Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 70 of 153

January 2020 Six Scarves, Twelve Months, Twelve Outfits

January 1, 2020

I finally made my scarf choices - holy handbags of happiness, THIS was a project!

But here they are - I'll explain my choices after you've had a chance to look them over...

All but 1 is from Aspinal of London. I love Hermes scarves - but these from Aspinal cost 36% of what an Hermes scarf costs! That's a big thing for most of us, I imagine.

First up, I knew I had to include this scarf. This will be the "navy-centric" wardrobe, including that lion beige/camel color as the 2nd neutral. I suspect that there will be some rust accents in this wardrobe before the end of 2020, as well as a simple white shirt or tee shirt...

All of the outfits for this month are basic, as befits the start of a disciplined new ... View the Post

What Does a Winter Capsule Wardrobe Look Like? 3 Ideas, Starting with Art!

December 30, 2019

Ah, before we dive in, I have a few observations that I want to share:

Winter clothes are flying out of store - it wasn't at all easy to find these garments for these wardrobes! If you need something, start looking now. L.L.Bean still has a full assortment of sweaters and warm pants, but most other places are running out of sizes/colors even as I type. NOW I remember why I started this project before the season had even really started! By the same token, if you need specific things for warmer weather, be prepared to start looking by the end of January. It's weird, but it's the way the retail world seems to want us to shop... Lots of garments are currently sporting a "puffy sleeve" thing - especially at the ... View the Post

Start with Art for Cold, Wet Weather Travel: Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

December 27, 2019

Remember our art/architecture Gothic specialist? She was a guest lecturer back in 2016, took a group of students to visit the Cloisters, and then was invited to lecture in Paris...

Nobody has the first clue how old she is; her white hair is braided into an intricate crown (how DOES she do that by herself?), her fingernails are always a practical length, but red and flawless... I still suspect that denim has never touched her body, except in passing!

She's inspired by these 2:

The Saddest of Projects

She's off for a couple of days in Venice. Things are going to have to be moved, and she's going to make some suggestions about what needs to go first... The flooding isn't going to get better with ... View the Post

The Holidays with Edith and the Kingpin, by Jack Vetriano

December 25, 2019

Remember these 2? We first met them back in the summer of 2015, then Edith went to interview to work at the resort, and then AGAIN after she was hired...

Even during the first week of December, the resort was still quite busy; Edith has not realized when she was hired that they had an extensive winter sports complex in the forested areas behind the lodgings. She was thrilled - rather than just a summer job, this had become real, full-time work!

She clocked out from her lunch hostess shift and checked her mail cubby hole for any notes. And found this very imposing envelope:

Probably just a holiday card, although it felt sort of... hefty...

She was a bit excited, but she took a deep breath, composed ... View the Post

Analyzing 2 Wardrobes: When Your Color Palette is Challenging

December 20, 2019

The last two wardrobes! These were the most difficult - no question. And I made a couple of early strategic mistakes that I would re-do...

First up, this excellent scarf!

I should NOT have tried to make white one of the neutral colors. White as a neutral really only works well if you live in a hot place and don't mind laundry...

A smarter move would have been to use brown and navy as "co-neutrals" and then white, red, turquoise and orange as accents. This would still have been a big stack of colors with which to work, but it might have been a better balance. It's always easy to look back and say what I might have done differently, isn't it?

I went off the rails in a big way in February - I had designated ... View the Post

Analyzing 2 Wardrobes: Too Few Colors? Or Too Many?

December 18, 2019

Update on next year's scarf choices: I ordered an Aspinal of London scarf, to see how the quality is. That will be pretty key! I'm sort of thinking, right now, that I might work with a combination of brands. My goal is, as always, to do a wardrobe in each of 6 neutrals: black, navy, grey, beige/tan/camel, brown, and olive. I will keep you posted!

Next up, 2 wardrobe that are both quite good, but feel like they could benefit from better color choices. Or maybe not; it IS possible to over-analyze things to the point of being too critical, and finding flaws that don't exist. This isn't the most important thing in the world, we must remember!

