Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 58 of 157

Accessories – Neutrals and Brights! Start with Art: Stargazing by Helen Frankenthaler

August 27, 2021

I don't image that you've forgotten this lovely and inspiring painting:

When we looked at a wardrobe inspired by this painting, I started with a simple Weekly Timeless Wardrobe in navy and white; I thought it was important that this heroine have a good neutral base for her clothes...

And then we of course moved into bright colored clothes to spark up things...

So I was thinking - what if we started with a handful of essential neutral accessories, and then added bright things to go with the bright clothes?

In this approach, we start with this handful of classic things to wear with navy and white:

Then let's take each accent color and find some accessories that will also serve as ... View the Post

August 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Resolute Lynx Bracelets

August 25, 2021 You Don't Want to Go by Yourself! They keep telling her that. But she's been saving money for a year and a half, just to be able to go out to eat, in her favorite city...

And if nobody else can go with her right now, that's fine; she enjoys her own company!

She's starting here:

She's only going to pack what she can easily carry, so she narrows down her color palette:

It's not a long train ride, but she still wants to look nice; this whole idea of traveling in pajamas leaves her cold, in so many ways!

I'm not telling you that this 39-inch square silk scarf costs only $49...

She frankly isn't going to do a ton of sightseeing; she plans to eat at the second dinner service when the serious diners ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #24 – A Lightweight 2nd Layer

August 16, 2021

Ah, let's continue to ponder what essentials we might want in our warm weather wardrobes!

Many of us are going back to our offices - reluctantly, I might add. If you're like most women, you find the office to be bitterly cold, and then when you walk outdoors you melt immediately! So a 2nd layer is essential to stay warm indoors, while something relatively light and cool underneath is important to be able to survive the commute, or the walk to lunch...

This might do the trick!

One of the many beauties of the cardigan above is that it could easily be worn through the winter with something heavier underneath...

This next cardigan, on the other hand, is pretty strictly a hot-weather garment:

When you ... View the Post

Start with Art: Stargazing by Helen Frankenthaler

August 13, 2021

Happy Friday, the 13th!

We often ponder the merits of having a LOT of accent colors in a wardrobe... I think this post might offer an idea of how to manage them all!

This heroine understands that she needs quite a bit of navy to establish a base for her wardrobe. After that - watch out!

She starts with this - yes, it looks familiar:

Of course, I would be perfectly happy with this - I'm content with neutrals. But our heroine has other ideas, starting with bright blue!

Just out of curiosity, this is what her wardrobe would now look like with these additions. Yes, it gets her to a "4 by 4" Wardrobe plus 1 garment:

But she's just getting started - let's toss in 4 pieces in bright ... View the Post

July in August 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Fierce Explorer Bracelets

August 11, 2021

It's nice to know that I'm not the only person around who gets their dates confused and loses track of time! An Open-Ended Plane Ticket The settlement was large, as was only fitting. She quit her job the next day, and now she's going to start her roaming where the weather feels like early fall; as soon as the weather gets too cool, she's going to hop a train and head a bit south...

Eventually, she will have to buy clothes. But that's for later...

She knows that she's only packing a carry-on bag. Originally, she planned to limit all of her clothes to navy and grey, but then her bracelets caught the light...

She's going to wear her current favorite outfit on the first leg of her voyage...

And she's ... View the Post

August 2021 – Six Scarves, 12 Months, 12 Outfits

The Echo scarf company was so impressed by how many of you commented on the post on which they gave away a scarf that they have extended a 20% discount to ALL OF US for the next 2 weeks... Use code TVF20 to get 20% off of anything on their site: www.echonewyork.com

I'm sure I can find something I will adore...

August 6, 2021

Better late than never!

I was thinking that we could look at some nice "back to the office" outfits for autumn... but then I started reading my email, and I quickly realized that a lot of people were back in their office LITERALLY once or twice, and are back to working from home!

And they're sort of aghast...

