January 24, 2020
I was despairing of what I was going to post, when I got an email asking about a cardigan of a different color! I’m so grateful for you all…
cardigan – J.Crew
My heroine didn’t tell me what her favorite neutral is, so yet again I’m going to experiment with this sweater worn with a handful of neutral colors. There’s pretty much no color that this wouldn’t go with; I might hesitate about wearing it with pure white, but then again…
cardigan – J.Crew
I love the way ivory looks with chambray – it makes it feel sort of dressed up. Definitely not the way denim colors usually look!
sunglasses – Ray-Ban; gold knot earrings – Talbots; chambray shirt – J.Crew; cardigan – J.Crew; heart necklace – Talbots; loafers – Clarks; ivory corduroy pants – Topshop
I like ivory and grey together – they’re both softly muted… The scarf actually looks a lot better tied than it does laying out flat, but I couldn’t find a good photograph…
silver & gold earrings – Talbots; bracelet – Talbots; tee – Lands’ End; cardigan – J.Crew; scarf – Talbots; knit skirt – Caslon; ballet flats – Taryn Rose
With a navy dress, this looks a bit more spring-like – brighter and lighter. And ivory is the perfect wardrobe foil for pearl jewelry!
necklace – Baublebar; earrings – Sophie Buhai; navy sleeveless dress – J.Crew; watch – Timex; cardigan – J.Crew; pumps – Sam Edelman; handbag – Deux Lux
This sweater slid right into this outfit perfectly! And no, it’s never the wrong time to wear heart-shaped earrings. This business of only wearing hearts for a week or so in February is nonsense…
scarf – Image Diary; earrings – Kate Spade; cardigan – J.Crew; vintage burgundy tee – J.Crew; bracelet – Sterling Forever; loafers – Madewell; brown corduroy pants – L.L.Bean
I never wear green, but this next outfit might be my favorite! The amazing necklace helps a lot, as do the perfect, classic loafers.
sunglasses – Ray-Ban; necklace – Soft Surroundings; cardigan – J.Crew; tunic – Lands’ End; pants – Lands’ End; loafers – Madewell; tote bag – State of Escape
Many comments lately have asked about wearing a blend of similar colors; I need to figure out a way to show you a system or policy to make this idea easier (and closer to fool-proof!). But for now, rest assured that you could easily wear these 3 garments together with no fuss. The gold scarf is like “fabric jewelry,” and I’m still pretty smitten with this evening bag.
earrings – Lizzie Fortunato; cardigan – J.Crew; tee shirt – Banana Republic; gold metallic scarf – Nordstrom; evening bag – Like Dreams; flats – Steve Madden; heather saddle pants – J.Crew
Please share your closet orphans with me – I’m always looking for a single garment that needs to get more use as a basis for a blog post!
love,
Janice
p.s. 3 years ago, we looked at adding accessories to a really GREAT casual wardrobe that included denim, black, white and beige. Still one of my favorites…
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This cardigan looks so cosy and being loose fitting could be worn over various coloured jumpers at this fickle time of year when the temperature fluctuates wildly in the UK. Ivory is such a gentle colour, softer than white. It’s the extra stylish layer to wear on a winter night in front of a fire and snuggled up under a blanket…
This color is so versatile, but as a true winter I look so ghastly in off-white.
I have a cream cardigan I love from LL Bean but don’t wear it often. I love your ideas and will have to try them. My problem is it has large brown toggle buttons so not sure they will all work.
I have a pair of pants in a color called cocoa brown. It’s not a true brown, but it’s not a camel either. They are from Everlane and I love the fit, they are cropped but with my shorter legs, they are a good length for me to wear with ankle boots without skin showing.
I wear black with them, or cream sometimes. Not sure if you could come up with some different combinations for these.
Change the buttons. It may take a while to find the tight thing but it can make all the difference!
Hugs,
Janice
I think I have that same cardigan (mine is a chunky knit and long with those brown buttons). Janice actually inspired me with the gray and cream combo. I just received a warm gray tissue turtleneck that I ordered and at first thought I would return it but realize it would be perfect with this sweater. Also wear it with cream or beige crew tees or tissue tnecks.
The ivory is a bit too yellow for me, I would have to dial it down a couple of notches, but I agree that it does look beautiful with that particular shade of olive green.
I have an unloved and unworn orphan in my wardrobe, that is a medium weight ponte-knit shift dress that is knee-length has short sleeves and a round neck. The reason it doesn’t get worn is because it is cobalt blue, which is too bright for my complexion and would have been better had it been French navy or maybe a chambray. I can’t dye it because it is made of polyester, so I’m at a loss with what to do with it. My neutrals are winter-white, grey and navy and my accents are berry reds, teal greens and greyish blues.
Sharon, try toning down the cobalt blue dress with a black jacket, scarf, or sweater.
Thanks Judith, my black is now charcoal and navy and I haven’t tried styling it with a sweater before, so I’ll give that a try.
Have you tried finding an patterned fine knit cardigan or scarf which features the colour of the dress in the pattern. So the dress becomes a background and the pattern and colours of the cardigan or scarf becomes the focus.
Thanks beth t for your comment, I have no other items in my wardrobe that includes cobalt blue, but I see your logic. I’ll keep my eye out for a patterned silk scarf with lots of light neutrals, blues and silver greys.
Wow – hope you find such a lovely scarf!
A longer length navy cardigan with a soft shape. Softer shapes can tone down bright colors better than crisp shapes like a blazer, which will still look harsh. But if the color is just too strong, you may need to write this one off.
