March 30, 2020
Well this is embarrassing… The post that was supposed to be here today – the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe post – was erroneously posted on SATURDAY. I’ve well and truly lost track of what day it is! If you’re looking for it, just scroll down past this new post and it’s right there… sigh…
Swimsuit top – Lands’ End; swimsuit bottom – Lands’ End; cover-up – Lands’ End
The People Who Own Their August Rental…
Just sent them an email and asked if they wanted the house for the entire summer – same price as they usually pay JUST for the month of August!
Well… they had to consider if they could telecommute from there – YES.
Will they be able to get groceries and other necessities – YES.
Will they have a beach, and the chance for some fresh air – YES!!!!!
So they’re packing in a heartbeat, and headed out the door. This is our heroine’s wardrobe palette:
Swimsuit top – Lands’ End; swimsuit bottom – Lands’ End; cover-up – Lands’ End
Their city isn’t completely shut down yet but they can read the tea leaves – and they are willing to self-quarantine for 2 weeks at the beach house, if that’s what it takes to be able to spend the summer there…
Earrings –Sareeyakarn; sea mist blue dress – Lands’ End; watch – Tissot; bracelet – Ralph Lauren; cardigan – Halogen; scarf – Cosel; sandals – Børn; navy nail polish – OPI; tote bag – Longchamp
She packed other, less interesting things too – but the core of her wardrobe for the duration of their exile is going to be all about sea and sky and shades of blue:
Light turquoise tee – Lands’ End; blue solitude tee – Lands’ End; navy tee – Lands’ End; abalone earrings – JCPenney; mother of pearl earrings – Kendra Scott; sunglasses – Nike; blue crystal earrings – Talbots; rash guard tee shirt – Lands’ End; blue solitude cardigan – Lands’ End; lapis & pearl necklace – GISY; sarong/scarf – Lands’ End; navy blouson swimsuit top – Lands’ End; print swim bottom – Lands’ End; sleeveless dress – Izabel London; navy capris – Lands’ End; navy shorts – Lands’ End; navy ruffled espadrilles – Bandolino; water shoes – Lands’ End; aqua canvas shoes – Keds; tote – Talbots
Even before they started packing, she had realized that a small wardrobe is more than adequate if your social life is limited and you’re spending most of your time with your immediate family!
So now, she’s just patiently counting the days ’til she can be outside, walking on the shore, every day. Her wardrobe is more than adequate for whatever she will want to do!
For those of you currently house-bound, would you consider moving someplace where you could go outdoors, if there was a way that you could get there and be there safely? I don’t know what we would do…
But maybe hiking in Ireland? Of course, they’re locked down too! Dreaming will have to get us through…
love,
Janice
p.s. Five years ago, we looked at a wardrobe that was designed to go from cooler to warmer conditions – and it’s in these same colors! It would be a great addition to what our heroine packed today…
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Our coastal town inhabitants are very concerned that an intake of second home owners would bring their local facilities to breaking point. Already the police are turning back caravans etc as people are trying to get away from more populated areas. But we can all dream.
It is the same in Ontario’s “cottage country.” People are being asked not to come up there too early in the season because it could strain the resources of that area.
I think it needs to be said, too, that people tend to imagine that if they get away they can have a lovely safe holiday, and that the worst that will happen is a need to ration toilet paper, but you also need to think worst-case scenario – is this where I want to be if I get COVID-19 and potentially get very ill, or die? Sorry to be so depressing on the page of a lovely wardrobe.
That’s a very valid concern. Here in British Columbia, they are are asking us to stay in our “primary residences” to avoid unnecessary travel and placing a burden on smaller places that may be harder to supply with goods/services. We are lucky enough to own a beautiful, second home on the beach but are not going there right now out of a desire to “do the right thing”.
We live within a short drive to the beach, but sadly it’s closed for the duration – no walks along the beach or dips in the ocean. :'(
But I do have to say the colour palette is lovely and so my style. I love the butterfly scarf!
I wondered when I saw the post on Saturday! But it was a welcome way to start the day. Love these colors! Even though I adore blue, especially teal, I don’t think it looks that good on me – (other than the occasional teal piece) but if I could wear blue I’d wear this wardrobe in a heart beat. Just beautiful. Thank you!
