September 12, 2018
Class Action Settlement
She had completely forgotten that she was part of this class for the lawsuit – all she had done was fill out a few documents and mail them to the attorneys. So when she received a letter telling her that she was receiving a cash award as part of the settlement, she was delighted!
And then she saw what she was receiving, and she was overwhelmed…
“Take that trip to Paris that you’ve wanted…” She didn’t have to be told twice!
So she started to plan, starting with her favorite scarf:
She’s only going to go for a few days, and her primary goal is to do some dining… maybe a few nice lunches in the better restaurants. She’s learned that this is a good way to get an excellent meal at a lower price than at dinner, and she has the last part of the day to walk off some of the calories (and alcohol!)
She knows her plan:
Her first project is to assemble her travel outfit. She knows that it will be cold when she catches the train, so she’s planning on warm pants, a wool coat, as well as a hat and gloves. Her scarf is perfect with this outfit:
hat – Uniqlo; earrings – Lafonn; gloves – Uniqlo; scarf – Metropolitan Museum of Art Shop; watch – Fossil; sweater – St. Roche; coat – Uniqlo; bag – Coach; corduroy pants – Lands’ End; boots – Sudini; suitcase – Tumi
She always travels with jeans, no matter where she’s going, or what she’s doing, so they get packed first! And she knows that her simple navy dress will be perfect for any restaurant, either for lunch or dinner. And since she’s going to be dressing up for meals, she chooses to also include her navy corduroy skirt. Since it’s a skirt, it’s automatically dressy, but since it’s corduroy, it still feels soft and relaxed!
For variety, as well as for unexpected weather fluctuations, she then selects a sweater, a dressy blouse, and a dressy short-sleeved top to round out her wardrobe. A perfect clutch bag, a scarf and a ruana, a single pair of shoes, and 3 pieces of jewelry are all she needs to add to have everything she needs:
floral scarf – Caslon; cape – Missoni; earrings – Stephen Dweck; floral ring – Olivia Burton; bracelet – Kendra Scott; dress – Eileen Fisher; sweater – Banana Republic; pink blouse – Banana Republic; jeans – 7 for all Mankind; violet short-sleeved top – Lands’ End; corduroy skirt – Lands’ End; evening bag – Jeffrey Levinson; flats – Taryn Rose
She arrays everything in the spare bedroom, the night before she leaves. She thinks it looks great, and she can’t see any glaring omissions… (she will be in Paris, if she suddenly finds that she “needs” something!)
As she is wont to do, she stands by the bed for a few minutes and plots out outfits in her head, just to be sure that she’s ready to go. She has far more outfit options than she has days on vacation, but that’s good. Weather can be so uncertain!
What would you do with a modest windfall? (assuming that you wouldn’t be smart and pay bills or invest!) I would, of course, travel. I suspect rugby tickets, and a great meal, would be part of my plans!
love,
Janice
p.s. – Yes, Monday’s wardrobe, with accessories, is in the works…
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How do you come up with such great stories??? I hope you are finding time to weave them into a novel.
Beautiful wardrobe, too, btw.
I love this colour scheme and more and more I find it’s the one that I’m moving towards in my own life as I add or replace clothing.
As for a bit of a windfall – definitely travel and Paris is at the top of the list. However, I’ve promised the friend that I travel with most often that if I ever win the lottery I’m treating us to a few days in London where we will then board the Orient Express (we each get our own cabin) and we will travel overnight through Paris to Venice – a city neither of us has been to as yet. And if it’s a really big win we will sail across the Atlantic on the Cunard Line rather than flying! :-)
That bag is to die for! Modeled on a 50s Jaguar!? I’m in love (too bad it’s priced like a 50s Jaguar!). Will set about trying to find a less pricey version…I love the inspiration. You always find such interesting accessories.
P.S. I think that answers the windfall question! But I’d also take a weekend retreat somewhere interesting – something in holistic health, art, cooking or psychology. I’d bring the bag along for a nice dinner out, too…hmmm…maybe Big Sur or Bali! Ah, dreams.
Thanks for this post, I love your gorgeous colour scheme!
If I had money lying around unaccounted-for, I’d travel. Maybe one of those slightly ridiculous experience tours (wine tasting in Tuscany! Mozart’s footsteps in Austria!) or a couple of nights in a ridiculously indulgent hotel (the George Cinq or Hotel Cipriani)… Or, perhaps better, a couple of weeks in an Air BnB in Kyoto or Taiwan…
Such a perfect 10 item wardrobe. The 1-2-3-4 pattern of 1 dress, 2 second layers, 3 bottoms & 4 tops. The bare minimum accessories yet it covers all possibilities!
And it’s simply gorgeous! I think I need a colour group in these tones to go with my grey or navy base pieces!
Janice if you felt like expanding on this in later posts I’d love it!
Such beautiful colours!
This is the color scheme for my wardrobe that I came up with after I discovered The Vivienne Files a couple of years ago, except that I also have soft gray as a second neutral color. So many pretty things!
And now I’m off to try and buy the inspiration scarf–if it isn’t sold out! I have many scarves, but none of them have all the colors in my wardrobe.
This is gorgeous! And so useful.
But I think I will put on my William Morris scarf and go to CHICAGO.
A small windfall? After a lump to charity, books and plants, with a small amount of clothes on the side. And probably some desirable parts for Best Beloved’s hotrod (depending on the size of the windfall).
I was browsing in the Met’s online store after your post with the Iris scarf and was sorely tempted by this one! I’m currently moiling over what to pack for four weeks in Europe next month with only a 7kg carry-on. You’ve pretty much nailed it for me here Janice! I may not have the exact scarf and garments but I can get close and see this as a lovely and well thought out inspiration. If I had a windfall, I’d do pretty much what’s planned for this trip: travel with my Beloved to places with great art museums, concert halls, parks, wine and pastries. And buy something from a local artist for home. (Even a windfall mightn’t run to a C17th Dutch interior.) xxx
I love, love, love this colour scheme and am building more navy blue into my wardrobe. If I won a windfall, travel would definitely be in the works! Paris, England, Scotland, Vienna – it would be hard to choose a city. Perhaps, if the windfall were large enough, all four places!
This is almost the capsule I used for a week in NY a few years back. The only difference – instead of Navy, I used medium gray. At the Guggenheim, I bought a large square scarf of “Black Lines” by Vasily Kandinsky and use it as my summer wardrobe capsule.
I was lucky enough to receive a windfall this year. Most of it will be spent on travel, but I did take out a sum to spend on clothes. I filled in all the gaps in my wardrobe, but I did find that, because the money was there, I was less careful than I should have been, and have a few items I regret. I think I’ve learned my lesson, as since then I haven’t bought anything without a LOT of thought.
Janice, this one made me giggle. The only class action payoffs I’ve received have been in the 73 cent range!
Keep on dreaming for all of us! xo
I would definitely travel with my windfall! This wardrobe is very pretty too. Lots of possibilities with just a few items.
Thanks for the great reminder on what amazing deals/products are available thought the Metropolitan museum of Art.
As for the lottery/windfall options, my rule of thumb is to use half of unexpected moneys to pay down bills/mortgage and half to travel. If there is enough, I’ll bring along friends and family. Luckily due to your advice, i won’t be dragging along too many suitcases as I’ll be efficient and elegant. thanks for the great info.