May 11, 2020
Well, a dear friend of mine is currently moving her plants indoors, because the weekend is supposed to bring freezing temperatures, and I’m writing about summer clothes! (I’m writing this on Friday afternoon May 8th)
Getting the best clothes often requires planning ahead; you can’t imagine how often I will see something that I think is perfect to share with you, only to find that there are only 2 sizes still available…
So let’s plunge into the possibilities of a simple, dark tank top or other sleeveless top!
For those who are following along with the “6 Scarves, 12 Months” series of posts, these are the tops that I would suggest for a wardrobe based on each of the scarves:
mint green “A” Floral scarf – Aspinal of London; navy tank – L.L.Bean; Earth Mandala scarf – GISY; forest moss tank – Lands’ End; shield scarf – Aspinal of London; black tank – Lands’ End
navy lion and peacock scarf – Aspinal of London; navy tank top – Lands’ End; mustard “A” Floral scarf – Aspinal of London; grey tank – Madewell; Magenta Robins scarf – Aspinal of London; black tank – Lands’ End
As always, I’ve got thoughts! The best part of these dark tops is the ability to pull together that “dark inner column” of clothes over which you wear anything that comes to hand; there’s possibly no easier way to get dressed!
This first outfit is very much like the first outfit from last week – except I’ve swapped the tank top and shorts to navy, and replaced the blue linen shirt with a neutral beige. If you had BOTH of these outfits in your wardrobe, you would theoretically have 8 outfits from 6 garments…
Necklace – Ella & Elly; oatmeal linen shirt – L.L.Bean; navy tank top – L.L.Bean; navy shorts – L.L.Bean; sandals – The Flexx
If I wanted to base my wardrobe on olive green, or any shade of brown, I would learn to sew. Seriously! These colors are absurdly difficult to find in the retail world; I wanted to share an outfit with a matching brown top and shorts, but it would be easier to find a unicorn wearing matching earrings and sandals…
Earrings – Chico’s; bright sandstone sweater – Eileen Fisher; forest moss tank – Lands’ End; forest moss shorts – Lands’ End; sandals – Splendid
These tank tops are quite useful for active wear, as well as just normal life. And I own these shorts, shown below, and I love them. They’re not revealing or too tight, which begins to matter as we move into our 7th decade of life…
Earrings – Ippolita; sweatshirt – L.L.Bean; black tank – Lands’ End; black shorts – Lands’ End; sneakers – Keds
When I started this next navy-centered outfit, I thought that I might replace this linen shirt and scarf – but I didn’t have the heart to. It’s rare that I run into 2 really nice, classic things that go together as well as this shirt and scarf… So you’re going to have to look at them again!
But this is a perfect example of how coordinating things around a palette of colors makes life so much easier. Say that you were out and about during the day in last week’s outfit, with the white tank top. You splashed ketchup on your white tank at the baseball game (dreaming…), but don’t want to change EVERYTHING before you go out for dinner with your tribe. Your navy tank top saves the day, so to speak…
Scarf – Nordstrom; linen shirt – BeachLunchLounge; navy tank – L.L.Bean; navy shorts – L.L.Bean; sandals – Easy Street
I know that there’s a world full of grey tank tops somewhere, but I’ll be gobsmacked if I can find them! Grey is a tricky color to match, so it’s always wise to see if you can find (at least) your shorts and top to match from the same place. The more you can get that looks good together, the more options you have. And I love wardrobe options…
Earrings – Theia; lilac shirt – L.L.Bean; grey tank – Madewell; arctic gray shorts – Lands’ End; sandals – Via Spiga
This is an outfit I would wear in a heartbeat – I suspect that if I get all of my summer clothes out of the plastic bins, I have all of these garments! (now, some appropriate weather, please)
I can heartily endorse the overwhelming loveliness of Julie Vos jewelry… My new pink earrings are from there, and they are substantial and well-made. Black ones might have to be considered, for my birthday next month, eh?
Earrings – Julie Vos; marled cardigan – Caslon; black tank – Lands’ End; black shorts – Lands’ End; sandals – Naturalizer
The ever-evolving 13-piece wardrobe still bears the same overall feel, bust a bit lighter because of the sleeveless tops. One could still live for weeks, or travel for AGES with these 13 pieces:
White & black tanks – Lands’ End; black tee – Lands’ End; pink tee – Marks & Spencer; floral tee – Lands’ End; linen cardigan – Halogen; shell pink linen shirt – L.L.Bean; striped tee – Banana Republic; striped short-sleeved sweater – Max Mara; pink cotton cardigan – Lands’ End; black cropped pants – L.L.Bean; black pants – L.LBean; black skirt – Lands’ End; shirtdress – Banana Republic
For reference, as always, I’m including the 52-garment list for you!
