Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 101 of 157

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Around a Statement Tote Bag

February 20, 2017

Someone sent me a link to this beauty... What excellent colors!

This bag includes a bunch of the classic neutral colors - beige, white, shades of rust into dark brown, maybe some black? I'm deliberately NOT including any sort of style guidelines here because I think that this is a case in which a wide variety of personal styles could accommodate this bag.

I'm going to focus pretty much on warm-weather attire here, but imagine for cooler weather - a navy winter coat with camel trousers... a navy wool skirt with an ivory sweater and brown riding boots.... mmm....

This is sort of a styling free for all - I just let my imagination wander toward whatever outfits I would like to wear, or that would be fun for ... View the Post

How to Choose Accessories for an Olive and Grey Wardrobe – Start with Art: Head of a Woman by Dali

February 17, 2017

Yesterday, I finally got up the courage to tackle a wardrobe based in olive and grey, and it turned out pretty great, I think. it was based on this most amazing painting by Salvador Dali and color scheme:

But a simple wardrobe isn't really useful, nor fun, until you add the accessories...

Cardigan – L.L.Bean; tee - Uniqlo; jeans – L.L.Bean; Top loafers – Dansko; middle – Dansko; bottom – UGG Feminine is Where You Find It She works outdoors quite a bit - half the time in the lab, and half the time sitting on the ground, counting the plants and animals she finds in a 1 meter square of virgin ground.

Cardigan – L.L.Bean; tee - Uniqlo; jeans – L.L.Bean; First earrings – Kenari; ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe with Olive and Grey – Start with Art: Head of a Woman by Salvador Dali

February 16, 2017

I've been asked repeatedly to look at grey and olive together in a wardrobe, and I finally found a painting that put a really interesting spin on those 2 colors:

The colors in "Head of a Woman" by Salvador Dali are amazing - a huge variety of neutrals, including olive, grey, black, shades of brown, and even a bit of faded denim blue. But it's that pink that really sets this apart!

Just to give us a different look at how to go about building a 4x4 wardrobe 1 piece at a time, I'm starting with four of the grey garments that we've been using in wardrobes for the last few days. My thinking is that you might already own a pretty good core of one neutral, but be stuck as to the steps to take to incorporate your ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe with a Backbone – Start with Art: Paris Dreaming by Peter Rumney

February 14, 2017

I'm long overdue to make something clear - your choice of wardrobe inspiration does NOT have to be some work of fine art, nor some fabulous creature from nature. If you're inspired by a work of art that's frankly commercial and designed simply to be pleasant and decorative, you should apologize to NOBODY!

For example, someone brought this artist to my attention:

This painting is very romantic, which is perfect for today, and it brings to us a delightful color scheme:

This is a great scheme if you sometimes want a dash of bright color in your outfit, but if you also want to have the option of wearing shades of grey. Let's see how that actually works when I put real clothes into the backbone template we built ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe with a Backbone by Starting with Art: Head by Pablo Picasso

February 10, 2017

Since I've had a lot of time to think recently, I've been tinkering around, in my mind, with different approaches to building a capsule wardrobe.

Many of us like to keep the bottom half of our body dressed in neutrals, either because of concerns about our bodily contours, or just because we like the way it looks. So I pondered the possibilities of putting together a wardrobe that was based upon a core of neutral "bottoms."

This is how I'm picturing it:

My thesis is that we can put the solid bottoms down the middle of this template, to form the "backbone" of my capsule wardrobe, and then fill in the accent pieces on either side. And just for fun, let's use a particularly excellent color scheme, based ... View the Post

How to Wear Amethyst – the February Birthstone? I Have Some Ideas…

February 6, 2017

It's a question that comes up surprisingly often - I'm an adult woman, and I sometimes feel like I'm too old to wear my birthstone...

Well, if you don't tell anybody that you were born in February, or that amethysts are your birthstone, they won't know the difference; they'll just think that you like amethysts, or the color purple.

And if they do know that it's your birthstone, and for some reason they think that it's odd that you wear them... ignore them. Well, ignore this particular judgment, for a judgment is what it is. And not a kind one...

I was born in June. I wear pearls a LOT. Clearly, I don't care if someone thinks I'm channeling my inner 3rd grader!

