June 1, 2018
Always one of the great days of the month!
This month, in honor of heat (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the easing-up of many schedules, let’s add a casual dress to these wardrobes!
Additionally, I’m going to find a tote bag for each of these heroines, some footwear to wear with their new dress, and a couple of pieces of jewelry. This wouldn’t be a horrid shopping trip; once you find the dress, the accessory shopping should be fun…
Dresses can be an opportunity to really exploit your color scheme; because you don’t have to coordinate a lot of different garments to wear with a dress, you can find a classic, summery linen shirtdress in a bright color and add it to your wardrobe without worrying that you don’t have the right socks. You don’t need to worry too much about what coat to wear this time of year, either!
Scarf – Hermès Fouets et Badines; earrings – Missoni; linen dress – Uniqlo; bracelet – Isabel Marant; tote – Madewell; sandals – Born
This wardrobe really benefits from this injection of brightness, I think. And a shirtdress that opens all the way down the front can be worn as a duster over another dress, or over a tee shirt and trousers…
I love beige linen for warm weather – it looks… natural? Certainly cool, and in this case VERY relaxed…
Women all over Paris were wearing athletic shoes with dresses (more on that next week!) so a pair of Keds might be just the ticket here!
Scarf – Hermes The Horsawards; earrings – Argento Vivo; bracelet – Alexis Bittar; tote – Eric Javits; linen dress – Eileen Fisher; sneakers – Keds
This wardrobe is certainly faithfully beige, isn’t it? I still wonder if this heroine doesn’t have greying blonde hair? Fair skin with a soft blush high on her cheekbones?
I’m liking all of this beige, frankly!
This is another example of taking one of the smaller accent colors from the scarf and bringing it into the wardrobe as a dress. This is a real break from the more somber navy and grey that’s dominated this wardrobe up until now.
Scarf – Hèrmes Les Tresors d’un Artiste; earrings – Or Paz; bracelet – Vintouch Italy; tote – Proenza Schouler; dress – Eileen Fisher; sandals – Mia
I considered buying navy sandals for this heroine, but I thought that the silver felt lighter and… zippier?
And while I didn’t get exactly matching jewelry, they ARE the same stone, and the same shape, so that they play nicely together without being too matchy matchy.
Here’s the complete wardrobe, so far, for this color scheme and scarf. I could see this, if I was starting from absolute stark naked point zero:
Now to the absolute most difficult wardrobe! I had good luck finding dresses, and I particularly like this one. The warm pinkish-gold accessories pick up the rose tones in the scarf, and compliment the green perfectly.
Scarf – Hèrmes Merveilleuses Lanternes; earrings – I Am Rock; bracelet – Ottoman Hands; tote – Cole Haan; dress – Eileen Fisher; sandals – Free People
As unexpected as these colors are together, the wardrobe overall is still maintaining a feeling of coherence and a statement of personal style. It just takes patience sometimes!
A charcoal grey silk dress is SO unexpected for summer! But this would be so comfortable – loose and swishy…
Scarf – Hèrmes Jardin a Sintra; earrings – Nyoman Rena; bracelet – Regina Flores Montes; tote – Baggallini; dress – Eileen Fisher; sandals – Olukai
Maybe it’s because the colors have been consistently easy to find, but I feel like this wardrobe might be the most versatile and coherent of them all, so far…
I feel like this last scarf benefits so much from those little touches of green, and in the same way I feel like the green makes so much difference in the overall wardrobe. All of the accessories here would be appropriate with everything else in this wardrobe – this is the benefit of shopping with a plan!
Scarf – Hèrmes Ndop; earrings – Lulu Frost; bracelet – Karma El Khalil; tote – Polo Ralph Lauren; dress – Eileen Fisher; sandals – Olukai
This is another wardrobe with some unexpected color combinations, but I feel like these pieces give our heroine a lot of options, while remaining consistently focused on the colors and motifs of the scarf.
I still find myself changing my favorites every month… I’m thinking that this last wardrobe might be fetching with my brown eyes and greying hair…
and you? Loyal to an early choice, or feeling fickle?
love,
Janice
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Fickle – and a little undecided here as to which is my favorite!! Intellectually, I am falling for the Ndop collection more and more – with the greens and cognac. Moody mid tones in a different but not jarring combination. I can see myself in this, although I have NO green in my wardrobe! But the gray and blue Jardin a sintra….another winner – my favorite from the beginning, and the dark gray EF addition this month is lovely. Love the very beige Horseawards too, so soft without being saccharine! Unfortunately, not a colorway that works for me. The navy based les tresor’s d’un artiste needed that shot of summery turquoise! Wih the silver! Perfect! Love it, Janice! One of my favorite posts each month! Keep cool –
I love the gray silk dress. The grays with the blues are heavenly. You have as usual opened my eyes to new possibilities.
