black Archives

March 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Common Shelduck by Dennis A. Jones

March 9, 2026

Wouldn't it be fun to see one of these "in the feathers"?

I imagine that our heroine has seen one at least once; at least she's sufficiently familiar with them to choose to copy their coloring in her wardrobe:

At the end of February, our heroine had this compact but very practical capsule wardrobe - easy to assemble a lot of different outfits from this small number of pieces:

But suddenly, our heroine is finding that people want to interview her! Yes, she always assumes that a local radio show might want to talk for 15 minutes about the shifting "bird demographics" of their area...

Now she's finding that she might even be on television! At a minimum, she's going to be on some videos online; people ... View the Post

Start With Art – Wall of Light Orange Yellow by Sean Scully

February 27, 2026

True story from my trip to Paris in December: Belovedest and I were walking down a side street near our hotel, and saw art in the distance! The doorway of the gallery was glass, and the entire structure of the building was open so that we could see ALL THE WAY THROUGH to a large room in the back of the building. And facing us, we saw 3 Sean Scully paintings, in shades of blue. We would have had no idea that they were there, had we not been able to see them from the street. A delightful 10 minute detour!

I think my lesson is that looking in all of the doorways is a good idea!

Today's heroine is going to have to visit with us every couple of months for a while, because she has found an intriguing color combination ... View the Post

Looking for Absolute Simplicity? Start With Art – Les Colombes by Maurice Denis

February 23, 2026

More often than I would expect, I hear from someone who's looking for a foolproof travel capsule wardrobe. Some people want dressier, and other want more relaxed, but everybody seems to be looking for a simple way to pack for a whole BUNCH of trips...

So let's start with a tranquil, simple but arresting work of art:

This offers us a palette for our travel capsule wardrobe that's timeless, and SO easy to find:

Freshly Retired! She's got plans - lots of them! For the next 3 months, she has EIGHT trips planned - most of them relatively close to where she lives. Some travel will be driving, and some by train. She's going to catch up with a couple of friends, visit a couple of old favorite towns, and check ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

February 13, 2026

Happy Valentine's Day! I don't necessarily "buy into" the holidays like this, which seem like one more reason to buy something. Let's just all take a LONG break tomorrow to contact those that we love - not just romantically. Send an unexpected email. Call someone. Write a note. Make sure that your loved ones KNOW that you love them...

But right now, let's admire the attention to detail, the glorious fabrics and trims worn by our two favorite fashion saints:

Such an easy color palette, but one with so much potential impact:

At the end of January, our heroine had this delightfully compact but (to many of you) rather casual wardrobe:

We have to remember that - in her "down time" - when ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Common Shelduck by Dennis A. Jones

February 11, 2026

Let's spend just a moment communing with a bird. This particular bird:

Wouldn't it be nice to be this calm? And I swear that I see confidence in the gaze of this bird. Of course, once you've got your personal style all sorted out and you look this good, why wouldn't you be confident?

I particularly admire the palette:

At the end of January, our friend who works on bird censuses (I had to look this one up - I would have SWORN it would be something like "censui" or "censua") had this quite compact but amazingly versatile wardrobe. I see 18 outfits here...

Our heroine has made a big decision - if she likes something that she owns, she's going to see if she can find the same garment in another color ... View the Post

February 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Lonely Erika Giovanna Klien

February 2, 2026

Time flies, doesn't it? Although January did sometimes seem to be a decade-long winter challenge...

But let's think of art! I particularly love this painting, and I can't put my finger on why. I think that's just fine - do you have to be able to explain your passions and dislikes?

The balance of color here could be different, but I think we're going to have a good time with these three strong neutrals and two unexpected accent colors:

At the end of January, our heroine had maybe the world's most organized and versatile core wardrobe. You could toss literally any accent color into this eight-piece capsule wardrobe and have a lot of options. It's not always fascinating to start with these neutral pieces, ... View the Post

January 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Common Shelduck by Dennis A. Jones

January 14, 2026

Ten years ago, her friends invited her for the weekend. A bit of bird-watching, sitting on the veranda... Just a relaxing time in a warm climate with people she loves...

