warm weather Archives - Page 24 of 37

How to Pack for a Holiday in the Mountains: Navy, Beige and Warm Grey

June 14, 2017

I thought that this would be the easiest color scheme imaginable; that the clothes would virtually jump off of the screen at me... WRONG!

I thought I would start as I have been for a while, with the navy and beige neutrals. I swapped out the watch for silver, thinking that it would be better with the grey pieces to come...

And I found a pair of sandals that weren't quite as "warm" in hue, so that they might bridge the gap better also.

Then... I tried to find dark grey. And, after an honest 2 hours of looking for a lovely, rich charcoal grey linen, or a lustrous lead-grey raw silk, I threw in the towel. Some colors just don't exist in large numbers during some seasons, and at a point that only you ... View the Post

Building a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Paysage Algérien by Renoir

July 12, 2017

It surprises me that this painting is from Renoir - I always think of him with pastels or clear and cool bright colors. But this is perfect for our current "neutral experiment": it's got navy and beige, and some great rust and green accents! It's easy to think of these as autumn colors, but if you've ever traveled to (or lived in) a hot and arid summer climate, you know that things start to get rusty and deeply green by mid-summer:

So They Bought a Camper... She never, in her life, would have imagined this. But when they sat down together and made a list of where the wanted to travel, now that they were retired, it looked like:

Fly to X, rent car, drive to Y Fly to Z, rent car, drive to A...

OVER AND ... View the Post

Can I Pack Just 11 Pieces for a WEEK at the Beach? Absolutely…

July 7, 2017 It's a Very... Weird... Beach House... (based on a real beach house I've seen...)

It has a dead-end hallway, with a big window... All of the 10, 11 and 12 year old's sleep there, in their sleeping bags. Well, "sleep..."

And there's 1 room that really must have been meant to be a walk-in closet. It's that small... It's been her room, for years.

She has a twin bed, a rocking chair, and a shelf attached to the wall that serves as a nightstand. There's no closet - just pegs stuck into the shadiest wall...

But her room has its own bathroom! It's tiny, but still... in a house with over 2 dozen people, it's a luxury!

And ... View the Post

Red and Bright Sky Blue – Accents for a Navy and Beige Capsule Wardrobe

June 5, 2017

These colors are classic:

They've Changed ALL of the Rules... She worked from home for years... She had to go into the office once a quarter, just to prove that she was the same person that they thought they had originally hired!

But NOW, she's got to go in once a week. Generally for meetings. And she's determined that she's going to assemble a small, tight, well edited work wardrobe that is both relaxed and sufficiently "show-offish" for those guys from Boston...

The sweaters are simple cotton, but the accessories are quite nice quality, and a bit bold, too!

She is absolutely to wear her favorite bright colors; if she has to be in the office, she's going to be seen...

And sometimes, a ... View the Post

NEVER Wear Pink and Orange Together??? Humbug… Accenting Navy and Beige with Unexpected Bright Colors

June 1, 2017

Big important notice - the "Six Scarves, Six Wardrobes, over 12 Months" post for June will be here tomorrow! I hope! The Internet in my building (yes my entire building!) has been off and on, as they work on it... Don't they know that we have important blogging to do? Knuckleheads...

In case you haven't seen the earlier versions of the navy and beige summer wardrobes, you can find the one accented with dark camel and moss green here, and the first one with accents of mint and lavender here.

Today's colors just jump off of the screen:

Just for the benefit of those among us who are joining this adventure in progress, this is the neutral starting point - a half-dozen core pieces around which I will try to build a ... View the Post

Warm Neutrals Camel and Mossy Green Accenting Navy and Beige

May 31, 2017

Let's see what happens when we start with navy and beige as our neutrals, and then incorporate two MORE neutrals, in warm hues, to act as accents.

This is the color scheme as I see it; I've made 1 small alteration in that I've given us a range of the accent colors, from lighter to darker, in order to open up the possibilities a bit. These aren't easy colors to find this time of year!

And this wardrobe I'm working with an assumption that we're going to be packing for a more changeable climate - needing both sandals and a sweatshirt, so to speak...

As before, we'll start with six neutral pieces...

