Shall we do some fantasy shopping?
She wanted to feel like this when she went out in the evenings:
Water Lilies by Claude Monet
Right after Thanksgiving, she received a couple of invitations, and so she assembled a simple capsule wardrobe to wear to those evenings. She gave herself options from relatively casual to kind of frilly and dressy:
earrings – Tresor Collection; boatneck sweater – Banana Republic; fringed scarf – Abercrombie & Fitch; necklace – Greenbeads by Emily & Ashley; layered blouse – H&M; velvet scarf – Loft; pants – Tibi; shoes – Manolo Blahnik; velvet pants– Forte Forte; bracelet – Saachi; bag – Tory Burch
Well… One morning she woke up to an In-Box FULL of invitations… So she looked back to her inspiration, and added four more pieces to her little “evening” wardrobe:
sweater – Banana Republic; mismatched earrings – Bounkit; blouse – Anna Sui; ring – Gucci; clutch – Nancy Gonzalez; cropped pants – Dorothy Perkins; velvet ballet flats – Botkier; loafers – Spendid; skinny pants – Oscar de la Renta
Somehow, she had completely forgotten that she was ALSO going to have to make at least a couple of appearances as the “better half” of her household… She could have been reminded by someone, but NOOOO…..
With 4 pairs of pants in hand, a few tops will work well. And she thought it was way past time to invest in a few lovely cosmetics…
ivory peplum top – Oscar de la Renta; lipstick – “Trapeze Pink” by Yves Saint Laurent; pink blouse – Etro; nail polish – “Sweets” by Butter London; satin blouse– Vince
She was ready. Everything was tidy in her closet – mended, fit perfectly, looked good together. It was a great feeling to have this all taken care of, and out of the way…
AND THEN!
One of her friends announced a Christmas Eve wedding!
And her sweetheart’s boss invited them both for New Year’s Eve…
She threw her hands up in the air (only figuratively, of course – it wouldn’t accomplish anything to do that!) and grabbed her credit cards and went completely DAFT.
It’s not her fault…
1st dress – Marchesa; pink earrings – Irene Neuwirth; pink bag – Ted Baker; pumps – Naturalizer; 2nd dress – Lela Rose; multi-stone earrings – Nam Cho; slingbacks – J.Reneé
Now when she looks into her (much larger) wardrobe for the holiday season, she realizes that it all goes together remarkably well:
After looking for a minute she realizes that (a) she’s not doing any layering – she doesn’t have any trouble staying warm, and (b) every top can be worn with every bottom!
Not that she’s going to do the math, but it gives her options…
She finds the options comforting, because it’s hard to tell WHAT Valentine’s Day week will throw her way!
love,
Janice
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Janice,
Hmmm, I have just found out that I am way more “ Monet” than I thought ! While I don’t wear dresses, so those would not be included , the rest of the capsule feels so lush and feminine, and I LOVE it ! That Anna Sui blouse is divine , along with the other fluid tops ! I don’t
wear navy, as it is too dark for me, but if I did, my bank account would be a lot less after this post !
That Lela Rose dress – I gasped. Sadly, it's so far out of my budget I can't even look at it twice, but it does give me inspiration to find something a little less "wowza".
Yep, it's not for most of us, but it was SO pretty I couldn't resist sharing…
hugs,
Janice
I just had a look at that dress and for that price I was expecting it to be made of silk not viscose. I admit that the pattern and colour is stunning, but the design is uncomplicated and quite a simple construction and a good seamstress would be able to make one at a fraction of that price – providing of course that you could find a similar fabric? Sharon, U.K.
Pretty please, would you give this lovely woman a wowza coat to wear with all this elegance?
How about a navy cashmere coat?
http://shopstyle.it/l/qeF7
I'm still looking….
hugs,
Janice
Navy floral jacquard?
http://shopstyle.it/l/qeMf
ooooh, navy and GOLD jacquard!!!
http://shopstyle.it/l/qeQS
I may be commenting twice, if so I apologise!
As someone who doesn't need to dress up much, but who has to/wants to occasionally, how big should a 'dressy' wardrobe be? A bit of variety is good, but how much? Guidelines, or even a few questions to get our needs clarified would be very welcome!!
And can I second Deb's question about a dressy coat? I could really do with one, but I forget about the ones I have already as I don't wear them (and then I don't wear them because I've forgotten them)…
Comment as much as you like – I'm always happy to hear from you!
Size of a dressy wardrobe… hmmm… That's tough, but I'd think that a minimum might be 6 pieces. A really simple dress that can go to business meetings or out to dinner or to a funeral is always a smart thing to have in hand – that's where the accessories make all of the difference. And a pair of pants in a dressy fabric can change all sorts of otherwise normal outfits into something special. I'm always smitten with the look of an ornamented or embellished cardigan over simple separates or a basic dress… Maybe a pretty sweater, and a tee shirt or other top (or 2) that have lace, embroidery, a bit of shimmer or sparkle…
Dressy coats are hard to justify – they tend to be madly expensive, and don't get worn as much as would be expected for that kind of investment. Normally, my desire to get good value for money would suggest a solid, classic coat in a neutral. But let me look about to see if I can find something super-snazzy for our heroine!
hugs,
Janice
How about a dressy scarf with some luster or embellishment over a neutral , classic coat ?
Wow, does that NOT appeal to me. That said, I really love how your systems can be adapted to any taste and type of wardrobe. While I don't like most of these at all (for me – not for other people) it's really interesting to see the colors and style of clothing come from the art inspiration.
Ooooh, I love the painting and colors sooo much! Most of the clothes are too voluminous for my petite frame but I definitely can take inspiration from this post.
Wonderful! Thank you, Janice. "clean 13" for Waterlilies was my request earlier. Am I asking too much to now ask for "Relaxed but Pretty" for Waterlilies?
Heck no – I love revisiting works of art!
hugs,
Janice
Good request Carole! I would also like to see a casual Waterlillies capsule, please? Isn't it interesting the different reactions to art/clothing? If I had to guess, I would speculate that spring/summer nature lovers prefer Monet and brunet city girls like Mondrain.
Thank you Janice. After posting this I realised that I have a kind of a "core of four" already, two navy trousers (one tapered, one straight/wide leg) and two navy tops (one lace, one white with a blue print). So the idea of a core of four, with a dress and with either two more tops or two cardigans/nice jackets could work nicely! I don't need to dress up for work (except maybe for the Christmas party, but I skipped that this year for other reasons anyway), so my "dressy" wardrobe is for get together lunches, family get togethers, parties etc. And the inevitable funerals unfortunately.
Thanks for the pointers!
Shrebee, I really dislike wearing scarves! I like them on other people a lot, and love the colours, but I dislike the feeling of loose fabric floating around, so I don't wear them. I also dislike ruffles or flounces for the same reason…
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