March 26, 2020
This is a LOT like yesterday’s post, I admit. Not because I’m inherently lazy (although I could be, given the right circumstances…) but more because someone asked yesterday about wearing accents of teal, aqua and soft blue with navy. I HAD to show how well many of these garments work just as well with a slightly different neutral.
(yes, grey would be lovely…)
Arara Azul scarf by Victoria Ragna
This is very much the same color palette as yesterday, except the shift away from black…
Arara Azul scarf by Victoria Ragna
After a LONG summer…
They’re free to travel again! She’s been planning for months for this trip…
Earrings – Pichaya; cardigan – Lands’ End; scarf – Treasure & Bond; navy top – Halogen; watch – Tissot; suitcase – Olympia USA; crossbody bag – Rebecca Minkoff; pumps – Calvin Klein; navy skirt – Halogen
What kept her sane through the summer was the ability to go outdoors and watch the birds. It had never been a hobby before; they had had a bird feeder for a long time, but she never really watched it before…
Earrings – Adornia; sweater dress – J.Crew; scarf – Nordstrom; wisteria necklace – The Met Store; clutch bag – Sondra Roberts; ring – Artisan; chalcedony bracelet – Latelita; blouse – Banana Republic; navy cardigan – Banana Republic; seaglass green sweater – L.L.Bean; silver bracelet – The Met Store; aqua cotton shirt – L.L.Bean; navy pants – L.L.Bean; teal loafers – Franco Sarto; navy loafers – Evolve
She grew to recognize lots of different birds – both the various breeds, but also the individuals! They have quite a bit of personality, these birds…
So when she realized that they could start planning a vacation, she thought that using a feather-print scarf as her inspiration was only fair, and fitting!
From where I’m sitting right now, it’s difficult to watch birds. But every now and then, a group of Canada Geese will fly past (perfectly synchronized, as they tend to be…) and my heart will fly out the 6th floor window and soar off with them…
love,
Janice
p.s. Back in November of 2015, I did 2 posts using a Monet painting. This, the 2nd post, is all about how our heroine gradually shifts her travel wardrobe into something more appropriate for taking over her employer!
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Beautiful wardrobe! I love the scarf you used as the base. My own wardrobe uses a lot of navy so I felt at home browsing through this. You chose a lovely watch, tempting for me! Thanks for the diversion this morning.
Navy is my dark neutral so this is a wardrobe I’d gladly use. Where I live, spring has sprung and hearing the returning birds gives me a much needed smile. Thank you for the extra posts this week.
I’m going to try to post 5 days a week until the quarantine/stay at home policy changes. I have lots of extra time, since I’m not lunching with friends, nor going to the gym!
hugs,
Janice
Dear Janice
This wardrobe is exquisitely beautiful! Navy is my dark neutral, and I really love it with these accents.
I look forward to your daily posts. We are going on lockdown from tomorrow. No walking or exercising outside of your yard, and only allowed to go out to buy groceries or medicine.
Keep well!
Dear Nelmarie,
The lockdown/quarantine/shelter in place is why I’m posting 5 times a week! I’ve got lots of time, and I suspect that many of us could use something pretty to divert us for a few minutes each day… I can’t workout, nor lunch with friends, and I’m reluctant to even go outdoors for a walk. So? I work!!! (it’s a labor of love…)
hugs,
Janice
Thanks Janice. This is perfect! ?
Without buying anything new, I can create a Weekly Timeless Wardrobe for the whole year using these two posts and the Monet painting for inspiration. My dark neutrals are navy and grey with additional light neutrals of white/ivory and light grey/silver.
Hey Janice! I love your posts. I think I love teal too after seeing this.
Personal questions-
Are you able to go outside at all? How is your health? Be safe and healthy dear Janice!!
XO,
Jennifer
We can walk outdoors, if we don’t congregate in groups. They’re very close to closing the entire lakefront to everybody, since people can’t seem to understand the whole “social distance” thing; that will be sad for Belovedest and me, since we live right next to the lake. He runs there most days, and we often go out for walks there…
We can go to the drugstore or grocery store, and food can be delivered from restaurants. I’m trying to stay in our apartment as much as I can possibly manage, because I don’t think I would tolerate this virus particularly well!
