December 4, 2019
I can’t believe that this is the last month of these outfits! It seems like yesterday that I was trying to decide if I would continue to use the Appaloosa des Steppes scarf, because of the concerns about cultural appropriation…
Let me say right upfront – not one of these wardrobes is perfect! So for the next 3 Wednesdays, I’m going to take a look at all of them (2 per week) and see what we can learn from my mistakes, over-enthusiasms, and general lack of a good plan. Thus I’m not going to bury you in analysis today…
That said, any of these wardrobes could take you a long way, for a long time. If this was the core of a wardrobe for someone who wears uniforms during the day, she would need never fear having nothing to wear!
Let’s go! This month is dressy – mostly skirts, with one outfit that was specifically requested…
I’m a sucker for a striped sweater; this is perfect for those occasions when you’re not sure how dressy things will be!
striped sweater – Banana Republic; earrings – Gorjana; bracelet – Banana Republic; evening bag – Ted Baker London; black pleated skirt – Chelsea28; slingbacks – Eileen Fisher
I’m still loving this one…
As always, you should be able to find at least a couple of ways to wear new purchases, unless you’re buying something for a very special occasion!
I still love these colors. I have an abiding weakness for purple!
Don’t discount the idea of finding a soft, seasonless, pretty skirt for the upcoming festive season. This can be worn all year, in all kinds of different ways!
earrings – Wadarat Supasirisuk; amethyst bracelet – Samuel B.; navy evening bag – Nina; navy cashmere sweater – Nordstrom Signature; floral skirt – Rebecca Taylor; ballet flats – VanEli
This came together okay, I think…
The 2 new garments are nice additions to this wardrobe…
What a wonderful inspiration this scarf has proven to be! If you’re the kind of woman who will brave an “off the beaten path” color palette, you could do worse than this!
Yes, you can wear “long over long;” I think that the softness of this skirt makes it feel less heavy and visually substantial than if it were wool. Part of it is just your own personal comfort; if you like it, it will work!
earrings – Honora; bracelet – Majorica; evening bag – Jessica McClintock; sweater – Lands’ End; skirt – Needle & Thread; ballet flats – CaféNoir
This is just plain fun…
Both the sweater and the skirt blend into this wardrobe easily…
This palette will never grow old…
Someone asked me if you could wear both a velvet tunic and velvet pants. Well…. you could wear a velvet jumpsuit, right? A long velvet dress? So long as the tunic doesn’t “grab” onto the pants and feel weird, this is perfect fine, and the shoes are just too much fun to resist!
earrings – Heidi Daus; cuff bracelet – Chico’s; gold bag – Whiting & Davis; teal velvet tunic – Lands’ End; navy velvet pants – Lands’ End; ballet flats – Flexus
The tunic is a new-ish color here, but still blends in well. And the pants are perfect!
Even though the tunic is a new color, there are plenty of “bottoms” to wear with it. And of course neutral pants will always find a home…
Oh, I have SO MANY things to say about this whole effort! But the scarf is still timelessly lovely.
I couldn’t resist this skirt, although I suspect it’s not the best possible choice. That happens sometimes; wardrobes aren’t perfect, and you have to give some room in your mind and heart to indulge yourself with things that you really find appealing!
earrings – J.Crew; bracelet – Alex and Ani; bag – Hiva Atelier; brown cashmere sweater – Banana Republic; floral skirt – Rixo; ballet flats – French Sole
Hmm….
The brown sweater is so easy to integrate; the skirt is a bit more challenging. So be it!
This is another project about which I still have reservations; analyzing this wardrobe will help me learn a thing or two!
I absolutely can’t recommend enough having a button-front velvet tunic! I have one of these from a few years ago (mine has a shirt collar), and I wear it a ton. It’s a tunic, it’s a jacket, it’s amazing!
And silk pants are wonderful – truly something that you can wear almost all year. They don’t have to be dressy, just because they’re silk…
earrings – Carousel Jewels; fold bracelet – Carousel Jewels; wristlet – Lilla Lane; velvet tunic – Eileen Fisher; black silk pants – Cuyana; flats – Naturalizer
This wardrobe is very versatile – not perhaps statistically the most versatile possible, but this isn’t a math test. No wardrobe will be without at least a few outliers!
