Denim/Chambray Archives - Page 4 of 19

Accessories! Project 333 based on Composition by Ernest Mancoba

January 20, 2023

It's the 20th already? Holy chocolate-coated Buddha on a stick... So Far, So Good... Our heroine has her color scheme all sorted:

And she has all of her clothing (except for 1 piece - that's the bonus #33 item!) chosen, too:

At a minimum, I'm thinking that this heroine needs 3 pairs of shoes, a couple of bags, and some jewelry. Maybe a scarf or two...

The best way I've found to make sure that you have what you need - packing, or planning a Project 333 Wardrobe - is to work your way through a number of outfits and think about what you want to wear with the clothing.

She can't easily resist gold loafers, and a matching handbag...

A backpack is always handy - many of us have started carrying ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Composition by Ernest Mancoba

January 18, 2023

She had always liked to wear ivory, bone, stone - those light, neutral colors.

And denim. ALWAYS denim...

So when she saw this:

She saw her color palette for the rest of the winter, right in front of her!

Although her favorite colors are lighter and brighter, she will include her black pants, at a minimum! Sometimes, you need dark pants...

To start, she pulls her 3 favorite outfits from her closet:

She realizes early on that she's not going to have a "Whatever's Clean" wardrobe - some of her clothes just aren't going to go together. That's fine, so long as the majority of her garments play nicely together and give her options...

An excellent pair of black pants are so ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Shōkan – Small Cold

January 6, 2023

Lots of things are on sale, and some new clothes and accessories are arriving in stores; this is the time to make sure that you've got the perfect outfit for that upcoming event...

If your upcoming event is meeting with your tiny friends on a branch, bright blue feathers are in order!

If you live in jeans and sweaters, this is the time to be sure that you've got the right jeans, and timeless shirt, and a beautiful sweater! Accessories that flatter your sweater are a good idea too...

If you love clogs, THIS is your year; Nordstrom has dozens of styles!

Maybe you're like me, and you rely on a black core day after day. Check your sweaters and pants - are they in good repair? Do you need new loafers, an ... View the Post

Start with Art: A Mother’s Love: The Polar Bear Family by Jason Carter

August 22, 2022

She loved his art the first minute she saw it! The clarity, simplicity, beautiful colors - all of it!

And she knew that this painting would be useful in helping her focus her ever-shrinking wardrobe:

She knows that the core of her wardrobe will be black, white and denim - this painting seems just right!

She start her autumn wardrobe planning with A Common Wardrobe. It's not called "common" because the clothes are cheap or run of the mill - it's called common because these are clothes that a LOT of people have in common!

That's a good thing - you can easily find them, they fit in easily when you're not sure what to wear, but best of all, the serve as a neutral background for whatever accents you wish to ... View the Post

Another Way to Think About Closet Cleaning

June 29, 2022 Today's my birthday - I'm 62!!! The only certain treat today is a yellow cake with maple frosting, from Sweet Mandy B's... Sadly, I will NOT be able to have a blog post ready for Friday; between my birthday and other utterly unrelated errands I have to run on Thursday, it's just not possible! I will of course be back on Monday...

But on to more practical things - clearing out a wardrobe that's just plain and simply too full. More clothing than you need is confusing, distracting clutter, and clothing that you can donate could be a wonderful gift to a total stranger...

Here's our starting point:

I'm working (gradually and haltingly!) toward Project 333 for myself, and I'm trying to be sensible, by keeping clothing ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Golden Stairs by Sir Edward Coley Burney-Jones

June 24, 2022

Yes, you saw this painting a long time ago! That heroine was also traveling for a family celebration...

Let's take a close-up look at a bunch of these lovely ladies, and enjoy the color palette...

Our heroine is off for a quick weekend trip to a family wedding! She's taking Friday off of work, so that she will arrive early in the afternoon - certainly early enough for lunch with relatives, and possibly early enough for a quick nap:

Because the partying starts tonight, with the rehearsal and the following dinner, and then of course the wedding on Saturday! By Sunday, she just needs to drag herself to brunch before they run out of coffee, and then sleep on the train on the way home!

