, odd as he was, I'm a fan!

This heroine saw her friend's new blue garments, and was inspired to go back to her "source scarf" and take another look. Sure enough, she could easily incorporate more blue into her wardrobe, too!

And she found earrings that included "her" blue and olive green - those ... View the Post

Part 1 September 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

September 2, 2022

I've realized that I really like doing these six wardrobes in 3 separate blog posts; I can spend a lot more time looking for things that strike my fancy!

Let's start with Chrysanthemums!

As our heroine looked at her existing wardrobe, and began to think of what she might want for autumn, she began to feel that the soft, dusty, smoky blue in her wardrobe palette is underrepresented in her wardrobe. 

So she set out to find some pretty things!

She's not fanatic that all of these things match - she will be happy to wear the blue with all of the charcoal grey that she already owns...

I'd say she did pretty well!

Her new clothes blend in well with her existing wardrobe; if someone is really ... View the Post

Version 4 – Start with a Scarf: The Ghan by Un Poco

August 15, 2022

This is a slightly more extravagant wardrobe than the first 3... and note that if you're looking for accent colors, Benetton always carries plenty! Back to School - Not in THIS Climate!

She has the longest drive - they live a long way south of the University...

Her friends are always eager to see how she's managing a "real" autumn - she struggles with socks, and when they first met, she hadn't brought any sweaters with her!

She's charming, feminine, and great fun!

 

She confesses that she loves "having" to buy corduroy pants, and a cashmere sweater! If there's a temporary cold spell where she lives, she at least has something to wear for a day or two...

Four VERY different ... View the Post

Version 3 – Start with a Scarf: The Ghan by Un Poco

August 12, 2022 Back to School - She Wishes!!!

She's the youngest of the 4, both in age and in spirit! When she pulled off her cap, they were delighted to see purple highlights in her hair!

editor's note: if you're considering adding bright highlights to your hair, I STRONGLY recommend Punky Color. I've been using all of the various shades of purple (plum, purple, violet) for years, and it's easy, mess-less, and actually good for your hair! If you're going to have white hair that takes dye well, you might as well take advantage of it...

She's still raising younger children, so she rarely dresses up. She loves this trip each year, because she can pull out her "good" pants, and her floral blouse! 

Of course her ... View the Post

Version 2 – Start with a Scarf: The Ghan by Un Poco

August 10, 2022 Back to School, Indeed!

That morning, when they got up to load the car, it was pouring...

Happily, anybody old enough to go to college is old enough to pack their many worldly good into the car!

But she wore boots, just in case...

She was even able to delegate the driving to her eager (and very competent) child! The boots came in handy when they stopped for coffee...

She's really looking forward to seeing her friends again - meeting up with them and having a lot of fun takes away the sting of leaving a dearly loved child far away...

She heard that a really nice restaurant opened during the summer, so she took the initiative to make reservations for the 4 of them. They always go out for nice ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: The Ghan by Un Poco

August 8, 2022 College-Bound!

Not her! Oh, not anymore... but it's time to move offspring into the dorm - a long-ish drive, and some time sitting by the car while the young people move their stuff!

The best part of this trip is meeting up with the parents of other students; she's become close friends with 3 other women who make the same trip every year!

They've gotten in the habit of staying over in town for a couple of days whenever they make this trip - they are close to their kids if they find that something has been forgotten! (that's their excuse...)

But it also gives the 4 of them time to catch up, do a bit of sightseeing (college towns always have cool museums, fun coffee shops, and lots of interesting ... View the Post

Part 3 August 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

August 5, 2022

I really like doing these monthly wardrobes in 3 posts, rather than 1 REALLY large post. You can imagine how much work goes into getting all six wardrobes ready, and I feel like taking my time over them gives me a chance to do a better job!

What do you think?

So let's look at the glorious hydrangea scarf... I love hydrangeas - the mix of colors in the blossoms delights me! My phone wallpaper is a photograph of mixed pink and blue flowers... sigh...

A navy blazer. It just seems like something that someone who loves navy might want to consider - especially if this heroine likes classic, timeless styles...

And if you're going to buy the blazer, buy the pants (and/or the skirt) while you're at it. Yes, it's a ... View the Post

Part 2 August 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

August 3, 2022

Have any of you done enough shopping that you can see the trends for this autumn?

I've seen tons of clogs. Literally tons. I know that they're very comfortable for people who work in hospitals, so I would assume that everybody might find them comfortable... Maybe if you need shoes, they are worth trying?

And someone, somewhere, put together a million miles of smocked fabric! Not the traditional smocking, like we used to do on gingham fabrics, where you would join together certain squares in the print with stitching to create beautiful patterns...

Nope - this smocking is machine stitched fabric that is gathered with elastic thread. There's nothing inherently wrong with this fabric, except that you can't swing a ... View the Post

Part 1 August 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

August 1, 2022

We're going to have to do the "Six Scarves, 12 Months" posts in segments this month, because it's just THAT difficult... I hate not finishing in 1 post, but I have to admit when I can't finish in time!

This is a great lesson for how to handle shopping when everything in the marketplace seems to conspire against you.

In a "normal" year, I could easily expect to see piles of cashmere sweaters in 30 colors all OVER the retail world - but not this year...

Websites should be chock-full of cabled sweaters, and corduroy pants, and tweed blazers, and all of the traditional garments of autumn. But not this year!

It might be reluctance to stock merchandise that may not appeal - nobody's really sure how people are going ... View the Post

Let’s Look at Some Pretty Things…

July 18, 2022

For those of us who really already have enough clothes, this can be a weirdly sad time of year. Lots of people are throwing themselves willy-nilly into pre-season sales (and buying some things that aren't really all that nice...), and we just can't justify buying yet another black skirt, or pair of navy pants...

But we can buy accents and accessories!

Like this deeply, profoundly beautiful scarf:

 

I think this scarf is so beautiful that I gave it it's own page!

But that's just the start - I think that this lace collar is so pretty; I can see it over a crew-neck sweater or dress is any number of colors...

For those of us who really love purple, there are so beautiful scarves available. ... View the Post

July 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

July 4, 2022

My emails tend to come in waves, topic-wise. Recently, it seems that a great many people are concerned about having to return to "real life," be that an office, or lunch dates that used to be regularly scheduled, or other social gatherings that have been cancelled for the last 2 years.

So this month I think that our heroines are going to all look for a dressy-ish outfit that resembles either a suit or includes a skirt... Good for work, good for social events, good for worship services...

First up, if you have to go to an office, you can pretend that you're wearing a suit, if your pants and shirt-jacket are made of the same fabric!

Our heroine now has a 25-piece wardrobe, which makes getting dressed pretty ... View the Post