Tee – Lands’ End; cardigan – L.L.Bean; pants – Jil Sander Navy; penny loafers – Lauren by Ralph Lauren; ballet flats – Vaneli; woven loafers – Trotters
We always have to start out with a couple of basic, essential accessories…
Tee shirt – IDLF Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L.Bean; pants – Jil Sander Navy; top bag – Furla; middle bag – Hobo; tooled bag – Patricia Nash
I thought that I’d introduce some pearls here – to pick up on the pearl/off-white color of the cardigan. I like to tie outfits together through these small, but powerful, little color “echoes.”
Tee – Lands’ End; cardigan – L.L.Bean; pants – Jil Sander Navy; top earrings – Cole Haan; middle earrings – Majorica; bottom earrings – Pamela Love
Theoretically, this particular outfit would be better balanced with dark shoes, but I’m assuming that you’re going to carry a dark bag, which will serve the same purpose. Let’s not go completely nuts trying to do everything perfectly!
Tee shirt – IDLF Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L.Bean; pants – Michael Kors; sandals – Franco Sarto; flats – Blowfish; captoes – Aerosoles
If you’re an avowed “watch avoider,” you can always just buy a gorgeous bracelet!
Tee – Austin Reed; pants – Michael Kors; top watch – Nixon; middle watch – Michael Kors; bottom watch – Michael Kors
Speaking of bracelets, I particularly like the idea of a bracelet with a seashell on it if your wardrobe is going to be worn near the shore. Or to be worn while dreaming of being near the shore?
Tee shirt – IDLF Uniqlo; cardigan – Lands’ End; pants – Michael Kors; knot bracelet – Kate Spade; seashell bracelet – Alex and Ani; link bracelet – Marc by Marc Jacobs
Strong colors that are more difficult to wear near your face could always be a possibility for a fun pair of summer shoes; you don’t have to invest a fortune, and you can wear them frequently to accent your more neutral basic clothes.
Tee shirt – IDLF Uniqlo; cardigan – Lands’ End; skirt – J. Crew; sandals – Tuscany; ballet flats – Frances Valentine; espadrilles – Via Spiga
Accent scarves needn’t be blindingly expensive either. If you like to change your accent colors every year or two, it’s good to remember that some scarves are very reasonably priced.
Shirt – Uniqlo; skirt – J. Crew; top scarf – Echo; second scarf – Jardin des Orangers; bottom scarf – Denis Colomb
Turquoise is interesting as an accent color – the shades of it are all over the map! But so long as you blend things well, accessories don’t have to be a “dye-lot perfect” match.
sweater – DKNY; skirt – J. Crew; top earrings – Kendra Scott; middle earrings – Alexis Bittar; bottom earrings – House of Harlow
For a comfortable walking shoe, I looked at a wide variety of things – deck shoes, comfort-built loafers, and of course my favorite classic tennies.
Tee shirt – IDLF Uniqlo; skirt – Neiman Marcus; turquoise shoes – Sketchers; yellow loafers – Cole Haan; navy shoes – Converse
Summer tote bags come in SO many different options; even if you’re not carrying yours to the beach every day, you can still channel a feeling of leisure in your bag.
Tee shirt – Isabel Marant; skirt – Neiman Marcus; yellow tote – Urban Expressions; turquoise trimmed tote – The Well Appointed House; striped tote – Talbots
Neutral and solid-colored doesn’t have to mean boring:
Tee shirt – Isabel Marant; cardigan – L.L.Bean; skirt – Neiman Marcus; top scarf – Pistil; middle scarf – Cecchi Cecchi; lace scarf – Miyao
More pearls, and mother of pearl. Both of these materials feel summery to me, and certain have a strong sense of water and the ocean.
Rayon shirt – Uniqlo; skirt – Neiman Marcus; caged pearl pendant – Mercedes Shaffer; abstract pendant – Kendra Scott; bar pendant – Kendra Scott
Time for today’s lecture about the importance of sunglasses!
Rayon shirt – Uniqlo; shorts – L.L.Bean; top sunglasses – Prada; second sunglasses – Loewe; bottom sunglasses – Smith Optics
This wardrobe could take you places, all summer long. I know that I’m going to Vermont, and Florida…. where are you going this spring and summer?
love,
Janice
That yellow bag is so happy! You really come up with excellent options. All the shoes, for example, are actually wearable (though whether they would work on my weird feet is always the fly in the ointment).
Regarding outfit #9… My wardrobe tends heavily towards navy and white, with hits of warm reds & pinks. But my husband has a tendency to buy me turquoise stuff – including some lovely aquamarine earrings. So I often find myself in just this arrangement – navy and white clothes, and turquoise-y earrings. I quite like it! I feel like it's the tiniest "off" note that makes an outfit interesting.
Suzyn,
I think we've probably talked about this on polyvore, but I love the close color intervals that show up in your sets (navy & turquoise, pink & red, and sometimes red & cognac). They add depth and dimension to the fun, bright colors without altering the energy of the outfit.
Yes! About 15 years ago, Ann Taylor Loft did a shopping bag that was very thin hot pink and orange stripes, and I swear that bag *vibrated.* I love how close, intense colors vibrate against each other (and I think red and cobalt do, too – think Prince William's dress uniform).
It's always an added joy to see a post about clothing I already have in the closet, combined with new accessories and shoes that take the outfits in a new direction. As always, I enjoy your blog!
Navy & turquoise is one of my favorite combos. I enjoyed seeing your version of it. Thank you! Mary
I think it looks summery too Janice. Some great options! I think navy and turquoise is very pretty together. We have two work/fun trips this spring. Association conventions. One this week in our state in Hot Springs, which is a lovely little resort town with a horse racing track. We get to go to an exclusive part of the track as part of the convention. I am not a gambler but it is great people watching! Then in 3 weeks we are going to a beach resort for the National level convention in San Diego! Your recent posts on travel with dressy events has been so helpful to me!! Thank you!
Ok, that lace scarf from Miyao is perfection and I can make one!
Deb from Vancouver
Janice,
I think it was last year that you did a series on emphasizing different parts of the body using various values of light and dark, and then added accessories. I'd like to revisit those posts, but I don't recall the name of the series. Help, please ? Thank you.
Color and Proportion was a series of posts that started April 2, 2015, and showed how to use accessories to balance outfits of different colors. I'm pretty certain that's the one you mean.
hugs,
Janice
Janice,
Yep, that's the one, thanks so much !!
Hi Janice,
This certainly is summery!
I have a challenge for you (at least, it's a challenge for me!): I have to wear pants and closed-top shoes at all times at work, usually with a lab coat and sometimes with a hard hat and steel-toed shoes. (I'm a chemist at a wastewater treatment plant.) Scarves are not a smart a accessory because they pose a safety concern around the pumps, and bracelets and rings get stuck on the blue latex-free gloves. Necklaces and earrings are fine. Can you please design a business-casual wardrobe for those of us in industrial settings?
Thanks!