denim Archives

Start with Art: Composition by Ernest Mancoba

January 18, 2023

She had always liked to wear ivory, bone, stone - those light, neutral colors.

And denim. ALWAYS denim...

So when she saw this:

She saw her color palette for the rest of the winter, right in front of her!

Although her favorite colors are lighter and brighter, she will include her black pants, at a minimum! Sometimes, you need dark pants...

To start, she pulls her 3 favorite outfits from her closet:

She realizes early on that she's not going to have a "Whatever's Clean" wardrobe - some of her clothes just aren't going to go together. That's fine, so long as the majority of her garments play nicely together and give her options...

An excellent pair of black pants are so ... View the Post

Start with Art: A Mother’s Love: The Polar Bear Family by Jason Carter

August 22, 2022

She loved his art the first minute she saw it! The clarity, simplicity, beautiful colors - all of it!

And she knew that this painting would be useful in helping her focus her ever-shrinking wardrobe:

She knows that the core of her wardrobe will be black, white and denim - this painting seems just right!

She start her autumn wardrobe planning with A Common Wardrobe. It's not called "common" because the clothes are cheap or run of the mill - it's called common because these are clothes that a LOT of people have in common!

That's a good thing - you can easily find them, they fit in easily when you're not sure what to wear, but best of all, the serve as a neutral background for whatever accents you wish to ... View the Post

April 2022 Start with a Bracelet: The Nourishing Lynx Bracelets

April 15, 2022

You know those organizations that always show up where there's a war or a natural disaster, and they feed (literally) millions of people? That kind of service doesn't just spring up out of the ground, you know...

There are people who figure out how to actually COOK those huge amounts of food, and make it palatable!

Our ENTIRELY IMAGINARY heroine is off to meet with a group of volunteers that are preparing to travel to one of the current locations where food is needed...

She has accumulated lots of useful information - how to use what's available, no matter how unusual it might be. How to season vast pots of soup and stew so that it's tasty, but not overwhelming for people who haven't had enough food ... View the Post

A Personal Uniform Inspired by Art: Resting by Paul Klee

March 28, 2022

It's been her favorite painting for a long time; she never thought of it as anything more than just calm beauty...

She uses the painting as the "wallpaper" on her laptop - she loves catching a glimpse of it during her work day!

Then, one day, she realized that she was wearing something quite a bit like "her" painting - at least the colors were VERY similar:

Suddenly, everything looked different! She began to image what she might wear to that event coming up very soon...

She has been thinking for ages about HOW to dress up her denim dress just a little bit - suddenly it was obvious:

As the weather began to warm up, and she started to look for a couple of new outfits, she kept her new ... View the Post

What is a “Temporary Wardrobe”? And How Might One Assemble Such a Thing?

March 23, 2022

Two emails, asking the same question from 2 opposite points of view:

"I'm going to have chemotherapy, and I'm going to probably lose enough weight to be 2 sizes smaller than normal. I expect to gain all of the weight back... What to wear?" "I'm starting a new medicine that I will have to take for 3 months; I will gain about 30 pounds during that time. I will lose all of the weight when the therapy is done... What to wear?"

Thus, I'm trying to devise a plan for all among us who might need a "Temporary Wardrobe."

This isn't just for those of us being whipped around by the whims of medicine; imagine living in Singapore and being sent to Ireland for 6 weeks to work! Or vice versa...

Of course, you could manage ... View the Post

September 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Cozy Lynx Bracelets

September 24, 2021

Finally.... She's going to go up to the cabin, and she's NOT LEAVING until the fireplace works properly...

She's saved money through the pandemic for just such a project, and it occurred to her (in the middle of the night, as such things will) that this would be the best investment she could make.

Winter in the cabin. Without frostbite. Without frozen water in the mornings.... sigh....

She knows that she will need warm clothes for this trip - there won't be any heat at first, and the people working on the fireplace will be in and out.

Her first thought is to pack her usual denim and shades of grey; then she looks at her favorite bracelets, and tweaks her palette just a bit!

