Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 71 of 153

Start with Art: A Holiday Rebel Six-Pack with Azalea Garden by Patrick Heron

November 27, 2019

Their Calendar...

They both work on computers, so when they have something to schedule, they put the event onto a computer calendar that they share...

One of them decided to glance ahead to December, just to see what was planned... And realized that, between them, they had committed to attend FIVE different events in a 3-day period. All of them downtown.

The obvious answer? A hotel room, some late mornings with room service, and a tidy holiday travel capsule wardrobe with NO black velvet (this woman is a heretic, in my world!), nothing red, and nothing green.

Red and green really aren't her colors, and standing out in a crowd of friends makes her happy...

I personally can't ... View the Post

Start with Art: Landline Blue by Sean Scully

November 22, 2019

Can You Get Out of Work on Monday? Because Friday is the anniversary of our first date...

"And I would like to take you into the city for a long weekend... We could dine out, and go to a concert, and just have a lovely time together..."

"There's an exhibit at the museum of paintings by one of our favorite artists - we could go there too!"

Of COURSE she'll get out of work on Monday. She had no idea when their first date was, until she was reminded. And her true love was indeed exactly right!

Who's going to turn down a long weekend with a sweetheart so thoughtful, and with that kind of sentimental heart?

love,

Janice

p.s.

2 years ago we looked at another teal ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet – November

November 20, 2019

Always one of the best days of the month!

THAT Phone Call...

She knew when the phone rang that it wasn't great. But a couple of weeks taking care of a loved one isn't a curse either - it's a privilege, and she's going to treat it as such...

It's not a dressy thing, but she still wants to look nice; she isn't going to have to do any really difficult manual labor. A bit of cooking, a bit of laundry, a bit of keeping her dearest one entertained and comfortable...

As soon as she looked down at her watch, and her bracelet, she knew roughly what she was going to pack. Grey because it's easy and neutral, and lovely, pretty accent colors to brighten up the days.

She knows that if she starts with a ... View the Post

La Valise de la Garçonne, or How I Packed for Paris

November 13, 2019

By the time you read this, I should be back from a long weekend in Paris. Yes, 4 days... (in fact, literally the moment I was getting ready to walk out the door to the airport, I was SMACKED to the floor with back spasms, and have spent the entire time since then sacked out in bed, or sitting in the jacuzzi in my building, trying to recover... sigh...)

It was somewhat impromptu - friends were going there, and we talked so much about what we might do if I was going to be there too... I'm weak!

This painting sings to me. It feels like black, white and denim, which is my entire wardrobe right now! (I've lost interest in accent colors for myself - I can't explain why!)

My original plan was to pack all dresses, ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Fan by Marie Laurencin, and Test-Driving a New Neutral

November 8, 2019

Her favorite neutral is navy, too. But her approach is a bit different from our last heroine!

She's just plain and simply a more dressy woman. It's her style...

Yes, she has a simple tee shirt, but her button-front is in silk, and instead of jeans, she plans to pack velvet pants... Still, because of her disciplined color palette, she has just as many outfit options as her more... vivid friends!

Her favorite painting dictated pink as an accent color. Nothing else is acceptable!

She already can see so many ways to wear her new additions... touring museums, sitting in a cafe, perhaps an opera or ballet?

She really, really, REALLY wanted to find that bluish-purple color that's on the left ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Sunshade by William John Leech, and Working with Accent Colors

November 6, 2019

She loves this painting...

And so she decides that when she goes on vacation this autumn, she will use this painting as the inspiration for her accent colors! Her core wardrobe is navy and white...

She knows that she could travel with just these pieces and do just fine; she might want a couple more shirts (although she remembers that she could certainly wear her crewneck sweater without something underneath it, for more options...)

But she sticks to her heart, and starts to search for green. She decides that she doesn't needs to wear her green tops together, which gives her quite a bit more freedom than if she were going to try to get 2 matching garments! (2 green pieces at once feels, to her, like a ... View the Post

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

November 1, 2019

OH my! It's the first of the month AGAIN? It seems like this happens every 30 days or so... (Did we pay the rent????)

