navy Archives

Start with a Scarf: Lion and Peacock Scarf by Aspinal of London, in navy and camel

She Decided to Branch Out...

She's worn navy with pastels for decades... And she's now ready for an update!

She's always felt drawn to camel. The richness, the warmth, and elegance. And she's been told repeatedly that it was a color that she could happily wear. But she starts small... something below the waist!

Success! But the real camel item that has always caught her eye is a lovely cardigan...

Now she's feeling positively emboldened! She looks closely and her scarf and sees a beautiful shade of blue; would a matching sweater and flats be wrong?

But she's not going to rely entirely new purchases - when she look in her closet, she realizes that her aqua sweater would be perfect with her new ... 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

Start with Art: The Sunshade by William John Leech, and Working with Accent Colors

She loves this painting...

And so she decides that when she goes on vacation this autumn, she will use this painting as the inspiration for her accent colors! Her core wardrobe is navy and white...

She knows that she could travel with just these pieces and do just fine; she might want a couple more shirts (although she remembers that she could certainly wear her crewneck sweater without something underneath it, for more options...)

But she sticks to her heart, and starts to search for green. She decides that she doesn't needs to wear her green tops together, which gives her quite a bit more freedom than if she were going to try to get 2 matching garments! (2 green pieces at once feels, to her, like a bit much...)

And ... 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

September Start with a Bracelet

Oooh....

Who needs lots of colors, when you have THESE????

The Manuscript Will be Available... For just a few days... She's going to be there lecturing for a week; it could NOT have been better timing!

She plans what she will pack - she knows that once she's there, she won't want to think about clothes, so she's making it pretty much foolproof.

Days in the Manuscript Conservation Room will be casual, completely with white gloves! And the lectures will be a little bit more dressy; she's quite certain that some professors there will sit in...

Since navy is her neutral, she knows that she wants to start here:

Since she's finally going to unlock the secrets hidden in that most elusive document, she realizes ... 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

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 10: Neutral Print or Patterned Top

I'm in Pittsburgh... I'd be a true ingrate if I didn't give a hearty shout-out to the lovely people at Crazy Mocha who let me sit in their store while I finished this post. If you see a Crazy Mocha location, patronize them!

What differentiates this top from the one you added to your wardrobe last Monday is the degree of print. I see this top as being something that makes a little bit more of a statement - a more visible stripe, or a more pronounced floral. You could stick with something subtle, if that's what you like!

This first top would be lovely for someone who wears jeans frequently...

There aren't a ton of guidelines for this purchase: stay in your color palette and your chosen silhouettes and you should be ... View the Post

Revisiting Edith and the Kingpin by Jack Vettriano

Remember Edith? She originally went to the resort after she had been ill, and then was invited back to interview for a hostess position...

Burning with Curiosity... He's there every day, at lunch. At the same table. He recognized her immediately, and gave her that cryptic half-smile that curls her toes...

She's frankly thrilled that she's wearing such an elegant uniform. They actually did alterations on her dress before she started working! Imagine...

After her interview, they decided to hire her immediately. They took her to the room that would be hers, on 2nd floor of the back wing of the hotel, where the staff lived. Women are on the 2nd floor, and men on the 3rd...

She was able to leave the clothing that she had taken ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 2: A Dark Neutral Top

Ready for another week? This week, we're going to the darkest logical version of last week's top...

As always, (I don't think I can emphasize this enough!) this is a guideline, not a carved in stone life rule. If you don't wear dark colors, or you don't wear tee shirts, or you don't wear long sleeves, this will NOT apply to you exactly like this. You can choose a substitute, or skip this week entirely.

And this does NOT mean that you have to go buy something! This could be as easy as checking your closet for the appropriate garment and making sure that it's clean and in good repair before the cooler weather arrives. (right now, it seems as if it will never come again...)

If both of your neutrals are relatively dark, this is ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: 10 Ways to Wear a Floral Skirt

A language digression: to me, something that is floral is MADE of flowers - a floral arrangement, a floral offering etc. Something printed with flowers is "flowered."

But NOT when you're searching through the world of garments and accessories.... If you want something with flowers, search for "floral."

I must be confused...

The first (and so far one of the only) really lovely early summer days here in Chicago brought out the floral skirts in abundance; I got so many ideas! So I picked a bright, unusual example:

I've been assured that the dark color here is navy; if it's black, nothing really changes here except navy garments and accessories could be swapped for black. I get really irked by the poor information available ... View the Post

Start with Art: Tribute to Franz Marc – Foxes by Becky Kelley

I have to confess - I can't confirm where I've seen this painting, or where I got this image, or if this is the real title and artist. I've tried searching online and come up empty-handed. Maybe it's just me? She's Not Really Comfortable... She spends most of her time with artists. She's an artist agent, and she represents some amazing people! And when she's with them, it's all very casual - never business attire, seldom dressy...

But one of her clients is going to have a show at a small, but very important museum, and she has to go make certain that all of the details are just right! So she's settling on a tidy, but quite vibrant, color palette...

She frankly doesn't own much that qualifies as business attire, but she ... View the Post

Spring Travel: Pilgrim of the Absolute by Brian Fahlstrom

She's Very Excited... Her company is organizing a pilgrimage from Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel! She's never been there... She's arranged for pilgrimages from Paris to Chartres, but this is new! (in an ancient kind of way!)

She's going to drive up from Paris, along the route the pilgrims will walk. She will stop to walk small segments of the route, to make sure that there aren't unexpected construction issues, or other blockages that will be a problem... And she needs to pack with a plan; her rental car is tiny!

Our heroine starts with her inspiration painting and color palette:

The weather will be warm when she lands in Paris, but she knows that she would be insane to fly without a cardigan or other warm layer; airplanes can ... View the Post