shopping Archives - Page 3 of 9

Can You Plan Your ENTIRE Wardrobe? Maybe…

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was pondering what it would mean if you used four "Whatever's Clean 13" wardrobes for your year-round wardrobe. I'm still in the "thinking about the possibilities" stages, but I wanted to share with you what I've been thinking, so far...

At the beginning, I'm starting with the original 13-piece "Whatever's Clean" wardrobe. The idea behind these 13 pieces was that they would be chosen in such a way that you literally could NOT put together an outfit that would clash; all of the colors and styles would harmonize to the point that you could, literally, wear "Whatever's Clean." (I was thinking of travel, or vacationing at a cabin, beach house etc...)

Just in order to make sure that I could fit lots ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – July 2017

July 3, 2017

This is a month for shoring up some basic tee shirts and getting a last pair of shorts (and sandals!) before the stores are full of cashmere sweaters. (shortly after July 4th, typically...) I toss in a necklace that's not madly expensive - this is the time of year to indulge in something that's not a big investment, and that might even qualify as a trend or fad. If you're ever going to follow fashion, a summer accessory is a good choice!

Five of the six wardrobes got a nice clean white tee shirt, to wear weekly until it falls to pieces from a combination of sweat and sunscreen... in madly hot weather, sometimes there's nothing nicer than plain, simple, classic white.

(FYI, the new Hermes scarves are on their website. ... View the Post

How to Shop Your Wardrobe, or Why I Own Wooden Hangers

July 6, 2017

We've all read this advice - when you see an outfit in a catalog or magazine that you really like, you should (rather than purchase said outfit) "shop your closet."

I suppose we all know, in some way, what that means - don't buy something, but find something in your current clothes that will do the trick. Sounds logical, doesn't it?

But I suspect that a lot of people don't manage to make this work very well. There's something fundamentally backwards about this advice. I'm not lusting for something that I already own - I'm filled with desire for something NEW. Something FRESH. Something... different.

Frankly, there's no way to get around that desire for novelty; it's hard-wired into our psyche, and no little tip ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – June 2017

June 2, 2017

I hope that this was worth the extra day's wait!

First off, all of the scarves are sold out at Hermes. If you're really madly eager to have one of them, let me know and I'll see if I can help you to find it in the secondary market.

In this month's wardrobe building, everybody's shopping for a dress (not necessarily something really "dressy") and the necessary accessories...

First up, I'm mad tempted by this simple black dress! I can see myself wandering around downtown in this... sigh...

And kindly notice the linear quality of the sandals, echoed by the striped tote! My days are made when such discoveries fall into place...

Halfway through the year, this is our heroine's wardrobe:

And just to ... View the Post

10 MUST HAVE ITEMS for Spring and Summer 2017?

May 25, 2017

I get dozens of these lists, and once in a while I actually take a look to see if there are any fresh ideas I can learn, or at a minimum some insights into the fashion zeitgeist that I can observe... In all fairness, this list was written by a young lady half my age, so her insights might be very different from mine!

In finding examples of these trends, I've tried to stick to relatively inexpensive pieces (with 1 exception I can remember). If you're tempted by a trend, it only makes sense not to spend the monthly grocery budget on an item that you might not want to EVER see again after Labor Day. (aka early September...)

As always, some aren't bad ideas, some are ridiculous, and many of them depend on the individual. ... View the Post

How to Add Accent Colors to Your Capsule Wardrobe – Hot Pink and Green

Remember this beautiful painting, and intriguing color palette?

And of course you remember this wardrobe from last week...

In and of itself, this is a pretty good assortment of clothes:

But for most of us, for the entire summer, we're going to want more than 16 pieces... So let's have our heroine start out her shopping by adding some hot pink, as well as a bit more black and white. For many of us, these shorts might be a big longer (like capri pant length!), or one could also find a skirt in this color...

