ivory Archives - Page 5 of 8

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch, First Steps

November 7, 2016

Another step by step, starting from scratch Capsule Wardrobe exercise! This week, I'm tackling olive and beige as the neutrals, with teal, rust and ivory as the accent colors. Our primary emphasis is going to be on the "very casual, lots of jeans and corduroy" sort of style. Many of you have told me that you have very little need for dressy clothes in your wardrobe, so let's see what can be done with that in mind.

And fear not, when I do this in December, it's going to be conservative-office dressy!

First up, let's visualize the colors:

Since these colors are definitely pretty warm, with the exception of the teal, my current plan is to use warm deep brown leather goods, and gold jewelry. Our heroine's style is ... View the Post

Tote Bag Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Olive, Denim and Ivory

October 25, 2016

This just feels like cozy autumn clothes, doesn't it?

The primary neutral in this capsule wardrobe could easily be denim blue, and you could include accents of red or yellow, too...

She Owns ONE Dress... And ever month or so, in the cooler weather, she puts it in her messenger bag, and she goes downtown for the night, with her sweetheart... Sometimes she feels like she should get something different, but...

He loves olive green. He loves the dress. He loves these special evenings when they go to the theater, or just dinner...

But he loves her, most of all...

love, Janice

... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Spirit of Autumn by Albert Pinkham Ryder

September 8, 2016

Thanks for suggesting this painting to me! I love the art ideas I receive from you...

Class Reunion/Homecoming

"She was always so GLAMOROUS - I was afraid to even speak to her..."

"Well, I know that she got a veterinary degree; she probably takes care of little teacup designer dogs for movie stars..."

"She's about the size of a teacup - that would be a perfect job for her!"

Actually, she's working with her partner on a big ranch in the mountains of the western United States; glamorous, it is not...

love, Janice

... View the Post

A Capsule Wardrobe in Navy, Hot Pink and Ivory: Expanding Your Accessories

August 9, 2016

When we last saw this travel capsule wardrobe, it had some accessories - probably enough for a short period of time:

It would be great if I can figure out an Accessory Template, but right now I'm still pondering how that's going to work; it might take me a few weeks, or months!But I was thinking about the role of accessories in our lives, and I was able to conclude that there are realistically very few that you actually NEED; most of them are for fun.

Of course, if you live in a warm climate, you're not going to need gloves, nor a hat:

That said, we're still going to add a BUNCH of accessories to this wardrobe! When I was scanning this one, the first thing that really jumped out at me was that ... View the Post

A Capsule Wardrobe in Navy, Hot Pink and Ivory: from Travel Wardrobe to Four by Four Wardrobe

August 5, 2016 Yesterday's capsule wardrobe really felt like it would be interesting to expand, didn't it? So let's plunge in and see what we can learn from the process!

This is the entire travel capsule wardrobe - the travel outfit and the Six-Pack:

cardigan – Yumi; tees – Lands’ End; watch – Bulova; bracelet – Panacea; earrings – Marc Jacobs; ring – Maiko Nagayama; earrings – Kate Spade; necklace – Alexis Bittar; Nail polish – JINsoon; lip stain – Yves Saint Laurent, in Explicit Pink; wrap – Nordstrom; linen shirt – Uniqlo; square scarf – Irene Paris; small scarf – T.M.Lewin; cardigan – Vince; jeans – Armani Jeans; cords – Marni; skirt – Uniqlo; tote – London ... View the Post

Packing Light – a Six-Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Navy, Hot Pink and Ivory

August 4, 2020

A reader has fallen in love with the scarf below, on the left, and was wondering how it could be used as the basis for a travel capsule wardrobe. I love these colors:

In a World of Chaos...

She likes straight lines. Corners. She's actually unnaturally fond of squares. Which is fine, since she's an architect...

For the longest time, she thought that the only way to indulge her fondness for regular shapes was through her work. She knew her color scheme perfectly: the navy, ivory and light blue of the suits and shirts of her male co-workers, paired with her favorite lip and nail color. But gradually, she saw squares and lines make their way into her wardrobe:

She loved the way it all came ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories 1 at a Time: Black, Ivory and Russet Business Wardrobe

May 11, 2016

This capsule wardrobe looks so much more interesting with just a few simple additions!

