White Archives - Page 14 of 38

Larkspurs! The Birth Flower for July

June 29, 2018

I have to admit, larkspurs are hard to find! And that's a pity, because they're so lovely... There are very bluish ones, and all different shades of purple... sigh...

But this at least gives us another look at purple! It's supposed to be the color for 2018, according to Pantene, but it's still terribly difficult to find many nice garments in a color even close to purple! When you type purple into a search, it's likely you will get everything from pink through burgundy... sigh...

But let's give a dash of purple a try, eh?

I think purple looks rather nice with beige - especially when worn with a scarf that ties the 2 together so well. If it's too hot to wear the scarf around your neck, tie it to your ... View the Post

When Your Wardrobe Plan Hits a Snag – The Kiss, by Max Ernst

June 13, 2018

It all starts out so well. You've got your art inspiration in front of you, and quite a few of your garments are clear in your mind...

The brown was hard to find, but you're really happy with the results:

This is a great start...

The turquoise wasn't too tough to find; the maxi skirt is going to be SO nice to have on vacation...

This is where the wardrobe is supposed to get fun - finding tops that work with both core colors, and that pull them together. But you find that the things you were thinking about packing are too big. Too small. Too worn out. Too much in need of laundering. But you really don't have time to do ANYTHING except rethink things...

This isn't a bad wardrobe, so far, ... View the Post

Revisiting Van Gogh, and Using Cool Sky Blue to Accent Navy and White

July 11, 2018

Someone wanted another visit to this painting, someone wanted some navy and sky blue together, and someone wanted to see another French 5-Piece wardrobe. Here, I present ALL of that, and more. First, let's enjoy this painting, and the idea of the shore...

Warmth, salty breezes messing up your hair, reapplying sunscreen... The stuff of a million dreams!

And although this painting seems pretty monochromatic at first glance, when you look carefully at it for a while you find a whole BUNCH of different shades of blue and green, as well as dark brown, and warm orangish-tan. (I'm ignoring the red signature, except for lips and nails!)

I start a LOT of my blog posts with a core wardrobe of classic, neutral, timeless ... View the Post

Part 1: What I Saw Being Worn (and Purchased) in Paris, May 2018

June 4, 2018

One of the advantages of the unexpectedly warm weather in Paris is that I got to see the entire city shifting into their warmer-weather wardrobes!

As I always do when I travel, I tried to keep my eyes open for things that I saw - in stores or on people - that were different from what I would see in Chicago. In Paris, there were LOTS of things that caught me eye - so much that it's going to take me 2 days to tell you about them all!

I can't swear that white eyelet is a trend this year, or if it's just something that everyone pulls out and starts to wear when the weather warms up. It really is more of a classic... But we saw lots of cute little dresses, and PLENTY of tops with eyelet trip being worn with shorts, ... View the Post

Wear a Uniform and Simplify your Summer Wardrobe

May 21, 2018

Some people manage to sail through life wearing white and they always look cool and collected. Even white linen! I think that we all need to embrace the inherent wrinkles in linen - wrinkled clothes make your face look smooth! But seriously, a core of cool white pieces for warm weather could make getting dressed every day a breeze...

With this timeless wardrobe core, you could use accessories to add all of the fun and interest... I don't think you would wear ALL of these pieces at the same time, but you certain could if you want to!

How about a couple of accent colors that supposedly clash?

A hot long weekend? Yes, the white is risky, but so cool and comfortable...

Yep - lots of possible ways to ... View the Post

Packing a Small Backpack for a Week…

May 14, 2018

If you're making a trip with some specific advantages, you can travel very VERY lightly! I was in Florida last week for a quick visit with my mother, and I had ALL of the factors in my favor:

traveling to a warm-weather destination, with no dressy nor business activities planned, where I can easily purchase or borrow things that I forgot, and where I can do laundry!

Knowing that all of this was working in my favor, and that I had very little time to pack, AND that I had one of those airfares that requires you to pack only what will fit under the seat in front of you, I managed just fine, thank you!