I didn’t even include any outfits here using the tunic as a jacket – I could have really gone crazy with that possibility!
Hmmm… at the end of all of this, I still can’t choose a favorite! I own more of the garments from the last wardrobe than any of the others, but since it has black as a neutral, that was to be expected. If I had to travel for the next 6 months with 1 of these wardrobes (and some appropriate undergarments…), I think I might opt for the first. Or the navy, teal and burgundy… If I was blond, I would choose the grey and apricot…
And for you?
love,
Janice
p.s. 3 years ago (well, give or take a day!) I was already evaluating a full capsule wardrobe (brown, beige and orange) based on an Hermes scarf! I used a different evaluation method than I’m going to use this year, so it’s worth a look!
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After it’s all said and done, the brown Jeu de soie wardrobe won my heart! I was rooting for the olive based Les Neaueaux -olive (and navy!) are my neutrals of choice, but in the end, I appreciated the larger variety of colors you could weave into Jeu.
Looking forward to your analysis!
Rosace de Janos and Le Clairiere are my favourites color-wise.
LOVE the purple and navy Appaloosa des Steppes. I’m so glad you kept going with this particular scarf.
That is my favorite also. I wear navy like Janice wears black – all the time! I’d prefer a softer version of the white for myself but otherwise would wear it as is and love it!!
I love the first and last. It must be the black – so versatile. Thanks for the hard work. They all are beautiful.
Zouaves et Dragons is my favorite – I could happily live with this. Runner-up for me is Rosace de Janos. Do I love blue? Yes I do!
There are so many many beautiful items in each wardrobe, it’s impossible for me to choose. Can I make a request for 2020? I would love to see a wardrobe based on Balade en Berline in Marine. I love wearing black with navy since I stopped coloring my hair. It looks great with the salt and pepper. Thank you for all you do, Janice. I always look forward to your posts.
Your blog is such a treat for me! I look forward to waking up on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to see what you have posted. I have to say that these wardrobes are my favorites! Just beautiful and functional. They have given me great inspiration this year. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!
Thanks so much – that’s why I work so hard on this! I’m a sucker for positive feedback…
hugs,
Janice
This is a fascinating exercise. I was looking at Jeu de Soie today and trying to figure out what I would have done differently. I came to the conclusion that I would have chosen the light blue or the red, but not both, to go with the orange. Also, I think the navy dress with the lighter blue cuffs would be amazing with the Dragons wardrobe. My favorite is still the grey and peach—it is so lovely, especially the new skirt and the dress.
Honestly, I think they are all lovely even though the palettes, as they were, didn’t really suit me. There were so many clothes, shoes, bags, scarves, and jewelry that I would have enjoyed owning if I had the budget for them. Very often, your posts have inspired me to shop my own wardrobe to create new outfits from what I already own or led me to consider items that would further increase the usefulness of what I already have. All in all, this website brings me a lot of joy.
For next year, instead of having 2 wardrobes with black as the dark neutral, I would like to suggest options for grays and browns in both warm and cool shades. That would still leave room for ones with black or navy dark neutrals, for a total of 6. I realize that my request may not be feasible, you work from what is available.
Whatever you choose, I can’t wait to see what is in store for 2020 .
It’s been interesting to compare these wardrobes, as they’ve grown, with the weekly timeless series, especially in terms of the ratio of neutrals to accents. Both series offer an imaginative and practical approach to wardrobe building or shopping from what we have. I’m looking forward to your analysis because you’re so good at it. I’ve found, because none of the scarves suit my own colour schemes, that it’s been easier to concentrate on the actual clothing items – styling, purpose, how they fit with other things. If you’ll continue this series next year, please could I request one option of cool pastel accents for those of us with cool grey hair? Beige/fawn can make us look ill, while light dusty pinks, blues or greens can light us up. The lovely bracelets you’ve been featuring this year have been wonderful inspiration in that regard.
I’m dreaming of L’Art du Saison, Bolduc au Carrė, Le Rêve de Gloria, Faubourg Rainbow, Animapolis, A l’Ombre des Pivoines … Such pretty soft colours.
