Earrings – Lagos, watch – Skagen, navy cotton pants – Jil Sander, navy tee shirt – Jil Sander, scarf – Halogen, cardigan – Lana d’Oro, loafers – Dorothy Perkins, bag – Longchamps
Floral tee – Dorothy Perkins, striped tee – Target, pink tee – Anneclaire, pink quartz earrings – Toosis, pleated skirt – Jil Sander Navy, bag – French Connection, rose quartz bracelet – Chrysalis, pink shorts – Givenchy, floral skirt – MSGM, dress – Patagonia, navy sandals – Munro, pink sandals – Kork-Ease
Floral tee – Dorothy Perkins, dotted dress – L.L.Bean, checked shirt – Robert Friedman, striped tee – Target, pink tee – Anneclaire, earrings – Toosis, white sweater – Cruciani, cardigan – Moschino Cheap and Chic, pleated skirt – Jil Sander Navy, pink shorts – Givenchy, white capris – Joseph, floral skirt – MSGM, dress – Patagonia, navy sandals – Munro, pink sandals – Kork-Ease
I love pink and navy together. Thank you for these ideas!
So pretty! You're reminding me how much I loved navy before it became impossible to find a decade or so ago.
I would have never thought to pair navy and pink, but they are delightful together.
Sam
I wanted to let you know how much I love your blog. You are really helping me look at my wardrobe and wardrobe planning in a much more deliberate way.
I have a few questions and would like your advice. I think it's a great idea to limit the colors in one's wardrobe, but how do you (and others) deal with being fickle about colors (especially accent colors)? I go through phases where I love a color and want to buy everything in that color… but then after a while, I get tired of it and go on to the next color. It happens with every color. Should I just plan for that and make sure that these accent colors go with my core neutrals? All advice and comments are welcome.
Thanks again for all that you do!
I think it's a great question. I, too, am "fickle" when it comes to accent colours – sometimes to the point of feeling so uncertain about which I should choose to accent my neutrals.
Would love to hear Janice weigh in – one idea I have is to use the 333 posts (33 garments, 3 months) and just switch the accent garments every season?
Chris,
Thanks so much for your response. That is a good idea for me to ponder. It certainly would satisfy my need for a bit of variety.
I too would love to hear Janice's thought about the matter.
While I realize the question was asked ages ago…I'll share my two cents just in case new readers have the same question. I'm also very fickle with accent colors, so as a previous poster suggested, I change those with the seasons. I have (very, very slowly) built a core wardrobe of varying shades of gray, black, white, navy, and light tan. Most of those mix-and-match amongst themselves, already giving me a lot of combinations. In spring and summer, I move the black and darker grays to the back of the closet and combine the remaining core of navy, white, light tan, and light gray with shots of bright pinks, vibrant greens, teal, cobalt…a few red pieces get thrown in in the mix. When autumn and winter approach, I bring the charcoal grays and black forward and retire the "core" tans and light grays, along with anything that is turquoise, hot pink, lime green, bright blue, etc. I then add purples, maroon, blue-reds, burgundy, dusky rose, violet…some of the pinks and jewel-toned blues and greens (sapphire, emerald) from spring/summer fit well within this wardrobe, and I keep those close by in case I have a "I'm sick of purples" crisis. That's how I trick myself into perceiving "newness" and "variety" when in fact most of the pieces are things that I've had for years.
As you see, I have no yellows, browns, oranges, creams, dark tans…I simply don't look good in those, but someone who does could easily replace my blue-red jewel tones for yellow-red shades to build an autumn/winter wardrobe of buttercream, orange, rust, varying shades of red, deep camel, creamy-beige, brown, and black and a spring/summer one that revolves around navy, orange, bright yellow, white, tan, and chartreuse green, for example. As suggested by THE V-FILES, use a beautiful scarf, printed dress, or striking piece of art to find complimentary colors, and use it as inspiration to slowly build a wardrobe that you truly love. (Your inspiration can be anywhere, really! My spring-summer palette idea came from a pair of pajama pants, the autumn-winter one, from the cover of a book.) Good luck!
The “333” principles make a lot of sense. As I’ve pruned and refined my wardrobe, I’ve found myself following them without especially meaning to.
Although black, blue (navy or denim) and some shade of rose (from ice pink to cherry) are constants, I find myself drawn to different accent colors as the seasons change. In the fall, I like to mix in moss green and rust (though not near my face; I’m a Color Me Beautiful winter) with bronze jewelry. Winter calls for jewel tones: red, purple, cobalt, silver jewelry. Turquoise shows up in early spring, when I increasingly replace jewel tones with yellow, mint green and geranium pink. These colors stay during the summer, when I usually swap navy for white or linen.
I enjoy celebrating changing seasons. I need variety. Changing accent colors and fabrics allow both, while limiting shopper’s remorse. My total number of clothes/accessories/etc. is between 30 and 35.
While I wear some basics nine months of the year, I don’t do either intense cold or heat well, so I have a summer LBD and a winter one, etc.
I love what adding in the white ensemble does here! The navy and pink is very pretty and then the white items add crispness and elegance.
has Janice ever explained her "formula" for creating these travel capsules? It looks so easy when she posts them, but when i try to recreate it is just missing something. I'm going to Barcelona next week for 4 days, and am trying to use only carry on, and having difficulty. Chronic over packer here!
I hope that you have a wonderful time in Barcelona. We have just spent three nights there, with a small case each that is a carry on size, though we travelled by train, which does make life easier! My husband works on the theory that if we go to a different restaurant each night we can wear the same clothes as nobody will know!
Thanks Sue….I love your husbands logic! LOL. So looking forward to Barcelona, hope to see some sun.. I'm trying to whittle down to a small carry on…..trying is the key word there.
Some lovely pieces there, but want I want to know is what do you do with matching navy? I wear various blues together, but generally not navy as it does come in slighly different hues and just seems a bit tricky if you're wearing it top and bottom.
Yes, Eleanor jane, I have the same problem with navy. (Or should I say "navies.") It definitely does come in slightly different hues, even from the same source.
For example, L.L. Bean has several pieces in "classic navy," but they also have a few pieces in "bright navy" and some pieces in just "navy."
A similar situation exists with Lands' End. They have some pieces in just plain "navy," but they also have other pieces in "classic navy" and "true navy." To confuse things further, in addition they have several other dark blue colors that I also would describe as "navy." Those colors include "celestial blue" and "deep sea" as well as lots of "midnights:" "midnight blue," "midnight indigo," and "midnight sky."
And even though two different sources might have pieces that are called the same color, that doesn't mean that they will be the same hue. "Classic navy" from one source won't necessarily be the same hue as "classic navy" from another source.
If I want to wear a navy top with a navy bottom, I've found that the only safe bet is to get pieces in the same exact navy from the same source. I.e. a "classic navy" cardigan paired with "classic navy" pants, both from L.L. Bean.
(I've even given up on buying navy socks to wear with navy pants. Too often the color of the navy socks looks horrible with the color of the navy pants. Instead, I tend to wear gray socks with navy pants. Sigh.)
Sorry for this long-winded reply, but this issue has plagued me for years. :-)
kris
I love your blog!!! Would you be able to do a packing capsule for an all inclusive resort for 2 weeks? ny input would be greatly appreciated.