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March 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 1

March 1, 2024

Even with the extra day yesterday, I'm still not quite sure that I'm ready for March. But she will arrive regardless of my degree of preparation, right?

After a 50 degree overnight temperature drop, I'm not sure what season we're in, nor what to wear on any given day...

But let's look at art, and the wardrobes intrepid heroines assemble based upon their favorite colors and paintings!

So restful, calm and classic. I could walk for hours down this lane...

At the end of February, our heroine has this 12-piece capsule wardrobe:

As she's thinking about what to add, the burgeoning spring warmth suggests to her that maybe some green would be pretty!

Still a couple of sweaters - warmth doesn't ... View the Post

Want a Warm, Simple Spring Wardrobe? Start with Art – Labor by Norbert Schwontkowski

February 23, 2024 This Year, She Wants to Keep Things Simple... Simple, like this:

She doesn't want too many things. She doesn't want lots of flowers or stripes or novelty prints. She wants calm...

Her colors are going to be drawn from this painting - she's going to use the wee table legs as her excuse to include some brown in her Spring wardrobe!

She starts with rose... this is really what caught her eye first, when she found "her" painting.... that rose wall!

Next, she finds her beige things. They're not all the same color, and that's just fine. Beige is nice that way...

Knowing that Spring isn't always warm, she feels drawn to the idea of including some brown in her wardrobe...

And last, she wants ... View the Post

Beach Destination in the Off-Season? Start with Art – High Yellow by Ellsworth Kelly

February 14, 2024 It Won't Be Warm Enough to Swim...

It's normally a place that one thinks of visiting in the absolute dead of hot weather... so they're going now!

And while they won't be able to swim, the weather will still be MUCH warmer than what they're used to - sunny days, breezy nights. Sandals and even shorts will be comfortable, so long as the wise woman has a sweater or long-sleeved top close at hand...

Thus, she's going to wear white! Her legs look great in white shorts - at least she believe them to be lovely. And she so longs for the bright, crisp freshness of white, after a long winter of black wool...

Sky. Sun. Green plants. Her accent colors are so obvious!

They will dine out - nothing over the ... View the Post

Two Wardrobe Neutrals with an Accent? Start with Art – January by Elizabeth Magill

February 12, 2024

I'm getting to be a big fan of Elizabeth Magill - her paintings are deep, and rich with color...

If only I'd found this one last month, eh? But it fits nicely with our theme of clusters in neutrals, accompanied by a sizeable dash of an accent!

This could be a lifetime wardrobe - everything from white to ivory to a soft grey, and a sizeable range of subtle blues. I even see some purple in there!

I'm going to start with the first ivory/cream wardrobe cluster that we saw - the one with the dressier pants, and the skirt. I see this heroine as having a wide range of activities planned, with the need to dress "nicely" from time to time...

Next, her second neutral - a little less dressy, but one could ... View the Post

Find Your Dream Accent Color for Spring? Start with Art – Grey and White on Purple by Mark Rothko

February 9, 2024

First things first - this is not really grey, and the background is DEFINITELY not purple... Does anybody know what's going on here? Are the reproductions that I'm finding completely corrupted, or was Rothko color blind? It's an interesting question...

She's always loved this painting - she wears a lot of navy, charcoal grey and white, but she has never found that background pretty pinkish coral in garments that appealed to her...

But then two things happened - first, she had lunch with her friend Lily, who shared with her the plans that she had made for her Spring wardrobe.

And then, she found a TON of this color at Lands' End... So she tried to channel her "inner Lily" and plan a similar, but slightly ... View the Post

Are You REALLY Committed to an Accent Color? Start with Art – White Herons and Willow by Ohara Koson

February 7, 2024

Her name is Lily...

And aptly enough, she's always really loved green, and beautiful paintings that feature lots of green.

So when it came time to really update her spring wardrobe, she had an inspiration:

Why NOT really invest in some green things, and wear them often? It's not an approach that suits everyone, but when she thinks of it (and factors in her soft, muted green eyes), it seems a good idea!

So she starts with a lovely neutral ivory. Or ecru. Or bone. Of off-white. She has to be flexible when looking for these colors...

Oh what fun!

