Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
May 1, 2023
I don't know if it's flu or just a really impressive dose of fibromyalgia, but I'm sleeping all the time, and when I'm awake I feel like someone beat me with a shovel...
Okay, I've never been beaten with a shovel; this is what I imagine it might be like!
Here's a wee preview of Wednesday's post - generated using Artificial Intelligence on neural.love. AMAZING...
love,
Janice ... View the Post
April 24, 2023
Why yes, I've completely lost track of time; you should HEAR what I did to my mother, getting confused about an appointment and wandering around the city for HOURS... Sigh...
But let's visit this season, literally a day before I get to THE NEXT season. It's a good thing that I work for myself, eh?
Here in Chicago, we're betwixt and between - some VERY warm days were followed immediately by snow... It's hard to know what one will need from week to week...
But I think that (once your warm weather clothes are sorted through and ready to go) many of us might be wise to purchase just ONE complete outfit to wear through the spring and summer.
After you've taken a good hard look at what you DO have ... View the Post
April 14, 2023
Isn't this lovely?
I'm realizing that it's entirely possible to use a painting (or any other image or object, frankly) as inspiration for a wardrobe even if that image doesn't include your core neutral!
I know, I should have realized this years ago...
Here's how I'm showing this; note the navy outlines in the color wheel...
Frankly, this wardrobe only includes 3 navy pieces out of the 9 total - that's a small number of neutral garments!
And this wardrobe only has a pair of jeans and a pair of shorts for bottoms; this is a heroine who's going to be spending a lot of time in her swimwear, so this works out for weekends...
But first, she has to drive up to the lake!
If you like sweater vests, ... View the Post
April 12, 2023
The last of the "beige-based" wardrobes - and probably my favorite! (of course, this is the only wardrobe with any black in it...)
This is the wardrobe for our last heroine; she has a lot of beige, but her accent colors are unusual, and make quite a statement!
I suspect that this heroine will also find herself with a few pairs of colorful sandals!
Even though our heroine only has 2 black garments, I think that black sandals make sense for her; they bring a real balance to a simple outfit like this:
If you love lime green, indulge in some peridot jewelry too! You'll have it forever...
Floral earrings with a floral top seems nice to me; keep the rest of the outfit nicely muted...
Of ... View the Post
April 10, 2023
I really love this painting - it seems so simple, but the more you look at it, the more the colors make themselves clear and distinct...
You may remember that this heroine assembled this wardrobe for the eventual arrival of warmer weather:
I haven't yet thought of a better way to add accessories than to go through a wardrobe and put together a bunch of outfits, and then make sure that each outfit can be dressed up (or down, I suppose?) appropriately. I don't think that there's a rigid checklist of accessories that everyone should own - some women don't wear jewelry, some don't wear scarves, some don't carry a handbag... You get the idea!
I enjoyed this - these colors are beautiful and ... View the Post
April 7, 2023
I lost my ATM card. Everything that was being paid automatically from that account shut down. Some things came back to life immediately; some did not.
The mailing list was recalcitrant, and is still behaving badly.
I think it is fixed, but if you don't hear from me on Monday, leave a comment; there will DEFINITELY be a post at 2:15 a.m. Central Time on Monday...
Sorry for the weirdness!
Sharing a favorite photograph with you...
love, Janice ... View the Post
April 7, 2023
I love the accents in this painting...
Here's a reminder of the 16-piece capsule wardrobe that our heroine has chosen for the upcoming Spring and Summer:
Let's walk through a bunch of her favorite outfits, to see how she might accessorize each:
These wee stud earrings are available in 12 different stones - all of the birthstones!
This is our heroine's only scarf, but WHAT a scarf!
I love the subtle coordination of a "denim-colored" bag:
Those of us who own a Longchamp tote bag can vouch that they're SO useful!
Would you get a green pedicure? Or would that be overkill?
A simple beige outfit takes on a bit of shine with some jewelry!
This heroine seems to really like ... View the Post
April 5, 2023
It's tempting to think of what one might do with a completely new wardrobe - horrible as that would be in reality. I admit that I would be really tempted to wear all different shades of grey... hmm...
So this "every shade of brown to ivory" really appeals to me - using texture and lots of accessories to keep things interesting, while at the same time always being easily recognizable!
This heroine's not all that interested in Spring, yet. But she has the good sense to at least get a pair of linen pants, and some sandals!
Many will find this boring, but I'm very drawn to the calm variations of color here:
And I'm quite smitten with her accessories!
Let's see what new possibilities our heroine's ... View the Post
April 3, 2023
I know a lot of us are doubtful about this wardrobe, but I'm still really liking it...
Our heroine realized that there's a simple navy shirt that matches her navy skirt - that seems like a really logical purchase! And while she's stocking up on obvious basics, she has neither an olive tee shirt NOR an olive cardigan...
Toss in the world's most amazing scarf, a tote bag and some ballet flats to wear with her new navy "dress" and she's all set!
Her wardrobe is very disciplined, but still has plenty of possibilities:
And her accessories are lovely; a couple of beautiful scarves can make so much difference to a wardrobe:
Her 3 new garments, as always, give her at least 6 new outfits - ... View the Post
March 31, 2023
Accessories make SO much difference; I think we're going to see that pretty quickly!
Remember this painting?
And this wardrobe?
Let's work our way through a bunch of outfits, to see what accessories our heroine needs...
First up - the all-beige ensemble! Some people make this look wonderful...
For this next outfit, if the weather gets too hot to wear a scarf around your neck, you can always wear it as a belt, or in your hair, or tied to your bag...
One could make a summer-long project of looking for accessories that worked with their summer capsule wardrobe!
Even a very small scarf - literally a pocket square - can add a touch of color when worn as a bracelet, or around your neck, ... View the Post
March 29, 2023
I love this too!
This heroine is committed to switching to a warmer, lighter wardrobe, although it's a bit difficult; those of us who wear a lot of black might find this change a challenge!
She's starting with the same 8 beige garments are her 3 friends...
Her accent garments are a great assortment:
She's pretty happy with how her 4 by 4 Wardrobe looks...
And when she gets all of her things in her closet, she loves the way it looks; she can already see all kinds of options, from crisp black and white to warm green or rust with beige...
But as ALL clever heroines will do, she assembles a range of outfits in her mind, just to be certain that she will be able to ... View the Post
March 27, 2023
I love this one...
Were I to ever find myself in a situation where I was going to wear a lot of beige (it could happen!), these would be my favorite accent colors:
As is true with all 4 of our "beige" heroines, we are starting with 8 garments...
Our heroine was VERY patient in finding her accents; patience is probably the most important quality to bring to any shopping!
But it was worth it - her selections are varied, and lovely!
She takes a close look at her 4 by 4 Wardrobe Template, just to make sure that she didn't lose her discipline at some stage!
I suspect all of us have some rogues in their closet, eh?
She then arranges all of her clothes in a more natural way to view ... View the Post
