capsule wardrobe Archives - Page 21 of 29

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Blocks and Circles by Paul Klee

January 21, 2016 I can so easily picture the woman who wears these colors - freckles had better be in the picture!

Just in case nobody else has ever told you this, it's pronounced Klee as in Clay. There was once a book with that title, that taught one how to pronounce all sorts of art names; I wonder if it's still around....

Yep, lots of color possibilities. I chose the beige/camel neutral for our upcoming spring dressy events, but if you wanted to segue this wardrobe into cooler weather, olive and fir green could definitely becomes neutrals, as could a deep rust, or a russet brown...

This is another one of those dresses that has a LOT of potential, for the entire year. And while the culottes were a bit ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Toasting Friends

January 15, 2016 So many of us have these events coming up this spring or summer - a wedding, graduation, bar mitzvah, baptism, or other celebratory event. What a nice excuse to travel!

But it does require a bit of planning, because in just a few days, you might well span the full gamut of activities from a very dressy event or two, to things like cleaning out a dorm room, or playing frisbee with nieces and nephews. Barbecues, picnics, and more relaxed family activities require a completely different wardrobe from what you'll wear to the actual event itself.What to do? Just plan to take more! A normal long weekend is a great time for a 6-Pack or an 8-Pack, but for these very special weekends, I think 13 pieces is perfectly ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting With Art: A Porcelain Figurine Version 2

January 12, 2016

Today's capsule wardrobe is a bit more casual, with a bit of influence from the aesthetics of the figurine; these kinds of things have to be approached carefully, because I don't want to do any egregious cultural appropriation!

It's sort of like when people would visit Ireland (when I lived there) and dress all in green, and walk around saying "top of the mornin' to ya...."

So I took notes from the fluidity of the figure for some more draped and/or wrapped garments, shamelessly grabbed some pearls, tossed in a really amazing brooch, and included a very origami tote bag.

This would be a great addition to the earlier wardrobe - most of these pieces would blend seamlessly with the other garments. ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting With Art: A Porcelain Figurine

January 9, 2016

Part of this request was rather standard - someone returning to the workforce, and wanting a 4 by 4 capsule wardrobe based on a navy suit, with grey accents. Very sensible, and something that many of us can find useful, or at least fun to admire.But the real zinger: She drew her inspiration for the colors from a figurine in her bedroom! This clearly means something very special to her, eh?

I stuck with the color scheme she suggested - a lot of navy, accents of the deep red/burgundy, and gray, shading to soft blue:

While many jobs no longer require a suit, it's worth remember that there are still places that REQUIRE them. In order to get the most mileage possible from purchases, I found (after quite a bit ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting With Art: Kveikur by Justyna Polar

January 8, 2016

Someone sent this to me ages ago, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to get to this gorgeous piece...

This suggests the most lovely color scheme, which is both timeless and seasonless:

I've also received lots of requests for travel suggestions for longer trips - that 3 to 6 week trip that includes a few meetings, maybe some teaching, maybe some sightseeing, maybe some time in an office, and almost certainly some casual outdoor activities.

The trips that have been submitted to me for packing advice had a few things in common:

They are all more than 2 weeks, some as long as 6 weeks. This doesn't automatically require more than 12-15 pieces of clothing, but if ... View the Post

A “Whatever’s Clean 13” Capsule Wardrobe for All Occasions

It's a question that comes up all the time - I don't know what we're going to be doing when I get to: the conference, the reunion, the spa, the resort, that city I've never visited etc etc.

