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Analyzing 2 Wardrobes: Too Few Colors? Or Too Many?

Update on next year's scarf choices: I ordered an Aspinal of London scarf, to see how the quality is. That will be pretty key! I'm sort of thinking, right now, that I might work with a combination of brands. My goal is, as always, to do a wardrobe in each of 6 neutrals: black, navy, grey, beige/tan/camel, brown, and olive. I will keep you posted!

Next up, 2 wardrobe that are both quite good, but feel like they could benefit from better color choices. Or maybe not; it IS possible to over-analyze things to the point of being too critical, and finding flaws that don't exist. This isn't the most important thing in the world, we must remember!

First up, this color palette that worried me, but that is really quite beautiful!

I'm ... View the Post

How to Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet – December

Yes, I was going to start analyzing our 12-month Hermes scarf-based wardrobes today, but I thought it might be smarter if I got this GORGEOUS bracelet in front of you in time for upcoming gift-giving events. And remember, a nicely printed photograph of this bracelet (right-click on the image below, print it, roll it up and tie it with a piece of re-used ribbon), will be a lovely notice that this bracelet is on the way, if it doesn't arrive it time!

I'm going to tackle analyzing those wardrobes on Fridays. Should be educational - at least for me!

How lovely is THIS?

What great colors - warm and cool, neutral and accent...

She Wrote the Book Years Ago... Literally the first months out of college. It became, as the saying ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet – November

Always one of the best days of the month!

THAT Phone Call...

She knew when the phone rang that it wasn't great. But a couple of weeks taking care of a loved one isn't a curse either - it's a privilege, and she's going to treat it as such...

It's not a dressy thing, but she still wants to look nice; she isn't going to have to do any really difficult manual labor. A bit of cooking, a bit of laundry, a bit of keeping her dearest one entertained and comfortable...

As soon as she looked down at her watch, and her bracelet, she knew roughly what she was going to pack. Grey because it's easy and neutral, and lovely, pretty accent colors to brighten up the days.

She knows that if she starts with a good core of neutrals, ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Fan by Marie Laurencin, and Test-Driving a New Neutral

Her favorite neutral is navy, too. But her approach is a bit different from our last heroine!

She's just plain and simply a more dressy woman. It's her style...

Yes, she has a simple tee shirt, but her button-front is in silk, and instead of jeans, she plans to pack velvet pants... Still, because of her disciplined color palette, she has just as many outfit options as her more... vivid friends!

Her favorite painting dictated pink as an accent color. Nothing else is acceptable!

She already can see so many ways to wear her new additions... touring museums, sitting in a cafe, perhaps an opera or ballet?

She really, really, REALLY wanted to find that bluish-purple color that's on the left side of her painting. ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet – October

Oh, some diplomacy could be useful these days...

Someone Needs to Visit THAT Office... And she just knows that it's going to be her...

Nobody can really tell her what's going on there; all they seem to be able to say is that there's a problem...

Thus, she doesn't know if she's going to be in the production area, with all of the "creative" types, or stuck in the Executive Suite with the suit-y people...

So she's packing a variety of calm, relaxing neutrals...

And her travel capsule wardrobe accent color is going to be soft and approachable; she really needs to get these people to talk!

She wants to look nice, but not wear anything that really arouses strong opinions. She suspects that there are quite ... View the Post

What Does a Capsule Wardrobe Look Like? 3 Examples of Weekly Timeless Wardrobes

Many of you have been wondering what these wardrobes might look at in different colors - I've got some examples! And you were wondering about the weird round gizmo in the bottom left of the overall wardrobes images...

WELL... I'm envisioning these 4 colors (rust, light blue, pink and yellow) as the 4 symbol colors for the 4 seasons; rust = Autumn, light blue = Winter, pink = Spring, and yellow = Summer.

When I get the book about this written, these 4 colors will be used on each page to somehow signal what season is discussed on that page. I'm not entirely sure how this will work, but I have a vision...

So how would 13 garments look if they were chosen with this lovely painting in mind?

