Starting from Scratch Archives

Adding to a Starter Wardrobe in Black, Grey, Brown and Pink

When we left our heroine on Friday, she had assembled a small, but quite versatile, core wardrobe with 11 garments:

From here, our heroine's choices will depend on what she most needs for her day-to-day life, as well as making certain that she's prepared for those dressy occasions that catch one off guard. It is for the latter that I always suggest that ALL of us have a "nice" outfit in reserve. While you certainly can substitute pants for this skirt, if you're absolutely NEVER going to wear a skirt, for most of us this next outfit will come in handy more often than we might expect...

And we are kind of long overdue for getting this heroine a good jacket! The nice thing with this length of trench coat is that it can be worn ... View the Post

I Don’t Know Where to Start my Wardrobe…

I've been asked this a couple of times in the last few days - what do I do when I really have no idea where to start with my wardrobe?

Years ago I tried to think of how one could start a wardrobe from scratch; I think that my ideas might still be useful...

First up, I want our heroine to have some unifying inspiration to get her started; she's not stuck with this for the rest of her life, but it will at least help her focus her initial choices:

I can't emphasize this idea of mine enough - if you struggle to get dressed, make certain that you have a really GOOD, basic, neutral pair of pants. No studs, no embroidery, nothing that will make it difficult to wear your pants with all kinds of things...

And shoes. She needs good ... View the Post

My 5th Most Popular Post – Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch: Choosing Colors

It doesn't surprise me that this post was high up on the list of all-time favorites - it's a perennial topic for The Vivienne Files!

Remember 3 and a half years ago, when I built SIX separate wardrobes, from scratch? This was the first post of that series...

While these aren't the most creative or unexpected color palettes imaginable, they are certainly timelessly classic, which is a pretty good thing!

I have to admit, after all this time, and after looking at all of the colors with which we've worked, I still love black and white with just a touch of red or bright blue... I'm old-school!

love, Janice ... View the Post

Starting a New Season From Scratch – a Gorgeous Pair of Loafers

While I'm still hanging out in Ireland, I'm sharing with you some of my favorite blog posts from the past. Today I think it's worth making certain that, before the season changes, you have in hand a really good, high-quality pair of shoes for the months to come. If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, this might certainly be a pair of sandals, but for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, I strongly suggest a beautiful pair of loafers. Look for beautiful quality, and exquisite construction...

This was Step 2 back in the original Starting From Scratch Wardrobe Building Exercise, 3 years ago, and I still believe it to be a great idea...

These are the sort of purchase that will last you forever - choose wisely!

love, Janice ... View the Post

Starting a New Season From Scratch – New Trousers (pants, slacks, etc…)

As mentally we move toward a new season - warm or cool, depending on your location - it's appropriate and practical to make certain that we're not just shopping willy-nilly for pretty things without building a solid wardrobe base.

So I was reminded of my series from 3 years ago - How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe from Scratch! We started with trousers... a step that I still consider the most helpful for making certain that you're prepared for upcoming weather and events.

Maybe adding nothing more than a really GOOD pair of pants to your existing wardrobe will be enough, for the upcoming season...

love, Janice ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch: Evaluating and Balancing, based on Lightning over Colorado by Joe Randall

One last time:

Mr. Randall has a great eye, doesn't he?

When we left our wardrobe at the end of the day yesterday, this is where we were - 25 pieces, lots and lots of ways to wear them, a good balance of colors EXCEPT those 2 beige/brown pieces. I'm still not feeling comfortable with them...

If you need to catch up to where we are, check Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and yesterday's posts.

In order to evaluate this wardrobe, there are lots of options (see the various ways that I reviewed the "12 Months, 12 Outfits" wardrobes for some ideas), but I like to just sort by color and see what seems obvious.

They grey items look great - a little heavy on outerwear and sweaters, which suggests a blouse, shirt or tee shirt might be a ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch: Adding Variety, based on Lightning over Colorado by Joe Randall

We're up to a 15-piece capsule wardrobe, all based on this truly amazing photograph:

I'm still not tired of the photograph...

