4 by 4 Wardrobe Archives

Need a Travel Capsule Wardrobe? Start with a Scarf – the Tracy O’Neill silk scarf by Echo

June 17, 2024

I love this scarf - I need another scarf like I need a bad headache, but a silk bandana? With wee ducks all around the edge? Be still by beating heart...

"It Will Be Cool in Paris in October..." And she's going to be there for at least two weeks! She's going to be tutoring English students in perfecting their accents - how fun is that? If things go well, she could be there are long as six weeks! Was there ever a better motivation for doing your best work?

She's keeping it simple:

She's going to have a place to stay - a VERY TINY place to stay, she's been warned. They were particularly specific about letting her know that she shouldn't bring much luggage, which is true of so many trips we make in life!

Her ... View the Post

Do You Love Blue? Adding Accessories to a Start with Art Wardrobe – Blue on White, White on Blue by Paolo Quaresima

January 24, 2024

You thought that I forgot! Yes, I can get pretty immersed in those Echo 100 scarves, but there's no way I was going to miss revisiting this painting:

This heroine is going to look at each of her "wardrobe clusters" one at a time, and make certain that she has the accessories that she wants for each cluster...

She's already got her shoes chosen - that's a lot of the thinking out of the way already!

First up, her warmest cluster. There are at least four outfits possible here, if she layers her navy shirt under her navy sweater... If you're summering in a place where evenings can turn cool, this could happen!

And for what it's worth, we have cool summer days in Chicago! The sellers of souvenir ... View the Post

Need a Wardrobe Plan for Summer? Start with Art – Blue on White, White on Blue by Paolo Quaresima

January 17, 2024

Since the temperature here is a whopping THREE DEGREES Fahrenheit, let's help a heroine who is planning her summer wardrobe!

We're going to try something kind of new - assembling a 4 by 4 Wardrobe by choosing four 4-piece clusters! Each cluster will give her at least 2 outfits, and all of the clusters will be able to work together. This is a good approach if she wants to shop (or closet-shop!) gradually, and if she's finding that clothes in her favorite colors are proving hard to find...

She wants navy, she wants white, and she wants accents of bright blue - maybe this painting is a good starting place:

One thing I've been assured - our heroine doesn't like white leather goods! I can understand that; ... View the Post

The Finishing Touches: Start with a Bracelet – Fierce Serenity Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

December 20, 2023

One last visit to the navy, grey and Larkspur wardrobe - this heroine needs a few accessories to round out her 4 by 4 Wardrobe...

Remember, this is our basis. I don't know if anybody noticed - I added dark navy borders to the "pie pieces" so that we can visualize our 2nd neutral:

This is the assortment of clothing that our heroine is taking with her. If I were her, I'd be packing long underwear to wear as pajamas, and someone suggested a down vest too!

She also had chosen some lovely accessories - not enough, probably, but still lovely...

She stands. She looks. She thinks.

luggage won't pack itself!

Her idea is to work her way through a bunch of outfits, and make certain that she ... View the Post

Expanding Your Wardrobe: Start with a Bracelet – Fierce Serenity Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

December 18, 2023

Of course you remember this bracelet - it was only last week that I first shared it with you!

And this was the small wardrobe that our heroine took with her on her long weekend of serious reading!

It turns out that our heroine is headed to campus for a month for a special symposium about Changing Political Ideologies in Western Democratic Systems! Riveting, eh?

Since she was so happy with her wardrobe from her "reading weekend," she decided to use that as the base for her 4 by 4 Capsule Travel Wardrobe for the month that she's away. Sensible, I'd say...

After looking at, and remembering wearing, her core garments, she decides to add a 2nd, darker neutral. And she feels like she wants a blazer ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Spring Blossom by Valerius de Saedeleer

April 12, 2023

The last of the "beige-based" wardrobes - and probably my favorite! (of course, this is the only wardrobe with any black in it...)

This is the wardrobe for our last heroine; she has a lot of beige, but her accent colors are unusual, and make quite a statement!

I suspect that this heroine will also find herself with a few pairs of colorful sandals!

