cool weather Archives

December 2020 Six Scarves, Twelve Months, Twelve Outfits

December 2, 2020

It's the end of the year - at least for this project! I will probably re-visit this to analyze these wardrobes when I've had a few days to digest them; if you have any specific requests for analysis please let me know!

Of course this has been an... unusual? year. Thus, I'm finishing off these wardrobes in a pretty "non-festive" way, since the majority of us have no business going to a party!

But we can still look good, and not waste clothing money, right?

Let's hop to it!

I think this first color scheme has been very successful. The neutrals are classic, the accent colors are pretty easy to find, and it all has worked out well. This year, our December additions are going to be (for the most part) warm, ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Echo Patchwork Painted Floral Silk Square

November 30, 2020 You Want Me to WHAT??? Yes, fly to Chicago for ONE meeting....

"If you go to the meeting on Wednesday, you can take the rest of the week off..."

Okay... She will go up to visit a friend with a lovely home along Lake Michigan, about an hour north of the city.

And since her employer is paying for her to check her luggage, it's going to be a pretty big suitcase!

She starts here:

Her favorite wardrobe colors are navy and white, so she chooses this color palette for her trip:

First, she pulls out her Common Wardrobe that she's been wearing this autumn. She includes her white jeans because (a) she loves them and (b) there will be days when she and her friend don't leave the house! Why not?

And ... View the Post

Can You Build a Wardrobe with Colors that Clash? Start with Art: Painterly Architectonic by Liubov Popova

November 27, 2020 She Really Loves This Painting...

And she has all of these colors in her closet! So she figures that she will pull together her "Garde-Robe du Mois" (wardrobe of the month) for the end of November and the start of December based on this...

First, she's trying to figure out how often she will wear things, based on the "How Many Pieces of Clothing Should I Own?" worksheet.

She starts with 31 days - a longer month, perhaps.

And then, because she never leaves her home these days, she knows that she only wants to wear 1 outfit per day.

She will probably evenly split between 2 and 3 garment outfits.

And finally, she plays around with the "How many times do you want to wear each piece during your time ... View the Post

Start with Art: Colored Rhythm: Study for the Film by Leopold Survage

November 18, 2020

a question first - does anybody else have ankles that get cold? I was out today, and saw many people appropriately bundled for winter, except they were wearing cropped pants with nothing covering their ankles... Shaking Up the Routine She still has to go to her office - she's often the only person there. But she sits by a window onto the street, and people often stop to read the real estate ads posted very near where she sits. So she feels that she has to dress nicely, even if she's alone!

In the normal world, she wears black and white, with accessories. She likes to mix patterns, and the austere discipline of her wardrobe pleases her.

But THIS year? It's time for some fun!

And this is what inspired her! ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – Golden Hour by Fierce Lynx Designs

November 16, 2020 Rumor Has It...

...that the elusive "they" are going to install broadband internet access up at The Cottages!

She's off to see if this is true, and more importantly, to take advantage of the cool weather to admire the sky. Away from the lights of the city, everything is different...

The days are so short now that she's awake for both sunrise AND sunset, and intends to take full advantage of those golden hours of the morning and late afternoon...

So off she goes!

Since she's going to be alone for these 3 days, she's going to be wearing a mix of night clothes and "normal" day wear. If there's anything fun in the night sky, she might find that her days and nights turn around...

It seems like a ... View the Post

Start with Art: Adding Accessories – Red Hills, Lake George by Georgia O’Keeffe

November 9, 2020

Remember this lovely work, and our heroine who was so uncertain about including both red and pink accents in her Garde-Robe du Mois?

Her final wardrobe was this lovely, uncommon but very practical assortment:

She's going to whittle down her "visible" accessories for the month too - put a few pieces of jewelry into nice storage bags and give them a vacation. Fold some of her scarves into a storage box... Put some of her shoes away on a shelf... A bit of simplifying for 30 days or so!

So she takes 10 outfits, makes sure she has the perfect accessories for each of them, and then tucks away her other treasures for a different month and a changed Garde-Robe du Mois...

editorial comment: I would ... View the Post

Start with Art: With My Back to the World by Agnes Martin

November 6, 2020 Calm...