You can see how we got this far by looking back to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Here's another... color scheme hurdle? I'm not sure what to call it... but I'm still struggling with the inclusion of the warm tan/camel/brown color family in this wardrobe, and I'm not quite sure why...

But one of the easiest ways to incorporate these colors into a wardrobe is through camel - specifically, a camel sweater. And just in case you were wondering, these sweaters from Uniqlo (like the turtleneck shown here) are very nice quality, and very affordable. They're not life-investments, but if you've always wanted to ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch: Personalizing the Basics, based on Lightning over Colorado by Joe Randall

When we left this wardrobe yesterday, we had nine pieces of clothing - a small assortment, but sufficient for two dozen outfits. And the wardrobe has a nice coherent look that's beginning to take shape:

Time to bring some more color into this wardrobe! The photograph from which we're working gives us options for a wide range of shades of purple, from the lightest pastel to the deepest violet blue. The differences between these 2 colors means that you will have outfits that "feel" two very different ways.And a bit more gold metal jewelry, as suggested by the clouds in the upper left corner of the photograph. The grey stones still anchor this necklace well within a grey-based wardrobe. (I hope!) Botkier has a handful of pieces ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch: Introducing Accent Colors and Accessories, based on Lightning over Colorado by Joe Randall

When we left this wardrobe, it was very neutral, and very simple - but this is the way to start a really functional wardrobe! If you get these building blocks in place early, your later additions will be effortless to wear, and you'll have lots of options...

Cardigan – Pure Cashmere; tee shirt – L.L.Bean; shirt– J.Crew; pants – L.L.Bean; Jeans – L.L.Bean; loafers - Donald J. Pliner

One of the joys of working with this photograph is the wide range of accent colors available. All sorts of pink, lavender, lilac and deep purple colors can be taken from this image. It's so beautiful...And in observance of the strong warm coloring in the top left color of the photo, I'm going to see if we can make gold jewelry work here. ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch: The Core Pieces, based on Lightning over Colorado by Joe Randall

Join me on this adventure! Someone wrote to me last week, after I showed this amazing storm photograph, asking if these colors could work as accents for a capsule wardrobe that is mostly grey.Well... maybe. I'm going to give it a try, to see how it works. But I have a real concern: all of the shades of pink and purple will be glorious accents to the grey wardrobe, and would be madly flattered by black leather goods and silver jewelry with pink, lavender or purple beads, stones or pearls. HOWEVER... introducing the warm browns and tans into the mix immediately makes me think that I need to use gold, rather than silver, jewelry. And I'm not at all sure where the leather pieces will fit in....

Nonetheless, we shall endeavor to make ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch, Stage 5

It's tempting to say we've reached the home stretch of building this capsule wardrobe, but in reality, you're never finished building your wardrobe. Things wear out, or suddenly shrink, or you just plain can't stand the sight of that tee shirt EVER AGAIN... (after travel, you might need to find something new just to retain your sanity!) But for people who don't put all that much worry and fuss into clothing, this wardrobe is at a pretty good stage for a long time:

Here's where I like to stop and lay things out in an orderly fashion, to see where I've gone awry, and what needs to be supplemented, and what needs to be avoided, for the last little bit of shopping:

It's important to me to share with you that we all have ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch, Stage 4 – I MUST Have a Winter Coat

The capsule wardrobe we finished with yesterday would make a GREAT travel wardrobe; you could wear 3 pieces, and pack the other 12. With our new silk pants (and the silk blouse from the first steps) you could be prepared for a dressy event, and obviously the rest of the wardrobe is ideally suited for... wandering Chicago in November? New York? Montreal? The choices... sigh...

At this step, I always plan for a complete outfit. This time, I thought that some brightness and a real emphasis on our accent colors would be a good idea!

Even though we haven't (in Chicago) see anything that resembles cold weather, we all know that eventually we're going to be greeted some morning with sub-freezing temperatures and gale-force winds! Think ... View the Post