July 29, 2020
This is the wardrobe that I would be working on right now – although it’s still a good time to find nice summer garments, late summer is the best time to find autumn clothes! (well, in a normal year…)
Remember this from 39 weeks ago?
white, black and red tee shirt – Lands’ End; blue tee – Lands’ End; black cardigan – Banana Republic; white shirt – Lands’ End; black cabled sweater – L.L.Bean; striped sweater – Madewell; floral cardigan – Lands’ End; black jeans – Lands’ End; washable wool dress pants – Lands’ End; tweed skirt – J.Crew; dress – Lands’ End
These garments divide pretty neatly into 3 clusters; this isn’t the only way the clusters could sort out, so if you have a different preference, go with it!
This is what the 3 clusters would look like – it’s easy to see a ton of possible outfits from these:
black tee shirt – Lands’ End; blue tee – Lands’ End; black cardigan – Banana Republic; washable wool dress pants – Lands’ End
white and red tee shirts – Lands’ End; striped sweater – Madewell; black jeans – Lands’ End
floral cardigan – Lands’ End; black cabled sweater – L.L.Bean; white shirt – Lands’ End; tweed skirt – J.Crew; dress – Lands’ End
So, with our color scheme from yesterday of navy and beige as neutrals, forest green as the accent (and white as the “spare” light neutral that keeps our heroine from having to wear beige shirts!), let’s first find that cluster with the dark neutral 2nd layer, top and pants, as well as a print top:
Navy cardigan – L.L.Bean; navy tee – L.L.Bean; plaid flannel shirt – L.L.Bean; navy pants – L.L.Bean
The 2nd Cluster is based on dark neutral jeans, with 3 tops:
Navy cotton sweater – L.L.Bean; white tee shirt – Lands’ End; green tee shirt – L.L.Bean; jeans – Lands’ End
And this last cluster (my favorite! maybe because it has a dress in it?) is the “skirt dress 2nd layer sweater shirt” bunch…
Stone cardigan – L.L.Bean; navy dotted shirt – L.L.Bean; navy marled sweater – J.Crew; skirt – Halogen; sleeveless dress – J.Crew
This wardrobe would be SO great for an autumn trip to almost any destination on my list! Well, rural Ireland might require an exchange of pants for the dress… maybe…
Stone cardigan – L.L.Bean; navy cardigan – L.L.Bean; navy marled sweater – J.Crew; plaid flannel shirt – L.L.Bean; navy cotton sweater – L.L.Bean; navy dotted shirt – L.L.Bean; green tee shirt – L.L.Bean; navy tee – L.L.Bean; white tee shirt – Lands’ End; skirt – Halogen; navy pants – L.L.Bean; jeans – Lands’ End; sleeveless dress – J.Crew
This wardrobe is pretty obviously versatile, but I always love to see what new and fun combinations are possible:
I’m itching to pack a suitcase…
love,
Janice
p.s. Eight years ago I shared the BEST “how to wear a scarf” video from Eileen Fisher. It’s worth re-watching!
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This is a great review. Plus I love these colors. I can also see how the summer and fall sets can be blended a little to adapt to weather changes. And that it is practical to hold to one color scheme with tiny tweaks.
Can’t wait to wear flannel.
Janice,
I love the way you think and process garment combinations ! Another winner ! It’s so hard to believe that shortly I’ll be doing this reviewing process in my own closet. So many unworn items this Summer due to national conditions ! Well, something to look forward to next year with a sense of “ new” existing clothes !
I am enjoying this clusters way of looking at the weekly timeless wardrobes.
What stood out to me in this bunch of clothes was the marled sweater. It is such a neat way to incorporate both of the neutrals that isn’t a print.
My favorite cluster is the third one also. I love to wear dresses and skirts. I think I would have chosen a different shape for the skirt or the dress bottom for more versatility in a small wardrobe. Wearing sweaters over a dress is a great way to add to the possible looks. In this case sweater with skirt and sweater over dress would look pretty much the same.
Dawn, I agree about the shape of the skirt. That sheath dress seems perfect for layering over, but I think a pleated skirt would be a nice option to get more versatility in the looks.
I like the inclusion of subtle patterns and texture (and yes, the marled sweater is wonderful). And navy is my favorite neutral, but man, this is a LOT of navy, particularly for fall. Of course, with accessories added, I could easily change my view…this might be nothing that some rich cognac leather goods and a few autumnal scarves couldn’t fix.
You could also toss in a French 5-Piece Wardrobe, or 2, in accent colors! This could be a great base for burgundy, or camel, or teal…
hugs,
Janice
IMHO cognac fixes almost anything. :)
In so many ways….
hugs,
Janice
Add burgundy and teal (or even more forest green) with some cognac boots and a few patterned scarves…now we’re talking autumn :)
I just love navy, grey, and cream together . It looks nautical to me; so fresh and easy in the summer, and cozy and delicious in the fall. I am so often tempted to chuck it all and choose these colors for myself, because I have such a strong emotional and visual response to them, but they don’t flatter me at all.
Right now I’ve chosen black and golden camel for my neutrals, but I do wonder if I could get that nautical feel with a warm grey, cream, and a very dark brown. Probably not. :(
Anyway, on this 115 degree day, it’s nice to dream of cooler days to come.
I stumbled upon December 31st 2011 post that had these colour combinations . Loved it then and love it now.
For myself, I would put a top half garment of the accent colour in each cluster, so that you end up with an accent t-shirt, accent blouse or shirt and an accent jumper/cardigan. You then have the option of wearing a multi-layered accent combination. Without realising, I have been accidentally creating accent threes in my own wardrobe. I like to know that my tee or camisole co-ordinates with my outfit, even if it can’t be seen. I also like to wear close matching blouses/shirts and jumper/cardigan.
I’m also becoming a bit obsessive about matching underwear as well! Guess what – it is rare to find purple in underwear, particularly socks in the shops and even rarer to find burgundy/wine/plum or teal. I tend to go through the whole of autumn/winter wearing grey or blue socks because I can’t find my accent coloured ones. Perhaps, I should look online but you can’t tell the quality, thickness or softness of socks online.
Beth T, I am coming to the “twin set” party late, but I’m really enjoying it this summer now that I have matching/similar tank/T + lightweight cardigan sets in 3 spring/summer accent colors. I already had the “inner column” and “suit” concepts in my repertoire, but the “twin set” is definitely a fun new addition. I was never into the classic matching sweater tank + cardigan twin set where the fabric/texture of both pieces was identical, though years ago I did have a red and black one from a thrift store that got a lot of mileage at the winter holidays. But when the two pieces are the same/similar color but have different textures…say jersey knit top + cable or open weave sweater cardigan…the subtle textural component really stands out in a way I like.
Twin sets are my favorite way to wear two pieces of the same color in an outfit. Inner column comes next and suit is a very distant last place. – nancyo
This s a really interesting way of thinking about things, Janice. I really appreciate your various systems, I think of them as different lenses you can apply to a wardrobe depending on your question/needs/goals. Your 20-piece capsule (4 columns of 5 items) has been especially helpful to me lately.
I wonder if these clusters could be used to make sure a person is covered for different registers/levels of formality. A casual cluster, a smart casual cluster, a dressy cluster. And if you were smart about color and silhouette you could also swap items across clusters to dress items up or down.