black Archives

September 2019 – 12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

My favorite post of the month! Although I love everything I give you, I must admit...

For new readers, the thesis is this: in January I choose 6 Hermes scarves from the new season, and then, for a year, I add a new outfit each month to six gradually growing and developing wardrobes. It's fascinating to see how the wardrobes evolve...

Even though the weather is still quite warm (in the Northern Hemisphere, that is!), this is honestly the time to start getting your fall and winter outfits together. The selection is best now, both for styles and sizes. And having these outfits ready for that first cold day gives you both a sense of security AND something to anticipate! (it's good to have something wonderful to enjoy when the weather ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 10: Neutral Print or Patterned Top

I'm in Pittsburgh... I'd be a true ingrate if I didn't give a hearty shout-out to the lovely people at Crazy Mocha who let me sit in their store while I finished this post. If you see a Crazy Mocha location, patronize them!

What differentiates this top from the one you added to your wardrobe last Monday is the degree of print. I see this top as being something that makes a little bit more of a statement - a more visible stripe, or a more pronounced floral. You could stick with something subtle, if that's what you like!

This first top would be lovely for someone who wears jeans frequently...

There aren't a ton of guidelines for this purchase: stay in your color palette and your chosen silhouettes and you should be ... View the Post

10 Ways to Wear Black Print Pants

Sorry for the delay in updating that bad link for the white sweater; I was in a hotel last night that had... shall we say "limited" internet service? Thanks for letting me know that it was broken, and for being so patient while I hastened to fix it!

This is actually a post in support of the usefulness of the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe! Once a heroine has those neutral pieces in hand, adding something fun like these pants is much more practical; she will have a ton of ways to wear them immediately.

What makes these pants work? A neutral background (I prefer the dark neutral here, but in hot weather a light neutral background makes sense too), the 2nd neutral included in the print, as well as one of her accent colors...

I feel ... View the Post

Start with Art: A Travel Capsule Wardrobe based on Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Ah, remember this quite lavish and elegant heroine from this post, and this one?

She's a specialist in the symbolism around various saints in Gothic architecture. Very successful, very highly regarded around the world. And now, she's going to be traveling for 2 days every month to present a serious of lectures at the University of Paris. Tough work, eh?

Since the fire at Notre Dame, there's quite a bit of study being done all over Paris about every detail of the cathedral. She's essential to helping with some of the reconstruction...

Her hair is still a flawless crown of white braids; her lipstick never budges, and her fingernails are flawless... I believe that she has no idea what denim IS, and has never worn a stitch of ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – The August Fierce Ambition bracelet from Fierce Lynx Designs

What rich, luscious colors; there's NOTHING Halloween-ish about this beauty!

"Can You Come For a Month?" She's wanted to volunteer for them for YEARS! Finally, their needs and her computer skills overlap perfectly! And she's taking a sabbatical from her real job to go there...

"You can stay in the dorm with the other volunteers; there's laundry there, and we manage to cobble together meals that we share..."

"There's very little storage here, so don't bring your entire wardrobe! If you're going to be in a public-facing position in the office, you need to look presentable, but nobody needs to bring a tuxedo nor a ballgown... But do be advised that the offices get pretty chilly after the beginning of ... View the Post

Start with Art: Portrait of the Countess de Martel de Janville by Giovanni Boldini

I've been wanting to work on a capsule wardrobe - maybe an occasional series - in which I could completely ignore things like prices, and go whole hog for lovely dressy things... Just a pretty fantasy to share... The Settlement It made the news; it was the largest settlement in the history of the industry...

Her very expensive accountant handled all of the donations and endowments, and now she's catching the train to buy that apartment... A pied a terre in her favorite neighborhood...

She's going to channel the confident look of her favorite portrait... She's been told that she strongly resembles the Countess, which is no mean compliment!

She will only be there a few days - the lawyers have handled all of the paperwork ... View the Post

A Wardrobe with Multiple “Moods” or Accent Colors? Start with an Artist: Romaine Brooks

Wednesday, our heroine chose accessories and was quite well-prepared for a lengthy trip...

