April 14, 2020
Daily Teleconferences…
She’s sick of them, frankly. But they’re going to be the way business is conducted, for at least a while! And she knows that, even from home, she should try to look like she’s in control, and in charge, and the boss…
So she went crazy and spent all of the coffee and lunch money that she hasn’t spent for the last while:
scarf – Ferragamo
This scarf will be perfect with just about anything that she’s wearing these days – denim, black, and ivory. And those delicious hints of plum that she can’t find right now, but when she has to go back to her office, she’s going to treat herself (again!) to a couple of lovely things…
scarf – Ferragamo
Most days she’s been dressed like this:
Cardigan – Barefoot Dreams; chambray shirt – Caslon; clogs – Softwalk; black knit pants – Lands’ End
And so she assembled another outfit – very much like the first – but she’s including jeans. One doesn’t want to wear elastic waists every day when staying at home; that’s a sure formula for losing track of one’s… overall dimensions… Some day, we’re all going to want to be able to wear our “normal” clothes again, and gaining weight (or losing muscle tone) isn’t going to help with that! And it’s not good for one’s moral either…
Cardigan – Barefoot Dreams; tee shirt – Lands’ End; socks – Stance; black jeans – Lands’ End
No wonder she’s getting bored with getting dressed! When she realizes that she’s wearing the tiniest fraction of her wardrobe, she starts thinking…
It’s pretty easy to see that she needs to pull another handful (at least!) of garments out of her “work” closet and assemble them with her day-to-day “work from home” wardrobe. She tries to cover a range of degrees of warmth, and some different styles. And she wants to be able to pull on her new scarf from time to time, before these meetings, just to feel more “business-y” and dressed up!
Ikat tunic – L.L.Bean; chambray dress – L.L.Bean; blue cardigan – L.L.Bean; floral blouse – Tommy Hilfiger; ivory linen sweater – L.L.Bean; black tank – Lands’ End; striped top – L.L.Bean; “Metro Midnight” nail enamel – Sally Hansen; “Plum Noir” matte lipstick – Bobbi Brown; black tee – Lands’ End; black cropped yoga pants – Lands’ End; black shorts – Lands’ End; black sandals – Clarks
She’s going to assemble all of these garments together in 1 place, to make getting dressed easier, and to help herself to remember that she doesn’t have to put on the same outfit day after day. That’s not good for morale!
Of course, if she’s still working from home in the heat of the summer, she’s going to have to make some changes to this wardrobe! And her electric bill is already a lot higher than normal, so she will try to dress appropriately for the weather. But for right now, she’s got a nice range of outfit options:
Her friend made her 2 face masks – one in chambray blue, and one in black. Even her masks will be color-coordinated, if she chooses to go out. But she thinks she will eschew such risks, and just stay tucked into her happy home…
love,
Janice
p.s. Just last year, (it seems so LONG ago…) we considered the possibilities of wearing dresses in new ways – the “Over” dress and the “Under” dress. It’s an idea that’s worth revisiting!
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Now, this is the ticket! Bravo!
Having just had an online team meeting, I then had a break with a mug of tea to read this post. What a great morning!
Thank you for a Soft Summer wardrobe. I could wear these colours all year!
This is inspirational as I have two scarves in similar colours (floral paisley) though one also has pink as an accent as well as light blue. I have wondered how I could create a capsule with them – now I know!
My denim dress will feature along with floral blouses. The cream linen jumper reminds of one I had but it got a hole in it which couldn’t be mended. The chevron pattern was distinctive. Sadly, this is out of my price range but surely I’m sure to find one by the autumn!
I have saved this post to my Workwear files and guess what? This colour scheme is predominant! I’ve never thought of having a separate set of clothes for work as we have a casual dress code. Perhaps that’s something, I can plan over the summer. It might make it easier to get dressed in the mornings. Something to ponder.
Thank you for including lipstick and nail polish. I always wear lipstick at work, so it’s important to keep up standards online.
This is absolutely beautiful and I of my favourites. That scarf is to die for. I like most of your combinations of colour and can copy several of you capsule ideas from my own wardrobe. However I can’t work out the best way to hang them as most garments cross over from one capsule to the other. UK wardrobes are a lot smaller than USA closets as are our houses so no extra storage space here. Any ideas or is it that I just have too much. Currently double rail cupboard. Top rail is navy/ivory/blue/blush/burgundy. Bottom rail is black/red/grey/royal blue/white. All seasons are mixed up together. Am I overthinking this?
I’m currently keeping all of my out-of-season clothes in a large piece of luggage. The luggage has to be stored anyway, and there’s all of that space in there just begging to be useful. I have an Excel worksheet where I list which garment is in the luggage, and which is in a large plastic bin that’s on my top closet shelf. That way if I’m looking for something specific, I can just check my list to see where to look!
Under beds, in storage bins, is a good place to segregate some garments too…
hugs,
Janice
Cherry, I too live in the UK. This is how I have arranged my clothes after a massive sort-out this year.
I have two seasons Spring/Summer (late March to mid-September) and Autumn/ Winter (late September to mid-March). I only keep in my wardrobe and drawers the clothes for the appropriate season – the rest go up into the loft or either in dress bags or thick sealed garment bags. I’m trying to limit the amount that goes in the loft.