Remember, we started with this gorgeous jacket, and I put a simple black column of clothing under it. So shoes will be an essential first step:

Tee – Lands’ End; pants – L.L.Bean; jacket – Babette; top shoes – Robert Clergerie; middle shoes – Frye; bottom shoes – Kate Spade Since the jacket pattern is so striking, I thought that a simple, solid scarf would be a good choice: Shell – J. Crew; pants – L.L.Bean; jacket – Babette; top scarf – Jimmy Choo; middle scarf – Gucci; bottom scarf – Nordstrom

And I can never go too long without earrings; to me, they give a touch of shine and a feeling of polish ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 by Georgia O’Keeffe Part 3

March 26, 2016 Remember our friend in the cabin? She's made a bold decision...

WWSM (Widowed Woman Seeking Man) for sporting events, opera, symphony, dining, and whatever else we want to do... (she thought about specifying an age range for respondents, but she really doesn't care if her new friend is just out of college...)

Must be a man who appreciates simple pleasures, and is unimpressed by logos, bling, and obvious displays of wealth or debt. (if they're hanging around with her thinking that they'll get written into her will, they've got another thing coming!)

I will buy tickets if you do the driving! (maybe this will give them a hint that she remembers when Nixon resigned...)

If ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 by Georgia O’Keeffe Part 2

March 25, 2016

When we left our heroine, she was unpacking her things in her new cabin...Remember, her original wardrobe inspiration was this:

After a few weeks of settling in, she had met new friends and discovered a new routine of activities, interspersed with delightful leisure... And she realized that her love of wearing jeans was a reflection of her need for relaxation, which was now being fulfilled! So she decided to invest in a few new ensembles, to give herself a few more wardrobe options.

Her new home was a perfect combination of urban and rural: street lights on poles in the front, fireflies among trees in the back; city water in the front, a natural spring (far) in the back; mail delivery in the front, owls ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories: Navy, Beige, Turquoise and Yellow, 1 at a Time

March 14, 2016 Maybe it's the unseasonably warm weather here in Chicago, but this wardrobe felt very summery to me...

We always have to start out with a couple of basic, essential accessories...

I thought that I'd introduce some pearls here - to pick up on the pearl/off-white color of the cardigan. I like to tie outfits together through these small, but powerful, little color "echoes."

Theoretically, this particular outfit would be better balanced with dark shoes, but I'm assuming that you're going to carry a dark bag, which will serve the same purpose. Let's not go completely nuts trying to do everything perfectly!

If you're an avowed "watch avoider," you ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Madame Paul Escudier by John Singer Sargent

March 5, 2016

This arresting painting lives just down the street from me - I go visit it frequently!

These colors are luscious:

Your Biggest Client Called... And you're pretty fortunate that they complained about the service they were receiving, rather than just pulling the plug on your contract! But you're headed to the service center for a couple of days of... encouragement....

The keywords are calmness and quality.

You have to be careful not to be too much the "Home Office Person" because that will just alienate everyone. But you do want to show them, through every gesture, and every word, that you insist on the best possible work they can do, in a way that's not frantic in any way.

The ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Nature: Male and Female Cardinals, in Warm AND Cool Colors

February 24, 2016

So I'm going to start alternating "1 Piece at a Time" Wardrobes with other fun things, so that we don't collectively burn out on the concept before I've addressed ALL of your color scheme requests. I am absolutely going to look at accessories for these wardrobes - those might be some of the "interspersed" posts. As much as I have an endless attention span for a single subject, I understand that a bit of variety keeps things fresh for us all.Someone suggested that the male cardinal wardrobe (here) and the female cardinal wardrobe (here) might be combined. I'm ALL OVER that idea!

Do these two look like they get along?

I've often thought that it's possible to build a wardrobe with 4 or 5 neutral colors and just 1 ... View the Post