Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
These are the eight winter garments that I've chosen to keep, which I wear in order to leverage the all-black core items already chosen to survive the wardrobe purge (you didn't really think that I wear unrelieved black every day, did you?)
First I show my additions to my edited wardrobe, and then below, I show all of the items that have been specifically chosen (so far) to stay, through the first four stages of the curating and distilling process.
Yes, I really love argyle...
... View the Post
Come see me today at Tish's, where I explore April in Paris in neutral colors with a bit of pattern and texture. I would SO love to be sitting in a Paris cafe right now, watching it rain... ... View the Post
Sweater – Le Mont St. Michel, Flats – Libby Edelman, jeans – J Brand
This very lovely young lady works in the building where I live. While the jeans and sweater were very simple, the shoes demonstrated that she had put some thought into what she was wearing, and didn't just throw something together. At her age, and with her level of natural beauty, she could have been wearing a sack and looked striking. But with this level of style self-awareness, she's going to be just as elegant in 40 years as she is right now...
As the seasons finally seem to be moving toward warmer weather, I'm starting to go through that semi-annual wardrobe "switch out" that I find so distressing. Vivienne repeatedly points out ... View the Post
My last springtime adventure in imaginary shopping is the "how to experiment with a fashion color" question. I'm totally smitten with this striped top, and my desire for it would be sufficient to convince me to introduce pink into my wardrobe for six months or a year - however long the top lasts. Here is a case in which I would NOT spend a lot of money on jewelry, and I would buy a decent pair of shoes or sandals, but not a long-term investment pair. This small shopping spree is designed to brighten up my wardrobe for spring, indulge in a garment which I love, and participate in the "brightly colored pants" trend, without breaking the bank.
Tee shirt – J. Crew, cropped pants – Diane von Furstenberg, pink ... View the Post
Today, I've scaled back my purchases a little bit, and chosen to "buy" a more trendy color - cobalt blue. I loved cobalt when we all wore it back in the 80's, and am happy to see it back again. But I'm not willing to make quite such a major investment in blue as I was willing to consider yesterday in my imaginary red extravaganza... So I would look to purchase the following:
Cardigan – J. Crew, tee shirt – DKNY, pants – Piazza Sempione, skirt – Diane von Furstenberg, scarf – Givenchy for Liberty of London, lapis earrings – Astley Clarke, lapis & onyx bracelet - Nordstrom Based on the idea that I want to leverage these core wardrobe items:
And this is how I would wear my new ... View the Post
I'm not shopping these days, but I do LOOK at lots of things (as you well know!). So I decided to do some imaginary shopping; sort of walking through the process of what I would do IF I were in a shopping phase of my life. First up: What basics do I already have in my wardrobe that I wear a lot, and want to use as a basis for leveraging my purchases?
Now, what do I want? I've chosen to splurge on red this shopping spree. It's an on-trend bright color, but it's dead classic, and never goes out of style. It's a color I wear well, I already have a couple of beautiful scarves with a lot of red in them, and it mixes brilliantly with black.
So... a cardigan and a tee shirt (sort ... View the Post
The general theory behind my packing plan can be translated into nearly infinite color combinations. If pink is not your cup of tea, try blue! In the next few days I'm going to swap out for at least one different neutral, and a few different accent colors. The theory is always the same: 5 core neutral garments, an accent jacket, a couple of white or light neutral tops, and then the 6 dash accent garments in your color(s) of choice. Easy peasy, once you get the hang of it...
black cardigan – Ganni, sapphire earrings – Lord & Taylor, white tee – Michael Stars, Scarf – H&M, Denim coat – Derek Lam, black pants – Donna Karan, patent loafers – Tod’s, black tote – Big ... View the Post
Way back when, when I married belovedest, we went to Florence and Venice for our honeymoon. It was late March and early April, cool evenings and beautiful sunny days. And I absolutely SPLURGED on more pink clothing that I've ever worn before or since. A blissful time...
black cardigan – Ganni, earrings – Kimberly McDonald, white tee – Michael Stars,
Scarf – Roberto Cavalli, Pink coat – Jil Sander, black pants – Donna Karan, patent loafers – Tod’s,
black tote – Big Buddha
sunglasses – Dorothy Perkins, pearl earrings – Kate Spade, pink lace top – J. Crew,
white short-sleeved button-front top – Kookai, pink ... View the Post
Shirt – Alexander West, trousers – Dries van Noten, cardigan – J. Crew, loafers – Repetto, belt – 3.1 Phillip Lim ... View the Post
Come see what I found for clouds and flowers in Paris - I'm over at Tish's again today while she's hard at work on her book. Dreaming of travel... ... View the Post
So I finally get a day off, and wandered about down in the "Loop" meeting a friend for lunch, stopping by to see belovedest, and just hiking about taking in the sights... The young lady represented in the above assembled outfit was a shining light of cheer on a gloomy day; I first noticed her radiant smile, but her well-curated outfit caught my eye too!
And another thing I saw: payday shopping. Back when I was in soft-goods retail, we always knew that the 15th of each month, and the last day of each month, would be very busy at lunch time, and after the end of the office work day. Why? Insert graphic of money burning a hole in someone's pocket.
There's nothing theoretically wrong with shopping the same day you ... View the Post
I did a "conference to cocktails" post over at Tish's last week, and quite a few people asked me to replicate the project with a neutral-colored dress. A very near version of this LBD is in my closet already, so this was a lot of fun to put together! Any other requests? Pants? A suit? Let me know...
Bracelets – 1928, Red scarf – Yves Saint Laurent, red ballet flats – Repetto, black & white beaded scarf –
Kate Spade, black wristlet – Stella & Dot, black diamond & pearl earrings – Astley Clarke,
slingback shoes – Robert Clergerie
Black & white cardigan – L’Wren Scott, black diamond stud earrings – Lord ... View the Post