She wants to ... View the Post

One Way to Get to Project 333

June 22, 2022

By this time of year, most of us should be easily able to whittle down our warm-weather wardrobe to a tidy 33 pieces. While this is NOT what Courtney Carver suggests for her Project 333, I'm pretty confident that she wouldn't be too upset with us starting at this point. So long as we look seriously at our wardrobes from time to time, she will probably approve!

buy her book and read it; trust me!

How to minimize what's in one's closet is a question that I am asked almost every day, and thus I keep thinking of different ways that someone could go about eliminating a big chunk of their wardrobe... Let me share one idea!

Let's start here - I think (but am by no means sure!) that there are 69 garments here... If all of ... View the Post

Packing (or just being prepared) for a Heat-Wave

June 17, 2022

If you're not living through record heat where you are, just be patient...

I recently heard from a friend who is just back from a long trip to Italy, and she talked at length about how the heat affected everything on her trip!

And I was once in Paris - relatively early in the spring - and was completely caught off-guard by some unseasonably warm temperatures; I had to scramble and make a couple of purchases!

It can happen anywhere on the planet, I'm afraid...

So what to do?

At a minimum, I think I will probably always pack at least a couple of sleeveless tops for almost any trip; they make great bottom layers when the weather is cold (almost like long underwear!), but of course might save you if the heat ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Bōshu, Grain in Ear

June 8, 2022

Time flies when the weather is lovely!

These Are NOT Gardening Clothes... These are sitting on the back porch admiring your garden clothes...

These are clothes for walking around your neighborhood, admiring other gardens...

These are clothes to wear while sitting on the porch swing, discussing how many raised garden beds you can fit on your lot...

These are clothes to wear when you're watching your friends and family play sports...

These are clothes for the backyard barbecue, picnic, fire pit, marshmallow toasting...

These are clothes for sitting under the trees, snipping the ends off of green beans...

These are clothes to wear when taking baskets of fresh vegetables to your ... View the Post

May 2022 Start with a Bracelet: The Liberated Lynx Bracelets

May 27, 2022 Every Other Friday...

She packs up her travel wardrobe - the SAME wardrobe - and heads to the train station...

She always has a different destination - she's becoming QUITE the expert on all of the interesting attractions of her area!

When she arrives, she always gets herself a lovely lunch, somewhere that lets her people-watch and get a feel for the town or city. After that - there are all KINDS of possibilities!

Sometimes she goes to a sporting event; you can't get to know a small town better than to sit in the stands with people and help them cheer for the home team...

Or she goes to a museum or other similar place; if the weather is bad, that's the place to be!

Saturday might be the day that ... View the Post

Start with Art: Sunlight on the Road, Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

May 25, 2022

Self-Care

The medication changed her body. She's bigger now. But she's also better!

Now she needs a new wardrobe for the next few months; this is her plan:

She lives in a lovely part of the world, with a VERY temperate climate; it rarely gets below 29 degree F in the winter, and seldom above the mid-70s in the summer! Sounds like heaven to me...

Like all wise women, she start with her dark neutral, in basic but not boring pieces that can be worn and worn and worn...

Lovely light blue - a soft color like the sky full of clouds...

Green pants in the shade she envisioned were hard to find, so she just got another pair of grey pants! Why not...

And green... muted and beautiful...

Our ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Shōman, Grain Full

May 23, 2022 2-Lane Roads, Top Down

After the main crops are planted, a lot of farms open to the public on weekends for visits, tours, and even a bit of shopping!

Our heroine is a particular fan of old barn architecture, of driving in the country, and of buying fresh produce!

And she takes this as a chance to dress nicely - she already knows that she's going to need a scarf in her hair, so wearing a dress isn't overdoing it. It's not like SHE'S the farmer, right?

I like to think that all of these heroines have a pair of driving shoes in their car (these come in about 20 colors!) - they kick them off when they park, and slip on their sandals... Better for driving, better for their sandals, and safer too!

Yes, people who ... View the Post