Clothing Archives

I Love It But How Will I Wear It? Seasalt Cornwall Fair Isle Cardigan

September 25, 2026

Some of you have been over the Seasalt Cornwall website with a fine-tooth comb! There have been questions about how to incorporate Fair Isle sweaters into a wardrobe, so I'm going to address one of the (at least) three Fair Isle sweaters I see there.

This sweater is lovely, and the colors are unusual:

Our friend who wants to buy this sweater is interested in using it as the fulcrum around which she will assemble a small autumn wardrobe. She only needs clothes for weekends, and an occasional week night, so she feels like the Slot Machine will work for her...

Just as a reminder, this is our plan:

Pants are pretty straightforward - taupe, olive, and my favorite ivory cords!

I grabbed my favorite ... View the Post

I Love It But How Will I Wear It? A Liberty Floral Skirt from J.Crew

September 21, 2026

Autumn shopping - so much fun, so much stress!

When in doubt, don't.

Take the time and effort to figure out what you need, what you REALLY want, and how it can be happily integrated into your wardrobe.

One among you is longing for this skirt, to use as a "keynote" item for a quick weekend trip with her sweetheart. She's a big fan of crewneck sweaters, button-front shirts, and flowers...

So first let's admire this lovely thing:

She likes the Slot Machine approach to packing for a long weekend, so let's start there:

First - the sweaters! Simple, classic, in her three main wardrobe colors. And to make it just a bit romantic - a beautiful rose brooch and pink pearl earrings:

Now that she ... View the Post

I Love It But How Will I Wear It? Brown Striped Sweater from Seasalt Cornwall

September 18, 2026

I finally remember why Seasalt Cornwall ISN'T a strange brand to me - there's one on the main shopping street where my uncle lives in England! I'm occasionally crazy, but I'm not completely gone. Yet...

So one of you - at least - has a longing for this sweater, and isn't at all certain if it will work for her. My first instinct: if you have brown in your closet already, this sweater is going to fit in like it was born there!

THE LINK IS WORKING! AND YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT THE FIVE COLORS IN WHICH THIS SWEATER IS OFFERED...

Maybe our heroine is headed to Garrett County Maryland, for the Autumn Glory Festival?

At any rate, she's got a long weekend of "leaf peeping" ahead, and wants to build a tiny ... View the Post

Chinos? Khakis? Whatever You Call Them, They’re the Surprise Star of My Wardrobe

August 28, 2026

I keep track of what I wear - I actually have an Excel spreadsheet that I've been keep for years...

But I don't often actually USE this data for analysis... Until just a few days ago, I decided to see what I could learn about myself and my wardrobe from this diligent record-keeping.

Most frequently worn garment? Blue jeans

Second most frequently worn garment? Black jeans (I sense a theme...)

THIRD most frequently worn garment? Khakis! Or chinos! Or whatever they're called in your neck of the woods... We call 'em khakis around here....

These aren't exactly like mine, but these are really nice! All-cotton too...

I resisted buying chinos for decades. Literally decades. But I found a pair - used - very ... View the Post

A Pink & Brown Checked Suit – Is It Worth It?

August 26, 2026

One last suit, and WHAT a suit it is! The pants are 7/8 length, so your shoes get some attention, and the jacket is a snappy somewhat short style... The Boden site shows this suit worn with nothing underneath the jacket - would you do that?

You really have to get a close-up of the fabric to see what colors are here - I could have chosen a shade of rust, but I opted for the red that Boden was showing with these pieces.

Frankly, I think having the suit in your hands would be helpful before you started doing a lot of "outfit building" with this jacket and pants!

yes, I'm re-using quite a few things in this post - this is deliberate, and not just bone-deep laziness on my part! Good, classic items can be ... View the Post

Is a Navy Suit REALLY Useful?

August 24, 2026

Ah, some of you still need to dress conservatively... And there's a lot of struggle around the wisdom of owning a good navy suit.

If you don't like wearing navy, DON'T DO IT! But if you like wearing navy, and you're comfortable in a blazer, and you can envision needing a classic suit, you could do worse than this:

What can you do with such classic beauty? Well, let's start with a very conservative color palette and see what's possible!

I'm going to approach this the same way I looked at the striped suit on Friday - a half-dozen outfits, a few additions, and then another half-dozen "remixed" outfits from the 16 garments in our capsule wardrobe.