So hard to choose, all combos so lovely.
Fickle too. I started with the black and brights, but the brights have overwhelmed, so I think, like others here, I’ll have to switch my allegiance to grey and blue.
The grey with blue is still my favourite and would suit me perfectly – but it’s odd, my other preferences can change depending upon the monthly additions. I really love the beige & pink wardrobe, even though beige is probably the worst colour I could wear next to my face – but it’s just so pretty and soft that I find it hard to resist.
I’m really falling for the last one. It is so architectural and metallic (even the green reminds me of a patina). If I were starting from ground zero, this is the one I would choose. :)
Patina… of COURSE! I’m so glad that you pointed this out!
hugs,
Janice
I’ve had two favorites, the grey and beige. Now I like the beige best – so subtle and pretty. And, I have greying blond hair! But all of these are so lovely and inspiring .. these wardrobes are full of helpful ideas! Thank you, Janice for all you do. Janice Collins, Washington DC
Be
autious!!!
Yes, this is my favourite monthly post too and I’m loving the green turquoise linen dress and silver accessories making the navy ensemble my favourite at the moment, but I’m regularly switching between elements of the black with the lovely bright greens and yellow and the grey with the berry tones and smokey blues.
The motif , or shape in the Hermes Ndop scarf celebrated in the lulu frost earrings … is the coolest thing ever. That outfit is so chic. I’d really only been focusing on color and then it hit me. You are brilliant!
I still like the navy wardrobe best. It is closest to my actual wardrobe colors and classic tailored style.
I find myself wanting to smash the navy and gray wardrobes together!
That wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it? You’d have some amazing options then, wouldn’t you?
hugs,
Janice
My summer wardrobe IS a combo navy with your grey/blue! (A mashup?) And I am searching hard for silver shoes with a higher block heel. Bone spurs keep me from flats these days. I pulled all other colors out of the closet and am happy with the results. Just need more splashes of silver tones. The silver tote is perfect. Thanks for the brain games in the mornings!!
The “art box” scarf is closest to my actual wardrobe and feels very comfortable for me. However, I’m so in love with the Jardin a Sintra wardrobe right now. It makes me think my current palette is not serving me correctly for springtime. An interesting insight.
The grey/lt. blue is so soft and calming to look at. I started to “do” that capsule but then… A cotton button down in Pantone’s 2018 Nile Green snuck in, so spring-like! And a coral linen top, what that color does for a tan! And a blush silk tank, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn. Sigh… Hopeless!
I find something to love in each of these wardrobes, but I have to remember that I’m trying to simplify my life! Your ideas spark my imagination, and I thank you for that. However, the black and green scarf in the first wardrobe is calling out to me. Can you give me more info about it?
I basically have the Jardin à Sintra wardrobe, except with navy and other shades of blue. I was originally inspired by one of your posts from another year which used a piece of art with winter colors. I just love pale grey (that pearl grey) with charcoal and blues. This past summer I bought a pewter bag, and I bought pewter sandals this year, so I am ready, but do not have a grey summer dress. Not sure I will find one, but I do have navy. So I would say that as soon as the Jardin à Sintra wardrobe was created, this past January, I saw that I already had those colors, and I no longer stray from my color choices. I’m trying to stay focused. I have what has become a ‘whatever’s clean’ wardrobe, and I don’t want to lose that. For me personally, I do not like high-contrast choices, and the blues and greys work best with my coloring.
I normally don’t care for brown, but that fantastic green dress has convinced me…the last wardrobe is my favorite! (This month.)
Yes! The last wardrobe is killing it right now. My second favorite is the grey/light blue, which is very different but so lovely. – nancyo
I don’t comment often but I find myself inspired by this. For me, I’d love to move away from black and gray this summer and smash together the beige capsule with the last capsule, all those beautiful greens and the burgundy leather accents together with the soft roses, off whites and beiges. Gorge.
I did a little closet culling tonight and I actually can do most of it with what I have right now. So you’ve changed the way I will be dressing for the next few months – thanks!!