Let's get right to some beautiful colors, and some outerwear. Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are finally starting to really need these things!

I wanted to find this heroine a great blue coat, but I didn't see anything that came down over her hips enough to merit inclusion. It can be pretty important to have a coat that covers your longer sweaters...

But this scarf consoled me A LOT...

And yes, MORE Blondo boots. I'm so smitten with them that I want to make sure everybody sees them about a million times. Seriously, I can walk for miles in them, and they're legitimately ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – Diplomatic Lynx Bracelet

October 30, 2019

Oh, some diplomacy could be useful these days...

Someone Needs to Visit THAT Office... And she just knows that it's going to be her...

Nobody can really tell her what's going on there; all they seem to be able to say is that there's a problem...

Thus, she doesn't know if she's going to be in the production area, with all of the "creative" types, or stuck in the Executive Suite with the suit-y people...

So she's packing a variety of calm, relaxing neutrals...

And her travel capsule wardrobe accent color is going to be soft and approachable; she really needs to get these people to talk!

She wants to look nice, but not wear anything that really arouses strong opinions. She suspects ... View the Post

What Does a Capsule Wardrobe Look Like? 3 Examples of Weekly Timeless Wardrobes

October 25, 2019

Many of you have been wondering what these wardrobes might look at in different colors - I've got some examples!

How would 13 garments look if they were chosen with this lovely painting in mind?

I'm thinking this little capsule wardrobe might look like this:

Note here that because our heroine has a matching turtleneck and skirt, she decided to eschew the purchase of a dress, and chose instead to grab those green corduroy pants that match BOTH her green turtleneck and cardigan. If you know what you like and need, and you know (in this case) that the skirt with matching top will be ALL that you need for dress, you can accommodate the guidelines to work best for you!

Another thing to consider when you're ... View the Post

Start with Art: 2 Sisters with a Cello by Marie Laurencin

October 23, 2019

I wanted to show how different accent colors can completely change the look of the neutral grey pieces that we looked at a couple of weeks ago... So I thought that my favorite artist might be a good place to start...

Quiet... She's going away for a week, and she doesn't plan to do any more talking than absolutely necessary! That might sound odd, but her job requires her to answer questions ALL DAY, and she's looking forward to being quiet...

Of course, she will have to order her meals, and thank the various people who are helpful and kind to her...

But she wants to walk around and look at art. Maybe just sit for a while in front of a favorite painting?

Enjoying a good dinner all alone, ... View the Post

Start with Art: Revisiting Yellow Tree by Linda Jacobson

October 4, 2019

Five years ago, I talked at some length about how to assemble a 4 by 4 Wardrobe, using this painting as the inspiration for the color palette. I used the most muted colors visible in the painting, at the time...

Someone recently asked me to take a look at the brighter colors - there are plenty from which to choose, aren't there?

So You Can't Travel Anymore? When her medical condition began to strongly suggest that wearing dresses or skirts was going to be MUCH better than wearing pants, her friends suddenly assumed that meant that she was going to sit at home, wearing your grandmother's mu-mu, and watch daytime television...

So she packed her tote bag, made dinner reservations and bought concert tickets, and ... View the Post

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

October 2, 2019

This month, I looked deliberately at each wardrobe to try to make choices that would be versatile and fill in some of the holes that I could see...

This first color palette still delights me:

A simple outfit; most of these wardrobes could benefit from the addition of a white shirt...

I have these lantern pants - I can't wait to wear them!

Everything still looks wonderfully coherent, doesn't it?

And each new garment added this month gives you plenty of new possible outfits...

I'm still loving these colors...

Yes, another white shirt...

Could you imagine finding this all in your closet?

Here again, the new pieces of the wardrobe fit right in...

When I first chose ... View the Post