pastels Archives

Build a Warm Weather Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Drei Häuser By Paul Klee

March 27, 2023

I love this one...

Were I to ever find myself in a situation where I was going to wear a lot of beige (it could happen!), these would be my favorite accent colors:

As is true with all 4 of our "beige" heroines, we are starting with 8 garments...

Our heroine was VERY patient in finding her accents; patience is probably the most important quality to bring to any shopping!

But it was worth it - her selections are varied, and lovely!

She takes a close look at her 4 by 4 Wardrobe Template, just to make sure that she didn't lose her discipline at some stage!

I suspect all of us have some rogues in their closet, eh?

She then arranges all of her clothes in a more natural way to view ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet: Winter’s Dawn by Fierce Lynx Designs

January 16, 2023 It was a beautiful sunrise...

The colors that they saw were subtle but stunning...

They turned to each other and agreed that if they saw ONE MORE sunrise over snow, they were going to lose their minds.

They don't want to go to the beach, just someplace where it's warm enough not to wear boots and a parka!

It's a romantic long weekend - a bit early for Valentine's Day, but they are NOT people to be bound by that kind of thing!

Museums, some shopping, some nice but not posh dining. Maybe a movie...

Mostly, just time together. A chance to see their ankles on a regular basis. No hats!

Are you ready for a break from winter?

I - personally - would LOVE to see some real ... View the Post

Part 3 September 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

September 9, 2022

Let's get back to these last 2 scarves - I'm quite chuffed about the pretty things that I've found...

This heroine has a LOT of navy in her wardrobe; maybe we should look for something lighter to serve as a neutral for her...

yes, one of these scarves is so expensive it might give you chest pains... but it's lovely, and even a cat may look at a king!

These new clothes blend into her wardrobe perfectly, but the overall feeling of things is (of course) a bit lighter and softer:

Her accessories are lovely; her scarf drawer is enviable!

All of her new purchases bring options to her each morning - she has a wonderful new way to get dressed up with her ivory skirt and pumps!

Last, this ... View the Post

Start with 2 Scarves: The Corgi scarves by PJ Studio Accessories

June 13, 2022 It's Really a Summer-Long Celebration, Right? She couldn't make it to London last week... costs were through the roof, and she had too many conflicts to try to rearrange...

She keeps her feelings about royalty to herself, except for the love of Corgis that she shares with the Queen...

Now, she realizes that she's going to be in London every 2 or 3 weeks - just for a night or 2 - until at least the end of summer. Probably through November...

So she's going to wear navy, and Corgis!

She will barely have to work - she needs to literally drop off documents at the branch office, and then pick up the revisions the next day! Otherwise, she's on her own...

Museums? Galleries? DINNER??? Heck ... View the Post

Start with a Detail – The Water, Monaco by William John Leech

April 29, 2022

She wasn't sure that she loved the painting, but she saw something in it that REALLY spoke to her...

She's Always Been a Towhead She violated all of those pieces of advice about looking at art, and she got up REALLY CLOSE to the painting...

THIS is what she saw, that called to her:

Her hair was turning from blond white to just plain (amazing!) white. She avoided the sun, as all wise women do. And she embraced the soft, the pale, the subtle muted colors that suited her so well...

if I didn't already have a white summer cardigan...

Beige is the core of her wardrobe - winter, summer, no matter! And light grey wool, in the cool weather...

She's excited to add some light green to her wardrobe! ... View the Post

Revising a Wardrobe Plan: Start with Art – The Water, Monaco by William John Leech

April 27, 2022 Our heroine felt... unsatisfied with her initial wardrobe plan. It was perfectly practical, and many women would have been delighted with having black, beige and pastels available to them... So our heroine went back to her inspiration painting, to try to identify what about it really appeal to her!

She loved the contrast between the trees and the pastels in the water... She wasn't mad about the color of the sand, or pavement, or whatever that mungy greenish beige was supposed to be! ..... Walking to work, she saw a very nicely dressed man, in a navy suit, a light blue shirt, and dark tie... NAVY! Navy and pastels are classic. And then she saw a lovely woman wearing a simple white tee shirt with a navy ... View the Post

Adding Accent Accessories – Start with Art: Vocal Fabric of the Singer Rosa Silber by Paul Klee

April 22, 2022

You know that it's "klee an in clay"? There once was a book by that title that helped us pronounce all sorts of art and music names properly; well worth grabbing if you see it used...

