February 17, 2020
I always find it a real milestone into warmer weather when I swap out wool or cashmere sweaters for something in silk, cotton or linen! It’s the baby steps that add up to a change of season…
As usual, I want to share with you what I have in mind when I’m choosing these sweaters. I know that some of you really DON’T like sweaters that are just open in the front, so you can of course substitute a buttoned sweater in your wardrobe!
Before I show you some outfits, I thought I’d visit the 6 scarves that are part of our growing “One Outfit per Month” series, along with the cardigan that seems to be best suited for that scarf. (wait ’til we get to accent colors!!!!!)
navy lion and peacock scarf – Aspinal of London; linen cardigan – Halogen; mustard “A” Floral scarf – Aspinal of London; cotton cardigan – Marks and Spencer; Magenta Robins scarf – Aspinal of London; silk & linen cardigan – Eileen Fisher
mint green “A” Floral scarf – Aspinal of London; soft indigo cardigan – L.L.Bean; Earth Mandala scarf – GISY; forest moss cardigan – Lands’ End; shield scarf – Aspinal of London; linen cardigan – Halogen
First up – my favorite black and white. It’s worth remembering that a nice pair of canvas shoes that don’t look like you use them for running can make any outfit feel more casual, but still appropriate for lots of places. Plus, I think it’s nice to be able to wear shoes that are comfy…
earrings – Banana Republic; necklace – Gorjana; striped tee – Goodnight Macaroon; linen cardigan – Halogen; cotton no-wrinkle pants – L.L.Bean; canvas shoes – Keds
Olive is so beautiful – it shouldn’t be so hard to find nice clothing in these colors. I saw a tee shirt that would have been PERFECT for this outfit, but it cost $1,250. Seriously. Over a thousand dollars. For at tee shirt. I think it had a few beads on it, but they would have to be small diamonds for that price!
But when I saw this gold tee shirt, my heart sang and my search was over:
earrings – Kate Spade New York; necklace – Halogen; gold tee shirt – Only; forest moss cardigan – Lands’ End; olive no-wrinkle cotton pants – L.L.Bean; gold espadrilles – Old Navy
Ah, shades of grey. This is positively comforting for a day when you don’t want to think too much about what you’re going to wear, but you still want to look like you had your eyes open when you got dressed:
earrings – Bhavesh; necklace – Majorica; tee shirt – Banana Republic; silk & linen cardigan – Eileen Fisher; granite canvas pants – L.L.Bean; shoes – Keds
Proof that pants in a print aren’t limited to just one outfit! And you must love that the shoes are P.F. Flyers! Oh, that brings back memories…
earrings – Soft Surroundings; necklace – Allsaints; tee shirt – Lands’ End; cardigan – Silvian Heach; pants – Karen Kane; shoes – P.F. Flyers
Timelessly classic outfit, with pretty flowers and boat shoes!
silver rose earrings – Sasithon Saisuk; necklace – Majorica; tee – Lord & Taylor; linen cardigan – Halogen; wrinkle-free cotton pants – L.L.Bean; canvas boat shoes – Sperry
Happy happy day! Mint clothes! Just after I finished last month’s post with the 6 scarves, and the gorgeous mint scarf, it seemed that every store suddenly had mint all over the place. That’s sometimes the way of it; you can compromise in the short term, but eventually your color will show up. I think…
earrings – Kendra Scott; Earth pendant – Astley Clarke; seafoam tee – Lands’ End; cardigan – L.L.Bean; twig chinos – L.L.Bean; shoes – Keds
My 13-piece wardrobe of the last 13 weeks of garments has a definite split personality now. Going out of town when you’re not certain of the weather at your destination might make this a perfect travel capsule wardrobe.
white, black and red tees – Lands’ End; floral tee – Lands’ End; linen cardigan – Halogen; flannel shirt – Lands’ End; striped Henley – Lands’ End; black metallic hoodie – Michael Kors Collection; cobalt cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; black cropped pants – L.L.Bean; black wrinkle free cotton pants – L.L.Bean; velvet skirt – Marks & Spencer; striped sweater dress – Banana Republic
Here’s the overall list – I’m refining the descriptions of the garments as I spend some time with them. The general idea is usually the same, but my terms might be more precise.
