Home » Capsule Wardrobe Project 333: warm colors, step by step
Capsule Wardrobe Project 333: warm colors, step by step
Lots of people wanted to see a “333” in warm colors, and LOTS of people wanted a glimpse into my thought process as I build these wardrobes. But this isn’t the only possible approach to 333-ing…
all clothes – L.L.Bean
all clothes – L.L.Bean
all clothes – L.L.Bean
all clothes – L.L.Bean
tops – L.L.Bean, ivory jeans – Les Copains
all clothes – L.L.Bean
all clothes – L.L.Bean
silk blouse – Chloe, all other clothes, L.L.Bean
peach silk blouse – Chloe, ivory jeans – les Copains, all other clothes – L.L.Bean
This is really good and I will study it more closely. I just wanted to thank you for spending so much thought and time on your blog. It has helped me tremendously in putting my outfits together.
Just wanted to pop in and say thank you for all your wonderful posts. I thoroughly enjoy every one even though I don't comment often. How creative you are! While my lifestyle is more casual now. I sometimes struggle with making it look fresh. Your ideas fuel my creativity. Since I sew many of my clothes these guidelines make many of my choices more versatile.
Brilliant. Simply brilliant! For some reason seeing this in the warm colors really made sense to me, even though I am a definite cool color, B&W girl. I love the way you put outfits together and it helps me be more creative with my wardrobe. I plan to begin my own Project 333 on 01/01/13. My New Year's Resolution is to do buy zero clothes/shoes/accessories for the entire year of 2013. I can do this!
Yes you can! I went 12 months without shopping, and once I'd made up my mind, and put the various shopping temptations (especially emails) out to pasture, it was very freeing! stay in touch and let us all know how it goes!
Yes, yes, yes! I did this last year, after a eureka moment while reading/studying Janice's posts. I did replace a (very expensive) bra, but that was it. I've dressed better, felt lighter and happier, and saved lots of money. Now I need a few "extenders" to replace some items I didn't touch all year. But now I know what to look for. Bon courage!
Thank you so much, Janice/Janus! ;o) I'm going to transpose this back to my own colours, but the step-by-step was absolutely invaluable. I have a feeling you just saved me a lot of money.
Janice, you are a genius! This seems so rational and easy when you lay it out like that. I get confused trying to put together a small wardrobe in my head, but with your graphics and explainations, it all makes so much sense. I don't think you would ever run out of outfits with this much clothes (at least not until laundry day), and think of all the money you can devote to accessories! ;) Thank you, as always, for sharing your insight.
This makes it really easy to understand; very concise, and it helped me. Even if it seems repetitive, could you now do this (a follow-up post) as a cool colors step-by-step? I'd appreciate it so much. Thank you, Janice. I found the black pants post before this one to be really valuable, too.
It's under construction! I just have to finish it – it will depend on how late I get home tonight from my haircut.
And thank you – everybody – thank you – for letting me know that these posts are helpful. My whole purpose in blogging is to enable you to take control of your own wardrobe, and spend your hard-earned money more efficiently (while leaving more to be invested).
Oh, good. I was just going to ask for that, a cool color version. Thank you for all of your work on this blog. I am slogging my way through sewing four navy pieces. It's boring sewing, but I will wear the clothes A LOT, I know.
That is great! I can't wait to see the cool grouping! I have learned a ton about wardrobe management since beginning to read your blog. Thank you a million times over!
By the way, LL Bean should give you commissions! I wish they'd have a "Vivienne Files" sales area, so that we could just add your suggestions to cart. <3
You know, that's actually a fantastic idea. There's this huge online retailer I used to buy from (you really have to cull; too much of the stuff is bad fabric, weird sizing and poor quality, so I'm looking at that site as "the old days" for me) and they had a thing you could click on where some woman (maybe a fake name) would lay out the clothes much like Janice does to show how you could make outfits from stuff you could buy there on their site. Lands' End shows ideas now with their clothes and how to mix 'n match like J.Jill does with Wearever. We just need to get Janice hooked up with the right vendor! Janice, I know you already have a day job but, man, seems like you could make a fortune doing this for money with what we readers are getting for free, although I'm sure you've thought about this…gosh, if anything, you could be a great window dresser at a posh department store; they'd sell a ton of clothes once you worked your magic!
