Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 68 of 133

But What IS Art? Start with Art – with a Cell Phone Wallpaper!

August 27, 2018

Start with Art is one of my favorite ways to build capsule wardrobes, but the subject begs the question of what qualifies as art? To me, if YOU think it's beautiful and inspiring, that makes it art, at least for wardrobe purposes!

Let's take this striking example:

As is true with so many images on the internet, I can't find the "original" of this, nor can I determine if this has been enhanced or altered in any way.

But that doesn't really matter, if you're just using the powerful image, and striking colors, as your inspiration. Nobody's giving out grades on your wardrobe inspiration!

Tough colors to find, but lovely together...

So let's take a bit of a dive into the process of putting together a ... View the Post

Project 333 for Business Travel? Start with Art – Calm Wind by Yoshida Hiroshi

August 24, 2018

Yes, I'm fascinated with this artist... The Autumn Quarter Will Require Numerous Client Visits... That's the title of the memo...

She took a deep breath, and looked at her computer, where the background was this calm, simple, but gracefully beautiful image:

She knew it was coming. Their acquisition by a much larger firm has left many clients feeling uncertain, and visiting them to reassure them of the firm's commitment was an obvious answer. So she has a great idea... First, she decides on a color scheme and overall "feel" for all of her travel:

She's going to choose a Project 333 Wardrobe STRICTLY for her trips. Everything is going to be segregated in a separate part of her closet, and when she knows ... View the Post

A Start With Art Project 333 Wardrobe – Kameido Bridge by Yoshida Hiroshi

It Was Love at First Sight When she saw this print, she immediately knew that she was going to limit her Project 333 for autumn to just pinks and blues... Simple, but versatile, and really pretty!

She has always intended to build her Autumn Project 333 Wardrobe around navy, because it's been her favorite neutral for years. Thus, the first part of her wardrobe plan was simple:

For her second Core of 4, she looked for soft fabrics like rayon and velvet, and also thought that a touch of floral print might be nice:

She wanted to make sure she didn't get TOO dressy, so she made sure to include a couple of classic tops in pink, as well as 2 relaxed sweaters in muted blue:

For her last 4 garments, she got a little more ... View the Post

Poppies! The Birth Flower for August

August 17, 2018

Why yes, I did INDEED loose track of the beginning of August... At least the rent got paid on time!

This is a banner month for flowers - poppies!!! There are LOTS of poppies in garments and jewelry, as well as "poppy" being a great color for both nail and lip colors. So if you like poppies, or a clear, vivid red, you're in luck! Topshop has some sleepwear with poppies on them, and Dorothy Perkins has tops, pants, skirts and dresses in a poppy print. It's a veritable treasure trove of flowers...

So what did I find?

Really LOTS of beautiful goodies this month... This brooch cries out to me... but then brooches often do!

One of the great things about any shade of red is that it can be worn - really easily ... View the Post

Want to try Project 333 for Autumn? How about Starting with a Scarf?

August 10, 2018

If you're not familiar with Project 333, it's Courtney Carver's brilliant idea to cut your entire closet back to 33 items, for 3 months.

I think a lot about Project 333 - it's a very tidy way to experiment with a smaller wardrobe. And it works beautifully with a 4 by 4 Wardrobe, and a stack of accessories! Let's pretend... It Was a Gift No matter how much she loves a beautiful scarf, she wasn't likely to buy it for herself! But when someone hands it to you, all beautifully wrapped, and presented with so much love, what's a woman to do?

To her, this was the perfect opportunity to organize her wardrobe for upcoming cooler weather, and for school-related functions which always seem to crop up as soon as autumn ... View the Post

Blue by Kinuko Imai Hoffman, Revisited for Summer 2018

August 8, 2018

Remember our friend the educational consultant, who visited schoolrooms to help find ways to make things work better? She traveled for work back in January, and then again in April, wearing her signature navy blue and white wardrobe...

Her wardrobe inspiration, and all-time favorite painting, is this:

Yes, THAT Music Festival... The really big one. She's going.

She spends her work life in classrooms, and she always hears students talking about their favorite bands. She's open-minded, and can tolerate a lot, so she's decided that she's going to drive into the city for a couple of days and go to hear just a few of the bands that she has heard about the most.

It's a relaxed trip into town:

Of course ... View the Post

Paysage de Neige by Renoir, Revisited for Summer 2018

August 6, 2018

She first got in the habit of going up to the resort in the winter... She went by herself, but ended up making... a friend... In April she went back - partly to see spring flowers, and partly to spend more time with her new friend...

Our heroine is a very informal, relaxed woman. She loves nature, and quiet, and peace... She draws her style inspirations and color palette from a favorite Renoir painting:

I'm Off After 5 Every Day This Weekend... And so she's headed back to the lake resort... beautiful days by the lake, and evenings with her new friend!

She wants to be careful not to be too dressy, but this is a special weekend, in her mind - worth packing a couple of dresses, and her prettiest tops and ... View the Post

L’Oiseau Forestier by Ernst, Revisited for Summer 2018

August 3, 2018

She's the toughest negotiator in the office, and nobody can quite believe it! She managed to settle one of the toughest ongoing negotiations her company had on their docket back in January, and was made chief negotiator in recognition. Her co-workers really didn't "get it" when she was sent to represent their firm at a weekend retreat to discuss negotiating techniques...

She takes her style inspirations from this painting - it doesn't seem particularly intimidating or overbearing, does it?

We're Not Quite Sure... "What the client wants or expects. It could just be a get-together with the union officials... you know - a picnic, a few rounds of golf, some pressing the flesh..."

"OR. They might be planning for ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – August 2018

August 1, 2018

Oh, THIS caught me off-guard! Somehow, I managed to forget that a new month was coming... But I did manage to get this done in time - taking care of my readers are a really important part of my life! Still, if these links are a complete hash, or if this just doesn't make any sense at all, let me know and I'll work on it some more...

This is the time of year to look for the perfect outfit for the upcoming cooler weather. Maybe it's that "back to school" feeling that I get this time of year, but I like looking for a nice skirt outfit for each of our 6 wardrobes...

While this outfit might feel a little bit "Pittsburgh Pirates" to some, putting the scarf on with these pieces breaks up the black and gold, and brings ... View the Post

Trojan Gates by Frankenthaler, Revisited for Summer 2018

July 30, 2018 48 Hours in Paris... Remember our heroine the translator? She won a translation award back in January, and then in the Spring was interviewing with HIM to translate his autobiography...

She's very quiet, and tries to keep her appearance somewhat muted so it doesn't distract from what she's translating. This painting, and these colors, are her wardrobe inspiration:

To nobody's surprise, she got the job translating the AMAZING French guy's autobiography. And for reasons nobody can quite explain, she has to go to Paris to meet the publishers and sign some release documents... Oh dear...

So she hops on the train!

The only 2 things she has on her agenda are dinner with the author, and then meetings the next ... View the Post

Shallow Deep by Kandinsky, Revisited for Summer 2018

July 27, 2018 Who Knew? She's the school teacher who loves to take her students on field trips - even really complicated-to-organize, spending-the-night-in-hotels field trips... She took 20 6th-graders to New York after Christmas, and she's also done quite a bit of traveling on her own...

So when she found the job posting for a field-trip coordinator at the STATE Board of Education, she applied so quickly that she's still amazed that she didn't mess up something in the application process...

Now she's going to the Capital to be interviewed! Happily, as a woman ideally qualified for this kind of position, she has no trouble getting packed. She bases her wardrobe choices on her favorite painting and color palette:

The weather ... View the Post