Navy Blue Archives - Page 42 of 60

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories, 1 at a Time: Navy, Yellow and White

March 9, 2016

I promised you accessories, and I try to always keep my promises! My plan is to take a representative outfit from each step of the wardrobe built earlier (this one is here), and then show a few choices for accessories. It will make more sense once you see it in action, I hope...

This was the "starter outfit" for the wardrobe in question. The first accessory needed, without exception, is shoes! With warmer weather coming, mules could be a fun choice, but there are those among us who are devoted to their driving mocs, or their ballet flats, so those are also possibilities.

For most of us, given the lack of pockets in our clothing, a bag is essential. I was trying to find a mid-sized, classically styled option ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: March

March 1, 2016 It's that time again! This month, I have chosen outfits that are the most casual way POSSIBLE to wear a skirt. While you might never feel comfortable wearing a skirt with a pair of Keds, it's a normal outfit for me, and it at least gives you a good laugh at my expense! Just a reminder, these are the scarves around which I'm building each capsule wardrobe. Your choice of focal point does NOT have to be an expensive scarf - it can be any beautiful object or image that resonates with you. If your favorite picture in the world is your computer wallpaper, work with it! But I feel like I should mention that if you really DO love one of these scarves, don't hesitate to get it. Hermes does NOT carry ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe One Piece at a Time, 3 Accent Colors with Navy and Beige

February 25, 2016 If you want to include 3 accent colors in your wardrobe, this is for you!

Please note that, although there are a lot of accent colors here, I've tried to keep them all in the same range of intensity and saturation, so that they will all "behave" in the same way when paired with neutrals. It's a hard concept to explain, but I find that it makes a lot of different in keeping things versatile and harmonious.(yes, there are 4 accent colors shown here, in keeping with the original request. I didn't have a lot of luck finding the raspberry color...)

Many of these steps will look painfully familiar, as I build a base of neutral colors upon which you can use accents as the embellishment. I know I ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe One Piece at a Time in Navy, Beige Turquoise and Yellow

February 23, 2016

I'm going to start tackling the various color schemes you all requested - what a great, long, and wide-ranging list! Today I'm going to do the first of a couple using navy and beige...

First up, the favorite outfit: (for what it's worth, the most frequently mentioned accent color from you all was turquoise).

This request was for accents of both turquoise and yellow, so the color scheme looks like this:

From here, for a while, this will look very familiar. I am a strong believer in the absolute necessity of investing in a core of neutral garments before you start going crazy with a lot of accents!

I could have included the navy and beige tee shirt I used before, but I've got a plan for ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe One Piece at a Time in Navy, Beige and Poppy

February 22, 2016

A requested color scheme - this looks so "Coast of Maine in the summer" to me! Maybe because L.L.Bean is well-represented here. I don't necessarily think that everybody is going to buy things from them, but their photographs of simple, classic clothing are among the very best I can find for our illustrative purposes.

Starting outfit:

Blouse - Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L.Bean; pants – Jil Sander Navy

Although this outfit doesn't include beige, it's been determined by the requester that beige will be the other neutral color, so our color scheme is thus:

Blouse - Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L.Bean; pants – Jil Sander Navy

This time, I decided to get that neutral tee ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe One Piece at a Time

February 19, 2016

Unpacking my bag last night, I was thinking about how, for the last handful of trips I've taken, I've started my packing by choosing my travel outfit, and then adding 1 piece at a time until I'm at an appropriate number of garments for the length of my trip. It's a system that's working pretty well for me...

I then started considering the possibility of applying this concept to the building of a wardrobe. Some people just aren't in a position to buy an entire wardrobe, or even an entire outfit, at one time. And for those among us who are more comfortable moving gradually into changes, this might be just the ticket!

Let's start with this outfit; maybe this is someone's very favorite ensemble, including ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Version 2 Hydrangea Haze by Ted Baker London

February 8, 2016

I was working on a casual version of this when everybody started asking for a casual version... Sometimes we all think very much alike!

Hydrangea Haze scarf – Ted Baker London

I swapped out the pinks for purple and blue - a great color combination. I also softened the grey from the first version of this wardrobe (revisit it here) for a pure white.And then I found that these 2 accents were VERY difficult to find... at least in items that meet my many requirements!

On Campus?!?!? Yes, of course I'd like to go visit - we're talking about my favorite freshman in the whole wide world. But we're staying ON CAMPUS for Parents and Grandparents Weekend!

Sleeping in a dorm. Eating in ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf – Hydrangea Haze by Ted Baker London

February 3, 2016 I love it when one of you falls into mad infatuation with something... This time, it's a lovely scarf!

It's easy for me to be sympathetic to those who fall for something from Ted Baker - the floral prints are SO GORGEOUS...

I actually own both a scarf AND a cardigan in the same fabric (no, I would never wear them at the same time, but I would pack them in the same suitcase in a heartbeat!).

The ground of this scarf is deep navy, and for today I'm using the soft grey flowers, and shades of pink, as the accent colors. There's definitely potential to use blue and purple as accents, if that's your preference.

Trailing spouse, my comfortably shod foot... She hates the term. ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: February

February 1, 2016

Although the marketing types will urge us all to dress up in lace and frills and all sorts of dainties for Valentine's Day, I think it more likely that many of us will consider it a big night out if it requires a dress of any sort! So for February, I looked for dresses - simple, classic, versatile, timeless dresses that will be as useful for you in July as they are in February...As before, I tried to keep the "parts" as consistent as possible across the six color palettes, so that the impact of the changing colors will be shown to better effect.

Remember, these are the six scarves around which I'm building these "month by month" capsule wardrobes. Any beautiful item can serve this function - ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in 6 Capsule Wardrobes: January

January 30, 2016

You all have the BEST ideas! And I'm stealing this and running with it...

Starting today, and then on the 1st of each month, I'm going to share the "monthly" new outfit for each of 6 different capsule wardrobe color schemes. By the 1st of December, we're going to have a nice tidy capsule wardrobe, built around a unifying color theme and overall "feel."

I chose 6 Hermes scarves to define our color palettes:

These six scarves indicated, to me, six different core neutral colors, and an interesting range of accents. I've included a small image of each scarf on the page with each outfit, to remind us of the colors with which we're working. Of course, you can wear the scarf with the outfit!

I hope it ... View the Post

Start with a Tote Bag – Navy Floral

January 27, 2016 It started with a request from a long-time reader... but the bag she loved is no longer available. So I started working with this one. It's not EXACTLY what she had in mind, but she's such a lovely woman, I'm sure she'll forgive me!

I'm assuming that this is navy, although it could easily pass for black. The lining is blue, and that's where I took my cue.

Imagine that you've been searching for a "defining" style image for a long time. You'll know it when you see it - that painting, or sculpture, or other objet d'art that really captures your favorite colors, your favorites lines, just that certain something that really resonates in your "style soul."And it's a tote bag!

No ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting with Art – The Second Buddhist Kesa

Such lovely colors:

Perfect for spring travel!

A "Miles" 2nd Honeymoon They agreed that it was the most cost-effective thing to do, so they immediately started using their airline credit cards for EVERYTHING possible...

After a few months, they totaled up their miles, and called the airline.

Long-sleeved tee – Uniqlo; tank – Uniqlo; jersey jacket – Uniqlo;

henley – Uniqlo; dress – Uniqlo; capris – Uniqlo; jeans – L.L.Bean;

wide-leg pants – Uniqlo

The woman on the other end of the phone was lovely. She didn't mind being on a speaker phone, and she just laughed when they talked over each other. Finally, they decided to see what the longest trip possible was ... View the Post