Perhaps, another part of your process is how you decide which pieces in which colour. For example, the jackets and larger sweaters. I expect you have a whole thought process but it is so ingrained for you, that you don't think it is obvious. Well, for some of us, it isn't!!
I know everyone else has said it but I am so glad you showed HOW to do it… I spend hours trying to spread sheet back from the bigger pictures. Now I have not looked at this really closely yet, but do you also mix back ranges of formality in clothes? I find I need formal business 20% of the time (roughly), semi formal about 50%, and 30% smart casual/working at home. I do tend to have a couple of other outfits that are really at home stuff. So does this system cater for this? I really want to follow you all and go a year or even a few months without buying… I started but I think I don't quite have it all planned out yet. Thanks Janice (and others for their comments and insights!)
Thank you so much for this post. The penny has finally dropped, and I now have a very clear roadmap to follow. Even though I know I could substitute your black/white for my chocolate brown and cream it's all now making sense. A sincere thank you from all of us redheads with freckles!
Thank you for this post. I appreciate most of all seeing the "thought process." I just unpacked all my winter clothes and will lay them out this weekend to find my needs. No more unnecessary shopping and wearing things I love now seems to be an attainable goal…thanks to you.
THANK YOU for laying it out so clearly! Now i can see a plan for going forward. I have tried to do your variation of Project 333, but i have not succeeded and now i see why. First, if (God forbid) the house burned down and i started over, i could add only things that go with everything else. Instead, i am starting with an existing wardrobe where everything goes with at least 3 or 4 other things, but not with everything. Second, my clothes seem to be more specialized than yours. For example, I have tailored jackets for work that i love and rotate to wear constantly. They look fine with jeans, but they are too dressy for alot of my everyday life, and anyway, i prefer to keep them pristine for the office or dress up occasions. I also have some dress up clothes that don't get worn often, but i do need them for certain occasions. Third, I have quite a few year round things like tees, and since i wear thm all in rotation, it seems silly to ban a few just to get to 33. I have realized though that my total wardrobe size is only a bit above the 333 yearly amount: i have about 66 everyday things total for spring/summer and fall/winter combined, but i have about 10 or 12 dresses/ dressy outfits (i.e. Dress suits) in addition. I've culled down to my favorites and now love everything that is left. Still, i think your map is a good plan going forward with replacements. Sorry to ramble on, but i'm so thrilled to finally be on the right track!
Thank you so much for this post! These are soooo my colors! I am transitioning to dark brown from black as my basic neutral (although I still love brown and black together!) I am 57 yo (black is just too harsh for me, like darker lipstick…) w/two careers and need a well-put together wardrobe. Not fancy, but I want to be remembered when I leave the room! I also have been toying with the idea of having a shopping moratorium, and it helps knowing others feel the same way. More stuff does not make me happier, or solve my wardrobe issues! Just gives me more stuff.. When I look at your clothes combinations I picture my accessories with them, and it just makes me happy! Thanks again…
Many of these colors live in my closet, but now I can actually see how to turn them into a workable wardrobe. This visual list tops all my previous attemps to figure out what to buy. Thank you for this most helpful post. My only challenge is finding pieces that are not too "warm" for our tropical weather!
This is such a great graphic. I have a similar clothing style so these pieces will translate to what I already have and I can fill in pieces and edit as I need to. Thank you!
Perfect, thank you so much and the main thing I noticed no patterned tops, this is where I think I loose it a bit they are in your cardigans/jumpers.
I would also appreciate it if you could explain the logic of what garment in what style as Anonymous posted on 31 October 2012, this doesn't come easy for me either.
