Weekly Timeless Wardrobe Archives - Page 5 of 5

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 9: Neutral Textured Top

This week's addition to our Weekly Timeless Wardrobe could be either a shirt, blouse or sweater, depending on what you feel will be most useful for you. What I envision being included in your wardrobe will be something with some texture or pattern to it - a striped tee in your neutral colors, or a cabled sweater. Maybe a neutral shirt with a small, discreet print....

These guidelines provide a reminder of what to consider when you make this purchase (or choose something from your existing wardrobe!):

A subtly patterned shirt with a background in your dark neutral is really versatile:

A sweater with a bit of depth or texture gives you something with a little bit of interest to wear with printed skirts or ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 8: Light Neutral Shirt

Wait! Don't just skip over this because you've never had luck in the past finding button-front shirts that fit properly. They DO exist... (and of course, these outfit ideas would work beautifully with light neutral blouses or tee shirts...)

Not all that long ago, I got a job working in a bakery. It wasn't exactly the job of my dreams, but I wanted to work there for a few months so that I could learn more about how everything was done. It was fascinating...

I had to wear a long-sleeved, button-front white shirt every day. Happily, I found that Lands' End Petite sized 12 fit both my strong torso and my rather short arms. So don't give up!

I've given some thought to what you need to keep in mind when you're making this ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 7: A Second Layer

While the first 6 pieces of this wardrobe are versatile, our heroine could certainly use something to keep her a bit warmer, and give her that "finished" look that you get with a jacket or cardigan...

I'm a fan of keeping this first cardigan (or jacket) as simple as possible; simple = versatile when we're talking about clothes...

In all of the earlier weeks, we've been looking at pants, so I thought that I would show that a good cardigan is the perfect thing to wear with a dress. If you want to look more casual, or wear a summery dress when the weather cools down, a sweater is the answer!

Why yes, that handbag is absurdly expensive... But I like the way it looks here; I'm sure we can all find something a bit less ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 6: Dark Trousers

Tee shirts and jeans will get many of us a long way in life, but it's about time we started dressing a bit more... not casual!

These pants can be pretty much anything other than jeans! (and no, I do not consider leggings, nor yoga pants, to be what we're looking for; they have their place in your wardrobe, but this isn't it...)

If I were only going to have 1 pair of pants that were NOT jeans, I'd definitely get a pair of cotton twill pants, similar to the summer dress pants that men wear. They're appropriate for almost the entire year - maybe not the screaming dead of summer, but any other time. If the overall design is simple, you will find that you can wear these pants with anything from a cashmere sweater to a rugby ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 5: Jeans or a Denim Bottom

I think it's about time we found something to wear below the waist, don't you think? For most of us, jeans or something similar seems the most logical place to start. When I was young, jeans were mostly for the young, and even up until about 5 years ago, when I traveled to Paris I seldom saw anybody over the age of 30 wearing jeans. But now? Jeans, in good condition - no holes, clean but not crispy pressed (no creases!) are seen on almost anybody...

As always, I have some thoughts about what to look for.... And as always, these are GUIDELINES, not hard-and fast rules. Nobody is entitled to tell you what to wear unless you're somewhere that requires a uniform. Otherwise, we're all on our own! (which makes building a wardrobe ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 4: Another Accent Top

Maybe bright, maybe a soft pastel. Heck, maybe the SAME color as last week, in a different neckline or fabric! Wardrobe accents are where you get to show your preferences, so listen to your heart!

As always, owning this garment is NOT a life requirement - think of this rather as a suggestion for building a wardrobe that makes life easier, and makes you look better...

And yes, we're going to get some patterned, printed or textured garments before the Autumn segment is finished! These early pieces are to help ensure that you've got the basics covered - both literally and figuratively!

For many of the following outfits, you might notice that I've used much of the same pieces as our heroines were wearing last week. Yes, that ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 3: An Accent Top

Time for some fun!

This wardrobe addition could be in ANY color of the rainbow, and a whole bunch of colors that aren't in any rainbow...

I'm going to show you a handful of ways to incorporate an accent color into an outfit, and then next Monday I will show you essentially the same outfits, with different accents! For most people, 2 accent colors is a good number. Some of us manage just fine with 1, and others among us will want 3 or even 4. Don't beat yourself up if you find that limiting the colors in your wardrobe is initially difficult; everybody is different, and has different comfort levels! What matters is that you're moving toward having a wardrobe plan, and toward getting better use from the clothes that you ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 2: A Dark Neutral Top

Ready for another week? This week, we're going to the darkest logical version of last week's top...

As always, (I don't think I can emphasize this enough!) this is a guideline, not a carved in stone life rule. If you don't wear dark colors, or you don't wear tee shirts, or you don't wear long sleeves, this will NOT apply to you exactly like this. You can choose a substitute, or skip this week entirely.

And this does NOT mean that you have to go buy something! This could be as easy as checking your closet for the appropriate garment and making sure that it's clean and in good repair before the cooler weather arrives. (right now, it seems as if it will never come again...)

If both of your neutrals are relatively dark, this is ... View the Post

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 1: A Light Neutral Top

We could talk all day about why I'm starting with this particular garment, but I finally determined that I had to start somewhere, so this makes as much sense as any other!

If you're interested in buying a tee shirt like this, consider getting one in your dark neutral, as well as your accent color(s) at the same time. Lots of retailers have discounts on multiple purchases, or will have some sort of site-wide discount in the next few weeks. Get on the mailing list of your favorite tee shirt source, and strike while the price-cut iron is hot!

I want to make this really clear, right from the start: I'm NOT telling everybody to rush out and buy this particular tee shirt! I'm suggesting, rather, that you figure out what the ... View the Post

An Introduction: 52 Weeks, 52 Garments, or (as I’m calling it) the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe

After some mulling about, making lists, thinking and thinking some MORE, I think I'm ready to give this a go!

Starting the first Monday in July, I will, every Monday for a year, propose a garment which for most of us would qualify as a core wardrobe item. A staple. A classic...

Not all of these are going to apply to you; I suspect that many of us aren't going to want or need more than... 40? of these. But you might like all 52 - it will be an interesting process!

My system was to divide the year into 4 quarters of 13 weeks. Each quarter will include 13 garments that echo a 13-week "system" of pieces that looks like this...

These aren't going to be snazzy, eye-catching statement garments - this project is designed to get ... View the Post