October 19, 2018
Our heroine is a soil conservation engineer. Lots of people don’t quite understand what she does… but she gets to go to conferences with others who do what she does, and that helps! She’s so well regarded in her profession that she’s often invited to speak to groups of students, which she loves… And when one of her peers made an amazing discovery, she was the first person they called to share the work and the excitement.
Okay, maybe the dirt isn’t that exciting to everyone… but her inspiration is actually the beauty of flowers – especially as seen in this painting and color palette:
In fact, that big discovery back in the summer was VERY big! In fact there’s a conference upcoming around what she and her friend discovered! And, of course, they are going to be the most important participants… Not bad for a morning mucking around in a mudslide that exposed a heretofore never seen strata of soil!
She’s not quite sure how to dress for all of this – there have been rumors of a nice dinner one night, but nobody seems to be able to confirm. She focuses on her colors and her plan, and begins to prepare…
denim jacket – Lands’ End; flower earrings – Saks Fifth Avenue; scarf – Faliero Sarti; cashmere sweater – Eileen Fisher; pants – Eileen Fisher; watch – Olivia Burton; boots – Johnston & Murphy; tote – Brahmin
Her travel outfit is simple – that pink jacket wins every time!
Then she decides that she will take a dress that can be worn for the dinner (if it happens), or under her denim jacket if she doesn’t need to get too dressy… A couple of sweaters and another pair of jeans, and she’s set! Yes, the jeans and jacket match, but she’s not quite sure she’s ready to go full-on “Tennessee Tuxedo.” (Texas Tuxedo?)
dress – Mango; floral brooch – Ciner; clutch bag – Louise et Cie; necklace – Kendra Scott; bracelet – Emma Chapman Jewels; ivory sweater – Jenni Kayne; brown sweater – Mango; Budding Lotus scarf – The Met Store; gold flats – Naturalizer; jeans – Lands’ End
It doesn’t feel like she’s packing much, so she decides to take a close look at everything that she will have with her, and see if she has enough outfits to get by for 3 days. (in a room full of soil conservation engineers, what you wear isn’t always a big deal!)
She sees 6 outfits right away, so she thinks that a long weekend should be simple!
Have you ever been able to travel for business to places and events that you really loved? I used to…
love,
Janice
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Love the wardrobe and painting. I would find a way to squeeze in a long-sleeved T-shirt or two. I often find conference venues overheated in cool weather and would want an option of something lighter weight than a sweater, but maybe that’s just menopause talking.
I would probably sneak in both a long-sleeved and short-sleeved tee shirt – I tend to often be warmer than most people, so a short-sleeved top is helpful when I’m the hottest babe in the room!
hugs,
Janice
Janice, I can’t decide if that last sentence was more wistful or melancholy, but it’s time to pack your suitcase and head out for a long weekend to somewhere enticing.
My sentiments exactly! However, if it’s wistfulness to be with similarly minded individuals in the same room, that that is another matter entirely. While online forums and convos are great, there is nothing that beats chatting it up in IRL with people that are as excited about your work as you are. Maybe it’s time to plan a Meet Janice event in Chicago or somewhere else lovely. If you decide on someplace in Europe next year, I would try to make it happen. Your posts always brighten my day.
Love this wardrobe but have to say that my soil scientist father would be horrified to call “soil” dirt?!
Exactly! Dirt is soil that you don’t want, in the same way that weeds are just plants that you don’t want!
hugs,
Janice
Reminds me as a new freshman at U of Illinois we met an agronomy major. The comment was “Agronomy — that’s dirt!”
I love this painting, but brown is not a color I wear. The pink, green and a creamy white would make a lovely combination. Love the Budding Lotus scarf!
Nice to see colors closer to those which gingers can wear but I would warm up the pink, and perhaps make the green a bit more aqua (can I do that and remain true to the art work. But that pink denim jacket is wonderful! Considering the lovely wheel plan as is, I would perhaps add a bit of green–maybe a green button down in a fine cotton, or Henley in a lovely silk. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/181762534946905755/ A short sleeved sewing pattern, I know, but that is how I roll.
Can you address the stocking question? No way I’m having bare legs with temperatures dropping! My go to is black tights but what about this wardrobe? With gold shoes?
Maybe her soil convention is in a southern clime!
For a dressier look, I’d go with tried and true ‘nude’ hoisery – maybe with a tiny bit of shimmer?
For a casual look, brown tights (closer to the shoe colour than the dress colour).
I think that the pink with the brown looks lovely and the wardrobe looks pretty yet practical. I would be thrilled to pack this for a few days away.
My work-from-home life is very casual so these pieces would take me just about everywhere I go. I love the softness of the warm brown, cream, rosy pink and florals combined with denim texture and those sleek boots!
My favorite business trip was to Chicago in December during the 1980’s. I had never experienced such cold weather. I decided to buy a gorgeous blue ’80s coat. Long and swingy. When I got home to California that coat sent out danger signals to salespeople. LOL The coat must have looked like a great hiding place for stolen loot! And way too warm. But it always reminded me of the Dickens play we saw, the bluesy jazz club, and holiday season in Chicago. And we even hammered out some good marketing plans over dinner at Morton’s.
Yes! Gorgeous colors, and fond memories of the best job I ever had. We did 2-week trips during which we’d cover branches in 4 – 5 cities, and my coworker and I would spend hours planning which city we wanted to spend the weekend in. Museums, botanical gardens, sightseeing, beaches, hiking, plus excellent food and accommodations, all on the company account. Those were the days.
Speaking as a natural landscape restorationist with an interest in soil carbon sequestration, I’m always happy when you revisit this heroine. This wardrobe seems very appropriate to the occasion, though not quite the colors I’d choose. Love colored jeans and wear frequently!
Wherever I go for business or pleasure, hiking shoes come with me and I’ve found some lovely natural areas, some quite by accident, such as when my flight was canceled at Heathrow and another couldn’t be found with an extra seat for two days, or the recent destination wedding where no one mentioned that there was a state park adjacent to the hotel. I feel certain your heroine might do the same.
As a real life soil conservation engineer, I really enjoyed this heroine story. A bonus is that I like to wear brown and pink occasionally, too. Though blues are my usual go to color. Thank you for helping an engineer do a little better wardrobe planning. I look forward to all of your new posts.