She picks out her ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #5 – Denim Capri or Cropped Pants

April 12, 2021

Before we go anywhere, I MUST tell you about Red Thread... They make just a handful of garments - mostly black pants. But they make them BASED ON YOUR BODY... no sizes!

When you start an order with them, they send you a link that guides your phone through the process of taking 2 photographs of you - pull on your swimsuit, or leggings and your swim top (that's what I did...) and the phone tells you what to do. It's sort of weird, but fun!

And in 2 weeks or so, you have a pair of pants that fit amazingly well. I ordered the ankle pants, which are styled a lot like ski pants - they have stitched creases in the front and back, and deep pockets of sturdy fabric, with zippers on the pockets. The fabric is ponte knit - one ... View the Post

Start with Art: Man in a Café by Juan Gris

January 13, 2021

She was looking for a foolproof color palette; one day, she ran into this gentleman:

She is thrilled - she can see black, white, shades of grey, camel, khaki, brown, and denim blue. These colors ALL go together...

She starts small, with packing for a long weekend. She knows that her denim shirt is perfect under a black sweater and cords...

Now, how can this be foolproof?

v-neck sweaters are perfect over button-front shirts, OR on their own; button front shirts are easy 1st layers or they can be worn without something over them. Now that she has found Petite sizes that have short enough sleeves, and ample enough torsos, she's all set! and black bottoms and shoes...

So this is what she ... View the Post

Start with Art: Soir de Neige a Terajima by Kawase Hasui

December 30, 2020 A Snow Sabbatical She adores snow...

She likes the clarity and simplicity of a landscape with snow! And so when she was planning her wardrobe for a quick weekend away, she decided to stick with clear, wintery colors:

She will be walking about town quite a bit, but she doesn't expect the weather to be bitter cold. And frankly, she's not concerned - she's one of those people who just does NOT get cold...

It'a gift!

In an ideal world, her sleeveless dress might be a heavier ponte knit, or maybe even wool. But she has her snowflakes with her, and her warm jammies, and slippers that she would cheerfully wear out on the street to breakfast...

She just wants a day or 2 to be away from the usual. ... View the Post

Strategically Expanding a Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – Blue Major Elle by Marijah Bac Cam

July 22, 2020

Well THAT went well... Yesterday, our heroine was caught off guard when she realized that she needed to pack and leave for the weekend in 5 minutes!

She managed, using this painting as her color inspiration; she felt that the swirling and diffusion in this painting accurately represented the state of her brain:

The photographer and crew from the famous food magazine LOVED her sister-in-law's B&B. They loved it SO MUCH that they're going to come back in a few days, and film a half-hour video about them for their You Tube channel.

Panic ensues. And our heroine and her partner and enlisted to come stay at the B&B for... well, for the foreseeable future!

They're both leaving everything that they packed ... View the Post

Start with Art: Portrait de Greta Prozor by Henri Matisse

April 23, 2020

She's been sitting for a REALLY long time...

She's taking her favorite painting, distilling it down to the essential colors, and then PACKING!

Black, denim, olive, and BRIGHT golden yellow! She doesn't want to work very hard getting dressed, but she's okay with people noticing her...

It's just for a long weekend... She's going to plan outfits for each day, although she won't necessarily wear every outfit. She just doesn't want to have to work; she's done quite enough work, spending so much time indoors...

Her travel wardrobe is dark, and a bit intense. That's just exactly what she wants - no worry about spilling things, no worry about putting together outfits "on the fly," and no having to shop ... View the Post

Revisiting A Start with Art: Winter Scene in Moonlight by Henry Farrer

February 14, 2020

A couple of my friends have asked me to revisit this color palette for spring and early summer - that transition time of year! It's not quite right for this snowy day in Chicago, but it's a beautiful daydream...

We first saw this heroine when she went on vacation at the farmhouse, in the dead of winter! Her wardrobe was then expanded into a true 16-piece "Four by Four" wardrobe. And THEN, our heroine added on some essential accessories to make this a more complete winter wardrobe...

Now, the weather is warming up at the farm - the tenant farming the land told her that she was seeing crocus and some daffodil sprouts! She's got to go up and investigate.

This is the painting that inspires her color ... View the Post