But now, she's really going to travel!

Just to recap, she built her initial travel wardrobe around this stark but captivating painting:

Her initial travel capsule wardrobe is quite complete...

She's made a very tidy start to a quite large travel (or seasonal?) wardrobe:

And her accessories are similarly well planned:

But now, she's going away for 13 weeks! A guest teaching post? A short course at a foreign school? Who could guess...

She knows that there are plenty of women who could travel forever wearing nothing but black and grey, but she's thinking that she wants to introduce some accent colors... Maybe ... View the Post

Start with Art: Ida Rubenstein by Romaine Brooks, or the Power of 5-Garment Clusters

She loves to travel alone....

She carries her own luggage, thank you! And she can lift her bag into the overhead bin, too. It's a point of personal satisfaction that she's strong enough to be self-sufficient... (it's an accomplishment to hold onto as long as possible, isn't it?)

In the course of planning what to pack, she grew to see that working in clusters of 5 garments would be easy to sort out in her head, and also gives her plenty of outfit possibilities! The right 5 garments can translate into 8 outfits...

It's not that she plans to travel forever, and must never EVER repeat an outfit; that's kind of silly...

But what if something is stranded at the laundry? What if the weather gets warmer (or cooler)? What if ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 5: Jeans or a Denim Bottom

I think it's about time we found something to wear below the waist, don't you think? For most of us, jeans or something similar seems the most logical place to start. When I was young, jeans were mostly for the young, and even up until about 5 years ago, when I traveled to Paris I seldom saw anybody over the age of 30 wearing jeans. But now? Jeans, in good condition - no holes, clean but not crispy pressed (no creases!) are seen on almost anybody...

As always, I have some thoughts about what to look for.... And as always, these are GUIDELINES, not hard-and fast rules. Nobody is entitled to tell you what to wear unless you're somewhere that requires a uniform. Otherwise, we're all on our own! (which makes building a wardrobe ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 2: A Dark Neutral Top

Ready for another week? This week, we're going to the darkest logical version of last week's top...

As always, (I don't think I can emphasize this enough!) this is a guideline, not a carved in stone life rule. If you don't wear dark colors, or you don't wear tee shirts, or you don't wear long sleeves, this will NOT apply to you exactly like this. You can choose a substitute, or skip this week entirely.

And this does NOT mean that you have to go buy something! This could be as easy as checking your closet for the appropriate garment and making sure that it's clean and in good repair before the cooler weather arrives. (right now, it seems as if it will never come again...)

If both of your neutrals are relatively dark, this is ... View the Post

Start with Art: Wall of Light White by Sean Scully

I love this artist... And this painting is a perfect ensemble of neutral colors!

We're Going WHERE? To her sweetheart's college Chess Club reunion, that's where!

She decides to pack on an outfit-by-outfit basis; she knows that the weather is going to be hot, so she's focusing on linen, and shorts, and a couple of tops that will cover her up if she wants to walk along the shore...

Since this reunion is going to be near the beach, she's bringing "water shoes"...

Even though she's not going to lay out on the beach, she knows that a couple of pairs of shorts will be handy!

Once she got everything arranged and ready to pack, she gave it a last look:

She plans out enough outfits, in her mind, to get her ... View the Post

Revisiting Art: Ornamental Composition for Social Spaces #14 by Kamrooz Aram

Last August, she pulled together a 4 by 4 Wardrobe based on her favorite wardrobe; she liked it so much, she thought that it would make a good base for a travel wardrobe too! Since the weather is warm, she's going to look for the lighter shades of her accent colors.

She's only going for a long weekend, so she knows that she doesn't want to pack a lot! And she recently bought herself a jacket and pants in her favorite green, so she knows that she wants to wear that while she's traveling...

She decides to be organized, and deliberate, in her packing. She thought about what 6 items she would want to pack...

She knows that the smartest thing to do, when packing very few items, is to stick to a core of her black neutral, ... View the Post