A truly breathtaking photograph:
The most straighforward of color schemes:
Freedom
She just needs to be free. Mostly free to sleep late if she wants to… to eat what she wants, when she wants… to get dressed without thinking about it…
Tee – J. Crew; pants – J. Crew; earrings – Kendra Scott; trench – J. Crew; scarf – Talbots; loafers – Naturalizer; watch – Skagen; crossbody bag – KC Jagger; backpack – Tumi
She she settled on khaki. ALL khaki. Mostly from 1 store. With bright colors. Tee shirts and scarves. She walked into 1 store and bought all of her jewelry. She wants bags that keep her hands free. It’s all about FREE…
cardigan – Madewell; red tee – Lands’ End; green tee – Lands’ End; striped sweatshirt – Saint Laurent; red bracelet – Kendra Scott; green earrings – Kendra Scott; blue necklace – Kendra Scott; skirt – L.L.Bean; feather scarf – Dsquared2; canvas shoes – Cole Haan; shorts – J. Crew; sandals – Birkenstock; blue center scarf – Siskin London
She’s not even sure where she’s going, yet. But she knows that it’s going to be someplace where she doesn’t know anybody, so she will be free to be as quite or as outgoing as she wishes…
And she’s going to find a place that’s not too warm, because she wants to be free to NOT wear a bathing suit, or get sand in her… suitcase.
There won’t be amusement park rides – she wants to be free from motion sickness…
But there WILL be bookstores. Lots and lots of bookstores, where she will be free to browse as much as she wants!
She can take the day-to-day constraints of her life, so long as she has these interludes of freedom to keep her sane and focused on what’s REALLY important.
love,
Janice
Dear Janice, too tempting! I'm supposed to work for a few more years! The garments are relaxed, as we want to be. Thank you Chris Australia xx
PS. There was a sale this weekend and without boring you I finally added the beautiful blue you used into my very neutral wardrobe. Bit of a start for a red and neutral person! I don't really know if I like it on me but have scarves that are perfect. Thanks for wisdom gleaned from the files. Oh to be free!
It's good to try new colors from time to time; I think that it might be hard to tell, at first, if you look good in it or not, because it's a shock to your eyes. Give yourself some time. If you have scarves that work well with it, that's probably a good sign, isn't it?
hugs,
Janice
It will be interesting to see what other people say about the new colour on you as well. My daughter who normally wears these kind of bright blues, greens and reds, visited yesterday, wearing a soft dusky pink top- totaly outside of her normal comfort zone and she looked stunning in it- it was a real eye opener.
I want to go on this trip, too!
Gwendolynn
I need a red tee! The red and blue in the painting is vibrant and you have my mind going with possibilities!
Janice,
What a glorious story line and vibrant colors ! This one really resonated with me, despite my need to wear more toned down colors , for the bright ones would make the rest of me disappear ! That sense of freedom in this story — divine ! And —–"or get sand in her — suitcase " — ha-ha-ha !
You are really on fire lately, Janet!
This story of freedom is exhilarating. Dreamy! Worlds away from yesterday's aspirational wardrobe, but just as cohesive and polished. there any style you can't do, Janice?
First, you sent me on a search about Frans Lanting, and now I have to watch his TED Talk and a video about how he shot the photo you featured. Because….that background! How? So thank you for opening up my world!
I love the combinations you present. Vibrant but not eccentric. Doable.
I've been enjoying your blog for several months now, and finally decided it was time to comment. The woman in Saturday's post was fascinating, but the woman in today's post is one I can really relate to, in terms of both wardrobe and attitude. The feeling of freedom is intoxicating (and the freedom from bathing suits and sand is exactly how I feel as well!). I love those bright colors with a neutral khaki, and that photograph is magnificent — I thought it was a painting at first. I am addicted to this site, so thank you, and please keep these posts coming!
Janice,
Will you be doing a post on how your three dresses worked out on your recent trip ? If you were to pack 16 items, as in a 4×4, would you use packing cubes ? Would everything fit in a wheeled carry on ? Just curious, thanks !
I'm sure it will get mentioned somewhere in all of my chatter about my trip, but I can tell you that it was a brilliant success! The weather cooperated, and the dresses were wonderfully comfortable.
Hmmm… packing a 4×4… If you wore the 3 bulkiest pieces, and folded the rest of them very tightly and carefully into cubes, they should fit. You won't have a ton of additional space for toiletries and shoes, but you can always use your carry-on for that. I actually carried my toiletries in my HANDBAG, this trip.
hugs,
Janice
I would never have thought, that this shade (which I would call beige) would look this good with vivid colours. This is real thinking out of the box, nice!
Sonja
Many of Frans Lanting bird photos are featured in his book, "Jungles". One of my favorite photographers. I'm so happy Janice was able to incorporate his work in one of her posts. –photographer friend
She looks free and like a star. It's a good point, that to get away doesn't have to mean blending in or looking anonymous. And as someone who doesn't own bathers, I can attest from my recent camping trip that if you need a swim you can always wear undies. Maybe not in a resort pool but fine on an isolated beach. I felt quite free!
Robyn in Tasmania
I agree with everyone above who indicated that THIS POST was THE post that inspired/resonated/"spoke" to me. Freedom – and liberty – two of the most beautiful words in the English language.
That sounds like an ideal getaway. And with such comfortable clothes too!
Ooh, that sounds like my kind of vacation. I always like your lists of adjectives for the art or other inspiration–sometimes it's hard to be that specific what I like about something, so your word-pictures are very helpful.