This is how her wardrobe now looks with the additional pieces. The hot pink definitely doesn't blend in with everything else, but since it's meant to be an accent color, it really doesn't have to go with everything ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – May 2017

May 1, 2017

Hurrah!!! I always enjoy this day so much.... There's not going to be tons of narrative this month - I've chosen the new outfits and accessories, assembled the really amazingly cool wardrobes that are coming together, and ALSO showing six additional ways to wear the 3 new pieces that are added. If I wrote too much smart-aleck commentary, you'd be here until June...

Please note - four of the six original scarves are sold out on the US website, but that doesn't mean that getting the scarf you love is impossible. If you are smitten with one of the sold-out scarves, call an Hermès boutique - anywhere - and ask if they can find one somewhere, in someone's inventory, for you. They're really very lovely... (and I get nothing from ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – April 2017

April 3, 2017

If you're new to this project, I encourage you to go back to the posts for the months of January, February and March to catch up with what we've accomplished so far...

This month, I'm pretending that spring is coming, and that it's warm enough to expose our ankles, but that we still are in the mood for a bit of sweater snuggling... (one could always wear a tee shirt, and tie the sweater around the shoulders...)

This first capsule wardrobe has had a lot of brown and black in it so far, so I decided to lighten things up considerably!

Somewhat the same story here - this wardrobe has been heavily dependent on beige as the neutral, and hasn't really addressed the lovely soft grey in the ... View the Post

My Year Without Shopping – March 2017; What do you buy when you aren’t shopping for “clothes”?

February 28, 2017

Today (I write a day ahead...) is the 57th day of my shopping fast, and so far I'm feeling very minimal pain or unhappiness from my choice. I see beautiful things that I admire - every day! - but I remember something that I wrote a long time ago, and so I admire, and then I walk away. (literally, or digitally!)

But just because I'm not buying "clothes" - meaning all of those things that I wear out and about in the world - doesn't mean that there's no shopping that really should be done.

I pondered this question at length, and have concluded that there are, in fact, six categories of apparel that might need to be... "shored up" through the year. Not buying scarves, jewelry, or pretty sweaters might free up my ... View the Post

How to Assemble a Warm-Weather Capsule Wardrobe – The Burgundy Floral Cardigan

February 2, 2017

Groundhog Day! (in the US - does anybody else depend upon rodents for long-term weather forecasts?)

And you might feel like Groundhog Day, The Movie, because this idea looks really familiar. Remember the Dandelion Cardigan capsule wardrobe you just saw on Tuesday? Well, someone went wandering on the Lands' End website, and discovered this:

Bright Burgundy Floral Cardigan – Lands’ End

She was particularly interested in seeing how this worked with navy, so I thought another trip or two through this concept might be helpful...

First up, her preferred navy (which is indeed present in small doses in the cardigan) and ivory are the core neutrals, and then the vivid red (which I wouldn't have ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe in 12 Months, 12 Outfits – February 2017

February 1, 2017

I'm back in time to work on this! I'm so happy... I love these growing wardrobes...

For reference, and just to savor, these are our scarves around which we're building our wardrobes:

As always, I have to remind you that you don't have to buy an Hermès scarf (or any scarf at all!) to use this approach to building a wardrobe. Just choose any focal item, or color scheme, and start from there! And if you do want an Hermès scarf, you certain don't have to buy one new - there are a number of reputable secondhand sellers on the internet. If you're unsure about something you're considering, send me a note!

Here's a link to last month, if you want to flash back to the January items...

This black, grey and brown ... View the Post

My Year Without Shopping – February 2017

January 30, 2017

So far, so good for my year without shopping!

I bought one thing in early January, using a gift card that I received for Christmas. I've been searching for a hands-free way to carry essentials when I travel, and I never have much luck with crossbody bags. When I saw this very modestly sized - but not twee - backpack, I knew it would work well. It holds my travel toiletries, my tablet, and my backup phone battery, so it's just about perfect. So far...

I really like it's low key look - just the one logo, simple leather zipper pulls etc. And I'm the kind of person who always gets confused when I have a bag with lots and lots of pockets. "You'll be so organized..." Nope, I'm just rummaging around trying to remember ... View the Post