Thanks sgac, I did wear it once or twice with a structured long dark navy cardigan, but it made me feel too formal although it did hide most of the dress.
So, the idea of a softer more fluid cardigan makes sense; luckily I do have one which is in a fine knit and is light grey which would probably be better for my pale complexion than navy – baffled as to why I haven’t already worn them together!
Thank you for this post – I have been flummoxed about why some of my “off white” tops look great on me and others I just won’t wear. The ones I love are Ivory (softer white). The ones I don’t love are probably considered cream. They all look so close in color when they are on their own, but put them on and whoa! So thank you Janice for this post which prompted me to investigate the differences in various “whites.”
Hope you had a fabulous trip!! I live your pics from Paris!!
XO
*love* your pics, that is. ?
As another who doesn’t do yellowish cream well, I’ve had good luck at one Canadian store that often has shirts and sweaters in “vanilla” or “antique white.” Kettlewell Colours in the U.K. does “soft white” which is supposed to work for everybody except Winters.
Reflecting on your comment about the post 3 years ago, “denim, black, white and beige. Still one of my favorites…”, it too is one of my favorites and with some slight modifications (I use stone instead of beige) I have duplicated it. However I am having some difficult adapting that to a travel wardrobe that meets the temperatures of the time I usually travel which is often the end of August, September and half way through October. As you know during that time of year the temperatures can vary widely and wildly. Also a summer version would be nice. Help please. Thank you. I really love your posts and look forward to them every week.
I’m trying to make red ruffled longline cardigan work. It’s a very fine wool and sort of tailored – waisted not boxy. I love everything about it (comfort, warmth, fit) except the colour, which feels too bright. Everything else is black or dark denim (pants, skirts), with tops in white, light blue or light grey. I suspect the problem is the high contrast when I’m usually a low contrast girl.erhaps scarves would help …
Today’s example with the Ivory cardie is a real winner. I hadn’t thought how much more widely I could wear mine!
I have a similar ruffled longline cardigan which is an unusual colour. I love it but it also looked too much with plain separates. Then I found a patterned dress with which it toned. So instead of standing out as an individual garment, it blended with the background of the dress. Perhaps you could find a patterned blouse or dress with the red colour in it?
Red is a challenge to wear. I wear my red garments with dark grey, charcoal or black/white tweed/checks. These colours seem soften the red. My husband wears his red jumpers with dark brown trousers.
My orphan garment which I love but don’t know how to style is a navy and gold floral/paisley jacquard jacket. I bought it for a wedding a few years ago. Back then I wore it with a navy lace top and a navy silky skirt. It’s similar to a Monsoon jacket currently on sale on eBay! As a classic style, I’d love to wear it for more ‘casual’ occasions but don’t know what else to wear it with? Any advice please.
It sounds fabulous! I would wear it with a high-quality navy tee and dark wash jeans. Gold jewelry and gold metallic sandals.
Thanks ‘book goddess’. Good idea, I’ll try it.
I’d love to see a post based on your jacket, it sounds fabulous and I’m inclined to think Janice would make wonders with it!
Hi Janice,
It’s fun to see how are almost the same outfit from last week to style another cardigan. This is quite eye-opening!
Can I make another vote for a red centrepiece? I’ve just bought a red velvet blazer that, in theory, goes with my navy/ivory/grey neutrals but, in practice, seems to need an ensemble with less contrast and I haven’t mastered it yet.
I love velvet jackets and have several in my wardrobe in different colours – mint green, fuschia and burgundy. I have found over the years that wearing a patterned top – floral, paisley or small dual coloured geometric/check which features the colour of the jacket – with plain bottoms, blends the jacket rather than creating a stark contrast. A patterned scarf would also do if you prefer plain tops. So I would look for a top or scarf with the same red in the pattern and wear it with the jacket and navy or dark grey trousers.
I love your ideas!
It might seem a boring choice, but I often wear my ivory cardigan tucked in black slacks, with a black lacy top just peeking out of the cardigan’s neckline, black oxford shoes, gold accessories, and cute socks (my favorite are ivory with subtle beige dots). It makes me feel put together but still “interesting”.
And here I think ivory worn with true white can be a sophisticated look.
My orphan garment is a purple office blazer. Classic, but it only fits with black – or so I assume – and I decided black isn’t for me anymore. Now it just hangs really isolated between my beige, navy blue and white clothes.
Oooh…. may I substitute a purple cardigan if I can’t find a blazer?
hugs,
Janice
Definitely! I think the color is something between purple and burgundy/red wine. Difficult to describe, something like this https://www.pinterest.com/pin/122300946114509425/ (I know it is for men, but the color is quite right) or this https://www.bonprix.ch/produkt/baumwoll-jersey-blazer-tailliert-holunderbeere-952611/#image. Andrea
I also love the look of a white cardigan and have one exactly like this, but I find I am only comfortable wearing it during cool summer nights with shorts and a tee. I’ve tried dressing it up with navy or black slacks and down with a variety of jeans, but it just doesn’t feel right to me. But a cool summer night by the lake or a walk in the park, it’s the one I reach for…..
This is a fun series, and I enjoy seeing how you style these cardigans with various neutrals. But I miss seeing black as one of the neutrals. Is there a reason that you’re skipping it? – nancyo
Not really. I feel like I show SO MUCH black that I wasn’t sure it would make sense to add another post about one. I’m trying to focus on garments that have been specifically mentioned as hanging unused in closets.
hugs,
Janice