Weekly Timeless Wardrobe Archives - Page 2 of 12

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #41: A Dark Neutral Cotton Turtleneck

December 27, 2021

Now that we've all survived the extravagance and jollity of the early winter holidays, it's time to remind ourselves that - most of the time - we need some practical, neutral clothes to serve as the base for our more wonderful and distinctive things...

I suspect that many of us got sweaters for Christmas or Hanukkah... (yes, a sweater you buy yourself is still a gift!)

If you're trying to find an easy way to wear your new sweater, how about layered over a neutral column?

This is also a good way to bring a new scarf into an outfit in a way that really emphasizes the color(s) and pattern of the scarf!

Think about what fabric you want, and what cut. Do you want a more lightweight turtleneck? All natural ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #40: A Light Neutral Cotton Turtleneck

December 20, 2021

Is it cold yet where you are? (Northern Hemisphere, obviously!) Chicago is NOT "Winter cold" - more still like Autumn... With the first day of Winter tomorrow, I still don't think it's going to suddenly snow and get freezing cold!

That said, it's still cold enough to wear layers - I've been layering 2 tops, and then wearing a down vest as my outerwear. With a scarf and gloves, I have been warm enough, so far.

So all of these outfits are right in my wheelhouse!

Cotton turtlenecks are great for warmth, for bringing some much-needed light and plainness under a bold or bright top, or for giving you some softness under a scratchy sweater. My favorite fisherman knit crewneck is itchy as heck, so I never wear it ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #39: A Dress

December 15, 2021

Yes, many of us don't wear dresses very often, but it's worth keeping in mind how very EASY it is to wear a dress. One garment - DONE... No coordinating separates, no worrying if you tee shirt is too short to tuck in (or too long) etc. etc...

And you can pretend to be all dressed up, even if you dress is made of sweatshirt fabric, or fleece!

This is the dressiest dress I'm sharing today - but this could get dressed down a lot with brown boots, and a brown sweater (or rust, or camel!). This weight of dress could be useful for all but the hottest weather, too.

If you're only going to own one dress, this next one is worth a look. Black ponte knit, short sleeves, modest neckline but beautiful swirl of skirt. ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #38: A Neutral 2nd Layer

December 8, 2021

Time for another 2nd layer! In honor of all of the gift-giving occasions in the recent past and near future, I'm suggesting cashmere sweaters! (and yes, you can indeed purchase a gift for yourself? Who better to buy, and who better to receive?)

I'm recycling last week's skirts, showing them in a less dressy way. If you're going to own a skirt, you may as well get some mileage from it, right?

A simple, beautiful sweater can be worn with lots of things, and will always elevate your outfit by a notch or two; if I were to only own 1 sweater, it would be a black cashmere cardigan:

The same plaid skirt that you wore for a holiday neighborhood gather can be worn to work too....

The brown toile skirt ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #37: A Skirt

November 29, 2021

Ah, skirts... Some of us love them, many of us don't. But this time of year, one well-chosen skirt can get you through lots of dressy occasions, without a massive investment in multiple outfits. Pick a color or fabric that you deeply love, and that looks good with the neutrals in your existing wardrobe, and build around that!

Imagine that you bought this skirt, and each winter holiday season after that, you treat yourself to a piece of pink tourmaline jewelry, or a stunning evening bag, or just a couple of gold "things" to brighten up your winter wardrobe:

the sequined top comes in black, grey and pink, too...

If you love earth tones, this next skirt might be a good one to consider; if the slit is ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #36: A Print or Pattern Neutral Top

November 22, 2021

It's getting to be that time of year when you might want to look festive, but not get really DRESSED UP... For those of us who will be celebrating the holidays with only 3 or 4 people in our household, something colorful but not "over the top" might be just the ticket!

I'm a big fan of thermal fabric tee shirts and tops - the texture is casual, but the depth of color in the weave makes them just a bit more interesting than a plain tee shirt...