The choice of clothes for each season is generally based on the colour and type of material – lighter colours and/or lighter materials in Spring/Summer for example.
Dark neutrals still feature in Spring/Summer but the materials will be cotton, linen, light jersey, fine knits and lace. In Autumn/Winter I favour darker colours in heavy jersey, velvet, brushed cotton and thicker knits. Denim is year round. Necklines and sleeve length are also considered.
Within those six month seasons there will be garments I only wear for very cold weather or very hot weather which I keep separately in storage until the appropriate time. Given the weird weather we have in the UK, I still keep some contra-seasonal mid-weight garments just in case we have a heatwave in February or snow in June!
My storage capacity is limited. Oh to have a walk-in wardrobe…. So I have one big double wardrobe with full hanging space for crushable garments – dresses, skirts, shirts and blouses plus boxed shoes. I wrap coats, jackets or long cardigans on the dress hangers which saves space. In my four drawer chest, I have scarves in my top drawer, tees and tops in my second drawer, light knits in third drawer and chunky knits at the bottom. I have another smaller chest for underwear and night wear.
In the wardrobe, I arrange by colour blocks. As it is Spring-Summer, they are arranged:
1. Black, Grey, Cream and White
2. Pink
3. Blues from light to dark
4. Greens – lighter shades
5. Lilac, Mauve, Purple.
Sections 2 and 3 account for half my garments.
My Autumn/Winter wardrobe is predominantly Burgundy, Purple, Darker Pinks, Teal and Grey/Navy/Black
Patterned blouses and shirts will go next to the bottoms that I wear them with OR if I can wear a blouse or shirt with different coloured bottoms, I will put it in the colour block of the predominant colour in the garment. That’s difficult to explain. I’m currently wearing a blouse with a ditsy print of pink and blue flowers with green leaves on a navy background. When I look at it the stand out colour is pink, so that is where it will hang.
Items in drawers are rolled or folded into colour groups as well.
Hope that helps. Beth
I also meant to say that some garments like long sleeve blouses can be worn in Summer/Autumn. This is where the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe is helpful!
And I nearly forgot the French 5 piece in olive and beige tucked away at the side.
A very useful post !
And this scarf…wahouh !! Smart, splendid !
About the place problem, to store clothes (and several capsules…I think that many of us have several, not one !), could you propose posts on this subject, Janice ?
Classical, convenient, original (my favorite), with windows inside it, without windows, with just some furniture ?
And all around the world ?
I think we would be also very interested !
PS : for my part, I need ideas…
More on this theme please Janice using different scarves and neutral colours. I’m in love with the Robin Silk Scarf by Aspinal in midnight blue, grey, with touches of magenta and kingfisher blue.
Thanks Janice and Beth for your ideas. Unfortunately I can’t get up the loft ladder and luggage is kept in an outside shed but garment bags are something I hadn’t thought of so maybe that’s the answer. Winter clothes in garment bags and hung in the coat cupboard and summer clothes in garment bags in the full length dress cupboard. Sounds as if it will work much better than the current method so off I go to browse Amaz0n. Thanks again.
Another alternative is using the bags that you fill with your garments or bedding and then suck the air out with a vacuum cleaner hose. You can buy them in different sizes and they are reusable. The great thing is that your clothes will be compressed and take up less room nstorage. As soon as you open them, the clothes bounce back. You can buy them from places like Wilko or the Range or online.
These are great, but be warned that you will have to do some serious ironing when things come out of these bags – in the process of compression, every fold and tiny crease is SQUASHED into the garment. That said, these bags do save tons of space.
If you’re considering using them for packing for travel, be aware of both the wrinkling thing, and the fact that if you fill a suitcase full of compressed garments, it could weigh a LOT. The volume of the garments is less, but their overall mass is still there!
hugs,
Janice
Oh I love these colors! The link for the scarf is broken…
I re-linked them – I hope they work now!
And I’m not mentioning to anyone that there are also garments in that beautiful fabric… Like this gorgeous shirt: https://shopstyle.it/l/bfVjq
hugs,
Janie
Thank you for the wardrobe inspiration! This is just what I needed. Today I’ve got three zoom meetings and another tomorrow. I want/need to be comfy but also professional. And you’re right about the jeans. I just bought two more pair of yoga pants, but something that zips up is still on the rotation.
Hi Janice! This is a very timely wardrobe for the times we live in. Does one wear long sleeved tees tucked in or out? Or does it depend on the type of waist one’s pants have (or the waist one has-!) Please advise.
I NEVER tuck things in, because I am catastrophically short-waisted, i.e. the distance from the base of my throat to my waist is only about 14 inches. No room for the girls on the balcony to disport themselves if I tuck something in. On the other hand, I have friends who have VERY long torsos, and they seem to tuck things in with no trouble. It all depends on the overall landscape of your body, and what’s comfortable for you.
hugs,
Janice
Hi Janice,
I too am short waisted and also have wide waist and hips. Finding the right shape of clothes is a challenge. Untucked gives a longer line. But it’s also i important to find forms that are a bit fitted or else it looks dumpy on me. Sigh!
Ooooo, such a lovely scarf!!! I’d have a hard time picking between this one and the colorway that showed up in the wardrobe a few days ago. But I could wear the colors in this wardrobe much easier…most are already in the closet.. lol
Oh I love that scarf! Very helpful storage ideas in this thread. Thank you.