teal Archives - Page 2 of 5

How to Pack for a Quick, Dressy Trip? Start with a Scarf…

Her Favorite Artist Everybody probably has one that they like the most, but this is the one about whom she wrote EVERY English language essay she had to write, all through high school and college.

She has framed posters in her home. She's read the biographies. She even listens to music that was supposed to be the artist's favorite.

And now there's an exhibition.... IN MADRID.

She has no vacation time to take. Okay, maybe 2 days...

But she has some airline miles to spend...

And enough money for a few hotel nights...

And enough money for a couple of AMAZING dinners...

Yes, she's going alone. Nobody else is going to want to spend 2 solid days in 1 museum...

Well okay, she might make it to the other museum, too.

And yes, ... View the Post

What to Pack for Paris? How About Beige and Navy, with Teal and Brown Accents?

Remember our heroine who was taking photographs in Paris for a long weekend? Well, she's realized (we're shocked) that she needs to go back for a much longer trip!

She's staying with her original color scheme and her original travel outfit. She's maybe going to see the same people when she checks into her hotel, but it's possible that wearing the same outfit might help them recognize her; that would be good!

After a few days of consideration, she's decided to take everything with her that she took for her first trip. She really wants to dress up a bit more on this trip (because her sweetie is going with her!), but most of these pieces are going to work just as well for that!

Since Sweetie is coming along, she's adding dresses, a ... View the Post

Build An Overnight Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Before the Parachute Opens, Version 2

After I looked at this painting again, on a different computer, I realized that I just HAD to consider the possibility that the "jumper" here really is more olive than brown...

Today's heroine is drawn to this painting by the angularity of it - she's the woman who really admires a good right angle, straight lines, clean structural joints and elegantly well-executed welds. She does have a bit of a hidden soft spot though...

Her tote bag is solidly squared off, and easily holds her gear for an overnight trip - maybe she's an architect going to visit a site and then dine with some of the people working there?

I'm no miser when it comes to buying pajamas, but these are pretty extravagant!

And I have to give a rousing shout out to ... View the Post

Build an Overnight Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Before the Parachute Opens by Tullio Crali

Such an amazing painting - from such an unusual and compelling point of view!

And I've noticed that the central color of the jumper is dark brown on my main computer, but that she is more olive green on my laptop! No wonder we have so much trouble talking about colors - we're not even necessarily seeing the same things...

But since I've found a few nice brown pieces, I thought that I'd stick with my initial impression that she's mostly brown. Maybe I'll re-visit this painting and use olive instead - what do you think?

My only style thoughts were of a strong respect for the sky, space, flying, and birds! But this color scheme could really work for a long time, although it would take a long time to find just the perfect pieces. (as ... View the Post

Three French 5-Piece Wardrobes for Spring

Yesterday, I shared with you what I consider to be the "must have" items for warm weather. (although I don't think I can say it enough - there is NO SUCH THING as a "must have" item; if someone tells you that there is, they are more interested in selling you something than they are in helping you figure out what you most need for YOU...)

Today starts the fun part - adding accent colors! I think I'm going to have to do this for at least another 2 or 3 days, because your suggested accent colors were many, varied, and lovely!

But let me start with the "Color of the Year" - another one of those fun marketing gimmicks that really don't mean a whole lot, but that remind us to focus on a color that we might have been overlooking....

(If you ... View the Post

How to Accent a Denim and Khaki Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – The Stairs of the Asylum by Van Gogh

I'm sure there's a story here, and I'm afraid it might be a sad one:

Even in difficult circumstances, van Gogh captures the exuberant energy of nature, in a very limited palette:

Celebrating Nature is Her Profession Landscape architect - it was the title that she always wanted. So she started out working as a landscaper with a successful female manager, and she went to school in her spare time...

For a long time, she wore a uniform of khaki pants, and a bright green polo shirt with a logo, and a matching bright green jacket when the weather demanded. So when she finally wasn't in a "uniform" position anymore, she didn't feel the need for a wildly extensive wardrobe. She found that her simple khaki, denim and white wardrobe gave her ... View the Post

How to Use Both Warm & Cool Accents in a Capsule Wardrobe – Start with Art: Carnival Evening by Henri Rousseau

This sets a mood, doesn't it?

I love how much the sky is emphasized... and that glimpse of stars... sigh...

If you've seen the earlier installations of this series (yesterday, and the day before) you can cruise through this quickly. We have our starter Neutral Building Blocks:

The dozen (at least!) possible outfits from these pieces:

And the way those 9 pieces fit in a 4 by 4 Wardrobe template:

What a fun exercise this is! It's not necessarily the easiest thing in the world to find seven perfect pieces within an 8-hour work day, so if you're going to try to put together a wardrobe like this at home, please be patient with yourself as you shop. The pieces are out there, but might take a bit of time to find..

I love those swishy ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in a Navy-Based Capsule Wardrobe: An Evaluation

Back in November, when we left this wardrobe, it was in pretty good shape. Eleven outfits had been collected into a pretty coherent, and pretty comprehensive, capsule wardrobe that would see most people through a great many of their activities:

As I've said before, no wardrobe is ever really finished. Clothes wear out, or get damaged. Our sizes change, and sometimes, we just plain get completely fed up with a garment that we've worn a lot, and feel the need to replace it. So it's useful to have a few different ways to really look at a wardrobe and determine what might be needed, or useful, or helpful, to add. I thought of a couple of different ways to evaluate things...

First off, I thought that it would make sense to see if there were ... View the Post

How Much Can Accessories Affect Your Capsule Wardrobe?

Someone sent me this painting a few days ago, and the first thing that I noticed (after just generally admiring the lovely art) was the touches of teal and cool brown accent:

And I have to let you know that this painting set a record last week for the highest auction price EVER for a Canadian painting. Well worth it, in my opinion...

I was intrigued with the idea of a very conservative, mostly navy and grey wardrobe, accented with those two surprising accent colors. So I started with a few pieces, including a navy pantsuit. If you're looking for suit separates, I highly recommend Talbots - they have a variety of colors and fabrics. Let's start with these basics - this is literally a Wardrobe Slot Machine, or a Whatever's Clean Wardrobe ... 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

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch, Stage 3 – Do I Have to Own a Dress?

Ah, this capsule wardrobe is starting to have some personality! Here's where we left off:

As always, this would be a good point in wardrobe-building to pause, especially if you're purchasing all of these items. Wear all your new goodies in every possible combination (which will take quite a while!) and make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you're comfortable with the styles, the colors, and the overall mood. It's not a dreadful thing to stop at this point, if you feel that it's the right thing for you. It WOULD be dreadful if you kept on shopping and consuming and spending money without being certain!

As I look at these 9 pieces, I clearly see that we'd better get some teal into this picture soon! And the balance is swinging to "more beige than ... View the Post