I have to admit that since I fell in love with pink a couple of weeks ago, I’ve done some immoderate shopping. Perhaps I need to refer to this list and take my own advice!
love,
Janice
p.s. Three years ago, we shared a Salvador Dali painting and a heroine who was counting plants…
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I hope you don’t mind an unrelated question, it just doesn’t seem email-worthy: how would you wear brown with green without looking like a tree? The brown would mostly be warm, dark, and chocolate-y, while the green would also be on the warmer side and range from dark or medium. I have recently worn brown pants and shoes with a warm purple sweater and a green jacket and surprisingly loved it, but I’m still trying to determine whether green is a sustainable choice as an accent color when brown is one of my dark neutrals.
Choosing a palette is so hard! Every time I think I’ve done it, I get stuck again. I have too many colors I enjoy wearing, others I crave (I’m in a pink phase too!), and I still feel the need for an organized and foolproof wardrobe.
Keep your eyes open for an accessory that brings in both colors! A scarf, necklace brooch, headband, bracelet can help meld the colors you love into a intentional-feeling outfit!
Back quickly to say: look up Janice’s articles on French 5 piece wardrobes. She shows show an accent color in 5 pieces can be combined with almost any neutral. Good luck!
You could just embrace that you’re wearing colors found in nature; if anybody comments that you look like a tree, thank them for bringing you back to nature, and suggest that they plant a tree (or 20!) now that they’re thinking of trees.
Seriously, I don’t think that anybody would notice that as much as you do. Most of us over-analyze things that other people didn’t even see!
Yes, accessories that include the 2 colors help a lot in blending colors in an outfit. But I suspect that you look great, and not at all like a plant of any sort!
hugs,
Janice
There are always a few rules that we make for ourselves. For me, no yellow+black (bumblebee), orange+black (except on Halloween), or bright red +bright green (not even on Christmas). Janice has had good posts ignoring all these rules!
It’s difficult to get over color rules that live in your head! I’m wearing a LOT of black and pink these days, and sometimes I feel like I’m in a casting call for Grease! Don’t ask me why…. But pink is my favorite color right now, and I feel that it’s going to stick around for a while; I’d better make it my own!
That said, I could NEVER wear navy with gold. I’d feel like a cheerleader from my high school, and THAT’S not something for which I’m at all nostalgic..
hugs,
Janice
Absolutely no red, white and blue (flag)
What a lovely rich colour combination. Plum colours look good with green and brown too. Perhaps find a patterned t-shirt or blouse in brown/green or green/purple?
I wear brown & green(olive-spruce) together all the time and my accent colors are teal, cream, & rust. I had my colors “done” 30+ years ago which confirmed some color choices & opened up some new ones. You might go to a paint store & see if you can find paint chips in your brown, green, & purple and then think what other colors you love & would work well with that color combo, your skin tone, & your personality! You should get a light neutral but it may not be in the white-white family, maybe beige, greige, maybe pale lilac to compliment your purple; maybe get a card of “white” house paints and look at the pink-y whites, greenish whites….
You can also change the color palate up by using khaki as a lighter shade of brown to wear with the green. I love olive and khaki, especially in the fall when the colors are beginning to change but it is still warm.
I wasn’t expecting to receive so many tips and comments, I’m excited and very grateful!
Janice, you are right of course. I mean, I do love trees more than I love some people – especially the kind that might make those kinds of comments on my appearance.
I don’t even usually make rules for myself, and I routinely wear a lot of combos that are sometimes frowned upon by others (brown and black is one of my personal favorites), so I’m not sure why green and brown would bother me to begin with.
Chris, Beth, Katy and Erin: thanks for the lovely ideas!
Bridge accessories appeal a lot: for some reasons, I’m mostly picturing hair accessories, like some clips or a hairband in a tortoiseshell pattern that also includes green (off to Etsy I go). And now that I think about it, I have a brown tweed jacket that I think has some green threading…
I have a passion for paint chips (and buttons, and thread rolls… everything that can create a color palette!) and no rational use for them, so thank you for that suggestion too!
Those Kids “Champion” sneakers sold for $3.95 when I was a high schooler! I don’t think they were available in black, though.