Well, when I started this post, I wasn't at all sure WHEN you would get to see it; they're working on the internet and cable in my building - fifty-some floors of rewiring! Outages and glitches are built into this process; if I am going to miss a date I will post a note from my phone so you know I'm okay!

SO!!! Let's get Wednesday's heroines some accessories!!!

For reference, and for pleasure, let's remember that this is the art from which we started:

Let's go back to our core of 10 pieces of clothing. There's no reason in the ... View the Post

December 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Resourceful Lynx Bracelets

December 22, 2021

THESE are so lovely:

And these bracelets have given our heroine the perfect inspiration for her upcoming travel:

Probably Gone for Months... They tell her. She's going to visit at least a dozen cities, and depending on who wants to meet with her, she could stay for almost a week in each city! Oh my...

And she really won't have time, nor inclination, to think about getting dressed! Further, she's hopeful that the publicity photographs from this tour will reflect an image of her as consistent, serious, but not grumpy...

So she built herself a uniform! A navy column, five sweaters, and she's ready to go!

The tank tops, tee shirts, and turtlenecks will all pack into 1 packing "sleeve." They go ... View the Post

Weekly Timeless Wardrobe #24 – A Lightweight 2nd Layer

August 16, 2021

Ah, let's continue to ponder what essentials we might want in our warm weather wardrobes!

Many of us are going back to our offices - reluctantly, I might add. If you're like most women, you find the office to be bitterly cold, and then when you walk outdoors you melt immediately! So a 2nd layer is essential to stay warm indoors, while something relatively light and cool underneath is important to be able to survive the commute, or the walk to lunch...

This might do the trick!

One of the many beauties of the cardigan above is that it could easily be worn through the winter with something heavier underneath...

This next cardigan, on the other hand, is pretty strictly a hot-weather garment:

When you ... View the Post

Start with Art: Winter Solstice by Dame Barbara Hepworth

May 26, 2021

They're having an anniversary party... and this year, she can go!

She will leave after work, spend all day Saturday and Sunday with her relatives, and then go back to work on Monday morning!

Life got much easier once she realized that she could wear the same cardigan and skirt on Monday that she wore on Friday, and that NOBODY would notice...

Since the party is during the weekend of the Solstice (more or less!), she's using this as her inspiration:

The big constraint for her in warm weather? She will NOT expose her arms. Not to anybody, for any reason, unless it's a moment of true intimacy...

Everybody has something that concerns them, right?

But she loves to wear sandals, and she really ... View the Post

Start with a Shirt – Fresh Mint Seersucker Popover

May 12, 2021

I'm sure you don't think about these things, but my schedule is always a mixture of looking back (at blog posts upon which you are currently commenting, but which I prepared 2 or 3 days ago) and forwards - what I'm going to post Friday, Monday, next month...

I share this, because BEFORE I EVER PUBLISHED MONDAY'S POST, I had an impassioned request for a wardrobe based on this shirt!

Our friend has her color palette selected; she's not worried about getting dirty because she doesn't live that kind of life! She's focusing on 3 pastels, with chambray/denim blue and white as her neutrals:

She's even got ONE outfit chosen - this is where she began to experience "wardrobe planning block"...

I'm VERY sympathetic ... View the Post

April 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Gentle Lynx

April 23, 2021

She just wants to be calm. Quiet. To walk the streets and admire the architecture and the window displays. Rain or shine...

Her colors are simple - her favorite navy, with the pastels that reflect her desire for peace and harmony:

It will rain. The sun will shine. The temperature could be all over the map. She doesn't care! She can always sit in a cafe until the rain lets up...

She starts with her navy cardigan and skirt, so she knows that she has her neutrals covered! Then she adds a few tops, and her favorite yellow dress...

And why NOT 3 pairs of ballet flats? They're comfortable, they're flattering, and they make her happy - what else might anybody want?

It's not a wardrobe for everybody, ... View the Post