accent colors Archives

March 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

March 2, 2022

It's pretending to be spring here in Chicago! Not quite tee shirt weather, but close...

I looked at the 10-piece wardrobes that we had on hand at the end of February, and concluded that what was most needed right now are tops - specifically, a cardigan and 2 tee shirts...

I think I will be adding neutral tee shirts to all of these wardrobes... and maybe a fun accent tee shirt. And I know that we've seen this cardigan before, but it's a tough one to resist!

This wardrobe now has a lot more options...

If you're a fan of the Queen of England, take a close look at this scarf; it's a tribute to her 70th anniversary. (no political observations, please!)

Some of this heroine's new ... View the Post

(Almost) Everyone Can Wear Green!

February 9, 2022

After working on this post, I saw green every time I closed my eyes for HOURS... seriously!

Lots of questions have been posed lately about wearing green. At least in theory, every person should be able to find a shade of green that is flattering to them. Green is poised between blue (which defines "cool" colors) and yellow (which defines "warm" colors) on the color wheel. If you don't want to wear "right down the middle" true green, you can just slide off toward blue, or toward yellow...

These are some of the shades of green that I found readily available right now:

If you want to dabble in the possibility of green, but don't want to go completely nuts, you really only need to get 2 or 3 things in order to ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #29 – An Accent Color Long-Sleeved Tee Shirt

September 27, 2021 Happy Birthday Belovedest!!! I had to get that out of my system... he's such a wonderful man...

Ahem... back to accent colors, and simple tee shirts to bring some brightness and interest into your wardrobe:

This is a color to keep in mind if you're ever tasked with choosing the team tee shirt color, or smocks for the volunteers, or anything where a group of women are going to be dressed alike. This is a color that doesn't look truly horrible on anyone, in my humble opinion. And it goes with all neutrals, so nobody should be unable to pull together an outfit... (of course, some people do not really WANT to be part of a group, but that's a whole different issue for you to diplomatically smooth ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #16 – An Accent Color Sleeveless Top

June 28, 2021

Why yes, this is a day early... I'm in a bit of a muddle these days! I'm sorry to have to remind everyone that this means there will NOT be a post on Monday morning. Sorry for the confusion!

Accent colors make everything more fun! And I'm dedicating today's post to those among us who are - very suddenly - being summoned back to offices...

Why yes, you can layer this top under just about anything. And wear it to work out. And sleep in it, if necessary!

Maybe you're finding that some of your work clothes no longer fit quite right, but you can still wear your black shirtdress - wear it EVERY week, with a variety of accent colors:

Maybe work is very casual...

Maybe it's summer in an otherwise ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #4 – Accent Color or Print Tee Shirt

April 5, 2021

Ah, if I were assembling a wardrobe from scratch, this would be when I start grabbing striped tee shirts - you don't even want to THINK about how often I wear a black and white shirt...

But I couldn't find a print that really blew my hair back, so I went with a favorite color of many of us, just to see how well it would work in a range of outfits. For starters, it looks pretty cool with olive green:

Note that I tried to keep quite a few items from last week, just to see how versatile our accent color might be. Generally it worked pretty well!

This color is called Beach Glass - something that makes me think of ghastly gashes in the sole of one's foot, and copious bleeding! This is much prettier, isn't ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #3 – Accent Color Tee Shirt

March 29, 2020

I couldn't choose which color, so I included two!

just for reference, here's the master list of 52 garments for 52 weeks of the year:

Back in the dark years of my retail career, there was a rule of thumb that if you didn't know what accent color to suggest to someone, you should try:

(1) the color of their lipstick (this was back in the days when a department store would actually HAVE a range of such colors),

(2) the color of their blush (ditto),

(3) some shade of coral - from quite close to pink to quite close to orange, or

(4) turquoise - anything from almost green to almost pure blue.

We had good luck with these ideas! Yes, this tee shirt isn't turquoise, but it's a very wearable blue for a ... View the Post

Start With Art: Meadow by Mainie Jellett

February 19, 2021 When Accent Colors Lead You Astray... She wanted to start with this painting, and who could blame her?