I’m very hopeful that by the time you read this on Monday, the weather will have turned from nearly snowing to a beautiful late spring warmth and light…
How is everyone? Bear in mind that if, in your area, your governor, or other leader, has NOT opened their home back up for tours (if that’s a thing where you live!), then THEY don’t think it’s safe to be hanging out with lots of people. If it’s not good enough for them, it’s not time for you to be out and about either…
love,
Janice
p.s. Eight years ago, we started with a beautiful Hermes scarf (that belongs to one of you!), and then assembled 8 outfits that could be worn with the scarf. Blue, shades of orange and coral, and a bit of orange – it’s lovely…
p.p.s. I’ve just learned that everybody doesn’t know this: if you click on the description of a garment at the bottom of an image, it will take you to the website where the item is available – right to the exact page! And yes, I get a wee pittance of a commission of you buy something…
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Excellent post, as always. It’s 4a.m. My time, and I’m reading before I start my week. The Julie Via links aren’t working this morning. Thanks for revamping my wardrobe through your great advice.
Vos not via. Stupid autocorrect.
Fixed the link – no idea WHAT that was about…
hugs,
Janice
I love that light blue, gray and lavender scarf shown with the blue striped linen shirt (which arrived yesterday), but that’s not the one that shows up when I click the link.
P.
If you’re getting the same results I see, you’ll need to click on the first “color option” button on their site to get the image to change to the “Blue Fabulous” print.
Who names these things?
hugs
Janice
I agree that a nice darkish grey (but not charcoal) is very hard to find. My favorite right now is a color called nickel from alternative apparel, which is a medium warm grey that looks nice with grey denim shorts or jeans. It seems to be a color that they continue to make, which is also important! Gap had a grey cotton tank earlier this season, too, but it’s gone now. A solid neutral tank that I can wear alone is, or would be, a workhorse in my wardrobe, but I find it’s difficult to find the right one, that fits my nonstandard shape and doesn’t fall apart in a few months. This is a piece that when I find one I like, I don’t wear it as often as I want to for fear I won’t be able to replace it.
I buy more than one so I have it in reserve for when the first one wears out.
Beth T,
I do a double purchase with all of the light colored garments in my wardrobe , because of purchase availability issues as well as laundry limitations !
Yes, you’re speaking to me on the hard-to-find neutrals of grey and olive. Those are my colors!
Eileen Fisher is typically my go-to there … or designer brands on a splurge (none of that these days).
Loved the 8-yrs-ago post. You must be proud to have staying power with these older posts remaining relevant! You’ve helped me do this: when I stare at a closet full of clothes “with nothing to wear”, I just pick a scarf for inspiration (and the ease of Garanimals from there, if anyone gets that reference). Thanks for that!
My wardrobe is based on olive and brown and yes, I sew and that is the only way this works. Many in the sewing community follow your blog for inspiration. Thank you.
My go-to retailer is White House Black Market. They have an olive and yellow color scheme right now. They usually go through a rotation of sorts of color groupings through the year. If anyone is looking for olive, they might find something there.
My plan this week is to take out everything in my closet and drawers and see if I need to replace any items before the heat of the summer hits. Getting everything out and re-evaluating may help me to discover new combinations I have missed. An adventure!
I rarely wear a navy core as its a bit overpowering on me. Pale silver grey is my choice as some mid-greys can sometimes have a yellowish tinge. I would wear silver grey with the pink shirt. Your pink earrings are lovely. I notice that they also come in Blue Chalcedony which would look lovely with the striped shirt and floral scarf.
I’ve just had my my first mixed Lands End order delivered. I was inspired by the purple dress in the post on 7 March. Unfortunately not in my size or length but I found a purple patterned maxi dress in Petite length with 40% off new items. It fits perfectly and is the right length ? I also bought a navy Borg-lined cardigan with shawl collar in the sale. It’s come in very handy today as the temperature has dropped by 12 degrees and the wind is coming from the Arctic!
Hi Janice,
Thank you so much for all the work you put into your wonderful blog. The tone is always so positive and uplifting – a real joy to read.
I have a suggestion for regarding the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe. You always include a link to a previous post and I wonder if you could include a link to the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe for 6 months prior. This would be helpful for those readers in the southern hemisphere going into the opposite season to consider their wardrobe.
Thanks again.
That’s a genius idea! There’s also a way to find them if you go to the top of any page on The Vivienne Files, and then look under the heading Articles. There’s an entry there for Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, which lists all of the posts so far!
hugs,
Janice