After spending so much time admiring these birds, she decided to take her wardrobe very much in this direction - with the addition of the snappy red accent!

Well, her relationship with birds has taken on a whole new meaning! First thing - when she left her morally bankrupt corporate job, she almost immediately found a position helping coordinate worldwide bird censuses.

It requires both a knowledge of data base administration, and bird species! Who ever knew that SQL and birds could co-exist?

She does get to travel from time to ... View the Post

January 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Lonely Erika Giovanna Klien

January 5 2026

Our second heroine also has a black base to her wardrobe, along with denim blue and bone (thanks to whomever pointed out that I'd complete SKIPPED the beautiful bluish grey...):

Our heroine is a graphic artist; her specialty is working with designs that incorporate multiple typefaces. She's the absolute master (mistress?) of mixing serif and sans-serif fonts! And it's not as easy as one might think; persuading clients that she's right about things can be difficult. Therefore, she tends to dress in a pretty timeless and neutral fashion, so that clients will concentrate on what she shows to them, and not on her.

But she does plan to include both turquoise and bright Kelly green in her wardrobe, in moderate ... View the Post

January 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Based on Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

January 2, 2026

Happy Happy Happy New Year to all of us! We deserve it, I'd say!

Let's wallow in the beauty of our first painting, and get to know our first heroine:

This heroine worked on the restoration of Notre Dame, in Paris. She specializes in the symbolism of the small decorative carvings found at the tops of pillars, in the wee niches in arches - all sorts of places in Gothic architecture were ornamented, because it was considered a form of worship.

And while she was well-known in her specialty area, working on such a high-profile project made her "small famous." Enough so that she travels a lot now, giving lectures at colleges and universities EVERYWHERE.

These are her colors:

Her favorite personal ... View the Post

Don’t Know What to Pack for the Holidays? Start With a Scarf – Snow Globe by kate spade new york

December 17, 2025

I should still be in Paris.... fingers crossed!

I've heard from quite a few people who just don't know what to do when they have to pack for a holiday-season trip. Some people want to go full-tilt festive, while others just want to pack sweatsuits and hide indoors...

I can't necessarily help you know what's best for your trip, but at least for me, I'm finding that starting with a scarf is a good option!

This Christmas content of this scarf is pretty subtle:

And there's nothing about these colors that identifies with any specific holiday:

scarf - kate spade new yorkI'm always going to suggest that you travel in either a "suit-like" ensemble, or a solid column. Why complicate things? Nobody's going ... View the Post

Three Words, Personal Style, and Packing for Paris

December 10, 2025

If all goes as planned (which hasn't been the case recently!), by the time you read this I will be heading to the airport with Belovedest for a trip to Paris. Belovedest is only going for a long weekend; I will be there for a week (yes, he's tough, and we're flying in First Class, so he should get some sleep on the plane).

I'm trying really hard to pack a tiny amount of stuff. When you vacation in the middle of winter, most of the world ONLY sees your winter coat, and even then, they don't pay attention, and they don't care!

Maybe the hardest thing to remember when traveling (or at any other time!) is that you are ONLY the center of attention in your own mind. So long as you are clean, don't smell horrible, don't ... View the Post

December 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #6: The Swan No. 24 by Hilma Af Klint

December 8, 2025

The last day of the last painting! Unless, of course, I revisit these and analyze them a bit...

She had enough clothes - more than enough, as do we all. But she was really hankering after some more brown. There's something about wearing brown - especially with black - that's different from anything else she had ever worn...

Her wardrobe is all set, for now...

Our heroine would still really love to have a brown and black scarf, and you can easily see how useful it would be for her. But she has to find the right one!

Our heroine had a lengthy internal conversation around the purchase of brown shoes and a brown bag. Normally, she would keep her leather accessories to black, beige, or a metallic. ... View the Post