I'm thinking this little capsule ... View the Post

Finding Inspiration Anywhere! A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Grey with Bright Accents

You won't probably be surprised to hear that I look for color combinations and wardrobe palettes in just about EVERYTHING I see! So when we were in the hotel in Kilkenny, the carpet in the halls caught my attention; on a ground of shades of grey were scattered bright color squares...

I struggled to get any sort of a photograph of the carpet, and failed miserable. Just trust me that these were pretty much what the colors looked like...

After Wednesday's VERY black and white travel wardrobe, I thought that this would be an interesting experiment. I'm going to keep neutral 2nd layers and pants, and use the accents for the tops. And lots of fun accessories, of course!

So let's start by getting our heroine on the road, eh?

I ... View the Post

September 2019 – 12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

My favorite post of the month! Although I love everything I give you, I must admit...

For new readers, the thesis is this: in January I choose 6 Hermes scarves from the new season, and then, for a year, I add a new outfit each month to six gradually growing and developing wardrobes. It's fascinating to see how the wardrobes evolve...

Even though the weather is still quite warm (in the Northern Hemisphere, that is!), this is honestly the time to start getting your fall and winter outfits together. The selection is best now, both for styles and sizes. And having these outfits ready for that first cold day gives you both a sense of security AND something to anticipate! (it's good to have something wonderful to enjoy when the weather ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – The August Fierce Ambition bracelet from Fierce Lynx Designs

What rich, luscious colors; there's NOTHING Halloween-ish about this beauty!

"Can You Come For a Month?" She's wanted to volunteer for them for YEARS! Finally, their needs and her computer skills overlap perfectly! And she's taking a sabbatical from her real job to go there...

"You can stay in the dorm with the other volunteers; there's laundry there, and we manage to cobble together meals that we share..."

"There's very little storage here, so don't bring your entire wardrobe! If you're going to be in a public-facing position in the office, you need to look presentable, but nobody needs to bring a tuxedo nor a ballgown... But do be advised that the offices get pretty chilly after the beginning of ... View the Post

A Wardrobe with Multiple “Moods” or Accent Colors? Start with an Artist: Romaine Brooks

Wednesday, our heroine chose accessories and was quite well-prepared for a lengthy trip...

But now, she's really going to travel!

Just to recap, she built her initial travel wardrobe around this stark but captivating painting:

Her initial travel capsule wardrobe is quite complete...

She's made a very tidy start to a quite large travel (or seasonal?) wardrobe:

And her accessories are similarly well planned:

But now, she's going away for 13 weeks! A guest teaching post? A short course at a foreign school? Who could guess...

She knows that there are plenty of women who could travel forever wearing nothing but black and grey, but she's thinking that she wants to introduce some accent colors... Maybe ... View the Post

Start with Art: Ida Rubenstein by Romaine Brooks, or the Power of 5-Garment Clusters

She loves to travel alone....

She carries her own luggage, thank you! And she can lift her bag into the overhead bin, too. It's a point of personal satisfaction that she's strong enough to be self-sufficient... (it's an accomplishment to hold onto as long as possible, isn't it?)

In the course of planning what to pack, she grew to see that working in clusters of 5 garments would be easy to sort out in her head, and also gives her plenty of outfit possibilities! The right 5 garments can translate into 8 outfits...

It's not that she plans to travel forever, and must never EVER repeat an outfit; that's kind of silly...

But what if something is stranded at the laundry? What if the weather gets warmer (or cooler)? What if ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 5: Jeans or a Denim Bottom

I think it's about time we found something to wear below the waist, don't you think? For most of us, jeans or something similar seems the most logical place to start. When I was young, jeans were mostly for the young, and even up until about 5 years ago, when I traveled to Paris I seldom saw anybody over the age of 30 wearing jeans. But now? Jeans, in good condition - no holes, clean but not crispy pressed (no creases!) are seen on almost anybody...

As always, I have some thoughts about what to look for.... And as always, these are GUIDELINES, not hard-and fast rules. Nobody is entitled to tell you what to wear unless you're somewhere that requires a uniform. Otherwise, we're all on our own! (which makes building a wardrobe ... View the Post