white Archives - Page 12 of 25

Start with Art: Femme au Col Blanc by Marc Chagall

December 19, 2016

I saw a TON of art when I was in Paris, so you're going to be inundated with "Start with Art" capsule wardrobe for the foreseeable future! I think anybody who has met me can appreciate why this painting caught my eye immediately:

I loved the clarity and simplicity of this painting - the color scheme is a refreshing change from seeing black and white with red so frequently. (not that I'm going to quit wearing red any time soon, but I do understand that it's ubiquitous...)

She's NOT Feeling Christmasy... Some years, you just don't...

But she knows that she has to look beautiful for a couple of days, so she breaks out her favorite colors (no red, thank you!) to accent her best ... View the Post

12 Months, 12 Outfits in a A Black-Based Capsule Wardrobe – An Evaluation

December 7, 2016

Ah, this one is closest to my normal capsule wardrobe, and to what I would buy if I had to start all over...Remember, we left this wardrobe on the first of November like this:

You can see the outfit-by-outfit progression of this wardrobe here: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November.

Because this wardrobe is so close to my own, I wasn't really concerned that things wouldn't be reasonably well balanced. The easy assembly of a "Four by Four" capsule wardrobe supports my thoughts:

I wasn't quite as certain that things would be as well-balanced for seasons and dressiness - I tend to love cold-weather clothing more than warm, and ... View the Post

The French 5-Piece Wardrobe Starts with Art: Still Life with Bouquet of Flowers and Plums by Rachel Ruysch

Dear Elizabeth, who's favorite designer is Vionnet - send me an email at [email protected] with your mailing address. You won the Mainbocher exhibit book!So what do you do if you WANT something new, but you really don't need anything? You feel the need for brightening up, for some new ideas and inspiration, for some updated options in your wardrobe... I think it's important to take these feeling seriously, and to act on them deliberately, with a clear plan and established goal. If you just start buying things willy nilly, you risk wasting money, and feeling guilty, and still not satisfying that urge that stems from something vital within you.

How about first find something beautiful to help focus that sort of "all over the ... View the Post

Tote Bag Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Red, Blue and White

October 28, 2016 It's always interesting to work with red, blue, and white in a capsule wardrobe - the challenge is to do justice to three colors that look great together, without ending up looking like someone's flag... The grey here, the 2 shades of red, and the 2 shades of blue, give us lots of options to avoid a very "bleu, blanc, rouge" kind of look. (unless that's what you want - I'm not going to tell you no!)

Scarf – Hermes Au Bout du Monde; wrap – Nordstrom

For this very abbreviated little ensemble, I focused on just four colors. Introducing a spectrum of grey could give you a million options...

Scarf – Hermes Au Bout du Monde; wrap – Nordstrom He Falls Asleep.... At ... View the Post

Tote Bag Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Navy, Hot Pink and White

October 19, 2016 Classic colors, timeless design:

Scarf – Hermes Flânerie à Versailles; cashmere & silk wrap - Nordstrom

The clever color scheme of this scarf opens the door to a capsule wardrobe with accent colors of red, bright pink, or cobalt blue... maybe even grey? Sisters From Different Mothers They've done it once a month for YEARS...

Scarf – Hermes Flânerie à Versailles; cashmere & silk wrap - Nordstrom

Knit blazer – J. Crew; earrings – GFG Jewellery; scarf – Hermes Flânerie à Versailles; silk tee – Aquascutum London; watch – Skagen; jeans – L.L.Bean; boots – Sam Edelman; bag – Longchamp

They get a hotel room downtown, ... View the Post

Tote Bag Travel Capsule Wardrobe in Black, White and Red

October 17, 2016

As you might already know, I'll be in Italy when this post goes "live"! But I've got 2 weeks of lovely capsule wardrobes lined up for you, all of them starting with a pair of scarves. From there, our protagonist is going to spend one quick (but lovely!) night somewhere...Starting NOW!

Living Beyond Breast Cancer scarf – White House Black Market; shawl – Nordstrom

This is our color scheme, although careful scrutiny of the left scarf suggests that pink might have also been a possibility here:

Living Beyond Breast Cancer scarf – White House Black Market; shawl – Nordstrom Barely Enough Time... Okay, she checks her watch...

