Beige Archives - Page 25 of 57

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe for Both Coolness and Modesty: Baie de Cannes by Picasso

July 26, 2017

You have asked me this question a lot - how can you handle traveling to a hot destination, where you need to be appropriately dressed when occasions or locations require modest attire?

Modesty almost always means 1 or more of 3 "things" need to be covered: 1. your shoulders 2. your knees, or 3. your head

So we've got to make certain that we have available to us at all times (in the backpack!) a shirt with sleeves, a skirt (or the zippy-on pieces of zip-off pants...) and a scarf... If you're one of those clever people who can wrap and tie a scarf in such a way that it works as a skirt, you're in luck...

Let's start with a lovely abstraction of a wonderful beach destination:

These are lovely ... View the Post

August Birthstone: Peridot!

July 24, 2017

THIS is a tough color - it's really difficult to find any sort of accessories in this lime-y shade of green. But I think that it's a unique accent color that's well worth considering. If you're not comfortable wearing it close to your face, don't discount the beauty and the impact of a ring and/or bracelet...

As the weather remains really warm here in Chicago, I continued to build these little vignettes around dresses, although a couple of the dresses are decidedly more autumnal in feel - some for now, some for later!

I mentioned on Friday that I feel like the best balance for a wardrobe to lean much toward accessories, in a ratio to garments. On Friday when I got dressed to go out, I put on ONE dress (more than one ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Demoiselle Cranes and Lotus by Jessie Arms Botke

July 19, 2017

I could use paintings from this artist for WEEKS! She had an amazing career, and her body of work is beautiful - graceful, colorful, yet true to nature. Genius...

Please be aware, when looking at paintings online, that a LOT of work has been "touched-up" by people gone mad with Photoshop. If something seems wildly out of the normal style for an artist, look for multiple versions of the image. Especially once something gets to Pinterest, it is widely circulated, even though it might NOT be authentic. This is also true if you see a photograph of a bird that seems unlike anything found in nature - some of those pictures have been really altered... sigh... Same Lake House, Different Weekend... "You know that there are ... View the Post

Can Wallpaper be Your Wardrobe Inspiration? Heck Yes!

July 14, 2017

One of you sent me some images of William Morris wallpaper and fabric ... oh, what lovely fun!

If you have a few minutes to spare, I can't encourage you enough to take a look at their wallpaper and fabrics. They might not be your style, but they are so lovely, creative and distinctive. The William Morris company is particularly adept at using themes and ideas from nature, and many of their products would make excellent inspirations for a wardrobe.

When I saw this, I thought of a lovely heroine who drives, uphill (!) to get to her family's lake house...

The Lake House "Make sure my cardigan is on TOP of the grocery boxes - I'm going to need it when we get up into the mountains!"

"If they have ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – July 2017

July 3, 2017

This is a month for shoring up some basic tee shirts and getting a last pair of shorts (and sandals!) before the stores are full of cashmere sweaters. (shortly after July 4th, typically...) I toss in a necklace that's not madly expensive - this is the time of year to indulge in something that's not a big investment, and that might even qualify as a trend or fad. If you're ever going to follow fashion, a summer accessory is a good choice!

Five of the six wardrobes got a nice clean white tee shirt, to wear weekly until it falls to pieces from a combination of sweat and sunscreen... in madly hot weather, sometimes there's nothing nicer than plain, simple, classic white.

(FYI, the new Hermes scarves are on their website. ... View the Post

What are Good Accent Colors for Denim and Khaki? How about Teal and Camel?

June 26, 2017

Denim and khaki go with everything - I'm convinced! - but some of you wanted to see a capsule wardrobe with a very different feel than the relatively soft and cool pastel version that used mauve pink and dark pastel blue...

How about this for colors?

I don't have any really exotic travel vision for this heroine - she's more someone who wears a uniform most of the time, and only needs a relatively small wardrobe to accommodate her "not work" activities outside of her home.

So I'm starting with the six neutral pieces that were in last Monday's wardrobe, and I finally grabbed a pair of dark navy loafers for her. (although with brown in a wardrobe, don't discount the gorgeousness of beautiful brown ... View the Post

Can I Pack Denim and Khaki and still look Pretty? What about including Mauve Pink and Dark Pastel Blue Accents?