I’m liking the canvas shoes right now and just wanted to say that Taos has nice ones for people who need a good arch and can’t wear the flat ones. They aren’t cheap, but they have helped reverse my plantar fasciitis and have good colors if you like blue and grey.
Thanks for sharing – personal endorsements of things are always the most useful!
hugs,
Janice
Thank you for incorporating a few higher end pieces, now I have my wardrobe almost completely organized Im reluctant to purchase inexpensive items. Trying new brands occasionally is always a good idea, you never know what you may find.
So I get to be the first person to say “ Run faster, jump higher!” Oh I coveted PF Fliers. Alas they were not in the family budget.
Haha! Love that Blast From the Past!
My little brother wore the PF Fliers. I wore Red Ball Jets!
Dark (and light) neutral long cardigans are a mainstay in my wardrobe as I feel the cold. I have several in neutrals, accents and patterned. They are ideal for throwing over other layers in the evening instead of a dressing gown. I have one permanently draped over my office chair at work for when it gets draughty (plus fingerless gloves in my desk!). For winter events, I wear a sequined silver grey long cardigan with a faux fur collar.
Thanks for showing us the scarves again. I sorted my scarf drawer at the weekend and its now reorganised by colours and themes. I was pleased to find my mint and green scarf with pink flowers on it plus my mint t-shirts. However, my summer wardrobe needs a big reorganisation using the Weekly Wardrobe, and 4×4 plans. Living in the UK, our weather is changeable and cannot be relied upon. Through experience, I now keep a few light coloured polonecks, long-sleeved tops and warm jumpers to hand in the summer.
When I read the email tagline …”dark neutral”…, i almost deleted the post before looking at it. But I opened it, persuaded by the visual treats i knew I would see, along with the accompanying helpful wardrobe suggestions. Then I laughed when I saw you had acknowledged that some women just don’t wear black, navy, or other dark colors, but to just consider a dark neutral as the darkest one that I rely on the most. You continue to amaze me with the lively, insightful and useful advice in your posts.
What a graceful and wearable wardrobe! (I do not wear those long cardigans myself; on me they look—or maybe just feel—limp.) And sharing your love for black/white/pink: it lifts our severe winters, looks great in spring, too, and cheers me. IMO the mid-saturation pinks look great on any woman though she might tweak them toward the peach or blue-based pink, just like lipstick.
I’m going off topic here, but I just had to tell you how excited I am by the way your advice works so well applied on short notice! I got a call on Monday morning asking if I’d like to attend the Presidential primary debate in Las Vegas. Would I?????!!!! I knew I had enough neutrals in my closet that I could confidently pack in a tote bag a la Janice!!! I had accent Tees in the drawer. The only thing lacking was a navy skirt. I was able to find a ponte pencil skirt that will clearly look amazing with casual to dressy tops and go most seasons unless it’s August and 100+ degrees. I’m still looking for a beautiful pair of navy pumps or slingback with the right heel, but the loafers I already have are just dressy enough to pull off the look: navy cardigan/navy lightweight sweater/navy ponte skirt/hose shoes…with a beautiful floral scarf on a navy background with enough coral and white that I can do pearl earrings and wear pretty coral lipstick. Wearing: Pendleton sweater hoodie (navy), aqua Tee (red silk scarf with navy/aqua stripes), turquoise earrings and navy cords. Same shoes as above, but with socks. Same pants on the way home with a coral T and a chiffon scarf. PJs, makeup, toiletries, electronics, a little work and Madeline Albright’s book..all in one tote. Thank you, thank you, thank you for keeping me focused enough on the goal that this last minute packing has been effortless and my husband says I look tres chic! (We’re staying at the Paris Hotel, naturally!) {{{Hugs}}}
I meant to say that the Pendleton hoodie/aqua T and navy cords are for travel TO Vegas! I love reading all the comments here, BTW. Lots of great insight from the group and it makes me with we had “like” buttons! As always, I’m eager to read your next post.
Hi there, really enjoying your wardrobe insights. Love the scarves. I have been primarily wearing long scarves. I would love to see how the square scarves are worn/tied for your outfits especially in warmer weather. Regards, Fran