She quickly realizes that it might be too early in the season to find a lot of bright, leafy green... but then she stumbles onto the absolute ... View the Post

February 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 2

February 5, 2024

Three more heroines, working on three VERY different wardrobes! It's worth considering - these people wear relatively similar styles of garments - classic jeans and pants, traditional tee shirts, shirts and sweaters. But because of their choices of color, their wardrobes end up looking so different that the similar styles aren't a "thing."

Timeless, but individual. A reasonable goal...

The most notable thing (to me!) about this wardrobe is the presence of both bright and muted pastel accent colors. Therefore, this heroine could dress in uninterrupted shades of beige, or shades of beige with a pastel accent, OR beige with a bright accent. That covers a pretty wide range of moods and occasions!

Coming into ... View the Post

February 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 1

February 2, 2024

I'm always so excited to look at these wardrobes again!

This month, I'm going to clearly establish what has been my method so far - four garments and three accessories. With adding 4 garments each month, coupled with the 4 garments that each heroine started with, we're going to finish the year with 52 garments - sort of like the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe!

It's interesting how these numbers recur...

I understand that a lot of us aren't going to want a 52-piece wardrobe; for many of us, that seems too few, and for some it's going to be too many! But it's nice to have a target in mind, if situations change and we have to reconfigure everything.

Let's go!

In January, our heroine found herself with eight ... View the Post

Do You Love Blue? Adding Accessories to a Start with Art Wardrobe – Blue on White, White on Blue by Paolo Quaresima

January 24, 2024

You thought that I forgot! Yes, I can get pretty immersed in those Echo 100 scarves, but there's no way I was going to miss revisiting this painting:

This heroine is going to look at each of her "wardrobe clusters" one at a time, and make certain that she has the accessories that she wants for each cluster...

She's already got her shoes chosen - that's a lot of the thinking out of the way already!

First up, her warmest cluster. There are at least four outfits possible here, if she layers her navy shirt under her navy sweater... If you're summering in a place where evenings can turn cool, this could happen!

And for what it's worth, we have cool summer days in Chicago! The sellers of souvenir ... View the Post

Need a Wardrobe Plan for Summer? Start with Art – Blue on White, White on Blue by Paolo Quaresima

January 17, 2024

Since the temperature here is a whopping THREE DEGREES Fahrenheit, let's help a heroine who is planning her summer wardrobe!

We're going to try something kind of new - assembling a 4 by 4 Wardrobe by choosing four 4-piece clusters! Each cluster will give her at least 2 outfits, and all of the clusters will be able to work together. This is a good approach if she wants to shop (or closet-shop!) gradually, and if she's finding that clothes in her favorite colors are proving hard to find...

She wants navy, she wants white, and she wants accents of bright blue - maybe this painting is a good starting place:

One thing I've been assured - our heroine doesn't like white leather goods! I can understand that; ... View the Post

A Bold Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – The Dream by Luciano Cian

January 12, 2024

The Clients Are Nervous... She sold the initial contracts... And now that it's time to actually execute the project, the staff assigned to the work are worried about how the clients have been acting. Sigh...

So she's going to travel with them, and spend a day - maybe two - with everybody. Just to make sure that the clients are happy, and that they understand that these very technical staff are part of the same organization. Yes, they're a lot more... conventional... than she is!

The clients were maybe expecting everyone to be as colorful and unconventional as their salesperson...

So she packs up a few things and books a ticket with the rest of the crew:

She's actually not ALL that "out ... View the Post

Start with Art – Hydrangea 1918 by C.F.A. Voysey

January 8, 2024

Flu still lingers, but I had enough "oomph" to spend some time looking at this beauty:

Technically, this should be called "Start with Wallpaper!" because that's what this is... I will maintain 'til my dying breath that you can choose (or find) your favorite colors almost anywhere.

Maybe not in garbage, but I'm not ruling it out!

My thinking here, from the very beginning, was that beige and denim/chambray would be this heroine's neutrals, and the green and lilac would be her accent colors. But I suspect that using beige and green as neutrals, with blue and lilac accents, would also work...

The colors I've chosen are for those who don't feel strongly about the duality of "warm/cool" colors - if you really ... View the Post