August 16, 2019
I was out and about the other day, wearing dots… And suddenly I saw them everywhere!
This isn’t precisely what I was wearing, but it’s sufficiently close that you could pick me out of a crowd…
earrings – Mikimoto; tunic – Eileen Fisher; bracelet – Alor; bag – Longchamp; sandals – Cole Haan; pants – Eileen Fisher
Dots are great – they’re truly timeless and classic, but they’re sufficiently interesting and uncommon that they bring a sense of fun and whimsy to any outfit…
blouse – Topshop; earrings – Tom Wood; backpack – Urban Originals; studded flats – Steve Madden; jeans – Lands’ End
I particularly love the idea of a dotted dress… How can I have managed to never have one for my entire life?
Earrings – Rowell Concepcion; bracelet – Effy; clutch bag – Nordstrom; sandals – Paul Green; dress – Anne Klein
I’m pretty sure I had a dotted skirt, back in the days of my corporate wardrobe. I was pretty racy… This next skirt would be great for the entire year – can you imagine this outfit for the winter holidays, with a cozy cardigan on top?
Blouse – Tailored by Rebecca Taylor; skirt – Vince; earrings – Guillermo Arregui; onyx bracelet – Khun Boom; bag – Ted Baker London; sandals – Bella Vita
If you don’t love skirts, you can always keep your eyes open for some dotted pants!
Cotton shell – J.Crew; earrings – Adina’s Jewels; pendant – Aoy; bag – Banana Republic; flats – Cole Haan; dotted pants – J.Crew
If you like the idea of dots, but don’t want anything too “statement,” how about a tone-on-tone trench coat? This way you can wear your dots and stripes together!
Trench – Leith; earrings – Allsaints; tee – Lands’ End; shoes – Converse; backpack – Coach; pants – Halogen
Do you own anything dotted? Or could you be tempted?
love,
Janice
p.s. 3 years ago, Picasso inspired me to build a jeans-based wardrobe…
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I love dots. I have a pleated skirt, a shirt, scarf and a shirt dress. All are black with white or cream dots. The dress is a recent acquisition from a Uniqlo.
I bought a large polkadot crepe top from JC Penney this year and I love it.
It’s the Worthington short sleeve knot tee, dot black. The dots are about the size of a quarter.
I love polka dots and when I worked, my go to source was Boden where I was spoiled for choice with colours and styles. I always preferred the darker backgrounds and smaller dots, although these can look a bit prim if not styled sufficiently with more modern pieces as you have expertly done today.
I only have socks and PJs now with polka dots, but am inspired to get a long sleeved t-shirt or a fine knit to wear with jeans for the autumn months.
Agree, Sharon! I purchased this Boden skirt in two colors and absolutely love them! On Sale Now!
https://www.bodenusa.com/en-us/fluted-hem-jersey-skirt-navy-foil-spot/sty-j0405-nav
Lovely! Very tempted as there are some left in my size and they look so comfortable – half price too! Thanks. S
I adore polka dots. They go with florals and stripes, too, especially if they’re little. Unlike some patterns, they don’t go out of style. Remember that tan dress with white dots that Julia Roberts wore in Pretty Woman? I just saw an identical dress in a shop. Timeless.
I have that almost identical dress , have had it for…maybe 35 years!!! A more recent acquisition (10years!) Is also brown but with cream & sage green dots; it’s a more a-line style with several extra gores that give it a nice swirly swing! No other dots since : (
Thank you, Janice.
Just bought your beautiful Eileen Fisher pants. And they are on sale, too.
Very classic. Thank you for this post.
Yep, simple black t shirt with silver dots. Picked it up at Old Navy. Just fell in love with it. Probably don’t wear it often enough.
Love this post! ! My dot wardrobe: navy w/white dots tees – long and short sleeve, royal blue w/white dots tee, grey w/navy dots sweat shirt, bright blue w/white dots windbreaker, navy w/grey dots dressy rain coat, navy w/white dots skirt, navy w/white dots scarf, and navy w/aqua, pink and white dots silk blouse. Hmm, I guess I do like dots :) Janice Collins Coyle , Washington DC
I love polka dots! It’s one of the few prints I can wear near my face.
My love affair with dots reaches back more than fifty years to a lovely lavender and white dress in middle school. I currently have a dress, cardigan, pullover, scarf, pj’s, bed sheets and sandals with dots in various colors. It’s only by the thinnest margins I avoided the frames of my new glasses. When dots are popular, I try to make some great purchases.
I have a lot of striped tops and had forgotten how nice polka dots are. Thank you for reminding me. I will have to keep an eye out for something.
Polka dots are so much fun! I have a couple of dotted dresses (one black with white dots, another blue chambray with white dots), a skirt, and a couple of t-shirts. Polka dots are my prints!