Let's start casual:

The wine shade that I'm ... View the Post

Year #3 of Start With a Suit – Boden Navy & Camel Stripe

August 21, 2026

This is the third year that I've started with Boden's autumn suit (it seems to be something they do each year) to build an autumn/winter capsule wardrobe.

The first one was here, and the second one was here. You could ABSOLUTELY justify having all three of these suits, if you're in a suit-wearing environment, you love these colors, and you're happy wearing bold prints!

Our heroine works for political campaigns. I feel for her...

But how about this suit?

I absolutely believe that this heroine could own all three suits, and pack two of the three for each trip. Return home occasionally, swap out one of the suits, back on the road!

This is the color palette I picture for this suit - there is indeed a red ... View the Post

Love Brown, but Want A Surprising Accent Color? How About Hot Pink?

June 19, 2026

I could have titled this post "the best laid plans of mice and women...". Turquoise was going to be the accent color with brown - I was SO eager to do this. Turquoise and brown are gorgeous together...

BUT - finding a matching set in turquoise wasn't happening. I couldn't even really find individual garments from which I could assemble a decent grouping of clothes.

What to do? Think again! I looked about for a different accent color, available in enough different garments (in the full range of sizes!), with which I could pull together a variety of outfits.

I finally had surprisingly good luck at the GAP, so we're changing horses in midstream!

There's a lesson in here - of course there is! Be flexible. Stick to ... View the Post

Tempted by All the Brown Available Right Now? Some Ideas…

June 15, 2026

I love brown. I've never worn it a ton, because it wasn't easy to find when I was younger (although I remember at least once when my parents must have turned over EVERY ROCK in Appalachia to find a brown dress for me...), and when I was building my work wardrobe, brown was ABSOLUTELY NOT ACCEPTABLE.

How things change, eh?

I was quite smitten with the many offerings from Alex Mill, like this quartet:

I had to be dragged kicking and screaming away from using turquoise as the accent color here! My second choice was light blue, but I finally settled on coral. Coral and turquoise are a "made in heaven" combination for accent colors.

I keep counting and counting, and in these six ideas that I share, I swear ... View the Post

An Investment in an Accent Color – I Love It But Will I Wear It?

May 29, 2026

One last look at a bunch of matching garments - unless more things turn up in the next month of clothing "releases."

I remember when pretty much EVERY clothing company released new garments once a month. A few still do - I know that Alex Mill, J.Crew and Eileen Fisher stick to that schedule. Some companies have new releases on their site every day. Literally. Seems excessive...

Anyway!!!! Let's say you're a heroine with a good core wardrobe in navy, camel, beige and white. You're longing for an accent color that's not obvious. For warm weather, you've considered pink, Kelly green, and true red. All of them feel too bright for you, and you think you're just eschew an accent this year.

Then you see Sundried ... View the Post

Lots of Bright Summer Print – I Love It But Will I Wear It?

May 27, 2026

If you're going to indulge in florals, go big or go home! (I don't believe this, but the phrase "go big or go home" is an ongoing joke chez moi...)

I was very inclined to include the sleeveless top that matches these pieces, until I found that it's a DIFFERENT FABRIC. While I've chosen 100% linen garments, the sleeveless top is a linen blend. Would that wear the same way? Would it take on the same softness? Would it last as long?

Oh these retailers... but it's always worth looking for ALL of the matching items that might be available.

If you already have a stash of white clothes for hot weather, incorporating these garments into your wardrobe will be simple:

And if you like green, you're in luck - I ... View the Post

I Love It – But Will I Wear It? Navy Striped Blazer & Pants

May 25, 2026

I was looking for two-piece dresses - or tops and skirt that match. Two-piece dresses is such an odd term, isn't it?

And I bumped into this:

I often hear that "I don't want to buy a patterned suit" because there's a concern about being able to wear the two pieces frequently enough to make it worth the while.

I have ideas!

This is a relatively easy suit with which to work, because the print is classic; if it were floral, paisley, or a novelty print of tiny chickens, it might be more difficult...

I'm imagining a heroine with green eyes, for what it's worth. The accent color could be pink, yellow, purple, or even red. Red might be too "flag-like" for some of us...

The striped tote and multi-toned shoes ... View the Post