Absolutely gorgeous! And I just love how you carry the inspiration into little details like the print on the dress and sea-shell earrings. Off to shop my closet and make a list! Thank you!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/coronavirus-great-american-migration/2020/03/28/b59d4d44-6f6f-11ea-a3ec-70d7479d83f0_story.html
Fascinating article, Suzyn, thank you for sharing!
cherry/mamasquirrel.liz:
Absolutely. You only have to look at what’s happening in Italy, when there was a leak (very irresponsible, frankly) that the government was about to shut off Lombardy, and large numbers of people bolted overnight and headed south – and now there are more infections there.
The same thing happened when New York was threatened with quarantine; tons of people took off for the Hamptons and other places out of the city. Advance notice of a shut off like this is counter-productive!
hugs,
Janice
People also moved to their second homes in the UK without thinking 9f the consequences for local services and health care. Popular tourist destinations were swamped with people taking exercise but too crowded for social distancing. The police set up road blocks last weekend and used number plate recognition to make sure people were travelling for legitimate reasons and exercising locally.
We had the same issues here on the Chicago lakefront – so many people were out that they had to close to entire park. It’s a real bite for walkers and runners, having to give up our exercise because some people couldn’t resist playing basketball or soccer…
Sigh…
hugs,
Janice
For me, it’s a good thing you did post your normal Monday post on Saturday! I’d been missing some of your posts–horrors! When I saw your break in your normal postings I looked a little harder. Thank you so much for the treat of extra content. I’ve been so busy since this all started that I haven’t been reading closely and didn’t realize you were posting more often.
I manage a community garden, where I teach gardening and organize Saturday volunteers. Now that it’s closed to the public I’m running the garden by myself, harvesting and donating the food to a nearby food bank, and posting videos that teach about gardening and keep our volunteers updated.
I’m also an urban farmer and a homeschooler. The life I’ve been living quietly and somewhat privately are suddenly skills and knowledge that are in high demand. Everyone wants to know how to garden and teach kids that are suddenly home bound. All this means that I’m busier and more visible than I’ve ever been before. I’ve had to take my wardrobe and general appearance a little more seriously, lol.
How excellent for you! You’re right, knowing how to garden is incredibly useful, especially now. Happily, my parents were amazingly talented gardeners and so I’ve got a green thumb most of the way to my shoulder! Some day, when I’m not living in a high rise building, I will be doing some serious vegetable growing!
hugs,
Janice
Janice, the extra posts are such welcome distractions. I hope creating them serves the same purpose for you! They are the first thing I look for as I start my day.
It’s also very much appreciated that you include budget-friendly sources. I love Lands End for wardrobe basics like these, and they frequently have great sales. (Not an employee, just a longtime customer!)
Be well, and stay safe.
Janice,
In my Summer wardrobe, I feature several tops and toppers in aqua to more of a teal color that have a range of warmth to cooler values in them. I’ve been wondering how to cull the excess, and yet they are all so pretty ! If I do a rigid number of pieces designation, then that is a simple answer, and yet I am reluctant to do that. So from your example today, I am seeing your example of one matching twin set and yet variation within the other hued garments of not exactly matching one another. Is the bottom line to not be concerned with the variation, as long as matching, as in a twin set, is not necessary ? Amongst my garments the colors are just slightly “ off” from one another to be considered an exact match to one another, and yet when worn separately with a given neutral bottom, they are still useful.
You really don’t HAVE to have anything “twinset-like” but I always think that having those 2 pieces makes sense, even if you don’t wear them together. Anything that goes with the cardigan will also go with the top, so your accessories and overall outfits might be easier to pull together.
And if all of your tops are still usable and you DO wear them regularly, there’s no need to cull them; they will eventually wear out! But always remember to try them on and see if they’re truly comfortable and make you feel confident and happy – for me that’s often the deciding factor! Anything that I have to adjust is OUT THE DOOR….
hugs,
Janice
Janice,
Thank you for the sound advice! I happen to like twin sets for both their versatility and the fact that I usually always wear a top layer of some sort, as I have felt cold all of my life , even with my more than adequate personal “ insulation” !