She is in the process of shifting her preferred neutral from navy to camel, and her accent colors from cool and bright to warm and muted - it's quite the project!

This painting is perfect for her... After some study, and some thinking, she chose these colors:

Her plan is to assemble her 21-piece wardrobe - Her Garde-Robe du Mois - this way:

yes, this is only 20 garments - she's going to toss in her camel dress, when it's clean!

Since her closet is sort of "betwixt and between" right now, she decides to start with pants; this is a pretty good idea for most of us, since these are the clothes ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Echo Photo Floral Silk Square

February 15, 2021

Let's wallow in some flowers!

This has the potential to take black and white RIGHT into spring - at least in our hearts! What lovely colors:

Today's heroine assures me that her wardrobe is pretty classic black and white, so let's start with a 12-piece Common Wardrobe that will see her into a few warm days:

Now - the accent colors!

I had to splurge and show you this tee shirt, because I think the floral print is lovely...

Coral! Who wouldn't look at least reasonably good in this color? And the sleeveless top brings summer into the room, even if worn under a cardigan:

Okay, one may not be inclined to wear this cardigan every other day, but it is SO bright and fun for these ... View the Post

Need an Accent Color to Get Through the Rest of the Winter?

February 10, 2021

This post is partly for me - I'm hankering for something in a different color than my usual!

I've got to be really careful not to buy something without a LOT of thought; my wardrobe has been 95+% black and white for decades, so busting out with a blue scarf and tee shirt would be a MAJOR change...

But I see that my favorite tee shirt is available in quite a few colors; what might I do?

More pink is always a possibility; I know that I love pink, and it goes well with all my black and white:

I love the way these 5 things look together, but I'm not sure that coral is a direction I should go...

Yellow? I think not, but it's so pretty and cheery...

Oddly enough, Beach Glass ... View the Post

Introducing A New Accent Color into an Established Wardrobe – The Visit by Marie Laurencin

January 6, 2021

A new year, and our heroine has decided to incorporate a new accent color into her (already pretty lovely, I'd say!) wardrobe:

If you'd like to look back at the earlier posts based upon this painting, they are:

April 29, 2020

May 8, 2020

September 11, 2020

January 4, 2021

Before she impulsively wanders off into the world of all things green, she pauses to collect and sort her current wardrobe. First up, her cardigans, dresses, and "bottoms." (I just don't love the term bottoms - someone suggest a useful alternative, please!)

Frankly, although this looks like the motherlode of grey pants, they're all very different fabrics, and at least a few different silhouettes...

Now, her ... View the Post

Is It Time for a Cold Weather Wardrobe Treat? A Whole Rainbow of Cashmere Sweaters…

August 25, 2020

A few people are still longing for summer clothes - I'm sorry, but they're getting to be SO hard to find in stores. As I may have mentioned in the past, I don't like to show you anything that isn't available in the full range of colors and sizes - why taunt you with things you can't have if you really want them? Thus, summer clothes are becoming difficult to share...

And a LOT of retailers are only bringing into stock the bare minimum of styles and colors for cooler weather - WHAT FUN IS THAT? We're stuck inside for most of our time, and we need cheer. Color! Brightness! Variety!

With that in mind, I'm sharing some lovely cashmere sweaters with you, along with a few other accessories to give you little accessory ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a “Two Mood” Travel Capsule Wardrobe

July 10, 2020

Yesterday, our heroine was getting ready to head to the lake, with a packet of relatives, for the rest of the summer!

For her packing inspiration, she started with this painting:

She has her clothes all ready to go!

But she doesn't have... well... shoes? earrings? a bag or two?

Let's do this!

She really likes her square earrings because they're called Lily Pad earrings! Although she's never seen a square lily pad...

She knows that she needs rubber flip flops - her feet will be wet fairly often! And sunglasses - you ALWAYS need sunglasses...

Next, she grabs her sunhat, and her Keds. Even if the Keds get wet, they'll be fine within a day... And even though ... View the Post