Navy Blue Archives - Page 18 of 60

Stress Dressing Mini-Wardrobes for Changing Spring Weather

March 10, 2021

The weather is impossible right now - in the best way! After literally weeks of single-digit temperatures and mounds of snow, we're now experiencing lovely afternoons, with sun and noticeable warmth!

But what to wear? Especially if you've got your hands full and don't want to think too hard...

I'm sure you will notice that I changed a few things, but left some from our earlier adventures in Stress Dressing for cold weather. There's nothing like the stress of having to find ALL NEW THINGS for your emergency wardrobe, eh?

I gave some thought to what my general guidelines might be for choosing these pieces, although I'm pretty confident that you could sort this for yourself pretty easily:

These wardrobes ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Triangle Magic by Jessie Zhao New York

February 17, 2021

One of you has treated yourself! I think it's important to do that, from time to time...

(I splurged on a scarf too - I'll share a link at the end of this post...)

I'm pretty certain that our friend uses green as one of her accent colors, but I'm going to use denim blue instead - this scarf certainly gives you options!

As I've been inclined to do these days, I'm starting with a classic navy and white Common Wardrobe of 12 garments. When I talk about Common Wardrobes, I mean those classic, timeless garments that many of our wardrobes have in common...

With 12 garments in hand, anybody who wants to pull together a Garde-Robe du Mois (see Fiona Ferris for the explanation of this) just needs 9 more ... View the Post

Stress Dressing Mini-Wardrobes for Cool Weather

February 12, 2021

We've looked back at the original Stress Dressing post, and quite a few of us realized that this might be worth revisiting in our wardrobes for this "dead of winter, middle of pandemic" situation...

I didn't include dresses this time - I think that the probability that one of us is going to need a dress isn't all that high! And since so many of us are still spending so much time at home, I didn't include a bag either...

My goals were warm, comfortable, somewhat versatile, and uncomplicated. Let's look!

Loosely speaking, this is a list of what I might look for when I build this for myself:

Even though we're home most of the time, there's still no guarantee that our wardrobes will be ... View the Post

Start with Art: Lunar Halo over Snowy Trees by Goran Strand

February 8, 2021

Yes, it could be "Start with Nature," but I feel that this images owes a LOT to the photographer, and thus to me it is art... A robust discussion is welcome! It's supposed to start snowing by sunset... And so she's packing and going to be on the road by lunchtime!

Her favorite Bed and Breakfast has her favorite room available...

So she pauses for a second, and closes her eyes:

She's not really planning to do much of anything except walk outdoors, eat when summoned to do so, and read...

Okay, maybe a nap...

So it's pretty simple to get things together!

She can wear what she already has on, swapping out her slippers for good boots:

So long as she has her charging cord for her books (what ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe = Guide to a Garde-Robe du Mois

February 3, 2021

Yes, this is confusing...

But I'm trying to find a way to use the core 52 garments from The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe to help anyone who has to keep 2 separate wardrobes in 2 locations (or those of us who wear 2 completely different seasonal wardrobes as the weather comes and goes...)

Last week, I looked over the 52 garment list, and chose 10 to be the "core" wardrobe for this heroine. An example of one of the 10-piece wardrobes is this lovely grouping:

As useful and versatile as this wardrobe is, most women will want to add something to it! In order to stick to our plan, I went back to the list of 21 garments that remained AFTER I removed the 10 "core" pieces from the list. (and then split the list into warm ... View the Post

Start with Art: Untitled 20191210 by Takayuki Yoshida

January 25, 2021

She's dreaming of warmer weather, and she's determined to at least FEEL like spring is coming...

She starts here:

And this is her color palette - her base is going to be navy and white, but she's really interested in these accent colors!

Before she tears off into this project with blinding enthusiasm, she pauses to consider if it's realistic:

their home is always warm in the winter, she's not going to be going out much at all - wearing white pants won't be a problem because she can skip them if she needs to go out into the slush, and she can layer her chosen garments if she needs to warm up.

