Six Paintings - 12 Months Archives

July 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #6: Of by Elizabeth Magill

July 8, 2025

I'm leaving for Dublin today! Cross your fingers that THIS time, things work out... Please note that there will be blog posts while I'm away, but I won't be responding to comments because I'm not taking a computer with me. Sort of like a real vacation!

Now, the last of our paintings for July. This might be, for many of us, the most challenging wardrobe because the color palette is very limited. I like it because it requires me to be creative and resourceful - both good qualities to develop when working with anything that's a limited resource, like clothing...

This heroine is completely immersed in summer! And such beautiful accessories...

This is proof that the difference between Spring and Summer might just ... View the Post

July 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #5: The Swan No. 24 by Hilma Af Klint

July 7, 2025

I need to get a biography of Hilma Af Klint... She's got to be an interesting person, don't you think?

Our heroine is smack in the middle of hot weather, and was luck to be able to find things that are perfect for right now. And I think this might be one of our heroines who doesn't wear dresses or skirts very often; she chose white jeans in place of a denim skirt! I don't blame her a bit...

This is what her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe looks like now; I've taken the liberty of making the change where she substituted jeans for a skirt.

You do know that this template is a guideline, and not a law? For example, if you abhor cotton turtlenecks, I would NEVER force you to own one...

This wardrobe has lots of ... View the Post

July 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #4: Eiffel Tower by Robert Delaunay

July 4, 2025

Okay, THIS might be one of my favorite paintings ever. Although I can't imagine how one would EVER get a view of the Eiffel Tower like this, these days...

Today's heroine is stocking up on summer clothes; she's one of the really lucky people for whom summer things are still available!

She's particularly happy to find a trove of her aqua accent:

It's a good thing that our heroine was able to find warm-weather clothes; her wardrobe still seems to have quite a gap! Next month, she may have to focus on her navy neutral and beige accent to find things...

Her wardrobe doesn't look terribly focused on cold weather wear, though. There are few "4-season" places where this wardrobe wouldn't serve someone pretty ... View the Post

July 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #3: Street Lights by Stefan Johansson

July 3, 2025

This painting makes me want to visit the Klaralven River... maybe go canoeing...

WHO AM I KIDDING? Maybe sitting on the deck with a cool drink!

The right paintings can make almost any place look beautiful, right?

Our heroine is committed to getting some warm weather clothes, including some accessories for dressing up. Just a tiny bit dressy...

A heroine who managed to find new things from the summer 13! There's no requirement to do this, and given the current state of retail, it's not easy...

I'm pretty sure that next month, I'm going to show our heroines' wardrobes on two separate pages. Should I separate things by tops/bottoms, or two colors on each page? I'm tempted by the idea of colors, but I ... View the Post

July 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #2: Pines by the Sea by Bertha Lum

July 2, 2025

The question of accent colors is one that comes up a lot in my emails - how much is enough? Can it just be scarves and jewelry, or do I have to have clothing in my accent colors? I hate bright shoes - do I HAVE to have accent shoes?

Whatever makes you happy is enough. Your accent colors can be whatever you like to have in your wardrobe. You NEVER have to have shoes you don't like. If you own something you don't like, SELL IT. Or give it away, whatever, but don't EVER make yourself wear things you don't like. (yes, bridesmaid dresses will trip up many of us at some time...)

Here's our painting:

To me, the teal in the trees keeps this painting from being just another insipid ocean landscape...

When our heroine ... View the Post

July 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #1: Sun, Water Maine by Georgia O’Keeffe

July 1, 2025

July??? I'm sort of amazed. You would think that I would adjust to the passage of time, after a few years...

Remember - there will be posts every weekday this week, and on both Monday and Tuesday next week. Because these posts for the paintings aren't very big, I give you lots of them all in a row!

Let's jump into this perfectly perfect summer painting:

So many of us have been living with ridiculously hot weather for a while, so it was easy to get into the mood to get this heroine some true summer clothes!

