March 22, 2019
Someone mentioned it a few days ago – if you plan well, you could use a “color” as a neutral. Of course I had to see how that might work!
And I’ve got a fondness for this artist’s work, so it seemed an opportune time to use this as an inspiration for a very fun-loving heroine:
“If We All Chip In…
We can rent the big house up at the shore… At least a handful of us could be there almost any weekend. And since it’s so big, we can leave some things up there for the summer, so we could even go at the last minute!”
A compelling argument, and she agreed immediately. The chance to spend the weekends at the shore, instead of in the city, was pretty persuasive, and to spend that time with her friends made it even more appealing.
So this is what she was thinking…
This painting isn’t exactly the way she and her friends look – none of them smoke! – but it has a casual, really relaxed and convivial feel that she adores…
AND… she’s going to experiment with using red as a neutral for the summer. It’s not like discovering the cure for the common cold, but she thinks it might be interesting.
I thought that I would just go to any website, type “red” in the search box, and find an easy Core of 4 for this heroine. It didn’t work out that way!
She started her summer wardrobe thus:
cardigan – Halogen; tee shirt – Halogen; shorts – Hudson; pants – Halogen
She then grabbed her four beige garments:
Yes, these are familiar…
tee – Uniqlo; tank top – Uniqlo; shorts – L.L.Bean; capris – L.L.Bean
Next, she looked for additional tops, so that she can have some variety…
blue print tee – Lucky Brand; polo top – Burberry; striped top – J.Crew; blue tee – Lands’ End
She and her friends agreed that they should each bring a couple of dressy items – they might go into town for dinner, or invite guests. And she wanted to include a couple of white shirts, because SUMMER!!!
twist-front top – Robert Rodriguez; lace-applique tank – Lucky Brand; dress – Vince Camuto; tunic – Etro
Her tote bag looks like this…
She’s not going to leave a ton of accessories at the beach, but a couple of pairs of shoes, and a bag, might be handy!
earrings – Otiumberg; tote – L.L.Bean; sandals – Seychelles; beige canvas shoes – Toms
Now, her “summer weekends at the beach” wardrobe is complete. She knows that she’ll be taking a few things back and forth from time to time, but this is a good place to start!
How many outfits might she be able to assemble?
She’s very curious to know how long it will be until her friends notice how often she’s wearing red!
love,
Janice
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What a fabulous combination. This put a huge smile on my face. While reading your post I was hoping you’d mix the red with the turquoise – and you did. This is an imaginative wardrobe with great basic pieces and some whimsical selections. Thanks for all the effort you put into your postings.
If you smiled reading this post, my day is complete!
have a lovely weekend,
hugs,
Janice
This is so much fun! I don’t wear turquoise, but I was thinking how nice it would be to replace it with the yellow in the painting. Maybe a nice soft yellow, I think that would work great with the beige, maybe the red, not sure.
When I plan, the hardest part is making all the shoes and bottoms work. Bingo! All these bottoms (and the great dress) work with both great shoes. I’m not really a red wearer but now I want to be. Can we please find a more flattering beige tank and beige pants though ? What a happy capsule.
Ok, this wardrobe just says ‘Having fun!!!!’ What a great go-outside-the-box inspiration!
These past few 4×4 posts have convinced me to select 16 items from my wardrobe for summer and pack away everything else. I am so looking forward to experiencing the simplicity of a wardrobe like this (and an uncluttered closet)! Thanks for sharing your sartorial genius with us Janice!
I will drink to this fun and exciting collection. And red wine is my drink of choice. It finally dawned on me that the art is reminiscent of Nicole Hollander’s Sylvia comic strip of old. And from Wikipedia I learned that Hollander is from Chicago. Her work is no longer published in the Chicago paper, but is all available on line. Thanks, Janice, for a thought-provoking post today!
Love this! These recent posts still aren’t showing up in your Facebook feed, FYI.
Thanks for letting me know!
hugs,
Janice
I love this! I’m ready to go to the beach house with this gal!
Your last two posts did not show up in my inbox in my email. Do I need to resubscribe or is it a fix you can make on your end?
Thanks!
It might be wise to re-subscribe. After my little hacking incident, I have no idea what might be going wrong!
hugs,
Janice
Will do!
What a fun post! As a redhead who was told that I shouldn’t wear red, I wear it and love it. The color red projects warmth, energy and confidence, and no one ever trifles w/a woman wearing red lipstick. Again, it depends on the shade. For me warm reds work best. I pair them w/warm beige, khaki and olive green for maximum effect. A little kick of red can perk up almost any outfit, whether it’s a belt, a scarf or red shoes. Oh, and I love yellow, too. It’s all in the shade. Yellow is a sunny, youthful color. We can all use that, n’est-ce pas?
Cheers, M-T
I had a bit of a malware issue w/my Blog recently so I understand. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that red is one of my favorite colors. As a redhead I was always told to avoid red, but I wear it and I love it, particularly red lipstick. Red is a strong color that projects warmth, energy and creativity. There’s a perfect shade of red for every woman. I love wearing a warm shade of red w/beige, khaki and olive green. The same holds true for yellow, which is a great color and, again, there’s a perfect shade for every woman. A touch of red in a scarf, belt, handbag or shoes can turn up the heat of any outfit.
Warm wishes,
M-T
I love this one! My accent colours in my home are red & turquoise so this is perfect! I’d probably swap out the beige for a bit more white & turquoise and then I could live the whole summer in those pieces!
I agree that this is such a fun, whimsical wardrobe! I like the combination of bright with white or light. And as someone that loves vintage and retro inspiration, I could definitely see adding a polka dot piece or two, a white skirt, and some wedge sandals to this mix. My husband loves red and probably wishes I wore it more often, but it can be tricky to match shades. I am inspired by this post, though!