With this lots more home time , hubby and I are walking more on a paved trail that runs on the edge of our community, and so that and healthy eating should help long term for a better fit of my clothes , not to mention the feeling of not being so confined !
This just might be the Spring where few to none of my “ leaving the house” clothes for things other than errands get worn ! I think that I’ll minimize pulling out several of my accent groups to see if if I really need them this year !
OMG, Beautiful. I want it all. Still hoping for Tahiti & Hawaii in June.
Tahiti is amazing as is Hawaii – I’d love to believe that will be possible; but as things stand now with the very delayed response in the US and some other countries, there is just no way that is going to happen. Ah well, dreams are good (and free).
Love this one! This is the Land’s End suit I’ve picked out to order, along with the rash guard, not to mention my favorite colors! Thank you for the amusement and creating a situation that helps us travel in our minds. We live in the country and are retired, so our day’s structure hasn’t changed much. My heart is will all who are having a difficult time with isolation.
Love this wardrobe. Love the idea of a getaway. My son is graduating med school and we were going to have one last family getaway in May at the beach before he starts the five year grind that is radiology residency. I am still hoping we can fit it in, as where we are Washington State is going to peak sooner and get better sooner – I hope. We have until mid-June when he has to report for duty. Sigh.
Thanks Janice. Love your posts.
Blue is the colour of summer and I have it in all shades. So this speaks of hope as we are able to leave our houses blinking in the sunlight.
Having now sorted out my summer wardrobe, the colours can be divided as follows:
Small group – grey, white, cream – standalone or neutrals which go with everything. This section includes one pair of stone beige trousers.
The biggest section of my wardrobe, at least half, is a collection in pink and blue in all shades and patterns thereof. Blue is probably the neutral with pink as the accent, though many of the clothes are blue and pink combined.
Small accent group – shades of green – aqua, mint and teal. These go with the blue and pink.
Very small group – shades of purple – lilac, mauve, periwinkle, violet and purple plus purple-pink. It is weird that this is the smallest section yet they are my favourite colours which is probably more to do with a lack of clothes in these colours in the shops. Like the grey, this group can be standalone or used as neutrals or accents with all the other colours.
Now I look at everything on the rail as and folded in my drawers, I am pleased at how pretty it all looks and everything just goes together – bliss ?.
The next task is to put outfits together with shoes and accessories and photograph them.
I’m thoroughly enjoying being at home because I have time to consider and plan as well as enjoying family time, cooking, baking etc.
Echoing the above discussion about the current state of isolation. Having said that, WOW! I love this palette so much and the way you found the colors in the right family to get a slightly different look. (Because, well, these are key colors in MY palette..yayyy.) I’ve been urging friends and family to read your blog as it is truly an anxiety reducing formula for wardrobe planning. This is such a great core wardrobe for summer living, especially if you can work from home or are retired.
I hope all of you in the Vivienne Files community are staying safe and healthy.
Love these colors, and thanks for the extra posts, Janice! Did I miss it, or are we missing a link to the navy cardigan in the “In transit” grouping?
Dear Ann,
THANK YOU for catching that – working on a smaller computer means that mistakes are easier. I can’t explain…
big germ-free hugs,
Janice
Thank you for the quick reply and fix!
We had a vacation planned in mid April to a beach close to Charleston, SC. The rental company called Friday and said they had to cancel the reservation due to state mandates. I sure hope we can go at a later date. I like this color palette very much. Great choices for a beach vacation. I am working from home for the last two weeks. My husband has several risk factors so we are being very careful. Stay well everyone!
This is exactly my color palette for hot weather travel. I’m so happy to see your take on it. Of course it’s all tucked away in my closet for now but it’s lovely to see all your suggested tweaks to what I already have and love.
Lots of people are saying they are wearing sweats every day but I’m using this lockdown as an opportunity to experiment and wear the different stuff in my closet. Yesterday, when it was minus 10C outside and a bit of snow, I was trying out my new short sleeved, loose dress that I bought for Indonesia and a lightweight travel cardigan. I was also wearing leggings, wrapped in a blanket and sitting in front of the fire (and tv). ?. Hang in there friends. This too shall pass.