Actually, none of the color combinations are perfect for me, so every month I vacillate. However, for the first time all year I am really liking the navy and purple. Maybe it’s because I am reading your blog today from my laptop instead of my cell phone! I wear lots of blue and white and the actual style of the pieces chosen for this scarf suit me best. I so enjoy your blog and greatly anticipate the evaluations as well as the selections for next year.
I love all of these wardrobes! I would wear the heck out of the Appaloosa des Steppes one especially. All those purples make my heart happy!
I love your blog, but this series is my favorite. You are probably thankful to be done for the year, but I’m already looking forward to next year’s scarves!
While none of these is my palate, a couple of them were close enough to provide some great inspiration. I find the accessories to be really helpful, I am not a good ‘accessorizer’ – haha is that even a word? That bracelet or even the socks can add that extra thing that makes the outfit look really pulled together. You have a real knack for this and your work is much appreciated by so many of us!
I’m really looking forward to your analysis of these wardrobes.
I think the new skirt for the Jeu de Soie goes with the maroon cardigan, v-neck sweater, & button down as well. So maybe that skirt is more versatile than you originally thought. ?? This was really fun & I’m looking forward to your analysis & next year’s choices. I’m trying to figure out what I can do to play along…perhaps by the end of next year I can have my own almost perfect, carefully curated wardrobe hanging in my closet. Selecting a few things once a month doesn’t seem too overwhelming. Your website is definitely a favorite. Let me know if you have an update on your book. :)
Kind regards,
Milissa
The last one, Les Nouveaux, is my favorite. That velvet tunic looks long enough to be a dress too! Also love the silk pants idea. I may feel more comfortable in a flared leg than a wide leg, but I think those pants could go anywhere!
I have enjoyed this series very much. The Rosace de Janos remains my favourite as I think it would offer the greatest versatility for me with the addition of some green items. The accessories in all the collections are truly lovely. Can you possibly do a series for an autumn whose skin has cooled a little and has greying hair? Or possibly use different neutrals such as dark green/plum/burgundy? Thanks so much for all you do.
My favourites are Appaloosa Des Steppes with the navy base & purple accents. Under it’s influence I explored mauve (I couldn’t find purple or lavender in my price range close to home so I tried mauve) and I’ve got a new love to vary my usual blush pinks.
And the La Clairiere soft peach on grey became my other favourite. At first it seemed too orange apricot for me but it grew on me. I think it’s become my top favourite of the two.
I love both grey and navy as softer neutrals as I age. Black is still great but my skin is fading and grey or navy are best.
The softer more pastel accents like mauve, blush & aqua are taking over from the brighter reds, corals, limes and teals that I still love but in smaller doses.
I wouldn’t have tried mauve if I hadn’t been attempting to follow the Appaloosa scarf and I am so glad I did.
I never thought I could wear mauve but maybe it’s just how my skin tone is aging but it’s great. Brings life and colour into my skin like blush pink does.
Those tones used to wash me out horribly but now they’re my best. Who knew? Gifts of age I suppose.
But thank you Janice because this year long project has involved a tremendous amount of work, time and effort and I dare say some headaches and fatigue flares.
Thanks! I enjoy these so much, even with the moments when I feel like I can’t find the perfect thing! But that’s like shopping in real life, isn’t it?
hugs,
Janice
Amen!
These wardrobes are all so interesting and the series makes for a fun year! While none of the palettes suits me, there are parts of each that I have found valuable. I’m already looking forward to next year’s series, ha! – nancyo
They are all interesting. If I still wore black, the black, olive, tan would be my choice. But since I don’t, the Zouaves et Dragons is the ticket. The colors are easy to find and comfortable in a warm climate. Also the lighter blue can be interpreted as denim. I like it so much I am going to change my colors for my WTW project. Navy and grey were a struggle and I couldn’t decide on accents. So, I too am looking forward to your analyses.
Thank you for all your wonderful ideas. I look forward to your posts. Recently I visited the Christmas markets in Europe and your ideas made packing so easy.
I am like, 6 weeks late with this, but I finally got the last outfit assembled and added to the wardrobe. It’s been a great exercise!
https://sewrandom.blogspot.com/2020/02/finallythe-final-2019-wardrobe-outfit.html