Start with Art Archives

Start with Art: Revisiting Persia, by Helen Frankenthaler

Back at the beginning of the summer, our heroine managed to finish the report to which she had dedicated 3 months of her life. Far from being chastised for her work's inadequacies, she was warmly praised, and given 2 weeks of vacation and a well-deserved bonus...

She loves this painting, and tries to use it as her guide and inspiration for her wardrobe:

The Luncheon Speaker Now, her proposals have gone corporate-wide! And she's heading to the launch luncheon at the home office to speak about her work...

The overall dress code of her company is VERY casual, but she's been advised by some of her supervisors that the home office can be dressier. Not that anybody can be specific about what that means... sigh...

So she's ... View the Post

Start with Art: A Travel Capsule Wardrobe based on Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Ah, remember this quite lavish and elegant heroine from this post, and this one?

She's a specialist in the symbolism around various saints in Gothic architecture. Very successful, very highly regarded around the world. And now, she's going to be traveling for 2 days every month to present a serious of lectures at the University of Paris. Tough work, eh?

Since the fire at Notre Dame, there's quite a bit of study being done all over Paris about every detail of the cathedral. She's essential to helping with some of the reconstruction...

Her hair is still a flawless crown of white braids; her lipstick never budges, and her fingernails are flawless... I believe that she has no idea what denim IS, and has never worn a stitch of ... View the Post

Start with Art: Portrait of the Countess de Martel de Janville by Giovanni Boldini

I've been wanting to work on a capsule wardrobe - maybe an occasional series - in which I could completely ignore things like prices, and go whole hog for lovely dressy things... Just a pretty fantasy to share... The Settlement It made the news; it was the largest settlement in the history of the industry...

Her very expensive accountant handled all of the donations and endowments, and now she's catching the train to buy that apartment... A pied a terre in her favorite neighborhood...

She's going to channel the confident look of her favorite portrait... She's been told that she strongly resembles the Countess, which is no mean compliment!

She will only be there a few days - the lawyers have handled all of the paperwork ... View the Post

A Wardrobe with Multiple “Moods” or Accent Colors? Start with an Artist: Romaine Brooks

Wednesday, our heroine chose accessories and was quite well-prepared for a lengthy trip...

But now, she's really going to travel!

Just to recap, she built her initial travel wardrobe around this stark but captivating painting:

Her initial travel capsule wardrobe is quite complete...

She's made a very tidy start to a quite large travel (or seasonal?) wardrobe:

And her accessories are similarly well planned:

But now, she's going away for 13 weeks! A guest teaching post? A short course at a foreign school? Who could guess...

She knows that there are plenty of women who could travel forever wearing nothing but black and grey, but she's thinking that she wants to introduce some accent colors... Maybe ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a Travel Wardrobe; Start with Art – Ida Rubenstein by Romaine Brooks

When we last visited this intrepid heroine, a week ago, she had her clothing well sorted for her trip, but still needed accessories!

Her first wardrobe cluster is black - of course! But it's not completely somber; printed tops make a difference, as does a striped skirt...

Accessories... I personally feel that you need a few more accessories than you need items of clothing! Of course, you may not agree, but this template will give us some guidance as we get this solo traveler packed and ready to go...

Six accessories for each cluster... hmm....

Yes, these shoes can be worn with everything! If she remembers to pack black opaque tights, she will be all set... Of course, you could bring 2 pairs of shoes - 1 for the ... View the Post

Start with Art: Ida Rubenstein by Romaine Brooks, or the Power of 5-Garment Clusters

She loves to travel alone....

She carries her own luggage, thank you! And she can lift her bag into the overhead bin, too. It's a point of personal satisfaction that she's strong enough to be self-sufficient... (it's an accomplishment to hold onto as long as possible, isn't it?)

In the course of planning what to pack, she grew to see that working in clusters of 5 garments would be easy to sort out in her head, and also gives her plenty of outfit possibilities! The right 5 garments can translate into 8 outfits...

It's not that she plans to travel forever, and must never EVER repeat an outfit; that's kind of silly...

But what if something is stranded at the laundry? What if the weather gets warmer (or cooler)? What if ... 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

Start with Art: Red Pears by Helen Lundberg

It Finally Dawned on Her...

If she just carried her tote bag onto the plane, she could take the really cheap airline to visit her family. And since she visits them every few weeks, her savings could start to add up quickly! So she asked her mother if she could leave some clothes in the guest bedroom...

(no prizes for guessing the answer...)

So now, she can wear whatever appeals to her during her flight, and keep a stash of hot-weather clothes down there!

Her color palette is very muted, so she can wear the same things frequently and not be madly conspicuous. Not as if anybody in her family would ever notice, or comment!

For her current trip, this is what she will have at her disposal. Another trip might change ... View the Post

Start with Art: Vocal Fabric of the Singer Rosa Silber by Paul Klee

If you have information about Rosa Silber, please share; I couldn't find anything in English about her! We can certainly conclude that she inspired Paul Klee...

An Unusual Prescription But the conductor, the director, and her personal physician all agreed - go to the resort and sit on the veranda for 12 hours a day for the rest of the week! She needs warm, humid air in her throat and lungs...

She's singing the role of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, starting next weekend! This is NOT the time to have her voice get weak and faint... but it's just that it needs rest. Rest? She can DO that...

It's only a 3 hour drive...

Maybe she will be able to eat her meals on the terrace? She can't go into the sun - even though she is ... View the Post

Start with Art: Wall of Light White by Sean Scully

I love this artist... And this painting is a perfect ensemble of neutral colors!

We're Going WHERE? To her sweetheart's college Chess Club reunion, that's where!

She decides to pack on an outfit-by-outfit basis; she knows that the weather is going to be hot, so she's focusing on linen, and shorts, and a couple of tops that will cover her up if she wants to walk along the shore...

Since this reunion is going to be near the beach, she's bringing "water shoes"...

Even though she's not going to lay out on the beach, she knows that a couple of pairs of shorts will be handy!

Once she got everything arranged and ready to pack, she gave it a last look:

She plans out enough outfits, in her mind, to get her ... View the Post

Revisiting Art: Ornamental Composition for Social Spaces #14 by Kamrooz Aram

Last August, she pulled together a 4 by 4 Wardrobe based on her favorite wardrobe; she liked it so much, she thought that it would make a good base for a travel wardrobe too! Since the weather is warm, she's going to look for the lighter shades of her accent colors.

She's only going for a long weekend, so she knows that she doesn't want to pack a lot! And she recently bought herself a jacket and pants in her favorite green, so she knows that she wants to wear that while she's traveling...

She decides to be organized, and deliberate, in her packing. She thought about what 6 items she would want to pack...

She knows that the smartest thing to do, when packing very few items, is to stick to a core of her black neutral, ... View the Post

Start with Art: Second Season with Grey Fireworks by Helen Frankenthaler

Remember our friend the political candidate? Of course she won her election...

She campaigned wearing a small wardrobe based on this painting, and color palette:

Now, she's getting ready for the legislative session in the fall! She's taking the train to the capitol on Tuesday mornings, and staying until until Friday afternoon... Trying to get familiar with the routine, and the policies, and the procedures. Even though the legislature isn't in session, there's plenty to do, and so MUCH to learn...

Since she had such luck with her wardrobe during the campaign, she decides to make only the slightest of changes to her wardrobe plan...

This scarf, in her travel outfit, is much more beautiful than you can see in this ... View the Post