I cheated just a bit on the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe; I'm calling the striped tee shirt "sleeveless" when of course it isn't! But our heroine already has all of her tee shirts, and I felt ... View the Post

June 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #6 – The Swan No. 24 by Hilma Af Klint

June 9, 2025

Our last painting for June - this enigmatic, entrancing, beautifully-colored masterpiece:

This heroine's wardrobe is interesting - nothing much at all for WINTER????

You could die in Chicago...

But that's not what we'll work on right now.

This heroine has decided to toss in just a couple more pure white garments; for hot weather, there's not much better. A couple of pretty sleeveless tops, some gold accessories, and summer's here!

Focused shopping for the season!

This is another wardrobe that would be useful and appropriate for just about any time and place:

And I love her accessories! I'm keeping my eyes peeled for more scarves, and she really could use a necklace or two, and a ... View the Post

June 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #5 – Eiffel Tower by Robert Delaunay

June 6, 2025

Such a favorite scene, and a wonderful painting!

Our heroine woke up one morning in early June to realize that Summer WILL come this year, albeit quite late. And she doesn't have a ton of warm-weather clothes, yet.

She's got 2 pairs of sandals, so she needn't worry too much about that. So she goes ahead to grab three sleeveless tops, early in the season while there are still sizes available. And of course her shorts are going to be the same neutral that she uses for so many linen-ish and cotton-y garments for warm weather!

She's still missing quite a few items for hot weather, but she's made a very good start!

Now, her 28-piece wardrobe looks as if it would serve her for most seasons of the year. ... View the Post

June 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #4 – Street Lights by Stefan Johansson

June 5, 2025

This painting is really starting to grow on me; it's certainly NOT colors that I usually wear, but the image itself is stunning. Anyone who can paint lights, water, and reflections impresses me!

At the end of May, our heroine had clothes from each season of the year, which makes sense. As with all of the wardrobes this month, we're going to try to fill in some gaps!

If you're ever going to wear sleeveless tops, right now is the time to buy them! Nice swishy pants for warmer weather are a good choice too. And thinking of cold weather (and price increases) to come, our heroine treats herself to an ivory cashmere turtleneck. For some of us, this is the kind of purchase that could last the rest of our lives! Good ... View the Post

June 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #3 – Pines by the Sea by Bertha Lum

June 4, 2025

I love this painting - I imagine living somewhere with changing seasons, but nothing too drastic. (maybe Ireland?) Soft knits and soft colors...

This heroine has a pretty good handle on her various seasonal garments, but she's going to try to stick to filling in her template. As always, I remind you that this list is a guideline and NOT a rule. For example, if you never wear dresses or skirts, you're going to have to change at LEAST the bottom row of garments...

And that's as it should be; you should personalize any guidelines to suit what you most love. It's YOUR wardrobe, after all.

A tank top and shorts in one of your neutrals is always a wise purchase for hot weather! A perfect accent color polo shirt is ... View the Post

June 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #2 – Sun, Water Maine by Georgia O’Keeffe

June 3, 2025

Every month, I look at this painting and think that this would be how I would dress if I was starting from scratch (well, the wardrobe based on this painting or on the Eiffel Tower by Robert Delaunay!)

Navy appeals more and more, beige is timeless, and blue/green accents call my name. But at this point in life, I'm NOT re-doing my wardrobe! Sometimes you just have to admire the painting and the clothes, and stick with what's worked for you for the past 40 years...

So let's admire the lovely colors and fluid, relaxed lines of this masterpiece:

This heroine is also going to try to stick to her Weekly Timeless Wardrobe for a while, when shopping. At the end of May, her garments fitted into the template like ... View the Post

June 2025 Six Paintings – 12 Months #1 – Of by Elizabeth Magill

June 2, 2025

Remember, there will be a blog post EVERY weekday this week. The first week of the month is when I always push out all six of the "Six Paintings - 12 Months" posts over six weekdays. I feel like these posts benefit from being seen close together - what do you say?

The more I look at this painting, the more I like it! There's really quit a lot going on here to admire:

This month, I'm feeling like I need to be really organized for all SORTS of things, and that's going to show up with these wardrobes! I think we're going to start with each heroine's Weekly Timeless Wardrobe list, and try to very logically fill in four items that are missing.

I'm not at all sure that any of these wardrobes will, in December, have a ... View the Post