October 17, 2018
Our heroine is an educational coordinator, who spends a great deal of her time visiting schools… Back in January, right after the holiday break, she was bundled up and spending a couple of days in a classroom with some issues… And then back to check on them in April! Even though there were no classrooms to visit during the summer, she continued to try to understand the students in her area by attending their favorite music festival. A bit of a fish out of water, but she had a wonderful time!
This heroine has the most disciplined of wardrobes, based on the stark but beautiful simplicity of this painting:
One thing that our heroine has never really advertised to her co-workers is the meticulous care that she takes in writing her classroom reports. So when her department chose her records to be read into the Congressional Report in Washington, she was… gratified. It you don’t record it for posterity, did it really happen?
So she’s off to Washington, to sit while someone else reads what she wrote to an empty legislative chamber. She’s okay with that!
earrings – Giani Bernini; necklace – Konstantino; blazer – Boden; tee – Eileen Fisher; skirt – Boden; watch – Shinola; briefcase – Ted Baker London; pumps – Calvin Klein
She’s taking the train, and going straight to the Capitol. Then she’s staying through the weekend to do a bit of sightseeing… Her suitcase is the minimum she needs for a couple of comfortable days!
earrings – Kenneth Jay Lane; dotted shirt – Lands’ End; scarf – Rag & Bone; marled sweater – L.L.Bean; striped sweater – The Fifth Label; tiny stars bracelet – Alex And Ani; socks – Terrain; pants – Eileen Fisher; shoulder bag – Botkier; loafers – Børn
As with all of our heroines, our educator stops before she closes up her suitcase to assess what she’s packing, just to make sure she’s not missing something important. (you all know someone who recently traveled with only ONE pair of socks… dear oh dear…)
She’s grown to love the variety possible with a strictly navy & white wardrobe!
I wear almost strictly black & white 90+% of the time… Would you find this kind of limit comforting, depressing, or just not fun?
love,
Janice
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
One of my favorite aspirational heroines!!
I think it would be freeing to have such a disciplined approach to shopping and dressing. Getting the correct shade of navy consistently over long periods of time could be challenging, but it is doable!
Such a strict palette could help curb my habit of “magpie” shopping for new and shiny when bored…. hmmmm….
So Agree!
supposedly Pendleton Wool products have consistent navy, red and maybe forest green but check. I could live in Pendleton but it is too warm for indoors.
This type of simplicity is my goal ( though I’m more of a black and white girl). I don’t know if I could do without a hit of my favorite dark red or cobalt blue, but I’m willing to give it a try. Trouble is, all of my coats are red!
I love the idea of the limited palette, but i have come to accept that I need at least 2 to 3 colors in my wardrobe that can be mixed and matched. Otherwise, boredom sets in.
Same. :)
I didn’t used to think I could do a wardrobe like this, but recently I’ve noticed that I’m very happy wearing my denim blue and grey almost constantly. I love colors, but getting my neutral colors down to my two favorites has been more satisfying than I expected. Loving your neutrals that much is very stabilizing, I think.
I find these simple wardrobes fascinating, but very difficult to wear. My coloring is muted, medium, and low contrast. I tend to start with black(dk gray) and denim(navy) neutrals which have very little contrast, so I throw in some teal and dk green/olive pieces as accents. Teal and olive is my current favorite color combination (says the woman with teal and olive hair!) I have decided trouble selecting a light neutral. Soft white or ivory is the best I seem able to do. As you see, I am off and running down the multicolor wardrobe path. As I write this I see I would go stark, raving mad if I had to stick to 2 colors!
Thank you so much for your wonderful blog!
Lesley
I find these simple wardrobes fascinating, but very difficult to wear. My coloring is muted, medium, and low contrast. I tend to start with black(dk gray) and denim(navy) neutrals which have very little contrast, so I throw in some teal and dk green/olive pieces as accents. Teal and olive is my current favorite color combination (says the woman with teal and olive hair!) I have decided trouble selecting a light neutral. Soft white or ivory is the best I seem able to do. As you see, I am off and running down the multicolor wardrobe path. As I write this I see I would go stark, raving mad if I had to stick to 2 colors!
