December 14, 2018
Remember our friend the soil conservation engineer? The woman who is constantly reminding people that the brown stuff in which plants grow is SOIL and not just DIRT…
She’s inspired by the potential inherent in healthy soil, the potential for things like flowers! So when she was choosing a theme and focus for her wardrobe, she chose this painting:
She thought about her priorities – softness with brown, feminine and timeless – and she isolated her favorite colors:
In January she got to go to a conference of soil engineers, which was a delightful chance for her to talk to people who deeply and truly understand and share her professional passion.
Her contacts at the conference worked out well – in April, she was invited to speak at some classes at the university for environmental engineering issues. Quite an accomplishment!
Her peers know about her enthusiasms – in July, when a washout created a great research opportunity, someone called her at dawn to invite her. She was out the door in minutes!
Her summer research paid of in a big way – in October, an entire research conference focused on what she and her friend had found that summer morning…
I love this heroine. I love her passion for her work, for her personal style, for her lack of concern for what others might think…
When I pulled together her entire capsule wardrobe, I only saw a couple of things that… jarred? Maybe?
I felt like she had 1 pink cardigan, and 1 green sweater, that didn’t really blend in with everything else. I walked away for a few hours, and realized that THIS IS FINE. It might be more infinitely versatile if every last garment was perfectly blended with every other, but that’s a lot to ask! Unless you’re legitimately color-blind, or you honestly have a need to be able to get dressed in the dark, everything in your wardrobe doesn’t have to look like a massive window display or retail rack…
Her accessories look great, in all fairness. These tell you a lot about her – practical shoes, pretty, somewhat indulgent jewelry, and a hat and sunglasses!
So what does this heroine not have, that she will use?
hat – BP.; print scarf – Aspinal of London; gloves – Portolano; jacket – Michael Michael Kors; solid scarf – J.McLaughlin; boots – Frye
Yes, 2 scarves. If your winter is like mine, you need a change of accessories to keep you from tossing your winter coat out a window! (if I could find green accessories for this coat, I’d grab them too!)
Yes, she still only owns 1 dress. If she manages to marry one of these soil engineers (the one who calls her before dawn?) she might buy another, but that’s not a priority. Saving soil IS her priority!
love,
Janice
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I currently own four winter coats, all of which are in regular use: wool coat, parka with detachable lining (so it’s essentially a 3-season coat), duffle coat in a fun color, and quilted coat. So it’s essentially 2 casual & formal coat for both very cold and mild winter temperatures. Maybe someone would find this excessive, but splitting wears means that each coat will be around for many years and since all are classic styles, that is not a problem. If I had just one coat, I’d worry about something happening to it and leaving me entirely coatless. Coats are not cheap, and I’d hate to buy one in desperate hurry.
As for this heroine, her wardrobe is very pretty, but it is also quite casual- which probably works well for her right now, but there can always be that party/important dinner date/opera night coming on a short notice. A little rose/pink dress would be versatile and a good choice for just about any occassion except funeral for any time of the year. She would stand beautifully out from among all the little black dresses…
I would also get her one Hermès scarf, new or vintage, just because IMO everyone needs (at least) one of those. And if she ever wants to get more jewelry, pearls might suit her organic style that can be dressed up or down.
I don’t think your coats are excessive at all. In fact, I find your 2 casual, 2 formal x 2 very cold, 2 mild to be a really helpful way of thinking! Thanks for sharing!
I love it that this heroine has only one dress. I’d love to see a wardrobe that completely avoids dresses and skirts; I live in pants, why shouldn’t one of the wardrobes reflect this kind of attitude? Pants can be formal, or dressy, or sparkly and fun.
Thank you so much for adding and including outerwear!! For those of us in the northern Northern Hemisphere, the outerwear is essential and is often the only part of an outfit that gets seen. The coat, the boots, the gloves and hat, the scarves: all gorgeous AND practical.
This painting is by far my favorite. Although brown is not a color I wear, it makes perfect sense for some one who works with soil. Her wardrobe is practical, but feminine. She probably doesn’t have much need for dresses given her line of work – although if she were to add something, it would probably be a pretty pink or green, maybe in a print?
If I had found a pretty floral dress with a brown background and pink flowers with green leaves, I would have probably included it in her wardrobe! Alas, my search came up empty-handed…
hugs,
Janice
Everything about this is good. Not only do I love the painting, but the wardrobe makes perfect sense for my lifestyle (minus any white or off-white pants). I am a one-dress person, with casual separates making up 95% of my closet. Plus, I used to be a plant biologist, so I might have worked side by side with this woman!
I love your posts based on this beautiful painting. The colour scheme is so calm and pretty. How clever of you to find the lovely brown coat. I am glad that you mentioned the cardigan and sweater that didn’t quite blend in with the other garments and that you said that it is fine. A few months ago I became a bit obsessed about trying to match shades of berry/plum/wine and have realised that it is impossible. I have to be happy with the colours being similar, not the same.
I’ve enjoyed this heroine’s story and her growing wardrobe very much. You’ve totally changed my attitude to brown by choosing these pretty accent colours and giving the wardrobe some flower patterns.
Ironic, I am a color blind soil conservation engineer in real life. That is why I find your posts so helpful.
I love the way that pink works for this wardrobe. I’d probably swap one of the brown pullover sweaters for a cardigan. – nancyo