September 7 2020
Pollinators!
Yes, people who study pollinators have conferences – EVERYBODY who studies almost anything has a conference most years! And she’s going to this one…
Her travel capsule wardrobe is going to be based on this beauty:
Most of her colleagues study bees – and rightly so – but her specialty is butterflies! And so she’s going to wear her scarf often, building a wardrobe around these colors:
For no good reason she can think of, she’s going to wear her white jeans to get there. She’s not worried… She’s more thrilled with her new blazer, and matching earrings:
Tee shirt – L.L.Bean; earrings – American West; scarf – Echo; white jeans – Banana Republic; Dark amber blazer – J.Crew; loafers – Me Too
Weather reports for her destination are all OVER the place, so she’s going to take her black shirt with her, so she can wear it under her blue sweater if she needs to! And if she doesn’t wear it under her sweater, it will certainly go with something in her travel capsule wardrobe…
Lustrous blue cashmere sweater – J.Crew; scarf – Echo; pleated skirt – Halogen; bag – Ted Baker London; pumps – Talbots; black shirt – Lands’ End
She’s sticking to neutral tops and bottoms, and adding her accents with 2nd layers. Maybe some women wouldn’t want both a gold blazer and gold cardigan, but they’re VERY different garments…
turtleneck – L.L.Bean; earrings – Banana Republic; scarf – Echo; corduroy pants – L.L.Bean; goldenrod cotton cardigan – Eileen Fisher; boots – Munro
So far, this is what she’s set aside to pack; this is proby more than enough, but she’s uncertain about both the weather and the range of activities…
abl
This isn’t going to be a place where she can go shopping if she’s missing something! So she decides to add some more things and truly fill her suitcase:
White shirt – Lands’ End; golden mustard cashmere sweater – J.Crew; light blue shirt XiRENA; paisley scarf – Rebecca Minkoff; black v-neck dress – Eileen Fisher; white cardigan – Lands’ End; print skirt – Loft
NOW, she has a generous assortment of lovely things…
She’s driving there, so maybe she will stop somewhere on her way home for a nice night… dinner and a hotel without anybody else…
Now that she’s filled out her travel capsule wardrobe, she’s not worried that she won’t have anything to wear!
She really wishes that her work wasn’t so trendy – endangered butterflies aren’t her idea of fun…
love,
Janice
p.s. EIGHT YEARS AGO I shared a Common Capsule Wardrobe with silver and grey accessories…
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
Absolutely stunning wardrobe, Janice. I am always amazed at the gorgeous color combinations you find and develop into memorable collections. Thank you so much for your inspiaration.
Thanks! As I work on this blog more and more (cruising up on TEN YEARS at this…) I grow to believe that there are NO bad color combinations. Some are more challenging than others, but all of them have some inherent merit to be found!
hugs,
Janice
I saw a lady wearing the colour combo of gold and pink that you’re developing with the Aspinal A yellow scarf. She was wearing a yellow gold puffer jacket with a bubblegum pink sweatshirt and white capri trousers. The colours did go. She was tall with blonde hair – 60-ish?. Her partner was casually but suavely dressed in varying shades of light to mid-blue.
I bought a gold jacket I’m planning to pair with purple!!!! And I saw a photo of the same jacket teamed with a red/pink/white/black print. Something I never would have thought of. Still not sure I’d actually wear that combo. Yellow and black always make me think I’m going to look like a bee. But maybe it’s how you put it together. These colors are very pretty together.
How would you wear the shirts with the dress? My first thought was to tie the shirt at the waist, to give the dress some definition. Wearing the shirt open as a jacket never seems to work for me. Or, would you put it under the dress?
This dress is great to wear OVER shirts – it’s got the v-neck that lets you lay the collar out nicely, and there’s tons of room in the body of the dress. (I own this dress, so I can vouch for this – I’ve worn mine with my denim shirt, a white shirt, and black and white printed shirts…)
Thanks for letting me clarify that!
hugs,
Janice
Lovely scarf with such a fun color mix. Putting together a cohesive, interesting wardrobe with the current sparse offerings of the retail world is no small feat- well done!