This is what I wore to fly; it was a bit more than I needed when I arrived in Florida, and frankly LESS than ... View the Post

Start with an Owl – Adding Accessories to a Capsule Wardrobe

May 9, 2018

As much as it might be delightful to have a carefully curated capsule wardrobe, if you don't have shoes, a bag, and an earring or two, you're going to struggle...

Just as a reminder, this is the inspiration with which we're working:

And this is our heroine's wardrobe, chosen over the last 5 days in a deliberate, step-by-step manner:

Starting From Scratch wardrobes always include some accessories - it only makes sense - so let's see where we stand:

Many of us could function indefinitely with these accessories, but let's add a few more pieces, if only to be able to think through a logical and deliberate process for these purchases. I'm a big fan of relying on a good "coup de coeur" (literally a kick in ... View the Post

Final Phase of Building a Wardrobe, based on an Owl Photograph

May 8, 2018

Our heroine's living with a pretty versatile 25-piece capsule wardrobe for spring and summer:

But she wants to be absolutely certain that she's not missing anything important; it's better to think these things over before you have an upcoming event for which you're ill-prepared...

So let's look at her wardrobe, arranged by color. This might give us a hint or two...

Something that I noticed when I was putting outfits together yesterday - a pair of white (or silver?) shoes or sandals would go a LONG way toward making those white pants more wearable...

And she has all solid-colored garments; well, that 1 tee shirt has a bit of a print on it, but with a core wardrobe that's so complete, a bit of whimsy might ... View the Post

Fourth Phase of Building a Wardrobe, based on an Owl Photograph

May 7, 2018

Our heroine is making great progress with her owl-inspired wardrobe! It's important to remember that if you're doing this process at home, you don't have to accomplish all of this within any specific time frame; don't feel pressured to do a whole bunch of shopping at 1 time. That's a certain way to end up making mistakes and regretting some of your choices...

We left our heroine with this very tidy wardrobe:

As I scan over this wardrobe, and mentally divide it into categories, I see that our heroine has 3 "second layers," but that they're all black and white. It's time to find her an accent cardigan or jacket! And even though white pants are always a way to tempt fate, for warm weather there's just nothing more ... View the Post

Third Phase of Building a Wardrobe, based on an Owl Photograph

May 4, 2018

When we left our heroine yesterday, she had assembled a tidy 9-piece capsule wardrobe, ideal for travel, or for those days when you just don't know what to wear:

In order to give our heroine a bit more variety in her wardrobe, I'm going to add a somewhat dressy blouse (which can worn with any of the pants) and a simple black linen top - perfect with black pants and any of the cardigans. A beautiful, classic pendant in her accent color can be worn with anything from a tee shirt to the loveliest dress...

Our heroine still has only pants in her wardrobe. For many people, that would be just fine, but I'm going to assume that we want to add a skirt, a simple but pretty top, and a pair of sandals... Warm weather ... View the Post

Second Phase of Building a Wardrobe, based on an Owl Photograph

May 3, 2018

So far, so good. While we only have 5 pieces of clothing in this wardrobe, with a pair of shoes, these are important first steps - these are pieces that will be worn a LOT...

While this heroine is in need of some more clothes, let's first get her at least a watch and a handbag! Well okay, a few accessories... You don't really need piles of jewelry, or dozens of scarves, to make a big difference in how your wardrobe works for you.

I've always felt that it was a safe assumption that a wardrobe should include more tops than bottoms - the tops are more visible because they're at eye-level, they're close to your face, and they are more likely to need laundering before a pair of jeans... So let's pick up a couple more ... View the Post

Start with AN OWL! Building a Wardrobe 1 Step at a Time

I haven't done this for AGES, and it always feels like something that I need to think about at the turn of seasons. Now that warm weather seems to have finally arrived in Chicago, this might be what I should do in my own closet so that I have a solid capsule wardrobe ready for the fun to come...

I will never quit believing that every woman (except those who only wear skirts and dresses) needs a good pair of pants. Nothing rarefied, nothing that has to be kept for "special" occasions - just something to wear frequently, in order to dress a notch up from jeans or (heaven forbid) leggings...

If you're really starting from scratch, the 2nd step gives you both a "suit" of sorts, and then a top that gives you a complete outfit. A ... View the Post