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Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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A Black Wardrobe, with Silver, Aluminum and Grit

January 5, 2015   This is certainly not a style for just everyone, but I know a couple of women who wear this very urban, industrial style, and who carry it off with great panache! (Imagine a woman with silver grey hair, cut in a very short, angular style. Chiseled cheekbones, a slash of red lipstick...)   One of the things that we have to remember about a unique personal style is that it is, by definition, not for everybody. Realistically, it shouldn't be for ANYBODY other than you. It's hard to chart your own path, style-wise, but feeling quintessentially like yourself can be an amazing sensation...  

 

 

love,

Janice ... View the Post

A Black Wardrobe, with Turquoise, Coral, and Gold

January 3, 2015   A few of you have expressed that you couldn't wear unrelieved black, and that you're quite grateful that this isn't your dress code! You can easily see that it's a challenge to look like "yourself" in a way that's distinct from all of your coworkers if you're all wearing black. That's why I was happy to hear that many people in this uniform are at least allowed to wear whatever accessories strike their fancy.   Today, inspired by my neighbor who wears a turquoise and coral necklace EVERY DAY, I chose accessories that all have turquoise, coral (fake coral, of course) and gold, and which include texture or detail. When you see these items together, you can see the DNA that links them, I hope. And on the ... View the Post

A Black Capsule Wardrobe, with Pearl, Lace, Gold, Filigree and Flowers

January 2, 2015

After thinking long and hard about how I wanted to accessorize the "All-Black" capsule wardrobe, I decided that I'm going to accessorize it in a variety of ways, and give everybody a choice of which they prefer! In this, as in virtually EVERYTHING associated with getting dressed every day, there are no hard and fast rules, and no one "best" or "must-have" way to approach things.

I'm a big fan of finding a handful of key words that define a style, and using those words as a talisman or mantra when I'm choosing items. Using the lace tops as an inspiration, I thought that the first "accessory family" was going to include elements of pearls, lace, gold, filigree details and feelings, and flowers.

Let me clarify - each ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf to Wear with Navy

December 16, 2014  

I happen to know for a fact that one of you will buy this design scarf for yourself for the holidays, and that you are struggling to decide which color you want. I further know that your wardrobe is basically navy, so I thought I'd play around a little bit with some ensembles to show what kinds of other preferences you have that might help make the choice clearer.   First up, the most lovely Hermes Ors Bleus d'Afrique - the Blue Gold of Africa. That refers to indigo, which was commonly used in textiles of this type.  

And I picked a couple of outfits - very simple - in order to create a base for my ideas.  

First up, this scarf cries out to have the rich browns emphasized and ... View the Post

Start With Art: Are you More Renoir or Laurencin?

November 10, 2014   Two of my favorite artists, and two subtly different approaches to the feeling of romance and femininity. Renoir is very traditionally (late 19th century) soft, ruffly, dainty floraly kind of feminine. Laurencin, very much like Chanel who is the subject of this painting, gives us a little bit sleeker vision of womanly grace and beauty.  

How do these subtle differences translate into your personal style - your choices of accessories and garments? Both are beautiful and appealing, but there are substantial differences, if we study the paintings long enough. These were some of my thoughts:

For jewelry, Renoir art gives me the feeling of delicate, carefully jeweled pieces with a lot of detail, and a ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 13: More Accessories!

July 9, 2014  

In my one-woman crusade to encourage the wearing of jewelry, today we'll look at some possible additions to various Starting From Scratch capsule wardrobes.  

This addition doesn't necessarily mean shopping; it's entirely possible that these beauties are already lurking in jewelry boxes or dresser drawers. Let's bring them into the light!

And you all know that I'm a firm opponent of the "it bag" phenomenon, but I do believe that having more than one bag is entirely reasonable. A bag in one of your accent colors, or in each of your neutrals, isn't outrageous, especially if the bags serve different purposes, or if they make you really happy! (which, after all, is the whole point of your ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step 5: Accessories round one

June 24, 2014  

Now that we have enough clothes in our capsule wardrobe to put together at least a handful of combinations, it's time to pause and make sure that we're truly heading down a path which we like; if we want to change courses, now is the time!

At a minimum, wearing coordinating accessories with your wardrobe will keep you from making that excuse in your mind - "this wardrobe isn't working because I don't have the right earrings (watch, scarf, bag); when I get THAT then it will be okay." So let's take a break from clothes and take a look at our accessories. Unless you're making a completely radical change of colors, you might find that you have accessories already in your collection which will work beautifully ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: A Black and White Hermes

June 5, 2014  

It was a great question - thanks for sending it on - "I want an Hermes scarf in black and white, but there are SO MANY of them - how do I choose?"  

Note that she also let me know that she's pretty committed to a strict black and white wardrobe...

I've chosen these six scarves to use as our possible purchases. I strongly encourage you to click through and admire the details on these scarves if you have the time. There's a reason that these scarves are so terribly expensive - they are exquisite.

For illustrative purposes, I'm going to use a couple of simple outfits - a very neutral black dress, and a white silk blouse and black silk pants.

The first scarf, Fleurs et Papillons de Tissus, ... View the Post

Choosing a Scarf: Hermes in Orange

May 24, 2014  

 About a year go, I wrote a pretty popular post about how to isolate the perfect scarf from among a range of similar items. My thesis is that your new purchase should feel as if it's coming home to be among it's relatives...

Someone sent me a question - they love this particular scarf design, and they've got a few orange garments. But how do you make the final choice?

You've got garments kind of like this to wear with the scarf that you finally choose.

 

  Are you fond of the high contrast between the orange and cooler tones of greens and blues?

Or is the base of your wardrobe mostly subtle beige and ivory tones?

  Maybe you love orange because you love ... View the Post

I Love Baroque, but I Live Simple and Contemporary

March 8, 2014   Maybe this is the living room of your dreams:  

  But your core wardrobe is our usual:  

  So let's try the same exercise we did before - find three garments that reflect the warmth, the rosiness, the ornate and filigreed nature of the room...  

  You have to keep, somewhere in the back of your mind, the reminder that you need to work with neutrals of black, white and khaki.  Otherwise, let your heart go wild... and you will have lots of ways to wear them.  

 

If this feels comfortable for you, you can branch out and add a few accessories that also share you sensibility...  

  These will work beautifully ... View the Post