Thank you so much for your wonderful blog!
Lesley
I am a black and white girl almost all the time, with a cobalt blue pop or a red pop now and then. I LOVE that I don’t have to worry about what to wear. I find that if I do come across something different and wonderful that it will always go with my black and white, well, mostly black, and give my wardrobe pizzazz. Thanks for the great ideas.
My dear husband did not pack any socks for our honeymoon! We were in a secluded mountain cabin for just three days, so he washed his black dress socks in the sink, but had to use the hair dryer on them in the mornings. It’s a standing family joke now. We always double check for socks and undies these days.
I like the idea of a strict 2 color wardrobe. I may even try it. But I think I would continue to branch out over time. A few years ago, I started to base my wardrobe on a scarf – white, olive, wine and blush. Then I added navy so I could wear my jeans. The olive has fallen off almost entirely. Blush has turned into pink. And I’ve added yellow. But I have been rather strict about blue, pink, wine, white and yellow. But this year, when I applied for a job as a college admissions counselor, I really looked forward to wearing school colors – red, white and black. So maybe I need to relax a bit on color, or maybe it’s time for a change.
This is perfect for a suitcase, but not for my closet! I need color variety.
Yes, same is true for me! – nancyo
And me !
I love 2-color discipline. Theoretically you can get dressed in the dark. I do find, though, even with a mostly B&W closet, that I do run into shapes that don’t work together very well.
Conservative, pared-down palette is perfect for DC–but in autumn she’ll definitely need a raincoat!
This is lovely..but I am always seduced by a beautiful color and can’t stay true to a plan.
I can understand mentally that such a limit could be comforting. To me it is comforting to limit colors within the single outfit, I feel special when I put on something like that. But I can’t imagine having the whole wardrobe like that. I am very happy with 5×6 template. I also love 1 at a time, that is so useful exercise. I am doing my 2nd set of 1 at a time (but some clors are the same) with end goal of filling 5×6 template. When I first started I used starting from scratch template. For a capsule I pick family of colours since to me it is even limiting to have only 2 accent colors, it was a strugle for several years, I would pair down my colors to 2 capsules since I couldn prick only one (postponing other colors for other seasons) although I only need amount of the single capsule. So recently I switched to family colors, that I keep rotating each season (I rotate dark neutral and accents, and cream, beige etc is allways present).
My current capsule is earthy tones, from dark yellow, rust to burghundy, with addition of slate blue. And couldn’t resist couple of pink items! This autumn is my first capsule with brown (that is impossible to purchase!), and brown leather items, and I succumbed to black, it is just impossible to avoid. Also there are different shades of light brown, such as hazelnut, cognac, and leopard print. I have several printed items that have brown and blue and looking forward to finally wearing them.
It is not a magpie, I promise! I learned from you how to tone down and dress with taste, coordinate acesories etc., and enjoy it so much!!! Finally looking presentable. Thank you so much.
I love the simplicity of the limited color pallet. Also like the way the tonal pieces look – gives a slimming more sophisticated appearance. For winter I love black and cream with periodic touches of either gray, camel or sometimes blue. For spring and summer, I go with navy and white. Janice – I so admire your gift of story telling and finding fabulous coordinating clothing and accessories. Love your blog! Many thanks.
Janice,
As another member here has posted, personal coloring has a lot to do with how all of these dark colors would happily work for just the right someone. I envision her with dark hair and pale skin ( c’est vous, perhaps ? ) . In my case, with my light color hair and skin, a dark outfit would make look like a walking head in contrast with all of that darkness, and I do so like color ! But, you create posts with something for everyone, which I so much appreciate ! Big hugs !
This particular series has been a superb tutorial in the use of texture and pattern. Like other commenters I would struggle with the discipline of only two colours, so would add an accent or two to see me through a season. But I’m inspired by the heroine’s story and the wardrobe you’ve chosen for her. I’m currently in the third week of a European holiday wearing only black, grey and blue, but additional colours in scarves. It’s working well, so I’ll be continuing the limited palette plan when I get home. As others say here, it’s easy and restful. This has been a favourite topic through the year. Thank you Janice.