This is such a beautiful bright capsule…this could be used for the convention, business as well as a party or lunch with friends!!
Such a bold and unusual color palette! Those gold/orange pieces will be stunning on the right person. I, of course, would double down hard on the cobalt and aqua blue possibilities. (It’s interesting…I really don’t like the light blue colored shirt in this wardrobe, even though it is pulled directly out of the scarf. I think possibly it’s a bit too dusty a shade (on my monitor) combined with the brights for my taste.)
This wardrobe strikes me as VERY dressy for an academic conference, so it must be a policy conference with a lot of suit-clad wonks. She is definitely dressed to impress. I like to imagine that another butterfly-studying scientist has brought the same scarf, and so they find themselves drawn to each other from across the room at the first meet-and-greet. A fun way to make a connection with another person in their field…and as a bonus, all the biologists in their group get to debate whether this is an example of Batesian or Mullerian mimicry…to the befuddlement of the non-scientists.
As it happens, I have brought my navy scarf with pink, blue and purple butterflies on holiday with me. My other scarves are purple, pink and grey sparkly abstract and an ivory scarf with pink and teal blossom flowers.
I tried to reduce the amount I brought for a week but the weather is very changeable and above all I need to be warm.
My bottoms are purple jeans, dark denim jeans, grey jeans and navy cords – four items
I then decided to pack my accents of orchid pink, cameo pink and jade each with at least four tops: a tee shirt, long sleeve shirt, thin cardigan or jumper and a thicker jumper – 12 items. Though I have packed a three extra tees purple/orchid floral, pale grey and ivory.
Having different sleeve lengths and material, ensures that i am prepared whatever the weather, and could double up the jumpers if necessary. I also packed three camisoles – pink, grey and ivory which I wear for early morning walks under several layers and then change after breakfast.
I did pack a decent blouse and smarter jersey trousers for dinner but they don’t go with each other as I had mentally paired them with other trousers/tops but probably now won’t wear as an outfit because I haven’t brought smart shoes – Mmmm.
We tend to go straight to an early dinner from our day’s activities or going back to our accommodation to cook and I’m not bothering to change. If we were staying in a hotel, I would change for dinner. Mmmm.
My coats are a thin silver raincoat, plum waterproof with detachable fleece jacket that zips in, navy quilted jacket (yet to wear) and a grey suede jacket (not yet worn). I also have an ivory thermal hat, grey gloves and plum gloves.
Lesson to self – pack more socks and waterproof spray boots.
I’m quite pleased. I haven’t trotted up how many outfits but it is certainly more than a week.
I have learned to trust Janis and wear 3 items and pack 10-11. It really does give you enough for the week. My adult children are slowly coming around. This heroine fit right in.
Hi Janice! Your gold open – collar cardigan and long sleeve blue shirt match the orphans I have in my closet, so I thank you for giving me new ideas how to wear them.
This is such a beautiful collection! I might swap out the dusty blue shirt for a clearer blue and white striped shirt. Then I’d pair the striped shirt with the butterfly print scarf with the white jeans and possibly the gold cardigan for an outfit that’s sparks end of summer joy (weather permitting!).
You’ve got me thinking about how each piece pulls its weight throughout the year. A striped shirt would transition nicely into a summer collection when worn unbuttoned over a white tank or tee. Analyzing individual items this way helps me figure out what will work best in my closet. I think I’d get more mileage with the striped shirt, so for me that would be a good swap.
This is such a gorgeous, different and yet perfectly practical wardrobe! Amazing, well done.
Hope you’re feeling well!
Amazon doesn’t have the butterfly scarf in the post. However, you can find it on the Echo website.
Hi Janice,
This is a stunning travel wardrobe and I love that this lady is committed to a worthy cause.
All these colors are so positive and beautiful. And I agree, a golden blazer and a golden cardigan are entirely different things :)
That is one of the most beautiful scarves I’ve ever seen. Very cheery. Too bold and bright for me, though. Your butterfly expert is going to be the star of her conference.