Thanks for asking! Everybody, when you’re told to socially distance, PLEASE listen. Some people who couldn’t seem to behave might cost all of us the relaxing joy of Lake Michigan…
xoxo,
Janice
I hope they don’t restrict your access to the Lake. Going for a walk has now become the highlight of our day. I’m going to be so much fitter after walking a couple of miles every day! So, I hope the UK government doesn’t restrict us to our gardens. It seems to be the kids and teenagers who aren’t taking this seriously. We have a nature reserve, two lakes, woodland and riverside within a mile of our house. Although we choose less popular routes, it is difficult to avoid people but we are all becoming experts at standing to one side pretending to look at something!
In the UK this is the first week of a three week lockdown, though we are expecting it to be extended. We are allowed out to buy essential food, medicines and go for a walk/cycle run once a day. It’s beautiful weather, though still chilly. The over 70’s are in social isolation until the end of May!
What a treat it is to ‘see’ you every day! Every cloud…….
We feel like we are living in a very bad movie so imagination is quite necessary and your wardrobes provide lots of that!
Thank you sooooo much for all that you do!
I am loving the blue wardrobes for this week. Blues are very soothing for me and I can use as much soothing as possible, right now. (And we have homeschooled for 15 years!)
I’m choosing to say I’m on a sabbatical rather than quarantined. It is all how you chose to view challenges, right?
We are also hearing birds and cicadas here. Spring is arriving no matter what is going on in society. But we are slowing down and getting to experience it more than in the past.
I was thinking that maybe you could take each week and do a series of collections for one color! Red next week, green the next, etc. With such variation of shading and tone there would be plenty of variety!
Thanks again for all you do!
Janice, when we were living on the fifteenth floor, I switched from birds to clouds. Being up high is an advantage for that!
I am also grateful for the extra posts! A bit of beauty in the day.
Clouds are good, except days like today, when it’s all rainy/foggy and I can’t see much at all!
hugs,
Janice
Yes! There were days we could not see past the balcony. But most times, ws had a great view.
I love seeing the same clothes with only one pod swapped for another color, since that is what I’m doing, packing away only one or two colors away and replacing with another, on seasonal basis. I’m excited how the same clothes in slightly different palette feel like completely brand new wardrobe.
After a rough day working from home (3 1/2 hours on the phone with IT) I can’t begin to tell you how much just 10 or 15 minutes of reading your blog post and the comments has helped me transition calmly into the next part of my day. I feel relaxed and ready to start dinner for my family and enjoy our evening together.
Janice, thank you for doing a post with teal and navy! I have quite a bit of both colors in my “magpie wardrobe,” to us a concept from an old post. (I shopped like a magpie, collecting anything that caught my eye!) By the way, two of my favorite posts of yours were when you took a fictional wardrobe and analyzed it to see what was wrong with it. In one case, it was too many muddy greens. Those posts helped me so much, especially in understanding why a skirt I had that was labeled “stone” in the catalogue just refused to harmonise with anything else in my closet! (It had a greenish undertone; I would have called the color “putty.” But I guess that’s not a very appealing name for a color!) Anyway, thank you for all you do. You brighten my days so much!
Thank you dear Janice for all these lovely posts but especially these blue, teal variations.
I am caught up in New Zealand lockdown with fibro flaring and none of my craft materials to distract me. N.Z is beautiful but as I can’t get out and enjoy it makes me homesick for Ireland. Your posts really help.
Janice,
I’m a bit late with a “ thank you” for reposting with navy as the neutral — it works just fine ! Thanks again !
I am definitely in the minority I am sure…. The colors are very pretty but the styles are so ho hum. I am in my sixties and would definitely consider the lovely colors but not the garments. I do appreciate all you do in pulling together colors and showing how they can work together. It must be a lot of work and I have gleaned new ideas for my own (as a previous commentor put it) magpie wardrobe.
Stay well
I try to stick to pretty timeless styles, because I believe firmly that we should be able to wear clothes until they’re well and truly worn OUT. If you can do that with more unique styles, that’s wonderful! Everybody gets dressed in their own way, and that’s as it should be; my suggestions couldn’t possibly suit everyone – I wouldn’t want them to…
hugs,
Janice
I am loving this series, looking forward to when we can get out (here in Seattle we’ve been home for weeks now). I felt a little dizzy at the opening line of this one. The idea of this extending through summer takes my breath away, although I am sure it will end later rather than sooner (those who think this is going to be over in 2 weeks are clearly not paying attention.) In the meantime, dreaming about vacations and get aways is a pleasant distraction. Thank you.