May 12, 2020
Another heroine decided to dig into her accessories and unearth an under-appreciated beauty!
scarf – The Met Store
She knew that, when she bought it, she was thinking of bright, cheerful warm days, when she wanted to be as vivid and happy as the flowers…
So she decided that she would wear this scarf twice a month until the end of the summer. Maybe it would just be tied to the handle of her handbag, or worn in her hair, but she wanted to start using and enjoying it!
It might be warm enough to wear sleeveless tops, if she has her cardigan close at hand:
scarf – The Met Store; white sleeveless polo – Lands’ End; white cardigan – Lands’ End; vibrant fern tank – Lands’ End; navy crop pants – L.L.Bean; white linen crop pants – Lands’ End; espadrilles – Gentle Souls
One would hope that by June, she will be able to wear shorts! At any rate, that’s her plan:
scarf – The Met Store; yellow shirt – Lafayette 148 New York; bracelet – Kendra Scott; pink linen shirt – J.Crew; white shorts – Lands’ End; navy shorts – L.L.Bean; canvas shoes – Keds
By July, she plans to wear dresses fairly often. (yes, she discovered how much more comfortable it is to wear dresses in warm weather if you have the appropriate garment to ease the friction on your legs!)
Sunglasses – Ray-Ban; scarf – The Met Store; pink dress – Lands’ End; clutch – Simitri; green dress – Nanette Lepore; gold sandals – Børn
She knows herself so well; by August, she will want at least ONE outfit that can carry over into autumn:
scarf – The Met Store; white rose earrings – Poporcelain; green sweater – Banana Republic; white pants – L.L.Bean; yellow sweater – Marks & Spencer; navy pants – L.L.Bean; ballet flats – Sam Edelman
In order to be prepared for the upcoming 4 months, she had been pulling clothing from her closet, and from her storage bin, and piling them onto her bed. When she started to tidy all of these things up, she realized that she had just assembled a lovely summer capsule wardrobe!
No, every single garment does NOT go with every other garment – that’s possible, but difficult, and not usually necessary. She plays around with her 15-garment capsule wardrobe for a few minutes, and found that she had at least a dozen additional outfits possible from just these 15 pieces of clothing.
15 garments = at least 23 outfits? Pretty practical! Or pretty, AND practical:
Adhering with a certain amount of fidelity to a color palette – inspired by almost anything – is a surefire way to edit your wardrobe to a signature color palette! Heaven knows that everyone who knows me knows that I wear BLACK AND WHITE. Stripes, dots, paisley prints….
Do you have a signature? Do you even WANT one?
love,
Janice
p.s. Seven years ago, we had been considering a range of color possibilities from 1 Hermes scarf. Sounds sort of like what we’re up to today!
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I would love a jigsaw puzzle.
Hi Janice
Such pretty colors. Gorgeous scarf. Would love to have the puzzles!
Thank you for such a pretty wardrobe with exquisite accessories! I’m all for wearing crystal and diamante with a day dress or top. It just adds sparkle to an ordinary day.
The lilac bracelets and rose earrings would sit nicely in my wardrobe. In fact I have a pair of lilac rose earrings with pearl and crystal drops which my mother wore at my wedding umpteen years ago. This has inspired me to give them an airing.
Your posts have encouraged me to rediscover my earrings, particularly now that I’m tucking my hair behind my ears. Although it was announced on Sunday that hairdressers in England are unlikely to open until the beginning of July! So unless I cave in to a trim from my daughter, my hair will be shoulder length by the time it is cut. I was 12 when I last had it that long!
We are also encouraged to wear face masks in enclosed spaces. Several patterns have been suggested on the BBC news website.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52609777. I’ve dug out an old t-shirt and my daughter is going to make them for me. I might as well be colour coordinated in my choice of face apparel ?
Bright and cheerful! I love this variety of colors. This collection would give me something to really enjoy wearing.
Awesome way to start the day, so bright and cheerful. Was trying to send you my info for the puzzles – our middle graders love puzzles, but it just spins. I’ll try again. I’ve seen just some awesome puzzles friends have been doing…
Janice – my aunt and uncle would love the puzzles! I have been searching far and wide, and begging friends snd family to check their closets. They are in the UP. Email address sent!
Janice,
This is my perfect formula for either a closet or packing for a trip ( dreaming, dreaming) — two neutrals in two values, and three accent colors ! These colors are not exactly my own, but are a great inspiration to translate into my warmer versions ! So cheerful — we need cheerful ! I have come to terms with not all garments within a capsule being able to be worn with each other, as long as there are plenty of total outfits created ! The idea of a 30 or 40 garment wardrobe with all pieces being interchangeable may be fine for some, but that tells me that it is limited in both prints and color variations, which I crave ! I have broken down my wardrobe into smaller color module collections that can be interchanged within the given smaller module, and also have some of the pieces work with other modules, but not all
. And for me, that is satisfying . My closet, my wardrobe “ rules” !
I love florals and would wear that scarf a lot! It’s so pretty and feminine. Looks so pretty with the clothing that you’ve chosen too Janice!
Florals for spring (and summer) may not be ground-breaking, but so, so lovely. I would happily wear that scarf to keep my hair back with every single outfit here.
It’s interesting to see these capsule wardrobes with so few patterned items. I love patterns (and luckily have a high affinity for pattern mixing) so I would need to add in a few patterned items. Too many solids, especially ones without obvious texture, would get boring for me over time, even if each outfit individually would look just fine. It’s fair to say that my own style could be described as “a lot going on” by a person with more a minimalist, sophisticated style.
But I have realized that my inability to resist a pretty pattern means that my own closet has a higher ratio of patterned-to-solid tops than would be best for making use of my scarf collection, which also skews toward patterns. I would do better to have a higher proportion of my tops be solids and minimal patterns (like stripes and polka dots) that coordinate well with the more complex patterns that so many of my scarves have.
Thinking about one of these wardrobes that isn’t quite right for me is almost more helpful for growing my understanding than the wardrobes that suit me perfectly (of course the perfect wardrobes are extremely peaceful and enjoyable to look at). I would make the following revisions if I were to make this wardrobe my own:
Sandals (don’t wear sandals)->my gold ballet flats
White shorts (don’t wear shorts)->my white textured skirt
Navy shorts (don’t wear shorts)->a navy knit pencil skirt, preferably with a very subtle bit of white pattern like small white polka dots
Yellow shirt (don’t wear yellow)->a green shirt that I could layer with the green tank or dress
Yellow sweater (don’t wear yellow)->a pink cardigan
White polo tank (don’t wear polos)->my white tank
Add a green/white striped tank
Add a floral skirt with a combination of green/pink/white
Add my pink/white/navy polka dot t-shirt
It was easy for me to decide to remove an accent color and substitute prints in the remaining colors because I don’t wear that much yellow next to my face. But if the third accent in the scarf were something I really like (e.g., a light blue), that would be a harder call. I love my patterns and my accent colors, so I guess it’s good I have a large closet ;)
Thanks for another eye-candy yet thought-provoking post!
I’m also a floral lass. Recently, I’m finding confidence in mixing patterns. This is what I have found through trial and error.
First, it is best to use prints that share the same or very similar colour palette and tonal quality. Secondly mix florals with abstract or geometric patterns. Thirdly use neutrals to create distance between the patterns. I also looked to see how interior designers use pattern mixing with neutrals all the time. You The UK brand “Joe Browns” do pattern mixing on their clothes. They also have some great florals and do ship abroad – joebrowns.co.uk – have fun!
These are great tips, Beth. Thanks for sharing!