April 10, 2019
Ah, our friend who just got the job running a quilt museum! She’s going to her first quilting conference…
Her work surrounds her with colors – brilliant colors, brilliantly combined by (mostly) women with unsung artistic skills. As much as she loves the colors, she has decided to dress more neutrally – she doesn’t want to distract from the beauty of the work that she’s curating. Thus, she’s chosen a simple, but quite interesting, painting as her travel wardrobe inspiration:
She will be going straight into seminars as soon as she arrives, and she will be met at the airport from an official of the conference, so she’s wearing a dress to fly in! (it’s a short trip, in all fairness…)
Earrings – ORA Pearls; dress – Lands’ End; necklace – Farra; watch – Andreas Ingeman; cardigan – Gibson; ring – Neola; handbag – Angela Valentine Handbags; flats – Calvin Klein; suitcase – CalPak
In order to keep getting dressed as simple as possible, she’s decided to pack all “black core” garments, and then use cardigans and a cool vest as her 2nd layers. She loves her pearl jewelry, and really cool accessories…
Black belted top – Halogen; brown cardigan – Vanessa Bruno; square scarf – Riona Treacy; hexagon pearl earrings – Neola; sleeveless top – Halogen; drop earrings – Fermin; pearl-trimmed bag – Paradise Row; pants – Eileen Fisher; zigzag scarf – Missoni; vest – Halogen; pearl necklace – Bellus Domina; skirt – Eileen Fisher; pumps – Donald Pliner; loafers – Tod’s
It feels a bit odd to her to pack so few things, but she’s only going to be at the conference for 2 days! And she’s beginning to really like the simplicity of her travel wardrobe; it makes getting dressed each morning effortless….
In order to calm herself down a little bit about only packing 6 garments, she pauses before she packs her bag and thinks her way through a handful of outfit possibilities:
Whew! That helps… She’s confident that she will be able to easily get ready both mornings, with comfortable shoes, and something very pretty to wear!
At least she will be physically comfortable; she’s still adjusting to the idea of being a “quilting authority” and sitting on conference panels. Happily, quilters are the nicest people imaginable…
Just for interest, let’s take a look at her current 2-season travel wardrobe:
Imagine the joy of being able to turn your hobby into your work! That’s sort of what’s happened to me, with The Vivienne Files!
love,
Janice
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My mother-in-law made us a quilt just like that painting. Beautiful!
In the current two season wardrobe picture, there is a multi-colored jacket – would love to have more detail on this jacket, ie, where it can be purchased.
It was carried by Nordstrom at the time of the blog post – I don’t know how often Codexmode shows up in other stores, and if a cardigan from 3 months ago would still be available. (oh how we churn through clothing…) But if you search for tweed or marled cardigan, you might find something similar.
hugs,
Janice
Hi Susan, you must be new here? At the very beginning of this post, if you click on “Ah, our friend who just got the job running a quilt museum!”, it will take you to the previous wardrobe. Janice won’t leave you hanging.
Good capsule. Wish I’d discovered you when I was still going to conferences…
I wish I’d discovered me when I was going to conferences! The Vivienne Files benefits a great deal from my various life mistakes…
hugs,
Janice
So I’ve been following you for a couple of years, and I love what you do. It has made me more thoughtful about my wardrobe. But almost every day, a question lurks in the back of my mind…What kind of leg covering do you wear with the skirts and dresses you display? The capsules are so beautifully put together, but I can never imagine what hosiery to wear! This capsule would be nude or black, but some of your other capsules that have so much colour? I don’t live in a climate where bare legs are possible all year long! What to do?
Wendy
I’m a fan of opaque tights that match your hemline, or your shoes… (in theory, those will often be the same color, but if you’re wearing jazzy red shoes, for example, I’m not going to tell you NOT to wear red tights!)
For anything with sandals, it’s bare legs, in my world. For lighter garments with closed shoes, I still believe that nude hose are perfect wonderful. (Maybe because I was just in Ireland for a week, where wearing hosiery is still more common than it seems to be in Chicago!).
When you see a wardrobe for which you’re curious about what hosiery to include, toss out a comment, and I’ll try to hop on and give you some ideas. Hosiery has turned into such a MINEFIELD in the last 20 years, hasn’t it?
hugs
Janice
Janice,
I am about to go on a 10 -2day trip to be with my son and his family in an air B&B in another state. I have packed for one week only and shall do laundry there, and it all fits into a 21 inch carry on bag and a separate tote for several overnight stays along the way.
Thank you for simplyfying my life and saving my husband’s back loading it into the car !
Make that a 10-12 day trip !
Janice, dear, you are a goddess!
I have an upcoming 5-day conference and this helps with my wardrobe planning. Thank you.
Ahhh… it’s good to be a goddess!!!!
hugs,
Janice
Love brown/black combos!!!
Excellent! I enjoy the combo of brown and black, and like the addition of the gray pieces. It’s modern, tailored-looking, yet comfortable. This is quite sophisticated. It’s perfect for any number of trips. This is a keeper for me. Thank you!
Hi there! I have a question. My wardrobe’s color scheme includes gray, but I’ve been wondering if I should stick to one particular shade of gray, or if it would be appropriate to have multiple shades?
You can have all the shades of grey you want, as long as they’re the same general tone – i.e. the same degree of warm or cool. Some grey is very bluish, and other can have very warm tones. You sort of have to carry things about with you when you shop, or order from the same place.
hugs,
Janice
I must have been here a long time…. The first thing I thought of when “she” was concerned about having enough options for a two-day conference was… WHAT?!?!? Janice, you’ve taught me to do the math, so if she is willing to wear any layer with any combo of black base, I think I get 15 possible outfits. Some may be too cool, but I’m still flummoxed that there is a concern.
I have fully converted (not that I was far from it, having always packed light). For a 4-day business trip (2 days on site, 2 days travel), I work top/pants/topper, and packed another top/skirt. I wore it all, and had zero trouble getting my bag into the “smaller than usual” aircraft.
Thanks for the very lovely solutions and creative approach to wardrobes (home and travel) that have been so inspiring since I found you.
Some of my heroines are still getting used to our system…
hugs,
Janice
This is where I put in black white chevron + white with black dots.
Yes!
hugs,
Janice
Several years ago, I saw a woman in France wearing a black dress similar to the one shown, with a brown leather belt. It was divine. It has become my personal icon of effortless chic. This wardrobe reminded me of that. All it needs is a brown leather belt to be absolute perfection.
If I were with our heroine, I’d sneak a white long or 3/4 sleeve top into her suitcase. I think it would be amazing with the vest, and there’s so much crisp white in the Klee painting. – nancyo
I think our heroine would definitely agree with this suggestion!
hugs,
Janice