Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
September 24, 2014 Please remember that I put these six-packs together last month, so that there would be pretty things to spark your imagination while I'm on vacation. It's entirely possible that some of these garments won't be available anymore, but there's a world full of loveliness, if you search long enough!
love,
Janice ... View the Post
September 22, 2014 I don't want everybody to feel like I've beaten the "navy and grey" horse to death, but I had a lot of requests for variations of those colors, and they all take on their own feel... Please remember that I prepared these posts back in August, so you'd have pretty things to read while I'm on vacation; if the hyperlinks don't work, or an item is sold out, I sincerely apologize! This is the color scheme - three of the colors we've worked with before, but this bright plum color changes everything. What once was a soft and muted palette takes on a brightness and life that can be included in an outfit on a day that feels right, or you can always stick with the softer colors when that's what you ... View the Post
September 19, 2014 Everybody's familiar with the concept of the power suit, but this suit goes far beyond the predictable black...
love,
Janice
... View the Post
September 18, 2014 Remember, these posts were written in August, so it's possible that some items are no longer available. If that's the case, I'm terribly sorry!
love, Janice ... View the Post
September 17, 2014
I leave later today for Paris... and Yes, I'm excited! It never gets old, and I never get tired of doing the same things, going the same places. This trip will be very different from most of my recent ones, because I'm going with someone who's never been there. This will definitely add some new perspectives to how I see the city. My carefully schemed packing is going to be changed slightly, because the weather in Paris is quite a bit warmer than it is here in Chicago. This makes me think AGAIN that it's only reasonable to be prepared for weather changes when you travel.
Last week, in Chicago, the weather went from air conditioning overnight to weather cold enough to wear gloves. ... View the Post
Seotember 16, 2014 So beautiful, and such inspiring colors! I was completely unfamiliar with this artist; my readers send me the most wonderful things...
I chose a muted palette from this painting - I think I'm in a muted mood today. Would you like to see a 2nd post (after my vacation!) based on this painting, with more vivid colors?
I've been asked to clarify the role of the various "fours" in the 4 by 4 Wardrobe, so I'm going to do that while working with this painting. Multitasking... The First Core of Four is designed to give you two tops and two "bottoms" (I don't know why, but lots of people are completely bothered by the term bottoms...) that can be worn as four outfits. ... View the Post
September 15, 2014 One of the joys of having all of our core basics covered in our wardrobes is that, if a trend happens along that holds some interest and appeal, we can give it a try! This year, sweatshirts with some sort of enhancement seem to be everywhere. I've seen jeweled, beaded, embroidered, textured, and printed ones - some of them very beautiful. These can be worn with nice trousers and good-quality leather shoes on casual Friday in most offices. However, be careful, because some of these sweatshirts, while very lovely, are BLINDINGLY expensive. Happily, there are also very similar products available at more reasonable prices. Just check to be sure that your new purchase is put ... View the Post
September 13, 2014
One more visit to the denim and grey Core of Four - this time, with accent colors of lavender and jade. All of the shades are cool - some are soft and gentle, and others are almost vivid. Lots of options here!
One of the nicest things with the shades of lavender - they can easily be blended so long as you have the same basic tone.
Once you find someone who's selling a color that you love, it makes some sense to stock up!
I looked for moonstone jewelry for this collection. Moonstone has such a lovely iridescent, almost colorless quality that picks up the colors that you wear. I think it's beautiful (and it's one of the three birthstones for those of us born in ... View the Post
September 12, 2014
This color palette felt to me like it was giving you permission to indulge in a variety of shades of pink, and so that's sort of what I did. I also took this opportunity to pretend that the person choosing this capsule wardrobe had a deep and abiding passion for stripes. That sort of fondness/obsession is great in a wardrobe, if it's deeply and truly felt. You should definitely wear your heart on your literal sleeve if you know what you like, and you're happy sharing it with the world. It certainly makes shopping more focused, and you project a clear point of view to everyone around you!
Why yes, the grey and blue shirts are the same, except for the color. When you ... View the Post
September 11, 2014
What a cool painting! It shows the World War 2 damage to the church, and the "reveal" of the interior structure of the church is fascinating. So sad that such a lovely piece of art is the result of destruction...
From this, I selected two relatively minor colors in the painting as the neutrals, and then used the gorgeous pastels as the accent colors. The black is clearly visible, but I grabbed the sage green from the shrubbery that's relatively obscured on the left side of the painting.
I think what I'm trying to show here is that, although the painting itself is very light with muted pastels, it's still possible to pull together a wardrobe from these colors without enriching your dry cleaner. Capturing ... View the Post
I'm having a "tired day" today, so I'm going to share with you all sorts of stray questions that wander through my head from day to day. Maybe you see something that I'm missing in some of these situations....
First thing - have you noticed a huge trend of tee shirts with random French phrases on them? I really wish I could have found an image of one of my favorites, which had a misspelling, and which thus made absolutely no sense...
So does one wear this in order to appear French? Or conversely, to appear vehemently non-French? Or is it just another random trend of things to put on tee shirts to that people continue to buy them?
And why do grown adults wear tee shirts with writing on them?
What might be ... View the Post