If it's already quite cool where you are, it's worth considering a turtleneck! (I really wanted to make certain that all of the fans of navy were aware of this top - it's so OBVIOUS to make a dotted turtleneck, isn't it?)

You don't have to wear red and green to be ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #35: A Print or Pattern Neutral Top

November 15, 2021

The randomly chosen comment from last week's scarf give-away was #47:

Jacqueline Croydon - please send me your mailing information, so that I can send you YOUR NEW SCARF!!!

Note, I'm working on another scarf for Wednesday, which I also have in my hot little hands, to give to one of you...

Now, down to The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe!

Solid colored clothes are the core of any functional wardrobe, but woman does not live by solids alone! If you love florals, or stripes, or prints with dragonflies in them, you should NOT neglect these feelings - this is how you personalize your wardrobe!

A print doesn't have to be gaudy or loud - this shirt is beautifully subtle and elegant:

If you really want to ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #34: A Light Neutral Top

November 8, 2021

Before we plunge headlong into 24/7 sweaters (at least in Chicago!), we need to pause and make certain that we have an essential light neutral top to layer UNDER all of these warm things!

I can personally vouch for the usefulness of waffle-fabric tops - I'm currently alternating between my grey one and my black one every few days. They're perfect on their own when I'm in the (quite warm) apartment, but then they are nice and warm under a cardigan or flannel shirt...

Even for those of us who don't do all that well with things that button down the front, I think it's worth the effort to scare up at least a couple of tops with buttons. This next one would be great fun for dressing up just a bit through the ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #33: A 2nd Layer

November 1, 2021

This was good timing - after being out for a couple of lunch dates last week, I was seriously thinking that my next "Chic Sighting" would be blazer-sweaters!

I'm curious - those of you who are back in your offices, or are back in business environments - are you seeing people more dressed up than before the pandemic? My limited view of what's going on in Chicago suggests that we are taking advantage of the chance to look a little bit nicer, and wear those lovely things that have been hanging in our closets for months (and months and months...).

I saw a LOT of this kind of look, when I was out last week. It was dressier than I was used to seeing - lapels do a great deal to elevate an outfit! And why not wear ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #32: Trousers (or Pants)

October 25, 2021

When I first wrote out this list, I was picturing that this week would feature really nice wool pants, or maybe a ponte knit if wool isn't your thing. Something that could span the "dressy to casual" spectrum with ease...

HA! Such things are almost impossible to find these days. And by the time I find a pair of that doesn't cost $1,400, comes in sizes larger than 8, and has photographs in which the model isn't hang gliding over the Great Wall of China - well, they're just ugly.

So, for our wardrobing visuals I'm using more corduroy...

But I MUST tell you about Red Thread. www.redthreadcollection.com

There are no sizes here - you take a couple of photographs of yourself (don't worry, their system walks you ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #31: Jeans!

October 18, 2021

For AGES I didn't wear jeans, because I wore only black and white, and the only jeans I could find were blue...

Well, THAT has certainly changed, and our options are much more entertaining and versatile now:

Pretty much any color you want - neutral or accent - can be found in jeans if you're willing to look (and look, and look...)

But it can be well worthwhile - sometimes you want to do something for which wearing jeans is truly the best option, no matter your age nor silhouette.

This availability in a wide range of colors is glorious for those who don't want to dress in colors that are "traditional" for the season. If you're beautiful in pink and pale shades, wear them all year 'round, and stand out ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #30 – A Print Long-Sleeved Tee Shirt

October 11, 2021

Ah, some prints! Even those of us who normally introduce prints into our outfits with a scarf will need a printed garment from time to time...

A pretty tee shirt can be a great excuse to buy a cardigan, sweater, sweatshirt or jacket in a color that you love... (why yes, this purple corduroy shirt-jacket cries out to me, although I don't need it!)

And you never have to tuck these shirts in - this one is actually a tunic:

(and this one isn't long-sleeved - these rules are pretty flexible!)

The various colors that appear in a print can make it easy to assemble your outfit - match a color with your pants or skirt, match another color with your 2nd layer, and you're done!

So what might a ... View the Post