January 4, 2019
Our final heroine from 2018! The square peg in the round hole, who nevertheless manages to be very effective at her job…
When she saw this painting, she knew that it would be a favorite for a long time:
So when she entered the workforce, she designed her own color palette and style guidelines… She knows that it’s important for her to fit in with her co-workers, but she also wants to show her own personal… point of view!
When she traveled in January, she was absolutely delighted with what she packed – unexpected in some ways, but perfectly appropriate, just the same!
That trip went so well that she was… honored… (?) to be asked to visit their most difficult client just a few months later! (sometimes, it seems like doing something really well just means that they pile all of the really difficult stuff on you!)
By July, when she was leaving for vacation, she had become so indispensable that she was asked to go to a contract signing, AND the banquet afterwards, on her way home from her vacation… Their ability to impose knows few limits!
At the end of her company’s fiscal year, she received a… substantial bonus. Not a surprise to anybody! She did some shopping, and a bit of traveling…
At the end of this year, her wardrobe looks like this:
With amazing, angular and graphic accessories (along with the occasional bit of softness…):
I’m not really in a position to question too much of what this amazing woman does! But when I look at her original color palette, and then look at her wardrobe, I have a thought…
In keeping with her growing levels of responsibility and visibility, maybe she should inject a bit more of her warm accent colors into her wardrobe. (and she doesn’t own a white blouse, which just feels wrong to me!)
How about adding these?
yellow blazer – English Factory; yellow scarf – Victoria Ragna; orange scarf – Heti’s Colours; orange tee – Lands’ End; necklace – Kendra Scott; white blouse – Banana Republic; yellow & black scarf – Sandro; yellow sweater – Lands’ End
Will these be useful enough to her to justify their addition? Let’s see:
The post-holiday sales can open a few very colorful doors for her!
love,
Janice
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You never cease to amaze me! I love the entire wardrobe!
I agree completely with the additions this month – perfect! I had been feeling this wardrobe was missing something and you nailed it.
This wardrobe could be looked through the lens of neutral base + several “French 5 piece” wardrobe complements. I love the orange color especially, but felt like some outfits need one or two more dashes of orange (or the other brights) to make it look more intentional.
Congratulations for success to our heroine (and you!)
Janice,
First — Happy New Year !
I am seeing a strong parallel between this plan and my own wardrobe. I generally have two neutral base colors to go through a given season, two values in the brown family in both top and bottom garments, as well as toppers, though lighter ones in warmer months, and then add four or five accent colors plus accessories for top interest . Having recently moved to a much smaller house and closet, as well as having major weight loss ( yaaaa) , I am really evaluating how many clothes I really need for my present life style. I forsee a lot of editing in my closet and now seasonal clothes storage containers during 2019. Already I have run into how to dispose of good white tubular plastic hangers. The thrift shops don’t seem to want them. Any ideas ?
Shrebee, an amateur theatre group might take the hangers for their costume closet.
Churches might want them for their coat closets or perhaps a local elementary school.
I really like this wardrobe. Black/gray/white is the base of my current wardrobe and pink is my favorite color! I agree with the addition of a white blouse, but I tend to steer away from yellow and orange.
I’ve really enjoyed this series, Janice; I hope you are in the midst of choosing paintings / heroines for 2019!
This series has been even more fun if that’s possible than the Hermes scarf wardrobes month by month. We get little updates of these lives, snapshots of their thoughts, and we get to peer over their shoulders and see what THEY choose to celebrate the seasons in THEIR lives.
I’ve enjoyed all of them. My favourite was the Navy and White Inuko Hoffman painting and wardrobe but this is a close favourite.
Janice I hope it was as much fun for you as it has been for us to watch all year. I didn’t used to comment, I just watched and loved what you were doing. But this year I couldn’t help commenting and cheering you on.
Thank you
Ditto!!!
LOVE these heroine stories that span several seasons! So instructive to see how to weave clothes and accessories from all parts of life together — and from cold weather to warm. Thanks for inspiring us, Janice!
Where did you find that zipper-front dress? I like it very much!
It was from Nordstrom… sold out now, but they often carry a dress similar to that in the autumn/early winter!
hugs,
Janice
I’m surprised I didn’t notice it before but although it is not included in the color wheel, there is some cool brown in this piece that would be a nice non-black option for those of with silvering hair and cooling warm complexions. With that addition, this color scheme is very close to the one I’m currently using. The main difference is that my yellows are in the ochre range and my oranges are now in the deep paprika spectrum.
One of the challenges of writing The Vivienne Files is having to limit the color choices that I make from the art that I use – there are always lots of possibilities that I simply can’t address because I’d lose my mind! But I’m so glad that you noticed the brown – that would be lovely, wouldn’t it?
hugs,
Janice
What strikes me about this wardrobe are the wonderful scarves. The pink, green, black one in the October grouping is fantastic with the pink or the green sweaters, and also anything black.
I also loved the yellow and gray one in the additions grouping. It looks fabulous with the gray items! I like the pale shade of yellow in the sweater and the yellow jacket with the silk link scarf livens up the gray and black basic.
When I first saw the colors, I thought, hmmm. But you have managed to create a useful and lively wardrobe for all seasons with them! Well done, Janice!
Thanks! I thought at first that I had bitten off FAR more than I could chew, but some persistence and imagination worked!
hugs,
Janice
ooo, nice! love me some color. This month I’m doing the same, pulling it all out and evaluating what colors i may be over doing and what i don’t have enough of. ’cause i know there are spaces. i can feel it.
While overall, this wardrobe has colors in it that don’t flatter me, I found it to be the most inspirational. I actually made a knock-off of the black and white striped T shirt, and I was so smitten with the concrete necklace that I actually put it on my Christmas list…only to be told, after Christmas, that My Sweet Babboo tried to get it for me but it had sold out. Moral of the story: act fast if you see something you like on Janice’s posts! :-D