Just to keep us mentally organized, let's continue to work with a 13-piece wardrobe template:

The first ... View the Post

What Accent Colors go with Navy and Beige? I Have a Dozen Ideas!

May 29, 2017

Today's a holiday, but you get a blog post because I write these in advance - this was completely last Friday! So what I'm saying is that TOMORROW, you're just going to get something short and sweet about my holiday weekend...

It's probably the most common question I get in my email: How can I pick accent colors?

Couple that with lots of questions about the most versatile neutral colors, and I've got a lot to think about!

But I've got to admit that more and more, I'm beginning to suspect that starting with navy and beige in a wardrobe might be the very easiest choice. Only if you have the luxury of starting from scratch, of course, or if you're in a position to build a capsule wardrobe of over a ... View the Post

How to Pack for a Spa Weekend? Start with Art: Dans le Parc by Maurice Denis

May 26, 2017

Doesn't this make you want to just sit somewhere and watch the world go by?

Someone driving up with friends for a spa weekend is using this color scheme to inspire her packing... (well, it inspires her entire wardrobe, not just one weekend!)

Since they're driving, she can be super-casual and relaxed, but she still has her favorite leaf-motif jewelry - the painting strongly suggests that she's a nature lover.

Once they're at the spa, they'll be living in their robes, but she's going to need an outfit to get home in, and maybe something other than a robe in which to dine. Just because they put you in a robe doesn't mean that you're not allowed to get dressed!

It's a tiny ... View the Post

How to Pack a Foolproof Travel Wardrobe, All in Neutrals

May 24, 2017

If you're in Chicago, you of course must go to the Art Institute of Chicago, our very deservedly famous art museum. But when you're there, make sure not to miss the fabric exhibit. It's small, it's in the basement, it changes every few months, and it NEVER disappoints...

Seen there last weekend, included in a really stunning exhibit of batik fabrics:

This fabric is maybe 9 or 10 feet long, and 4 feet wide. It's really kind of breathtaking...

Seeing these neutral colors working so beautifully together, our mythical heroine was able to solve her packing dilemma...

I've got it all arranged...

We'll just go from city to city by train; I've already purchased the train passes....

Well okay, she ... View the Post

What Accesories Do You Want for Warm Weather? Start with an Echo “Paris in the Spring” scarf

May 18, 2017

When we left our happy heroine yesterday, she was packing for a trip to visit friends on the Gulf Coast of Florida. She was using this scarf as her leitmotif - the inspiration around which she was building her travel capsule wardrobe:

This was what she knew that she would pack - plenty of things for the beach and boat, and enough dressy pieces that she would be fine if dinner turned out to be more formal than she expected:

Just for reference, let's remember that she'd planned this wardrobe pretty carefully!

But she knows that she wants to include more accessories - especially more shoes! So she's going to work through a handful of outfits, making certain to include each of her "bottoms" so that her shoe ... View the Post

What to Pack for the Florida Gulf Coast? Start with a Scarf: Paris in the Spring by Echo

May 17, 2017

The scarf says Paris, but your luggage is all tagged TPA - you're going to Tampa to visit friends with a home on the Florida Gulf coast!

They've mentioned the beach, and the boat... (repeatedly...) There's a bit of sightseeing, some serious lounging to be done, and you might take in a baseball game. You'll be dining out at least a few times, too!

Well, you know that it's going to be hot and sunny. You know that it's a relatively casual part of the country, and you know that you don't want to carry a whole ton of stuff with you.... What to do?

Let's start with a color scheme, based on this most lovely scarf:

You know that no matter how warm the weather is, the airport will be freezing cold, and the plane is ... View the Post

How Can You Pack a Foolproof Travel Wardrobe? Use the Whatever’s Clean System!

May 9, 2017

I can always tell when a lot of you are planning travel because I start to see more and more emails with packing questions. Many people want a wardrobe that they don't really have to think about once they've arrived at their destination; that's why I cooked up the idea of a "Whatever's Clean" Wardrobe. If all goes according to plan, you should be able to pull any available garments from these wardrobes and assemble a reasonably presentable outfit. Certainly, some combinations are going to be better than others, and you're going to like some outfits more than others, but overall, you've got mountains of flexibility, after doing a bit of strategic thinking...

First off, let's start with a great color inspiration - ... View the Post