She starts by choosing her navy and white Common Wardrobe - the base upon which she will ... View the Post

Start with Art: A Garde-Robe du Mois based on Moonlight, Winter by Rockwell Kent

January 20, 2021

She's decided to plan a Garde-Robe du Mois, based on the clever and very useful suggestion made by Fiona Ferris in her recent book, The Chic Closet. (Fiona is VERY chic...)

She knew she wanted navy and white - they're her favorites! But beyond that, she was stumped! Something warm? Something with a bit of an organic feel, and a sense of radiance, to combat the darkness of deep mid-winter?

She scrolled through all sorts of museum websites, and art websites, and WHAP! - there it was:

The colors were obvious, if not something that was usual for her:

This is going to be a process that takes a few iterations, so she starts slowly - a small, 9-piece Common Wardrobe that includes all of her favorites - a ... View the Post

Start with a Ruana! Navy Lofty Plaid Ruana by Echo

December 18, 2020 She Knew Ahead of Time...

It's her favorite accessory - it includes all of her favorite colors!

So when she dressed up, rather more than usual, for the staff meeting, she knew that she wanted to wear it. As well as some rather... bold accessories!

Because when they announced that she had won the employee of the year award, which comes with an extra week of vacation, she was READY!!!

She had her suitcase stashed in her office; her boss already knew that she was taking the next week off. She's good at planning...

It's not mad cold where she's going - just cool enough to layer up sweaters and scarves! And walk, walk, walk, all around town...

The "normal" people in her office thought it ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – Winter Wonders by Fierce Lynx Designs

December 9, 2020

In a Sea of Green and Red... She's going to stand out! Not that we don't love green and red for the holiday season - where would we be without them? But she's going to take the train into the city for a couple of days of admiring decorations, maybe some shopping, and eating room service while watching movies!

And she won't be blending in, thank you!

The weather will be pleasantly cool - no blizzards this year! If she finds that she needs something warmer, she will stop into Uniqlo and pick up a down vest or jacket... But she expects to be very comfortable just like this:

She's really packing quite light - with a clear winter theme!

Looking over her wee travel ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Navy Heirloom Series Scarf by Echo

December 4, 2020

She lives a simple life, but she loves the idea of indulgent masses of jewelry. While that's not practical for her, a scarf that shows such a thing is perfect!

The Bones of the Trees This is her plan for a long weekend away, looking at trees...

She's going to drive, so it's not a terribly long trip. And she's not quite sure what she will find for weather; hopefully she will see beautiful late autumn days!

Nobody can quite figure out why she's traveling to look at trees, now that the leaves have fallen!

She's got things for very cool, for moderately cool, and for swishing along a paved path in a skirt and sweatshirt or sweater! She pretends that it's a kilt...

She's ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Echo Patchwork Painted Floral Silk Square

November 30, 2020 You Want Me to WHAT??? Yes, fly to Chicago for ONE meeting....

"If you go to the meeting on Wednesday, you can take the rest of the week off..."

Okay... She will go up to visit a friend with a lovely home along Lake Michigan, about an hour north of the city.

And since her employer is paying for her to check her luggage, it's going to be a pretty big suitcase!

She starts here:

Her favorite wardrobe colors are navy and white, so she chooses this color palette for her trip:

First, she pulls out her Common Wardrobe that she's been wearing this autumn. She includes her white jeans because (a) she loves them and (b) there will be days when she and her friend don't leave the house! Why not?

And ... View the Post

Start with Nature: Inside the Orion Nebula by Drudis and Goldman

October 28, 2020 Star-Gazing for a Living! There's an opening at the observatory complex, and it's her turn to spend a month working on her research...

The complex is a combination of labs, residential and dining areas, meeting rooms, and of course the telescope. There are laundry facilities, so she doesn't need to pack clothes for 30 days. Her wardrobe is built around the navy of the night sky, and this is her chosen accent inspiration:

She ses the colors this way:

She starts with the core of her cool-weather wardrobe - her "Common Wardrobe" of timeless, versatile pieces:

She hesitates.... for a good LONG while. But then she remembers that she's going to be up there with a bunch of scientists, who won't ... View the Post