She wants accents for her wardrobe this month to be calm, relaxed and gentle - like this:

Her core wardrobe is grey - she loves it. She looks good in it, she likes the way it looks in her closet, and it just feels like her!

But this year, she wants a little bit of gentle color! And so she starts with yellow, including a skirt that might not be a perfect fit in her wardrobe, but which she chooses NOT to resist...

Sometimes, you have to break out a little bit!

The next color isn't at all easy to find! It doesn't make it any easier when it's called all KINDS of names - mineral blue, light turquoise, silver blue, aqua...

But she persists and is delighted:

She originally thought ... View the Post

Can A Garde-Robe du Mois Include Red AND Pink? Start with Art: Red Hills, Lake George by Georgia O’Keeffe

November 4, 2020

She wants to be able to dress with a soothing softness. She ALSO wants to dress with invigorating brightness. And she wants to do this within the structure of a 21-piece Garde-Robe du Mois...

What a heroine to do?

Start with art, I suggest...

She looked at how beautiful these colors are together, and took heart!

Here accent color palette looks like this:

First, since she's not going outdoors much at all, she's going to wear ALL of her light-colored neutrals - no slush to splash on her pant legs if she's always at her desk at home!

When she starts to add things to her Common Wardrobe, she first of all craves a bit of pattern, and maybe 1 last pair of pants:

Then she turns with a warm ... View the Post

November 2020 Six Scarves, Twelve Months, Twelve Outfits

November 2, 2020

Oh my, THIS is massive...

Our heroines collectively looked over their growing wardrobes and realized that, if they continued to accumulate clothing 1 outfit at a time, their wardrobes would become more and more unbalanced.

So they went sweater shopping! And for some other tops too...

And some fun socks, because as cold weather sets in in the Northern Hemisphere, we will all be wearing socks frequently. Some of us see our toes only while in the shower for months on end...

This heroine went for 3 well-planned neutral choices, and then a wild-card floral shirt! Heavens yes...

It all fits in well:

And she already has new outfits planned:

This heroine has all kinds of choices right now! I ... View the Post

Start with Nature: Inside the Orion Nebula by Drudis and Goldman

October 28, 2020 Star-Gazing for a Living! There's an opening at the observatory complex, and it's her turn to spend a month working on her research...

The complex is a combination of labs, residential and dining areas, meeting rooms, and of course the telescope. There are laundry facilities, so she doesn't need to pack clothes for 30 days. Her wardrobe is built around the navy of the night sky, and this is her chosen accent inspiration:

She ses the colors this way:

She starts with the core of her cool-weather wardrobe - her "Common Wardrobe" of timeless, versatile pieces:

She hesitates.... for a good LONG while. But then she remembers that she's going to be up there with a bunch of scientists, who won't ... View the Post

Start with a Sweater: Boden Fair Isle Crewneck

October 23, 2020 I'm the ONLY Person Available?

She knows the answer... When the tech who works at the clinic finally took a few days off, there would have to be someone on-site in the data center, and there really isn't anyone else who knows how to repair things. ("Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?")

So she's going to suck it up and wear her new sweater! In fact, she's going to build her entire travel wardrobe around the colors of her sweater. Why not? She's going to either be in the data compound or quarantined in her room at the visitor's center...

She starts with 3 outfits that she knows she wants to take with her:

They've already seen snow, so she's wearing her serious boots for the ... View the Post

Start with Nature: Revisiting the Common Shelduck

October 21, 2020

She's been driving down to visit them at their lake house on a regular basis for a few years now... Her first trip was in the dead of winter; a bit of warmth and sitting outdoor was delightful!

After the pandemic started, she was down earlier in the summer to take advantage of their cooking frenzy...

Now, they're talking about having her come for the entire winter! Why not - it's not like she's having buckets of fun being in her apartment almost all day every day!

And she wouldn't mind seeing some birds...

"Come down for the weekend and we can discuss it; you can have the bedroom and bath that you had back in the summer, and you can work on the desk in your bedroom. We're upgrading the wifi..."

"If ... View the Post