I thought about this while I was out of town... And I really wanted to stick with something versatile, like the "Whatever's Clean 13." But it needed a new look, or way of approaching, so I finally came up with this:

My thinking here was starting with a really "dressy-neutral" outfit, like a cardigan and pants. How could that be made more formal? One step up would be to swap the cardigan for a blazer. If I wanted to really get "gussied up," a sparkly cardigan would do it. And if I wanted to take things down a notch, swap the cardigan for a pull-over ... View the Post

How to Pack Light for the Beach

December 12, 2015 Another question that seems to come up frequently is about how to pack for a beach vacation. I love thinking about this "problem", and I've got a few older posts that you can review that might help you with your very "sad" dilemma. love, Janice

Start with Art: The Boating Party, by Mary Cassatt - a traditional navy and white summer wardrobe, with accents of turquoise and yellow. No swimsuits - I've been told that many of you have no need of swimwear.

Warm Weather Travel in Brown and Pink - Step by Step - how to decide how much to pack, including options for both a long weekend and a week-long vacation. Dressing modestly in a hot climate: travel in blue and tan - some ... View the Post

Packing for Paris! What I’m Doing Differently, This Time…

December 10, 2015

I'm leaving today! Early this evening, in fact, which is a little bit irritating, because I don't get to Paris until 10 a.m. Sometimes this flight leaves much earlier, getting one to Paris in time for an early breakfast. Some day, I will understand why the airlines change things so often...But no matter! I'm going, and I'm going to have a wonderful time. If you want to keep up with my running around, please follow me on Instagram. (it's that little camera-ish thingy in the right margin area) I plan to post something there at least hourly when I'm awake, so everybody will know that I'm okay...

Differently? My primary plan originally was that I was going to be pretty informal - jeans and nice athletic ... View the Post

Scarf Selling Saturday: A TWO-fer: Les Instructions du Roy, and Soleil du Soie

November 14, 2015 I want to clarify that the following post was written and scheduled for publication late Thursday afternoon; had I known of the horrid news that would emerge Friday afternoon and evening, I would had written something very different.

However, I'm going to leave this post here, for comments and for beauty's sake, because I feel like defiantly living life as normal. Let's appreciate small joys, and marvel at the wonders of the craftsmanship and creativity of our fellow humans, in the face of barbaric actions that would prefer we spend our time thinking only of negative and dark things...

You are, each of you, very important to me. I take your thoughts and feelings very seriously, and try to be sensitive to ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: The Golden Stairs by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones Version 2

November 12, 2015

She loved her travel wardrobe so much, she decided to gradually, carefully, and thoughtfully augment it in the same colors and mood!

Remember, this is the painting and the color scheme with which she was working. Beautiful, graceful, and evocative...

And this was the entirety of her wardrobe for her recent family trip. While the dress might be a little bit "over the top" for work, the rest of the pieces will be appropriate, if only for casual Friday.

And so, gradually, she made some purchases. She carried a wee laminated print of her painting with her, to keep her focused, and to keep her colors on point.

Eventually, she could open her closet and see this!

I pulled together 20 outfits from ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse

November 11, 2015

If I ever catch any of you pining away like this, I'll give you a very stern talking-to, and then a hug...

But it's so beautiful, in that lush, opulently colored way that the Pre-Raphaelites made so appealing. I have, in fact, another color scheme in mind for this same painting, so don't wander away in the next week or two...

Recently, I've been asked about the nuts and bolts of putting together a Whatever's Clean Wardrobe - where to start, and how to choose what to include. I'll try to explain my thought process through this one, in the hope that I can clarify how you can easily do this yourself when you're packing, or just when you want to build a small collection of clothes that will see you through your ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Arrival of the Normandy Train by Claude Monet Version 2

November 10, 2015

We're back to visit our friend who made the long train trip!

This was her inspiration - the soft colors, and the strong sense of the grid patterns in the ceiling of the train station. Very beautiful!

She DID have to do some shopping when she was on the road! It was bound to rain, but it wasn't bound to stop her...

And these were the clothes that she took with her on her trip. It was a wonderful trip - well planned, and thoroughly enjoyed. If only her return to "real life" had been so pleasant...

Utter Chaos Reigns... She returned to a madhouse. Drinking at lunch, crying in the bathrooms, shouting in the halls - it had all of the elements of a bad soap opera, without the ... View the Post