May 14 2014 I am asked this question often - is there anything I can do to be prepared when I have one of those mornings and I just can't get dressed? Today's a particularly appropriate day for me to write this, because I'm wearing my version of this today - head to toe black with accessories... For me, the best way to be prepared for this is to have ten items - six garments and four accessories - specifically assigned (in my mind, at least) for these days when everything feels like it's falling apart. You can work this in any color scheme, and the garments in question are an excellent base for both a travel wardrobe or a new simpler closet. You have to accept that you're going to wear a very simple ... View the Post
Gray Archives - Page 38 of 48
Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Dark Pool version 2
May 8, 2014 Maybe, when you first saw this painting (or scarf) you saw the end of it with the black and red accents, and not the pastels...
The way you fold a scarf can make a huge difference in what's shown or concealed - the beautiful Mai Tai is a master at showing you how this works (and just, in general, how to wear a scarf to brilliant effect.) So if you're more drawn to the high-contrast interpretation, here are some very different ways to approach the same neutral garments that I used yesterday. (I know, I'm lazy...) Using black or white instead of a pastel immediately changes the whole feel of the capsule.
Scarf – Elizabeth Blackadder’s Dark Pond, sweater – Uniqlo, ... View the Post
Start with Art: The Libyan Sibyl by Michelangelo
May 6, 2014
I am often asked to consider basing a wardrobe or a travel capsule on this most lovely of Michelangelo's works, and I have to admit that I find her sort of intimidating! The unusual color combinations, as well as the overall strength and power of her image are so striking that my brain goes a bit blank after studying her for a while.
Let me quote, at length, the excellent www.moodbook.com site's description of her:
"The Libica, or Libyan Sibyl brings pre-Christian prophecy to a close. With a graceful movement, displaying her lovely shoulders, her foreshortened arms, and the lowered profile of her fine head with its gold tresses, she lays aside the open book as if about to close it. It is a large and cumbersome ... View the Post
18=216, in a really big, perfect wardrobe slot machine…
April 28, 2014
I said on Saturday that the idea of a wardrobe slot machine could be expanded, and one of my dearest friends was eager to see how this would play out. For some of us, the idea of getting dressed for work every day is just plain annoying - nobody is going to pay much attention to what we're wearing, as long as we're appropriately dressed.
So I promised her that I would show an example that would give her more than a week's worth of shirts or blouses (i.e. six), and then show how it could be expanded. Six top layers x six shirts or blouses x six pants or skirts =216 combinations.
She could literally shop once a year and then forget about work clothing for a long time... In the hottest ... View the Post
A Case for Overpacking
April 8, 2014 So a couple of weeks ago, very shortly after we got back from Paris, I learned that someone very dear to me was quite ill. I immediately offered to go help with their care- I was thinking I would be gone for a day or two... Normally, I have a pretty well-defined plan for emergency travel, which I outlined in a post here, way back when. To recap, this is what I recommended for a travel outfit:
and this is what I suggested one might pack...
But I was only going to be gone a couple of days, right? So I traveled in this:
and packed this (not exactly these garments, but these are a fair representation of what I DID ... View the Post
How to Pack for Springtime in Paris: Sunshine and Clouds
March 22 2014 This post was originally on A Femme d'un Certain Age on March 28, 2012. If you've never browsed through her ginormous archives, there' a world of loveliness there... And if you're one of the lucky ones that wear yellow well, then GET TO IT! The rest of us swoon with desire when we see it, and envy you your ability to look so fabulous in it...