Great post, love it as usual. Love the step by step and love the warm color palette. Thanks for the great ideas of sharing. I am a definite shopaholic and I would love to stop and just have a simple wardrobe that I wear 100% of the time. My only worry is that I will get bored with the colors…
Remember that the wardrobe hasn't been accessorized yet:) That will be a sight to see and study,I'm sure. The nice thing for me about the 333 project is that you don't have to eliminate everything over 33 but rather those items are tucked away and not worn for the three month period. It was a fantastic excersize in restraint and wildly freeing at the same time. I eliminated additional excess after my first round and hope to cull more this second time. It's getting easier and easier. Love the post Janice! Karen
Thanks so much. NOW I understand and can't wait for the step-by-step for cool colors. I have understood and lived by the basic neutrals for decades but I realize now that I've been doing the lighter, in-between, and signature colors in a hit-and-miss fashion. Mistakes in these area can really derail the whole concept! Love your blog!!!
Would you please do a post on how you chose accessories to go with a wardrobe like this? Do you have a formula for picking out accessories as well? I struggle with accessories, even though I know they are the fastest way to make an outfit look dramatically different. It seems I always buy clothing first… please help! I LOVE your blog. It's been a godsend for me so far. Thanks!
This is pretty much the colour scheme I live by – brown, beige & khaki basics, plus accent colours of rust, teal, lime and mustard. Have recently started adding aqua and dusky pink to the mix, and am looking for the right forest green tops for winter.
Thank goodness I found your site! I am working on Project 333 and just started last week – there a lot of helpful wardrobe guides online, but they all assume everyone can look good in black and white based outfits! I have strawberry blonde hair, hazel eyes, and fair, freckled skin and was really hurting to figure out how to pick and choose my items for maximum versatility! I've went with a palette of dark brown, ivory, medium browm, teal, rust, and some purple. Now I just need to learn to not be afraid of accessories – but I just have no idea of where to start – I don't really like big, flashy jewelry.
perfect!! I wear warm colours and could not visualize how to transfer your black and white wardrobe to my warm one. thank you!
This is really good and I will study it more closely. I just wanted to thank you for spending so much thought and time on your blog. It has helped me tremendously in putting my outfits together.
This is my wardrobe!!!! Even the signature color (although, I have some aubergine pieces that I'd substitute for the lighter neutrals) Thank you!
Just wanted to pop in and say thank you for all your wonderful posts. I thoroughly enjoy every one even though I don't comment often. How creative you are! While my lifestyle is more casual now. I sometimes struggle with making it look fresh. Your ideas fuel my creativity. Since I sew many of my clothes these guidelines make many of my choices more versatile.
Brilliant. Simply brilliant! For some reason seeing this in the warm colors really made sense to me, even though I am a definite cool color, B&W girl. I love the way you put outfits together and it helps me be more creative with my wardrobe. I plan to begin my own Project 333 on 01/01/13. My New Year's Resolution is to do buy zero clothes/shoes/accessories for the entire year of 2013. I can do this!
Yes you can! I went 12 months without shopping, and once I'd made up my mind, and put the various shopping temptations (especially emails) out to pasture, it was very freeing!
stay in touch and let us all know how it goes!
Yes, yes, yes! I did this last year, after a eureka moment while reading/studying Janice's posts. I did replace a (very expensive) bra, but that was it. I've dressed better, felt lighter and happier, and saved lots of money. Now I need a few "extenders" to replace some items I didn't touch all year. But now I know what to look for. Bon courage!
Thank you so much, Janice/Janus! ;o) I'm going to transpose this back to my own colours, but the step-by-step was absolutely invaluable. I have a feeling you just saved me a lot of money.
