Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
January 21, 2015 Today, I've found some olive items - not the easiest of projects! But as elusive as olive is, it's well worth the effort because nothing looks quite as subtle, warm yet relaxed as olive. I put together six outfits - three for warmer weather, and three for cooler temperatures. From there, a few accessories are all that's needed...
love, Janice ... View the Post
January 20, 2015 A handful (plus one) of navy garments can give you nine different combinations. Once you toss in three different "accessory families", you have a world of options. With a tee shirt or two thrown in, wouldn't this be a blissfully easy way to pack?
love, Janice ... View the Post
January 19, 2015 To show how very versatile these "accessory families" can be, I chose six beige garments for today. From these six pieces I put together six outfits. Then I picked three of the families from last week, and show each of those against the beige outfits.
Some of the families that had a really strong silver or "cool" cast to them didn't dance terribly nicely with the beige, but these warmer accessories just look wonderful with the simplicity of the classic garments.
So many possibilities...
love,
Janice ... View the Post
January 17, 2015 She works in the city, but her heart holds a special place for all the things of nature...
Next week, I'm going to use a variety of neutral colors (navy, brown, beige, olive - what others would you like?) with accessories that I have already shown last week or this week. I'm not doing this to be lazy, but rather to show the great versatility that a happy family of accessories can have when paired with the enormous flexibility of a core of neutral clothes. love, Janice ... View the Post
January 16, 2015 She likes things clean, clear and uncomplicated: white sheets, white towels, white tableware. She mixes white with grey and silver to keep things simple and straightforward. The clarity of her heart and her mind shines out of her eyes, and is apparent when she gets dressed!
love,
Janice ... View the Post
January 15, 2015 Yes, her accessories are pink. She's the boss. She likes pink, and flowers. If she can reconcile those facts, you can too. It's 2015, and bosses wear pink...
One of the fun things about these accessories is that they combine very reasonably priced costume jewelry with absolutely ASTONISHINGLY expensive pieces. Everything doesn't have to be in the same price range, so long as it shares a style theme that resonates with your deepest preferences and loves.
love,
Janice ... View the Post
January 14, 201 Her eyes are brown. Her hair is grey. She figures that if nature can combine warm and cool colors, so can she!
(beautiful, lustrous brown shoes would not go amiss here...)
love, Janice ... View the Post
January 13, 2015 Monochromatic dressing seems to be an idea that meets a lot of resistance, and I'm not sure why; it's the easiest way to dress, and it can look very elegant and sleek. I think the key to keeping monochromatic outfits from looking drab is to incorporate texture or pattern into the mix to give a little bit of visual interest. With accessories this cool, no outfit is going to look dull! This woman has grey hair, silvery eyes, a cutting wit, and a very busy agenda - if you make the mistake of thinking of her as "senior citizen", it will be a mistake you only make once!
love, Janice ... View the Post
January 12, 2015
Unlike last week's All-Black wardrobe, I don't know that an All-Grey ensemble is required at any place of work. So I'm thinking of this grouping as a version of the "what to wear when you don't want to get dressed" post that I did here. My suggestion was to have a core of six matching garments (which would give you at least a handful of outfit possibilities) and also to have a core of accessories that you could reach for - almost without thinking - that would pull everything together, and keep the world from realizing that you dressed yourself with your eyes (almost) closed!So my friend who wears this ensemble, and these accessories, has blonde/grey hair, gentle blue eyes, and a way about her that attracts ... View the Post
December 31, 2014
While I was away for the winter holidays, I received two requests from women who are required to wear "All-Black" for their work, asking about ways to accessorize their limited palette. (if you're not a rugby fan, please be aware that the All Blacks are the New Zealand national rugby team, and the current world champions. If you enjoy looking at handsome, fit young men, I encourage you to look them up!)
This is a really interesting question for me because my capsule wardrobe migrates more and more each month toward unrelieved black. Also, I know a few women here in Chicago who have this same work wardrobe requirement; a surprising number of different organizations ask their "front of house" staff to dress in this ... View the Post
December 20, 2014 One last look at this idea - substituting green for the burgundy with which this travel capsule wardrobe was originally presented. Other colors that would work well with camel would include rust, coral, peach, other shades of green, pretty much a whole bunch of shades of blue... lots of choices!
I think by now we've all figured out that these four garments would get you through 3 or 4 days pretty easily...
love,
Janice Looking back:2013: From Desk to Dinner Party: Incorporating a Gem Tone into Neutrals 2012: Two sides of the whole "color" system question ... View the Post
December 19, 2014 Yesterday, there were a couple of concerns/questions about what to do if you don't look good in camel. How about navy? (grey would also be fabulous, as would taupe...)
Of course, still lots of possible ways to wear these few simple basics!
love,
Janice ... View the Post