Grey blouse – Diane von Furstenberg, stud earrings – J.C. Penney, Scarf – Anne Selby, Blazer – Preen, grey pants – Reiss, silver loafers – J. Crew, grey sequined tote – Deux Lux
Yellow sweater – Burberry Brit, grey tee – American Vintage, grey pearl earrings – Lord & Taylor, flower earrings & bracelet – ... View the Post
Start with Art: Abstract by Nicolas de Stael
February 15, 2014 This beautiful work is Abstract, by Nicolas de Stael, and these cool, subtle colors are amazing for the upcoming summer. First, I'm looking for a neutral from within this painting. If you're comfortable wearing white, or if you have a good relationship with your dry cleaner, I would start with the crisp clarity of white for the initial four summer garments. Sandals that pair white with silver, and some silver loafers, might be all the change you need to update your existing wardrobe in this direction. If you're nervous about wearing this much white, substitute the deepest petrol blue...
If you've got budget and ambition to add to this summer wardrobe, look to the cool ... View the Post
A Variety of Colors: A Simple Summer Wardrobe
February 13, 2014 I've been thinking a lot about how to plan a wardrobe that gives you options for a wide variety of accent colors. There are other way to go about this, and I'm going to figure them out, but my very first thought was the following. Here's what your summer wardrobe will look like, after we've worked out way through the steps.
Assuming that you're going to be carrying over a few garments from your cold weather wardrobe, I've pulled together this core of four in grey. I'm also including neutral footwear - canvas sneakers, and a simple pair of suede loafers.
As much as I know that the point of this is to introduce lots of accents, I think it's pretty important that we ... View the Post
From Dream to Suitcase
January 31, 2014 We'll be in Paris soon, and I'm already daydreaming about what we'll do while we're there... First off, I'm trying really hard to look upon the whole flying process as positively as possible. I can sit for 8 hours without a whole lot of trouble - I've done it at work for decades, so being on an airplane isn't that big an adjustment. I can hold hands with Belovedest, relax, and listen to music or some of my favorite apps on my phone. I've recently downloaded Insight Timer, which has dozens of guided meditations that are grand for relaxing... and then I can switch to one of the many apps that is just one long soundtrack of thunderstorms. A bottle of water, some skin serum, and I'm good ... View the Post
Start With Art: The Breakfast Room by Childe Hassam
January 30, 2014 My life - wardrobe-wise - is now an interesting contrast between being in gym clothes, or leisure clothes, for much of my time, and then every now and then I have to look like I belong in a business meeting or a dinner party... Apparently I'm not at all alone, because many people have asked me about how to have a coherent wardrobe strategy when you dress for such a wide variety of activities. So I chose one of the very beautiful paintings suggested to me, and went to work. This painting is an innovative combination of accent colors, some interesting asymmetry, and a wide range of grey through beige and taupe neutrals. First up - the gym! Being able to use grey as a neutral is ... View the Post
Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting With a “Difficult” Scarf: Sepia and Light Grey
January 24, 2014 One of my friends asked me specifically to suggest some ways to wear this scarf - Musique des Spheres, from Hermes. The scarf came out... at least 10 years ago? And thus is only available on the secondary market, but as you can clearly see, it's a stunner. There is NOT a pink patch in the upper left corner... I struggled to find the best image of this scarf I could, and this was what I found. Identifying the adjectives that convey the aesthetic of this scarf is difficult - I had to think and study for quite a while. But I found that I kept coming back to the ideas of contrast (the clarity of the lines against the background), balanced with an overall sense of muted coloring (the scarf is not pure white, ... View the Post
Breaking All the Rules for Cleaning Out Your Wardrobe
December 30, 2013
It's an absolutely unbreakable rule for cleaning out your closet - you're supposed to take EVERYTHING out of your closet, pile it somewhere like on your bed, try EVERYTHING on, and then sort things into piles for things to keep, things to donate, and things to "work on".
I can picture that chez moi:
Open bottle of wine. Take all clothes out of closet and put them on the bed. Look at stacks of clothes and feel a terrible combination of shame, panic, and sense of being completely overwhelmed by the situation. Drink wine. Try on a few of my favorite garments, and put them back in my closet. Take another drink. Throw up my hands in despair and put things back where they were...
I'm sure that ... View the Post
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