June 19, 2017

A few people have asked me recently about packing for early autumn - needing a jacket, and probably a sweater or two, but still wanting a few lightweight tops. And others have been eager to see denim switched out for the navy that we've looked at for weeks! And then there are questions about how denim and khaki might be too... boyish?

So I'm starting with this color scheme:

The first thing to be addressed is the need for something warm to wear on damp, cool days, or in the evenings:

Realistically, I should have included a pair of dark blue walking shoes... But these four pieces have lots of possibilities - one could include shirts and tee shirts in literally any possible color and you'd be able to ... View the Post

Revisiting a Favorite Pair of Posts: The Golden Stairs by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones

June 16, 2017

Do you remember this? I do, and I think of it as one of my finest hours! (well, MANY hours...)

If you'd like to flash back to the lovely trip that our heroine was taking with this travel capsule wardrobe, you can find her here.

And a couple of days later our heroine decided to start building a larger wardrobe around the same color scheme; this was what she found and how it worked out...

Through the end of the summer, I'm going to "flash back" twice a week (I'm targeting Tuesdays and Thursdays...) I hope that this isn't an inconvenience for any of you; I have a couple of trips coming up (of COURSE I do...) and I find that I need a bit of time to get things sorted out chez nous.

love, Janice ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Holiday in the Mountains: Navy, Beige and Warm Grey

June 14, 2017

I thought that this would be the easiest color scheme imaginable; that the clothes would virtually jump off of the screen at me... WRONG!

I thought I would start as I have been for a while, with the navy and beige neutrals. I swapped out the watch for silver, thinking that it would be better with the grey pieces to come...

And I found a pair of sandals that weren't quite as "warm" in hue, so that they might bridge the gap better also.

Then... I tried to find dark grey. And, after an honest 2 hours of looking for a lovely, rich charcoal grey linen, or a lustrous lead-grey raw silk, I threw in the towel. Some colors just don't exist in large numbers during some seasons, and at a point that only you ... View the Post

Building a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Paysage Algérien by Renoir

July 12, 2017

It surprises me that this painting is from Renoir - I always think of him with pastels or clear and cool bright colors. But this is perfect for our current "neutral experiment": it's got navy and beige, and some great rust and green accents! It's easy to think of these as autumn colors, but if you've ever traveled to (or lived in) a hot and arid summer climate, you know that things start to get rusty and deeply green by mid-summer:

So They Bought a Camper... She never, in her life, would have imagined this. But when they sat down together and made a list of where the wanted to travel, now that they were retired, it looked like:

Fly to X, rent car, drive to Y Fly to Z, rent car, drive to A...

OVER AND ... View the Post

Can I Pack Just 11 Pieces for a WEEK at the Beach? Absolutely…

July 7, 2017 It's a Very... Weird... Beach House... (based on a real beach house I've seen...)

It has a dead-end hallway, with a big window... All of the 10, 11 and 12 year old's sleep there, in their sleeping bags. Well, "sleep..."

And there's 1 room that really must have been meant to be a walk-in closet. It's that small... It's been her room, for years.

She has a twin bed, a rocking chair, and a shelf attached to the wall that serves as a nightstand. There's no closet - just pegs stuck into the shadiest wall...

But her room has its own bathroom! It's tiny, but still... in a house with over 2 dozen people, it's a luxury!

And ... View the Post

Red and Bright Sky Blue – Accents for a Navy and Beige Capsule Wardrobe

June 5, 2017

These colors are classic:

They've Changed ALL of the Rules... She worked from home for years... She had to go into the office once a quarter, just to prove that she was the same person that they thought they had originally hired!

But NOW, she's got to go in once a week. Generally for meetings. And she's determined that she's going to assemble a small, tight, well edited work wardrobe that is both relaxed and sufficiently "show-offish" for those guys from Boston...

The sweaters are simple cotton, but the accessories are quite nice quality, and a bit bold, too!

She is absolutely to wear her favorite bright colors; if she has to be in the office, she's going to be seen...

And sometimes, a ... View the Post