Even though our heroine only has 2 black garments, I think that black sandals make sense for her; they bring a real balance to a simple outfit like this:

If you love lime green, indulge in some peridot jewelry too! You'll have it forever...

Floral earrings with a floral top seems nice to me; keep the rest of the outfit nicely muted...

Of ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Drei Häuser By Paul Klee

April 10, 2023

I really love this painting - it seems so simple, but the more you look at it, the more the colors make themselves clear and distinct...

You may remember that this heroine assembled this wardrobe for the eventual arrival of warmer weather:

I haven't yet thought of a better way to add accessories than to go through a wardrobe and put together a bunch of outfits, and then make sure that each outfit can be dressed up (or down, I suppose?) appropriately. I don't think that there's a rigid checklist of accessories that everyone should own - some women don't wear jewelry, some don't wear scarves, some don't carry a handbag... You get the idea!

I enjoyed this - these colors are beautiful and ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Wagen in Silberner Strasse by August Macke

April 7, 2023

I love the accents in this painting...

Here's a reminder of the 16-piece capsule wardrobe that our heroine has chosen for the upcoming Spring and Summer:

Let's walk through a bunch of her favorite outfits, to see how she might accessorize each:

These wee stud earrings are available in 12 different stones - all of the birthstones!

This is our heroine's only scarf, but WHAT a scarf!

I love the subtle coordination of a "denim-colored" bag:

Those of us who own a Longchamp tote bag can vouch that they're SO useful!

Would you get a green pedicure? Or would that be overkill?

A simple beige outfit takes on a bit of shine with some jewelry!

This heroine seems to really like ... View the Post

Adding Accessories! Start with Art: Windows by Robert Delaunay

March 31, 2023

Accessories make SO much difference; I think we're going to see that pretty quickly!

Remember this painting?

And this wardrobe?

Let's work our way through a bunch of outfits, to see what accessories our heroine needs...

First up - the all-beige ensemble! Some people make this look wonderful...

For this next outfit, if the weather gets too hot to wear a scarf around your neck, you can always wear it as a belt, or in your hair, or tied to your bag...

One could make a summer-long project of looking for accessories that worked with their summer capsule wardrobe!

Even a very small scarf - literally a pocket square - can add a touch of color when worn as a bracelet, or around your neck, ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Drei Häuser By Paul Klee

March 27, 2023

I love this one...

Were I to ever find myself in a situation where I was going to wear a lot of beige (it could happen!), these would be my favorite accent colors:

As is true with all 4 of our "beige" heroines, we are starting with 8 garments...

Our heroine was VERY patient in finding her accents; patience is probably the most important quality to bring to any shopping!

But it was worth it - her selections are varied, and lovely!

She takes a close look at her 4 by 4 Wardrobe Template, just to make sure that she didn't lose her discipline at some stage!

I suspect all of us have some rogues in their closet, eh?

She then arranges all of her clothes in a more natural way to view ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Wagen in Silberner Strasse by August Macke

March 22, 2023

Our second heroine who plans to use a LOT of beige in her Spring and Summer wardrobe!

Here is the art that inspires her - she is captivated by the dark, intense lines against the neutral background...

this wardrobe would work really well with chambray/faded denim as a neutral, too!

She's excited about the prospect of wearing deep, saturated accent colors with beige; her coloring is intense, and she is confident that she will look just right in these high-contrast outfits...

For starters, she assembles the beige core wardrobe that all of our heroines will have in common:

And THEN she finds 8 garments for accent - chambray shorts and a matching cardigan, and then navy, green and cranberry shirts ... View the Post

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Windows by Robert Delaunay

March 17, 2023

This is pretty cheerful! And I always sense a feeling of the Eiffel Tower when I look at this...

So I have FOUR heroines that I'm thinking of, right now... Each of them is going to start the spring with an 8-piece core of beige - lots of linen!

And then each will channel her favorite painting to choose 8 accent garments... What colors might be chosen from our first painting?

First, let's look at what our heroines are each going to use as their wardrobe base...

Frankly, if you want a handful of linen garments for this summer (and then next 10 summers, to be honest; linen lasts a long time!), now is a good time to start looking...

I'm not going to show you the various outfits possible ... View the Post