First up, this color palette that worried me, but that is really quite ... View the Post

Analyzing 2 Wardrobes: When Everything Looks Pretty Good…

December 13, 2019

Let's jump in and see the good, the bad, and the just plain misjudged from this year's wardrobes!

First up - I'm really happy that I chose this scarf. The color palette is delectable, and the clothes were reasonably easy to find. When tied, this scarf would probably look really interesting. All in all, I'm giving myself a pat on the back for this choice!

2 concerns from the first 4 months:

multiple shades of blue aren't the best possible option - for example, the February scarf can't be worn with the January, nor the March sweaters. It's not a huge issue, but if you're really working toward the smallest possible wardrobe, looking for a consistent accent color in the early stages would be helpful. That ... View the Post

How to Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet – December

December 11, 2019

Yes, I was going to start analyzing our 12-month Hermes scarf-based wardrobes today, but I thought it might be smarter if I got this GORGEOUS bracelet in front of you in time for upcoming gift-giving events. And remember, a nicely printed photograph of this bracelet (right-click on the image below, print it, roll it up and tie it with a piece of re-used ribbon), will be a lovely notice that this bracelet is on the way, if it doesn't arrive it time!

I'm going to tackle analyzing those wardrobes on Fridays. Should be educational - at least for me!

How lovely is THIS?

What great colors - warm and cool, neutral and accent...

She Wrote the Book Years Ago... Literally the first months out of ... View the Post

A Couple of Enthusiastic Recommendations, and a Question

First Cool Thing You may have figured out by now that my most beloved mother lives in Florida... which suggests warm weather, pools...

POOLS? You're not gettin' me in some skimpy little string-bottomed, fat-revealing piece of Lycra!

That was me, for quite a long time. But having children in the family changes all rules, so I took a chance, and I AM THRILLED.

I LOOK GOOD IN THIS!

Trust me. Take your measurements, be patient, and TRY THESE. I was so happy... There's a pool in my building! And a HOT TUB! And I can USE THEM BOTH!!!!!

excuse me, I'm shouting because I'm happy; it's a great reason to shout....

Yes, wrestling your upper torso into the top is a project, because of the built-in bra. But it's worth the ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Lion and Peacock Scarf by Aspinal of London, in navy and camel

December 6, 2019 She Decided to Branch Out...

She's worn navy with pastels for decades... And she's now ready for an update!

She's always felt drawn to camel. The richness, the warmth, and elegance. And she's been told repeatedly that it was a color that she could happily wear. But she starts small... something below the waist!

Success! But the real camel item that has always caught her eye is a lovely cardigan...

Now she's feeling positively emboldened! She looks closely and her scarf and sees a beautiful shade of blue; would a matching sweater and flats be wrong?

But she's not going to rely entirely new purchases - when she look in her closet, she realizes that her aqua sweater would be perfect with ... View the Post

December 2019 – 12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

December 4, 2019

I can't believe that this is the last month of these outfits! It seems like yesterday that I was trying to decide if I would continue to use the Appaloosa des Steppes scarf, because of the concerns about cultural appropriation...

Let me say right upfront - not one of these wardrobes is perfect! So for the next 3 Wednesdays, I'm going to take a look at all of them (2 per week) and see what we can learn from my mistakes, over-enthusiasms, and general lack of a good plan. Thus I'm not going to bury you in analysis today...

That said, any of these wardrobes could take you a long way, for a long time. If this was the core of a wardrobe for someone who wears uniforms during the day, she would need never fear having ... View the Post

I Love IT, but Will I Wear IT? Start with a Scarf: Lion & Peacock by Aspinal of London

November 29, 2019

I know, I should be showering you with holiday gift ideas and telling you about all of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. I'm NOT that blogger, though... sigh...

However, I firmly believe that those of us who are holiday shopping should treat ourselves to one really LOVELY thing for the upcoming season, and of course for the years to come. We don't buy something just to wear it once or twice, unless we're getting married or standing up in someone else's wedding!

So maybe a scarf has caught your eye, and kicked you in the heart... (I love the phrase coup de coeur...)

It's all the right colors - warm and cool, neutrals and accents...

But can you wear it? How will you wear it? You don't want ... View the Post