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Start with Art: Sport Coat by Pierre Mourgue

May 26, 2023

Okay, this is NOT at all in season, but I couldn't resist! I suspect that we will take a look at more of this artist - I'm quite smitten... Family, and Sport

Once upon a time, when a woman was attending a sporting event in the autumn, she would dress like the women in this lovely painting. Now, our heroine is using her colors, and her calm confidence, as her inspiration!

From time to time, one will be invited to see a family member do something sporty - a niece or nephew who plays football, or American football. Or any other number of sports - there are a lot of possibilities!

Our heroine wants to appear calm, relaxed and pretty. Not such bad goals, eh?

She can absolutely bet her entire retirement ... View the Post

Accent Colors to Wear With Gray – Pantone New York Autumn/Winter 2023

March 6, 2023

Grey for warm weather is hard to find! Later on, I might be able to find gray linen without a lot of trouble, but right now we have to think of grey as something we will wear on cool spring days...

All I'm doing here is showing all 10 of the Pantone Colors for Autumn/Winter 2023, as chosen from the New York Fashion Week shows... (which means that there will be ANOTHER bunch of colors for London, and probably ANOTHER bunch for Autumn/Winter, without any fashion show connection!)

I'm eager to hear from you all about which of these color combinations you like, and which you ... View the Post

WOW Wardrobe Of the Week – February 5 – 11, 2023

February 13, 2023

This week, I wore the same grey yak wool sweater every day - even on the day when I didn't put on "real" clothes! I pulled my sweater on over my pajamas and wore it rather than my robe, which felt too cumbersome...

I have to share with you the fabric shaver that I've found that doesn't get all tangled and stalled every 5 minutes - it's rechargeable with a UBS cord, and it's VERY reliable...

love,

Janice ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Two Geese in the Snow by Komori Soseki

January 25, 2023

Plenty of Firewood... She agreed to go up to the cabin for the weekend, with the understanding that (1) they would stop at the deli on the way out of town and get enough food, (2) there is enough firewood up there for at least 5 days, and (3) there are NO chores for her to handle!

Oh yes, and there are birds about...

In all fairness, she has 2 books she really NEEDS to finish in the next few days (for work!), so it's not all just hanging about reading gossip magazines...

She will, of course, walk outdoors from time to time, to catch some sun (if it's out!), visit with any animals that are about, and take a break from her work.

In addition to using a favorite painting as her inspiration, ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Gabriella by Elizabetta

December 30, 2022

Happy Birthday, you down in Georgia!!!

You Have to Choose...

She's a judge. She has to pick. Every time.

Now that she's packing for a few winter days away, she will NOT choose between warm and cool colors. She doesn't want to, and she doesn't feel that she needs to either!

She's heard it all - "it's not right to wear gold with grey," "Olive is only for women with a certain coloring," "shades of green can't really be worn together - especially cool greens and warm greens."

Humbug, she says.

It might not always be easy to find the right things.

It might not always look like what others are wearing.

It might draw a 2nd look.

She loves the subtlety and nuance of these colors ... View the Post

Start with Art: Le Grand Bois by Auguste Morisot

November 18, 2022

This is where she's going, more or less...

1/4 Mile off the blacktop road... You know when these are the directions, you're going to be off the beaten track!

And that's what she needs - she has writers' block...

Normally, she would go sit in a café and people-watch, but this time she's going to look inside for inspiration, rather than outside.

She's only going for a couple of days. She's got enough coffee and food for breakfast, and maybe lunch. She WILL go into town for dinner...

But she will have no internet connection. No Wi-Fi, no streaming video, no texting... the cabin has a landline, and a television that gets 3 network channels.

Quiet, dark, and trees...

She's a ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – Ethereal Lynx Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

October 28, 2022

She's Hard to Describe... For one thing, she's the only woman a lot of them know who can wear a ruana and look like a heroine from a romance novel...

She thinks that she's very low-key and inconspicuous - after all, she wears a lot of grey!

Her accent colors aren't bright, or gaudy...

But still, there's something about her that catches your eye, and doesn't readily let go...

If someone is truly beautiful, the world will see it...

Even if their beauty is entirely inside. Or maybe, ESPECIALLY if their beauty is internal...

love,

Janice

p.s. Nine years ago, I sorted out the "Triple Top Secret." It was something that I'd been doing for years without really seeing the ... View the Post

Start with Art: Version 2 Man in a Café by Juan Gris

October 21, 2022

Our heroine from Wednesday is back on the road, with a rather different color palette!

This trip is going to be both more casual AND more dressy - so our heroine is including both jeans and sequins!

note that she's packing exactly the same number of everything...

There's that one dinner (concert, opera?) that gives her permission to break out the really dressy top...

She loves the way this looks - it's just like her last travel capsule wardrobe, but it's NOTHING like it, at the same time. It's kind of magic...

She has lots of ways to wear these pieces too - it's built into her system:

Imagine what she could do if she packed BOTH of these for a trip!

do you think that this is a ... View the Post

Part 3 October 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

October 7, 2022

I've been thinking... This year's wardrobes are lovely, but I'm finding that a lot of them share the same accent colors - green and various shades of orchid or pink...

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

But what if we base next year's 6 wardrobes on SIX PAINTINGS that we've visited before. JUST the paintings and the color palettes - not the original story lines...

That way, before we start getting too far into the wardrobes, we will know what our best accent colors are going to be! I will propose six that I particularly like in the next few days, so we can get an idea of how this might work.

But for now - let's look at the Chrysanthemum scarf!

At this point, the orchid color in this wardrobe has ... View the Post

Start With Art: Winter Solstice by Dame Barbara Hepworth

August 24, 2022

It seems a bit premature to be looking at art entitled Winter Solstice, but our heroine loves pastels!

She doesn't much care what anybody else wears - she's not interested in dark colors! She feels beautiful in pink, and lovely in sky blue...

The core of her wardrobe for cooler weather is gray, with a bit of denim and chambray tossed in for practicality:

please note - everybody's "Common Wardrobe" will be different - what I'm looking for are the core, neutral garments that form the base for the more expressive and statement garments and accessories in our wardrobes.

On those days, our heroine knows that she doesn't have to look any farther than these 9 pieces to get her dressed and out the ... View the Post

Starting with a Black Column (or a Grey Column!)

July 13, 2022 Self-Esteem She's among the many who have to be back in their office - 10 days a month... (who's going to be counting these days, eh?)

She has completely changed clothing sizes during the pandemic, and she's changed her attitude toward work. Since she's been saving her clothing budget since spring of 2020, she's going to be a little bit extravagant (okay, really extravagant!) and make a personal statement of confidence when she gets dressed!

So she's already reserved the best office available (the entire place is now running on a "hotel desk" system...), and she's going to start looking and acting like she should be in charge...

She's starting with 2 simple pieces of black clothing that are VERY comfortable. ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Red Maple at Lake George by Georgia O’Keeffe

July 11, 2022

The Best Laid Plans... She was planning to spend the autumn photographing leaves, and hiking, and enjoying the brisk air...

But instead, she's going to be touring with a political candidate whom she supports. It's a long story!

She doesn't want to pack much; she frankly doesn't want to think about clothing at all once she closes her suitcase. She's going to have quite enough on her mind!

So she's thinking that she will have room to pack 10 garments in her medium suitcase... Maybe a "Whatever's Clean 13" Wardrobe is what she needs, eh?

Realistically, she might be able to stop at home from time to time, but she wants to be as self-sufficient as possible when they're driving from small town to ... View the Post