Living Beyond Breast Cancer scarf – White ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Finishing Up

Frankly, at this point in proceedings, you could easily stop building your capsule wardrobe, and be just fine!

But it's always reasonable to stop and evaluate where you are with your wardrobe - are there things that you still need? Items that might make OTHER items more versatile, or get them used more frequently? Are you sure you're ready for whatever events might come up in the future?

The answers to these questions will be different for each of us, but they are worth asking...

The biggest lack of balance that I can see is that I'm "navy-heavy" here. This often happens - it's normal that either you simply like one of your neutrals more than the other, or that it's much more readily available, or that you want to have a solid core ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Four

October 13, 2016

This capsule wardrobe is starting to look pretty coherent! (Step 1 is here, Step 2 is here, and Step 3 is here)

After one has lived with the above wardrobe for a while, it might be time to buy an entire outfit, all at one time! Or it would also make sense to buy 3 pieces that aren't necessarily intended to worn together, but all of which are useful and integrated additions to the existing wardrobe.

Sticking with the idea that our heroine lead a pretty casual life, I thought that a pair of shorts would be handy for her. Another really pretty cabled sweater in one of her accent colors is an obvious choice, and a simple white shirt is never a bad idea...

Almost any color scheme that I use for a ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Three

At this point in our starting from scratch capsule wardrobe series, you're in a pretty good position for travel; it wouldn't be impossible to be away for a week with this collection. Toss in a white shirt and white tee shirt, and you would only need to do minimal laundry!

Our next step is to start filling in shirts and sweaters, so it's time to take a quick look at what we currently have. This would be an obvious place to pull in a beige shirt, sweater, or blouse if that holds any appeal. But I'm thinking that my imaginary protagonist is more interested in pretty accent colors, so I've chosen these:

Sweater – Lands’ End; necklace – Karine Sultan; shirt – L.L.Bean

Yes, the necklace is in a very similar vein to her ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Two

Yesterday we left this capsule wardrobe with five (very carefully chosen) garments, and eight possible ways to wear them. It's about time for some accessories!

This is the stage at which your personality and preference can really begin to show. For this imaginary wardrobe builder, I've decided that she has two really strong "themes" that she likes: Cables (like those on sweaters, or in twisted and rope-like jewelry textures), and Flowers. These preferences will be more and more apparent as we move forward, but it's good to starting establishing these personal style signatures as soon as possible.

Watch – Skagen; bracelet – Vanessa Mooney; scarf – Gucci; earrings – Nordstrom; bag – Louise et Cie

Everything is very simple, ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – First Steps

October 10, 2016

Ever since I did the first Starting From Scratch Capsule Wardrobe series, I've received questions about why I chose the steps that I did, how did I figure out color schemes - well, anything that could be questioned, was questioned!

Which is good. You should always make sure that anyone giving you advice can explain themselves, and that what they're telling you makes sense. In the US right now, this is being brought home to us every day...

So let's walk through another capsule wardrobe, a couple of steps a day, and see if I can answer some of your questions!

First up, color scheme. If you don't really worry about any other step of the process, THIS is the one that deserves your thought. There's no rule ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art Part 2: Cow’s Skull: Red White and Blue by Georgia O’Keeffe

September 21, 2016 She's a medical examiner, and she's got her own, very deliberate, way of doing things! When we saw her at the class reunion, this was what she had with her:

cardigan – J. Crew; necklace – Swarovski; ring - Armenta; earrings – Alexis Bittar; scarf – Image Diary; bracelet – Alexis Bittar; scarf – Etro; watch – Movado; sweater – L.L.Bean; black and white tee – Rag & Bone; blue tee – The Mercer N.Y.; dress – Lands’ End; jeans – .L.Bean; pants – L.L.Bean; skirt – Lands’ End; handbag – Lautem; pumps – Cole Haan; boots – Munro; flats – Vaneli; tote – Orciani This is the unifying style inspiration that she uses for her appearance and image; not for just anyone, I'd ... View the Post