Janice, you are a genius! This seems so rational and easy when you lay it out like that. I get confused trying to put together a small wardrobe in my head, but with your graphics and explainations, it all makes so much sense. I don't think you would ever run out of outfits with this much clothes (at least not until laundry day), and think of all the money you can devote to accessories! ;)
Thank you, as always, for sharing your insight.
http://www.aspireinspireblog.blogspot.com
This makes it really easy to understand; very concise, and it helped me. Even if it seems repetitive, could you now do this (a follow-up post) as a cool colors step-by-step? I'd appreciate it so much. Thank you, Janice. I found the black pants post before this one to be really valuable, too.
It's under construction! I just have to finish it – it will depend on how late I get home tonight from my haircut.
And thank you – everybody – thank you – for letting me know that these posts are helpful. My whole purpose in blogging is to enable you to take control of your own wardrobe, and spend your hard-earned money more efficiently (while leaving more to be invested).
Oh, good. I was just going to ask for that, a cool color version. Thank you for all of your work on this blog. I am slogging my way through sewing four navy pieces. It's boring sewing, but I will wear the clothes A LOT, I know.
That is great! I can't wait to see the cool grouping! I have learned a ton about wardrobe management since beginning to read your blog. Thank you a million times over!
I love this grouping, Janice…my favorite one yet.
By the way, LL Bean should give you commissions! I wish they'd have a "Vivienne Files" sales area, so that we could just add your suggestions to cart. <3
You know, that's actually a fantastic idea. There's this huge online retailer I used to buy from (you really have to cull; too much of the stuff is bad fabric, weird sizing and poor quality, so I'm looking at that site as "the old days" for me) and they had a thing you could click on where some woman (maybe a fake name) would lay out the clothes much like Janice does to show how you could make outfits from stuff you could buy there on their site. Lands' End shows ideas now with their clothes and how to mix 'n match like J.Jill does with Wearever. We just need to get Janice hooked up with the right vendor! Janice, I know you already have a day job but, man, seems like you could make a fortune doing this for money with what we readers are getting for free, although I'm sure you've thought about this…gosh, if anything, you could be a great window dresser at a posh department store; they'd sell a ton of clothes once you worked your magic!
Perhaps, another part of your process is how you decide which pieces in which colour. For example, the jackets and larger sweaters. I expect you have a whole thought process but it is so ingrained for you, that you don't think it is obvious. Well, for some of us, it isn't!!
I know everyone else has said it but I am so glad you showed HOW to do it… I spend hours trying to spread sheet back from the bigger pictures. Now I have not looked at this really closely yet, but do you also mix back ranges of formality in clothes? I find I need formal business 20% of the time (roughly), semi formal about 50%, and 30% smart casual/working at home. I do tend to have a couple of other outfits that are really at home stuff. So does this system cater for this? I really want to follow you all and go a year or even a few months without buying… I started but I think I don't quite have it all planned out yet. Thanks Janice (and others for their comments and insights!)
Thank you so much for this post. The penny has finally dropped, and I now have a very clear roadmap to follow. Even though I know I could substitute your black/white for my chocolate brown and cream it's all now making sense. A sincere thank you from all of us redheads with freckles!
Janice,
I'm bouncing right over to Polyvore to see if I can duplicate your thought process with MY wardrobe! And then I'll figure out where the holes are.
Jora
Thank you for this post. I appreciate most of all seeing the "thought process." I just unpacked all my winter clothes and will lay them out this weekend to find my needs. No more unnecessary shopping and wearing things I love now seems to be an attainable goal…thanks to you.
THANK YOU for laying it out so clearly! Now i can see a plan for going forward.
I have tried to do your variation of Project 333, but i have not succeeded and now i see why.
First, if (God forbid) the house burned down and i started over, i could add only things that go with everything else. Instead, i am starting with an existing wardrobe where everything goes with at least 3 or 4 other things, but not with everything.
Second, my clothes seem to be more specialized than yours. For example, I have tailored jackets for work that i love and rotate to wear constantly. They look fine with jeans, but they are too dressy for alot of my everyday life, and anyway, i prefer to keep them pristine for the office or dress up occasions. I also have some dress up clothes that don't get worn often, but i do need them for certain occasions.