So let's treat ourselves to some soft, comfy, but pretty new sweatshirts and sweatpants, as ... View the Post

Can You Pack Nothing but Your Personal Uniform?

August 4, 2021

Yes, I am going to do the "6 Scarves, 12 Months" post on Friday! I've sort of lost track of what month it is; maybe the delay will make it a little bit easier to find things for that "back to school" feeling I always have in August!

But first, let's think about this interesting question that I received...

The gist? Our heroine knows what she likes to wear, but she feels like she should "mix it up" a bit when she travels.

To which my reply is HECK NO - stick with what makes you feel best, and what feels most like you when you get dressed. We all, collectively, need to move away from this idea that we must have a widely varied wardrobe!

She dresses like this in cooler weather:

I'm hypothesizing that our ... View the Post

Start with Art: Green Way by Todd Schulz, and Thinking about a Keynote 10?

July 21, 2021

Oh, I've been thinking... What if the 10 garments you chose - just for thinking purposes - are the 10 things you have that you would keep if you had to start from scratch?

For me, this changes everything - I wouldn't need to keep jeans, nor tee shirts, nor basic neutral sweaters that are always available. No white oxford shirts...

Let's experiment with a heroine who wears an unusual color palette:

She's sorting through her wardrobe, looking for the really HARD to replace pieces that she loves the most...

For me, that would have to start with cardigans!

why yes, she may have skipped paying rent one month to buy that grey cardigan...

And some other sweaters - they may not be amazingly unusual styles, ... View the Post

Wardrobe Cycles, and an Interesting Idea…

July 16, 2021

This whole idea is a work in process; please share your thoughts!

Those of you who have been here with me for a while know that I read (well, I TRY to read...) personal style books from France. It seems only fitting, since Vivienne was from Paris.

My current fascination is with this book:

This book takes an interesting approach to minimizing one's wardrobe - they don't believe that you should even THINK about getting rid of anything in your closet until you've had a good, long sit-down with yourself and made some decisions about what you want to look like!

Particularly, they emphasize the idea that your garments send a message to the world; are you sending the message that you WISH to send?

One of their ... View the Post

Six Good Reasons to Shop During a Sale

July 13, 2021

Why yes, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale start soon - at least for those with Nordstrom credit cards. (and it might be worth getting their card just to get into the sale before everyone else!) It's in the blogging contract that we ALL tell you about this sale, even though I've always got mixed feelings about it.

Generally speaking, I think that things being on sale is the WORST reason to shop. At the same time (yes, my name IS Janice, so I see both sides of most things!) you'd be nuts not to at least take a look at what is offered, because there are always things you want or need. Getting these things at a good price isn't silly...

But bear in mind - these things may have been manufactured specifically for the sale, ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #18 – Dark Neutral Lightweight Pants

July 12, 2021

Even in the hottest parts of the summer, it's smart to have a dark neutral pair of pants handy. Serious life business is no respecter of weather!

Note that you don't have to match colors flawlessly to put together a beautiful outfit:

Classic drawstring pants are so useful in the summer...

You can look perfectly serious at work without melting onto the floor under your desk!

Maybe you really LIKE squares? A little gingham, and some square-ish accessory are just right...

It's not exactly a suit, but it works quite the same way when getting dressed...

I'm always surprised at how good green and grey look together!

Almost like jeans, but a LOT cooler:

For all new visitors, ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Our Echo giveaway winner!

July 9, 2021

Sharon was our winner! And her choice of scarf was...

But we're going to be looking at VERY different colors than normal with this scarf!

Sharon is dreaming of a wardrobe for a getaway to Italy! Her dream includes ALL of the good stuff: museums, churches, shopping, a boat tour, lounging in cafes, romantic dinners, and maybe an alfresco concert!

Where's my ticket?

Sharon was thinking of a short getaway because she lives in the UK, but I went a little bit overboard with her packing! Summer clothes pack small...

I was trying to be careful about modesty - I can't count on both hands (and feet!) the number of people I've seen turned away from churches in Italy because they weren't appropriately dressed. ... View the Post