Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 106 of 157

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art Part 2: Portrait of Marevna by Diego Rivera

September 23, 2016 A calm, balanced woman, able to see all sides of an issue.... Remember her from the class reunion? This was her visual cue:

When we met her at the reunion, this was what she had with her to wear; she was deftly straddling the divide between warm and cool colors:

Just a few days later, she's headed to Europe for a 10-day... attempt to talk some more extreme individuals down off of a political ledge. It's all pretty quiet - no fanfare...

(yes, she seriously considered packing the matching leopard shell...) She's going to have to talk to a wide variety of people, in a WIDE variety of settings. She will certainly see the inside of a conference room, but also ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art Part 2: Spirit of Autumn by Albert Pinkham Ryder

September 22, 2016

Do we remember the veterinarian from the class reunion? She was the woman who used this as her style leitmotif:

And who had packed this eclectic mix for that trip:

Since she's an expert in the study of contagious diseases in free-range ruminants (someone's got to study these things!) she's been invited to an extensive symposium on lifestock health being held at a major university. Thus, she's going to be gone for a while, and is going to need some additional things to wear:

It's a college campus, so it's casual. But it's other animal health professionals, so she wants to look nice. And there will be at least a little bit of visiting of beasties in their various ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art Part 2: Cow’s Skull: Red White and Blue by Georgia O’Keeffe

September 21, 2016 She's a medical examiner, and she's got her own, very deliberate, way of doing things! When we saw her at the class reunion, this was what she had with her:

This is the unifying style inspiration that she uses for her appearance and image; not for just anyone, I'd say!

Now, she's preparing for an interesting vacation. She's agreed to go with someone on their lengthy business trip, even though they don't know each other all that well...

The promise of 10 days in a new city is compelling, and the idea of having 8 or 10 dinner dates with him is... sufficiently intriguing that she's willing to give it a try!

She packs meticulously, as would be expected. ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art Part 2: Portrait of Pablo Picasso by Juan Gris

September 20, 2016 Mmmm, Cubism... it forces us to look at things in a different way, and that's bound to be a good idea...

Remember the author/art dealer from the class reunion?

When she left the reunion, she had only a few days left to pack before she had to prepare for a big art show in Milan...

She's devoted to beige and brown, and her blue eyes insist on blue accents. The show will be casual, dressy, classic, avant-garde, and everything in between. So she's just going to dress like herself, and let everyone else do the posturing...

The brocade shroud, the military uniform, the obsessive caressing of a VERY inappropriate pet are NOT for her...

Let them be all artsy and fey ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Portrait of a Young Woman by Henri Regnault Part 2

September 19, 2016

Remember her? Of course you do - we first saw her as the inspiration for this six-pack capsule wardrobe in black and blue.

The CEO Travels When she left her reunion, this was her travel capsule wardrobe:

She knows that in about 6 days, she's leaving for a 10-day trip to meet potential investors. She was pretty happy with what she had packed for the reunion, but realizes that she's going to need a few more business/dressy ensembles. Her agenda is going to be full of meetings and meals with these... people... so dressy but completely covered-up and professional are key.

And she doesn't want to pack a pile of shoes; black shoes are the only color in this bag!

She'd much rather dine ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Portrait of Marevna by Diego Rivera

September 9, 2016

This is another of those works that I often see at the Art Institute of Chicago. She's not exactly pretty, but I think she's rather handsome:

Class Reunion/Homecoming

"After looking at the RSVP list, I certainly hope SHE's coming. We're going to need a calm head in this crowd..."

"Yea, she always had the ability to see every angle of a situation, and find some way to calm down the worst arguments..."

"Just a really level-headed, balanced sort of person, as I recall..."

Well yeah, she works for the United Nations now... she'll be thrilled that you think she's qualified.

love, Janice ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Spirit of Autumn by Albert Pinkham Ryder

September 8, 2016

Thanks for suggesting this painting to me! I love the art ideas I receive from you...

Class Reunion/Homecoming

"She was always so GLAMOROUS - I was afraid to even speak to her..."

"Well, I know that she got a veterinary degree; she probably takes care of little teacup designer dogs for movie stars..."

"She's about the size of a teacup - that would be a perfect job for her!"

Actually, she's working with her partner on a big ranch in the mountains of the western United States; glamorous, it is not...

love, Janice

... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Cow’s Skull: Red, White, and Blue by Georgia O’Keeffe

September 7, 2016 I'm not sure that I love this, exactly, but I have to admit that it's memorable, and it's sort of mesmerizing...

Class Reunion/Homecoming Weekend

"What about your old girlfriend? Is she going to be here? I heard that she's a police officer?"

"Nope, no mere police officer. She's a forensic pathologist with the police...."

"Oh man, I know you passed your biology classes because of her, but I never imagined..."

Of course they didn't imagine. Are we surprised?

love, Janice

... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Portrait of Pablo Picasso by Juan Gris

September 6, 2016 I see this painting frequently, and am always riveted by the impact that two colors can provide:

Class Reunion/Homecoming Weekend

"I don't know if she'll make it - knowing her, she's probably living in an ashram somewhere..."

"Maybe... but I think she became a writer. You know all of those murder mystery novels that just became a television series? I think she's the author..."

"Are you sure? I thought I read on LinkedIn that she was running an art gallery in Berlin..."

Doesn't it occur to these guys that all of these facts might have been true, at one time or another? love, Janice

... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Portrait of a Young Woman by Henri Regnault

September 5, 2016 She caught my eye, across the room, at the Art Institute of Chicago:

Class Reunion/Homecoming Weekend

"Is she going to be here? I hear that she's a CEO somewhere..."

"I certainly hope so - seeing her is practically the only reason that I came..."

"I wonder if she still always wears blue every day..."

"Well, I wonder if she still has that hair..."

If this is how the MEN feel, imagine what the WOMEN in her class must be saying...

Love, Janice

p.s. No, I'm NOT in Italy... We've postponed for 6 weeks. Bright side? Less expensive flights, and we're staying for 12 days, rather than just a week... ... View the Post

One Navy Dress in a Capsule Wardrobe: 14 Ways to Wear it With Muted Accents

September 2, 2016

One last adventure with this dress - this time, with muted accent colors like olive, burgundy, and mustard! (I have been hungry 24/7 for a week...)

You might notice more or less immediately that I'm reusing a TON of accessories from the recent post with the grey dress. I'm not doing this because I'm lazy, (well...) but because it all fell into place, unexpectedly.

When I put together posts like this, which are variations of previous posts, I reuse the original PowerPoint file. For this, I went through each page, deleted the original grey dress, and pasted in the navy dress. Then I changed the color of the divider stars... It was only when I went to the next step - changing the accessories - that I realized that I ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: September

September 1, 2016

It's really starting to sink in with me how big this file is! 31 pages of images, all but 1 of which gets changed each month... But it's such a fun exercise! As always, let's first look at the scarves around which we are building the 6 capsule wardrobes:

For all six outfits for September, I included a flannel shirt, corduroy pants, shorts boots, gloves, a scarf, and some kind of vest. Within those fairly strict guidelines, I still was able to pull together some wide-ranging looks! And yes, I would wear a plaid scarf with a plaid shirt. In a heartbeat...

Only 21 pieces of clothing, but it just feels like more, doesn't it?

The new additions are going ... View the Post