Third, I have quite a few year round things like tees, and since i wear thm all in rotation, it seems silly to ban a few just to get to 33.
I have realized though that my total wardrobe size is only a bit above the 333 yearly amount: i have about 66 everyday things total for spring/summer and fall/winter combined, but i have about 10 or 12 dresses/ dressy outfits (i.e. Dress suits) in addition.
I've culled down to my favorites and now love everything that is left. Still, i think your map is a good plan going forward with replacements.
Sorry to ramble on, but i'm so thrilled to finally be on the right track!
Jm
Third,
Thank you so much for this post! These are soooo my colors! I am transitioning to dark brown from black as my basic neutral (although I still love brown and black together!) I am 57 yo (black is just too harsh for me, like darker lipstick…) w/two careers and need a well-put together wardrobe. Not fancy, but I want to be remembered when I leave the room! I also have been toying with the idea of having a shopping moratorium, and it helps knowing others feel the same way. More stuff does not make me happier, or solve my wardrobe issues! Just gives me more stuff.. When I look at your clothes combinations I picture my accessories with them, and it just makes me happy! Thanks again…
Many of these colors live in my closet, but now I can actually see how to turn them into a workable wardrobe. This visual list tops all my previous attemps to figure out what to buy. Thank you for this most helpful post. My only challenge is finding pieces that are not too "warm" for our tropical weather!
This is such a great graphic. I have a similar clothing style so these pieces will translate to what I already have and I can fill in pieces and edit as I need to. Thank you!
Perfect, thank you so much and the main thing I noticed no patterned tops, this is where I think I loose it a bit they are in your cardigans/jumpers.
I would also appreciate it if you could explain the logic of what garment in what style as Anonymous posted on 31 October 2012, this doesn't come easy for me either.
Thank you so much!! This is extremely helpful!!!!
I will apply this idea to our Sydney spring summer weather conditions.
Please continue to inspire! !
Great post, love it as usual. Love the step by step and love the warm color palette. Thanks for the great ideas of sharing. I am a definite shopaholic and I would love to stop and just have a simple wardrobe that I wear 100% of the time. My only worry is that I will get bored with the colors…
Thanks for the inspirations!
Remember that the wardrobe hasn't been accessorized yet:) That will be a sight to see and study,I'm sure. The nice thing for me about the 333 project is that you don't have to eliminate everything over 33 but rather those items are tucked away and not worn for the three month period. It was a fantastic excersize in restraint and wildly freeing at the same time. I eliminated additional excess after my first round and hope to cull more this second time. It's getting easier and easier. Love the post Janice! Karen
Thanks so much. NOW I understand and can't wait for the step-by-step for cool colors. I have understood and lived by the basic neutrals for decades but I realize now that I've been doing the lighter, in-between, and signature colors in a hit-and-miss fashion. Mistakes in these area can really derail the whole concept! Love your blog!!!
Would you please do a post on how you chose accessories to go with a wardrobe like this? Do you have a formula for picking out accessories as well? I struggle with accessories, even though I know they are the fastest way to make an outfit look dramatically different. It seems I always buy clothing first… please help! I LOVE your blog. It's been a godsend for me so far. Thanks!
This is pretty much the colour scheme I live by – brown, beige & khaki basics, plus accent colours of rust, teal, lime and mustard. Have recently started adding aqua and dusky pink to the mix, and am looking for the right forest green tops for winter.
Thank goodness I found your site! I am working on Project 333 and just started last week – there a lot of helpful wardrobe guides online, but they all assume everyone can look good in black and white based outfits! I have strawberry blonde hair, hazel eyes, and fair, freckled skin and was really hurting to figure out how to pick and choose my items for maximum versatility! I've went with a palette of dark brown, ivory, medium browm, teal, rust, and some purple. Now I just need to learn to not be afraid of accessories – but I just have no idea of where to start – I don't really like big, flashy jewelry.