I wore a red dress with polka dots by Betsy Johnson to my rehearsal dinner about 13 years ago! I miss that dress!
I had a navy just off the shoulder dress with medium white polka dots for my hen meal twenty seven years ago. I loved that dress. I don’t remember many if any other items in my wardrobe that long ago.
I don’t have any clothes with polka dots, but my suitcase is red with white dots. It’s cheerful, as well as easy to spot at baggage claim!
I don’t know if I could do dots. After buying a print shirt this summer, I realized that I don’t like prints. Stripes yes! Do dots qualify as a print my mind? Unknown!
Janice, this is a fabulous post and I love the pearl jewelry as more “dots”.
I especially like the tone on tone dots of the blue raincoat. Nice!
Dots often have a regular, symmetrical quality not found in florals or paisleys, it might feel more ordered & less chaotic for you. Stripes are another ordered, symmetrical print. So they might tick those boxes for you.
A red and white polka dot tee shirt would really be perfect under cardigans this winter…If I can just find one!!
Comme des Garcons makes one that has a wee heart-shaped smiley face on the left breast. It’s mad expensive, but so perfect. I’ve dreamed about one for ages!
https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=EHtyim5Dp1M&mid=1237&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fshop.nordstrom.com%2Fs%2Fcomme-des-garcons-play-red-heart-polka-dot-tee%2F4694850%3Forigin%3Dkeywordsearch-personalizedsort%26breadcrumb%3DHome%252FAll%2520Results%26color%3Dred%252F%2520white
hugs,
Janice
Thank you..it is perfect, but a bit expensive as you mentioned. I will keep looking!
I love polka dots and can’t remember a time when I didn’t gave a blue garment with white dots in my closet!
That trenchcoat is lovely and would be so tempting if it came in one of the colors in my narrowed down color palette.
I wear a lot of prints and do have a handful of dotted pieces including the top I wore to church last night.
Oh yes, polka dots and random dots (sounds like the start of a dance call), are favourite prints for me. They’re so versatile. The Guardian recently had an article about the best-selling dress in the UK this summer: a polka dot dress from H&M. Apparently “everyone” was wearing them.
I own one navy shirt with white polka dots, one white shirt with black dots & one grey cardigan with black dots!
There are summer capris on special at the moment in my favourite Department store – white with black dots – and I am very tempted!
They always make me smile.
I have a pair of black ankle length pants with white pin dots that I love because the fit is impeccable – but it doesn’t really register as polka dots. For whatever reason, polka dots are majorly frumpifying on me – not really sure how that works since polka dots have a tendency to go twee pretty fast without mature styling. Maybe I would do better with the tone-on-tone concept, or trying to mix patterns with dots.
Polka dots are a long-time favorite in my wardrobe! In my closet here in France at the moment: a pair of white and black polka dot capris purchased around 25 years ago and still chic ;)
Anne in Aix en Provence
It has been a “dot” week for me as well, I have never met a dot I didn’t like!
I love a good print, and dots are a mainstay of my wardrobe (along with checks! and stripes!). Even my favorite PJs are navy with white dots – from uniqlo. – nancyo
I am definitely a polka dot person, especially in the summer. They make me feel young and carefree. Not sure why. In any event, I have a navy blue polka dot summer top w/flutter sleeves that I love and wear w/everything. Small polka dots can easily be mixed w/other prints, if you know how, to great effect. I do have a polka dot dress.
Thank you, Janice, for spotlighting one of my favorite spotted pattern.
Cheers, M-T
Janice, I thought of you as soon as I saw this. It is a design-your-own scarf business (you do not paint–you design, including colors, and they print it for you) that is located in Denver, but also provides a “do it at home” option. I have not done this yet, and have no connection to this business, but it might be the perfect solution for acquiring a scarf that is a PERFECT match for my core and accent wardrobe colors (as soon as I figure out which accent colors I want to include). A second scarf (maybe that floral template) might be a great way to pull a few wardrobe orphans that I can’t seem to part with into my core wardrobe without further investment in coordinating garments! (Since I live in Denver, I will be planning a session in the near future with a few girlfriends and will let you know what I think of the quality, but those scarves pictured in their online gallery are stunning!)
https://www.thescarfstudio.com/pages/scarf-gallery
I’m so eager to know how this works! I may try one myself from home, just to get a sense of their quality too…
Thanks so much for thinking of me, and of all of us here, when you saw this!
hugs,
Janice
I adore dots! I love that they, like gingham, seem to always imbue a look with happiness & joie de vive! I also think that they are a terrific print for pattern mixing fun. I have quite a few, and I can never resist a dotted scarf. They seem to work with EVERYTHING!
Could I challege you, Janet, to write a post about «10 ways to wear polka dot pants»?
I adore my pants (black with white dots), but I manage to wear them only with a couple of t-shirts.
Thank you so much for your inspirational work!