So our four friends from last week are meeting up at their hometown, for a high school function that none of them really wants to attend, but which none of them can gracefully avoid! (You can meet these four – the landscape architect, the psychiatrist, the cake decorator, and the day care manager – on the earlier posts from last week…)
To keep themselves amused, they agreed that they were all going to pack the same core wardrobe, and coordinate what they wore to various functions, just for the heck of it! They were pretty certain that nobody would notice, and that was going to be part of the fun…
The first evening, when everyone arrived, there was a sort of informal get-together at the local pub, bar, restaurant, karaoke place and just general social center of town. They decided that they would travel in, and thus arrive while wearing, their denim shirts:
cardigan – Lands’ End; denim shirt – J. Crew; earrings- Alexis Bittar; loafers – Rockport; khakis – L.L.Bean; bag – Louise et Cie; necklace – Chico’s; cardigan – Magaschoni; denim shirt – J. Crew; shoes – Cole Haan; pants – Marks & Spencer; bag – Frye
blush cardigan – Uniqlo; denim shirt – J. Crew; loafers – Autograph; opal necklace – Irene Neuwirth; jeans – L.L.Bean; bag – Piero Guidi; sweater – L.L.Bean; bag – Vanessa Bruno; earrings – Trina Turk; pants – Topshop; denim shirt – J. Crew; shoes – Geox
They were delighted to see each other, and to observe the ways that they had all taken that most classic denim shirt and made it their own. This worked so well that they figured that they might as well each wear their khaki pants to the picnic tomorrow afternoon:
cardigan – Lands’ End; flats – Tory Burch; sunglasses – Oliver Peoples; khakis – L.L.Bean; tee – Marks & Spencer; bracelet – Aurelie Bidermann; white shirt – Lands’ End; earrings – TJMaxx; khakis – L.L.Bean; sweater – Fat Face; loafers – Sam Edelman; sunglasses – Sonix
white shirt – Lands’ End; sunglasses – BP.; khakis – L.L.Bean; ribbed sweater – Uniqlo; canvas shoes – Keds; earrings – TJMaxx; bracelet – Kendra Scott; sweater – Simply Be; loafers – Naturalizer; khakis – L.L.Bean; green tee– Hallhuber; sunglasses – Ray-Ban
They were beginning to get some strange looks, but they thought that maybe it was because they were spending so much time together. Or because they were laughing so much…Later in the evening was a barbecue and swing dance party in the gym… While they struggled to muster much enthusiasm for this, they all agreed that they would definitely attend, and challenge the fates by wearing white tee shirts while eating drippy sauce-covered meat! (two of them planned to dance, and thus wore skirts; two of them wouldn’t be caught dead dancing, and thus wore trousers…)
earrings – Argento Vivo; v-neck sweater – Uniqlo; tee – Lands’ End; boots – G.H. Bass & Co.; pants – J. Crew Factory; scarf – Etro; earrings – Beck Jewels; sweater – Simply Be; tee – Lands’ End; boots – Sole Society; cropped jeans – NYDJ; scarf – Mattabisch
blush cardigan – Uniqlo; tee – Lands’ End; earrings – Pasquale Bruni; boots – Kelsi Dagger Brooklyn; skirt – Perseverance London; scarf – Mila Schőn; earrings – Freida Rothman; cardigan – L.L.Bean; tee – Lands’ End; boots – Reiker; small scarf – Loft; skirt – Michael Kors
The next morning, everybody was meeting for brunch (at the same pub/restaurant/cafe etc…) before they headed home. It was simply impossible to resist wearing khaki skirts, especially since the weather had warmed up so much that they could wear sandals…
bracelet – Potissi; floral tee – Kettlewell; sandals – Trotters; skirt – L.L.Bean; tote – Frye; bracelet – Gas Bijoux; blue ribbed tee – Sportmax; sandals – Børn; skirt – L.L.Bean; tote – L.L.Bean
bracelet – Jenny Packham; blue tee – Theory; sandals – G.H. Bass & Co.; skirt – L.L.Bean; tote – Michael Kors; bracelet – Leighelena; sleeveless blouse – Uniqlo; sandals – Sam Edelman; skirt – L.L.Bean; tote – Madewell
When they were packing to head home, they got together to compare notes on what garments they had in common, and what very personal choices they had made when they packed. The conversation was illuminating, and reinforced for each of them that they really quite preferred their own unique spin on the simple wardrobe core:
At the end of the weekend, they still weren’t quite sure what the purpose of the whole get-together was supposed to have been, but they all agreed that they’d had a wonderful time!
Homecoming is next fall; they’ll all be there….
love,
Janice
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I love your story. (You really ought to try writing short stories based on some of these characters.)
That tiered skirt would be so fun to wear dancing. It's always nice to have something that goes swish.
Presenting all of these together really shows how one can personalize the same basics. Very enlightening.
What a lovely and clever post, I like a lot of these clothes and am pleased to see your ladies visiting some of my favourite shops! I hope we can join them for Homecoming.
I am planning to try the M&S linen pants when I get back to the UK next month. I am desperate for a change from jeans and shorts, having already had two summers in succession and now another coming up, even though it will be a UK one. I have tried linen pants twice in the past, one pair I loved and wore until they fell to bits, the other I hated as they crumpled most unattractively, and threw out. Has anyone tried the M&S pants? Linda M
Janice,
This post was so much fun ! And the versatility as well as the individual expressions of color and style within each of the four collections showed how to make it your own, still working with a few basics within each group ! My favorite is still the first one, but they have all been enjoyable to see you build !
So clever!
Even though I am not.shopping.for.clothes, I couldn't resist looking into the navy tiered skirt. Unfortunately, the link takes me to a rayon sleeveless blouse …
Fixed! Thanks for letting me know – I'm not allowed to click on my own links, because it looks like I'm trying to boost my income if I do so…
hugs,
Janice
Along the same vein, the Euro scarf link leads to the Yoox homepage, not the scarf… – nancyo
That means that the scarf is sold out – I searched around their site, and it's gone. I love Yoox, but they do run out of things quickly…
hugs,
Janice
ah, thanks. It's a pretty one!! – nancyo
This was so much fun! I hope you do it again. :)
I think this is one of my favorite posts ever! These women seem to really know how to have fun – I wouldn't mind being a part of their group. And the four different outfits built around one identical item is very illuminating. I actually found myself drawn to the pinks, even though I rarely wear that color (that may have to change). Denim and khaki (and oxford blue) are universal wardrobe colors in my husband's work world (he is an ecology professor) so the next time I accompany him to one of his professional conferences I know I will be looking to see how the other attendees, men and women, tweak this color combination in their own unique ways!
I can't wait to see these women again at their fall homecoming event!
This denim and khaki study has been very informative! I loved this scenario of the four friends getting together! So fun!!
Yes, it has been fun. A nice variation on the common wardrobe with the pleasure of meeting these varied women. I like the way it shows how I could vary things with my own basics, perhaps for different seasons or (more likely) for different moods. I'd like to join the chorus hoping to see how these ladies turn out in the Autumn.
Robyn in Tasmania
This was fun! I enjoyed reading and seeing all the possibilities but I noticed that the first attendee wore almost the exact same thing to travel then dinner while her pals changed it up a little more. Maybe for travel day treat denim shirt as a cardigan over the other pretty t-shirt instead of wearing the beautiful (and memorable) teal cardigan twice?
Loved the story and idea behind it. Keep up the good work!