More and more I find myself moving towards this sort of wardrobe. When I open my wardrobe doors and see everything lined up so neatly I find it very calming.
I do admit to the occasional pop of colour in socks, scarves or a cardigan and that’s fine – but if I had to live in a more monochromatic style I think I could do it quite easily – now – it has been a process.
If I limited myself to only two colors, I would probably die – drop dead in front of my closet one morning… I just need to be able to dress according to the way l currently feel. That means that one morning I feel like wearing dark and the next I feel like wearing white with navy or navy with yellow or taupe with pink… I hardly ever feel like wearing all black, and on days when I don’t feel like it if I wore it anyway, it would look terrible on me (and make me feel bad, like not being myself) – whereas on days (or nights) when I do feel like it it looks gorgeous. Very strange in a way, I admit, but that’s just the way it is with me…
Know what suits you, and honor it with every fiber of your being! There is no higher form of good taste and personal style than this…
hugs,
Janice
I’m loving having boundaries when I shop, thanks to you! Having a limited color pallet makes shopping more like a treasure hunt — I’m only looking for things in a very specific color and can ignore the rest of the hubbub. Btw – that dotted blouse is SUCH a classic! I’ve had a Liz Claiborne version it in my closet for…15-20 years. Is that company even still around? Back when I had a corporate job, my personal shopper at LC would pull a travel capsule for me a couple times a year. Slacks, jacket and either skirt or sheath dress in a packable fabric, a patterned 2-piece dress, plus a twin set and maybe a couple coordinating blouses. I think that blouse is the only item I still own for my much more casual life.
My core wardrobe is half navy and half cream/white, so I love these posts. Most of my shopping has really clear boundaries.
I am lower contrast, so I almost never wear navy and cream together.
For color splashes in extra layers or accessories, I like light sky blue, bird’s egg blue, yellows, and yellow greens. None of these colors ever need to go together, so I have a flexible range of colors in this smaller part of my wardrobe. I crochet, so I like to find really lovely yarn and make these pieces myself.
Also, my wedding band and engagement ring are set with sky blue topaz because my husband and I both have December birthdays. I loved the birthstone series.
I absolutely love this series with the Navy and White. It’s so inspiring and I really like how much can be done within the limit.
I’ve saved this one and the others in this beautiful painting in a Pinterest file to enjoy and be inspired by. Many thanks for this Janice, it’s been my inspiration for my Spring and Summer wardrobes this last spring, summer and next year as well.
I live in Navy and Grey over the Spring and Summer, I never seem to use black then even though I can if I want. Over the years I realized I preferred the basic core to be Black, Grey and White in the Fall and Winter and Navy Grey and White in the Spring and Summer.
I enjoy adding colours in but on the side as added spice. I learnt the French 5 Piece capsule concept from Janice here, and it stuck.
I’ve just about finished tracking 2/3 months for my fall capsule by photographing my laundry as it dries on hangers. I’m using mostly black, grey and whites (including winter white, and pale taupe).
I’ve worn what I felt like, not according to a plan at all, and I ignored all the beige and brown tones I thought I’d use from previous years. They remain untouched in that side of the closet where I keep my French 5 piece colours. Maybe next year.
My experiment with photographing my choices week by week as I do the laundry is telling me where my heart is, and I’m really surprised how LITTLE colour I want or choose. I have used some, mostly ballet pink and cranberry tones and mostly in a cranberry jacket, a pink blouse, a blush tank top, a blush scarf and a cranberry toned scarf. No red at least not yet.
These wardrobe capsules that are heavily weighted to a couple of dark neutrals with white or cream as the light neutrals are definitely where I’m most comfortable.
I LOVE looking in my wardrobe and SEEING the colour groups at one side, but when I choose my outfits day by day, I rarely pull out the colours. I like HAVING them there, in case I want to deploy a real live colour, but mostly they are there as mental insurance in case I feel like using colour.
I’ve learnt so much from these posts of yours Janice.