But frankly, it's nobody's business but ... View the Post

How to Assemble a Warm-Weather Capsule Wardrobe – Bavarian Cream Tossed Floral Cardigan

February 3, 2017

I have no idea why it's called "Bavarian Cream." I had no idea that the cream there was in some way special...

Today is the last version of the "start with a patterned cardigan" idea, with more complete explanations of what I'm doing with these cardigans. (brace yourself - I get pretty carried away explaining my methodology here!) This cardigan was chosen because one of you who is contemplating the purchase on this one felt that the colors might prove to be too autumn-like...

For what it's worth, upon close study, I think that these colors are pretty safely seasonless; one might be reluctant to wear a pair of cream wool crepe trousers in February (nasty salt splashes = ruined garment!), but for the most part, ... View the Post

How to Assemble a Warm-Weather Capsule Wardrobe – The Burgundy Floral Cardigan

February 2, 2017

Groundhog Day! (in the US - does anybody else depend upon rodents for long-term weather forecasts?)

And you might feel like Groundhog Day, The Movie, because this idea looks really familiar. Remember the Dandelion Cardigan capsule wardrobe you just saw on Tuesday? Well, someone went wandering on the Lands' End website, and discovered this:

Bright Burgundy Floral Cardigan – Lands’ End

She was particularly interested in seeing how this worked with navy, so I thought another trip or two through this concept might be helpful...

First up, her preferred navy (which is indeed present in small doses in the cardigan) and ivory are the core neutrals, and then the vivid red (which I wouldn't have ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – February 2017

February 1, 2017

I'm back in time to work on this! I'm so happy... I love these growing wardrobes...

For reference, and just to savor, these are our scarves around which we're building our wardrobes:

As always, I have to remind you that you don't have to buy an Hermès scarf (or any scarf at all!) to use this approach to building a wardrobe. Just choose any focal item, or color scheme, and start from there! And if you do want an Hermès scarf, you certain don't have to buy one new - there are a number of reputable secondhand sellers on the internet. If you're unsure about something you're considering, send me a note!

Here's a link to last month, if you want to flash back to the January items...

This black, grey and brown ... View the Post

How to Assemble a Warm-Weather Capsule Wardrobe – The Dandelion Cardigan

January 31, 2017

One of you has fallen in love....With a cardigan! And you're somewhat concerned that you won't wear it enough to make it worth the purchase...

This is the winsome object of her affections:

She assures me that she really loves the yellow, but has never worn it. And she's very devoted to her black and white neutrals:

I don't think she's going to have any problems at all - realistically, I think she need to maybe buy 1 thing for each of these outfits to pull everything together.In these first 2 outfits, she'll want to grab those delicious sandals, and the bracelets will be essential...

Another pair of yellow sandals might be overdoing it. Maybe. And the yellow tee shirt - assuming ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Long Weekend by Starting with Art: Le Rêve by Puvis de Chavannnes

January 27, 2017

I saw this when I was in Paris in December; it's stunning...

Finally, Her Work is "Trendy"

She's spent her entire career studying ways to forecast how many hours of sunshine there will be in any location, on any day in the near future. It's weather related, of course....

Scarf – Nordstrom; jacquard tee - L.L.Bean; earrings - Manka; watch - Skagen; jeans - L.L.Bean; cardigan - L.L.Bean; loafers - Børn; tote - Tumi

But now that everybody is finally concerned with solar energy, her work is a "big deal..."

tee – Uniqlo; bracelet - Aoy; earrings - Komang Wijayana; cardigan – Lands’ End; blouse - Reinaldo Lourenço; dress – Creature of the Wind; clutch – Jimmy Choo; ... View the Post

How to Expand Your Accessory Wardrobe: Winter Scene in Moonlight by Henry Farrer

January 23, 2017

On Friday, I expanded the original travel capsule wardrobe into a more complete "Four x Four" capsule wardrobe, but the real fun comes with adding more accessories!

When our heroine originally packed for her winter weekend on the farm, these were her accessories - lots of scarves!

Just for reference purposes, and to enjoy this painting one last time, this is her style inspiration:

For normal life, constantly wearing boots won't work, so we probably should start by getting her a comfy pair of loafers...

And just because I'm bracelet mad these days, another star bracelet could be a fun addition. It's a good thing that I'm in a shopping moratorium this year, because these ALL are very ... View the Post