April 25, 2017
Let’s revisit yesterday’s painting – I don’t feel like we’ve nearly exhausted the possibilities of these colors! My hypothesis is that yesterday’s heroine has been invited to… a wedding, let’s say, out of town far enough that she’s going to stay for a week or so. Except for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself, she won’t have to get madly dressed up, but she can reasonably expect at least another dinner or two out with relatives and old friends.
So we start here:
And we remind ourselves of what our color scheme is going to be for this travel capsule wardrobe:
Our heroine was really happy with her travel outfit when she took her long lazy weekend break, so she’s not changing a thing here:
cardigan – L.L.Bean; scarf – Hinge; earrings – Ying; pink top – Uniqlo; watch – Ted Baker London; suitcase – Calpak; pants – L.L.Bean; loafers – Clarks; tote – National Gallery of Art
She really like everything that she packed for that trip, so that’s where she’s going to start for this longer, and more demanding, trip:
pink top – Uniqlo; earrings – Gianluca Anzani; black tank – Uniqlo; scarf – Nordstrom; linen ¾ sleeve top – L.L.Bean; floral pants – MSGM; bracelet – Nyoman Rena; black sandals – OluKai; white sandals – Ugg; linen shorts – L.L.Bean; handbag – Talbots
In order to get her thinking organized, she takes all of the clothes that she knows she’s taking with her, and places them (at least mentally) into a 4 by 4 Wardrobe template. This helps her see where the gaps are that she needs to fill, bearing in mind that she’s going to need to dress up for 2 events during the weekend!
She’s got room for an entire 2nd neutral, so she decides to include grey in her wardrobe. She’s not quite at the point that she feels entirely comfortable wearing black to the wedding itself, although she knows that many people certainly will.
And she’s planning that the rest of her time on her trip will be pretty relaxed, so a couple more casual pieces are in order. Lastly, she’s certain that she will be getting together (in freezing cold restaurants, probably) with some friends or family in addition to the wedding festivities, so a matching cardigan and pants give her at least a handful of additional outfits that will be perfect for those evenings. These are what she chooses to add to her suitcase:
pink sweater – M&S Collection; cardigan – Lands’ End; scarf – M&S Collection; sleeveless shirt – Lands’ End; tee – L.L.Bean; pink dress – Erika Cavallini; silver loafers – Topshop; grey pants – M&S Collection; grey dress – Joseph; grey pumps – Calvin Klein
She was a bit extravagant in her dress choices, but they’re classically styled and won’t date – she can wear them for the next few years without fear of looking like a fashion victim. And everything else in her travel wardrobe is rather moderately priced. Note that when she found the pink sweater at Marks & Spencer she IMMEDIATELY starting looking in the same store for a scarf. That’s always a good idea – if a buyer or a buying committee has committed to a color, you might easily find it in a variety of departments.
Everything makes perfect sense within the 4 by 4 Template (which is not the only way to determine if a wardrobe will work, but it’s a good guideline), and the number of possible combinations from these pieces must be over 2 dozen!
She’s got excellent options for both a rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself – she will look pretty and festive…
For other evening activities, she has a nice pair of pants and a lot of choices about how to wear them:
For the all-important relaxation and down-time, she will still look neat and attractive:
When you have everything with you that you need on a trip, you can concentrate on the more amusing things like observing the family dynamics, playing with children you don’t often see, taking lots of photographs, and just generally being in the moment. “Isn’t elegance forgetting what one is wearing?” Yves Saint Laurent once said…
love,
Janice
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thank u for this post. i am waiting for so long to suggestion for the hot weather . this will be very useful..
(i live in hot and wet climate )
I just love this wardrobe – it's classic, but also feminine without being fussy!
What a beautiful wardrobe! I'm falling in love with the combination of light grey and pink – so soft and feminine. I went to Florida last year for a wedding and spent a week. You are so right about the freezing restaurants! Definitely need a nice cardigan! Same for the wedding venue. Thankfully I was warned and took a bolero-style cardi to wear over my lovely pink print silk dress. I didn't bring a cardi to the rehearsal dinner as i didn't think the regular navy cardi would go with my top! Was I freezing!! Next time I will plan bether. Lesson learned . The colors of this lovely art are hardly exhausted . Would love to see a casual expansion of this wardrobe with the addition of the green and darker pink. Janice Collins, Washington DC
Some day next week this particular heroine is going to add a couple of "clusters" to her wardrobe in order to really flesh it out as a summer wardrobe – she's definitely got her eye on the 2 bright accent colors!
hugs,
Janice
You just reminded me of the wedding I attended in Florida, where I ended up wearing the bride's grandmother's macrame shawl because I was FREEZING.
Genius! Simplicity is the hardest to achieve!!!
Love it! :)
I ike the pink dress but it's far out of my price range. It's so hard finding dresses in summer colors that I can wear to work. (Right now I'm wearing a navy dress — I'm going to a dinner right after work and everything else I have is gray or black). I just don't have a lot of time to shop and I wear petite sizes so my shopping options are limited.
I also don't have much time to shop… so I shop almost exclusively online. Lots of colors? Check. Petite sizes? Check. Well-organized? Check. Just get everything that catches your eye and return what you don't like.
Mais non! I am on a shopping fast. No spending. On anything (cutting my own hair). And you flaunt that beautiful blush dress with the asymmetrical detail in front of my face, at this moment when I must not spend yet have nothing to wear, certainly nothing as perfect as that. ARGH! I bet it looks good on every body type. And flatters every complexion. ((anguished howl emitted))
I am pretty sure that my complexion cannot wear that blush color. But the style is great! – nancyo
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/b0/db/37/b0db37e513132edacffe4ded86c53396.jpg
Would it be possible for a wardrobe around this Pineda Covalin scarf?
I just spotted a woman in the mall wearing a pink sweater, in the tones shown above, with some deep dusky blush pants and some black sandals with bright green and pink flowers on them. It looked surprisingly nice. Jazz
Hi Janice,
My name is Anuj Agarwal. I'm Founder of Feedspot.
I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog The Vivienne Files has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 100 Women Fashion Blogs on the web.
http://blog.feedspot.com/women_fashion_blogs/
I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 100 Women Fashion Blogs on the internet and I’m honored to have you as part of this!
Also, you have the honor of displaying the badge on your blog.
Best,
Anuj
Hallo Janice
This is such a beautiful wardrobe! What a good colour combination.
And this leads to my question: Can your colour preferences change when you get older? I love black, grey, white and red, with sometimes blue/grey and royal blue mixed in (and peach in the summer). Now this soft colours like the black, grey, pink and soft blue is looking prettier by the day. Is this because I subconsciously feel the softer colours will work better with my grey hair? Or am I only duped by what I see in the shops?
Kind regards
Ilna
Well, you could be being duped, but I think it's much more that our preferences change. For some of my friends, softer colors are a reflection of being able to show the softer side of their personality as they no longer have to be tough and assertive in their jobs, since they've either retired or started their own businesses. Grey hair and softer skin plays a big role too…
For whatever reason, I think that we should embrace the colors that resonate with us, and adjust our wardrobe palettes as those colors evolve. It's a fascinating question to consider at length, isn't it?
hugs,
Janice
Such great choices for a wedding weekend! I love this wardrobe and I don't wear pink! Can't wait to see how you use those bright accents!