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Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Start With Art: Trumpet Creeper by Abby Williams Hill

November 13, 2014   Isn't this beautiful? One of you sent it to me, and it captivated me immediately. The vertical layout, the soft background, the muted shades of green and blue, the accents of warm rust, gold and orange - what a wonderful painting.   There are so many things about this that could serve as inspiration and focus: the colors, the organic nature of the image, the soft blending of the background colors, the use of about a billion shades of bluish green - there's just no end to the ideas that can come from this one work of art. (but that's probably true, for the right person, of any work of art, right?)  

  This was my chosen color scheme - a base in very dark navy, accents of all those ... View the Post

Travel Capsule Wardrobe – Packing with Scarves: Missoni #2

November 5, 2014

After Friday's post about a Missoni scarf, I received an email with this picture - another really lovely combination of colors...

There are a lot of possibilities here, of course.  One could concentrate on the beige, ivory, and periwinkle, but I chose to work with the brighter shades apparent in the scarf.

In my vivid and bottomless imagination, I pictured this protagonist as someone who had to travel for work, but who's work is something rather creative; she's one who likes to wear things a little bit bold...

While many of the garments are relatively simple and classic, the accessories are anything but!  And the dress... I personally love this dress.  Sigh...

A few nice options, ... View the Post

A Four by Four Capsule Wardrobe in Mint Green, Grey, Denim and Brown

August 21, 2014

I've decided to change up the order of the colors in the titles, so that when we scan through a large number of them, the accent colors will be better emphasized.  They are, theoretically, where the fun it! So one of you (you know who you are, you scamp!) fell in love with a deeply INAPPROPRIATE scarf:

I would do hideously inappropriate things for this scarf in grey and pink, so I understand...

So this lovely scamp had pretty much committed to a color scheme with two neutrals of denim blue (not necessarily denim FABRIC, but that blue), and brown.  Her first accent color was planned to be grey, and she had not settled on a 2nd accent.  I proposed this color scheme to her:

Suddenly things start to look ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch Step One: A Nice Pair of Pants

Many people would tell you that you should start building your capsule wardrobe with a black suit. And there's an undoubted crowd who would vote in favor of a little black dress. (for me, personally, that's where I would start...)

But after wrestling with this question for weeks, I've finally decided that most of us might find the most utility, and the most immediate transformation of our wardrobe, could come from investing in a really NICE pair of pants. Trousers. Even (very unpopular word) slacks...

If you've changed sizes, a new pair of trousers that fit you perfectly will immediately elevate all of your old blouses and shirts.  If you want to improve the overall quality of your wardrobe, nothing will make you feel more ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Woman in Hat with Pompoms and a Printed Blouse – Picasso

January 7, 2014   Many readers asked me to work with a Picasso painting, and I happily oblige.  These outfits are based on beige, just as the painting is literally on a beige background.  Accents of red, orange, yellow, a touch of green, and you're set for almost anything!   My guiding adjectives for this project were warm, saturated, and clear, with unexpected bursts of bright against the toasty neutral.  

     

  This is a wardrobe that could see someone through much of the summer!  

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Breaking All the Rules for Cleaning Out Your Wardrobe

It's an absolutely unbreakable rule for cleaning out your closet - you're supposed to take EVERYTHING out of your closet, pile it somewhere like on your bed, try EVERYTHING on, and then sort things into piles for things to keep, things to donate, and things to "work on".

I can picture that chez moi:

Open bottle of wine. Take all clothes out of closet and put them on the bed. Look at stacks of clothes and feel a terrible combination of shame, panic, and sense of being completely overwhelmed by the situation. Drink wine. Try on a few of my favorite garments, and put them back in my closet. Take another drink. Throw up my hands in despair and put things back where they were...

I'm sure that some of you have done this the proper way, and ... View the Post

Must every woman own a pair of Khakis? Customizing the Classics…

When you read those "10 wardrobe classics every woman MUST have", you'll often see a pair of khaki pants included as one of the ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED pieces of clothing...

What utter tripe - there is NO REQUIRED GARMENT for any woman's wardrobe.  (Yes, I firmly believe some women can live without a bra, and if you wear tights every day, then other undergarments might be optional too...)

That said, there is some logic to the idea of a pair of khakis are a core garment...

First, the specific definition of "khakis" is pretty loose to start with, and could include any of these sort of things:

But the general goal, in saying that you must own khakis, is really to make sure that you have a pair of washable, "dressier than jeans", ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe – Packing in grey, teal & claret

Claudia asked about a travel wardrobe in grey, with accents of teal and merlot.  What lovely colors to work with...  If this isn't exactly appropriate for the weather anticipated, shorter sleeves, and maybe capris could be substituted for some of the items here.  As always, I'm long on accessories, and layering possibilities...Enjoy!

 

The Travel Outfit

The Travel Capsule Wardrobe

A Few Outfits from the Travel Capsule Wardrobe

  ... View the Post

A capsule wardrobe of blue & grey, based on abalone shell jewelry

Someone brilliantly requested that I build them a wardrobe based on the colors of the abalone shell.  With the inspiration I got from looking at abaloneshelljewelry.com, I built the following:

Thanks so much for the FASCINATING request; I hope you like the results. 

Anybody interested in a custom wardrobe, just leave a comment (even an Anonymous comment!) with the particulars of what you'd like to see.  It could be based on a particular painting, or scarf, or just your favorite colors.  And for those of you with pending requests - I'm hard at work to find you the PERFECT items! ... View the Post