November 16, 2020
Rumor Has It…
…that the elusive “they” are going to install broadband internet access up at The Cottages!
She’s off to see if this is true, and more importantly, to take advantage of the cool weather to admire the sky. Away from the lights of the city, everything is different…
The days are so short now that she’s awake for both sunrise AND sunset, and intends to take full advantage of those golden hours of the morning and late afternoon…
So off she goes!
Tiger Eye earrings – Robert Lee Morris; mask – Eugenia Kim; watch – Timex; heather dark walnut sweater – J.Crew; scarf – Madewell; suitcase – Filson; knit cord pants – L.L.Bean; down vest – Uniqlo; boots – Born
Since she’s going to be alone for these 3 days, she’s going to be wearing a mix of night clothes and “normal” day wear. If there’s anything fun in the night sky, she might find that her days and nights turn around…
Chamois heather Sherpa-lined hoodie – L.L.Bean; moon & star earrings – Kate Spade; English saddle orange tee – J.Crew; round stud earrings – Area Stars; ivory jacket – J.Crew; tie-dyed mask – Shashi; glazed pecan cotton turtleneck – J.Crew; cream robe – L.L.Bean; silk pajama top – Asceno; silk pajama trousers – Asceno; cashmere gloves – Vince; ruana – Apt. 9; hiking shoes – Keen; toasted coconut jeans – L.L.Bean; earmuffs – Koolaburra by UGG; socks – Loft Outlet; camel knit cords – L.L.Bean; slippers – L.L.Bean
It seems like a lot; that robe and ruana mean that a bigger than usual suitcase is needed! But she’s driving, so that’s not an issue; the car is already loaded with her laptop and related gear, as well as food and books…
As long as she has pajamas, her robe and slippers, everything else is just a bonus! But from force of habit – and from long years of being practical and planning ahead – she looks over her packing to ensure that she’s going to be able to dress like a grownup!
She won’t be seeing a lot of people, but there ARE other people staying at The Cottages because of the need to socially distance…
If the rumor is true, she might decide to stay up there until Spring! Imagine what all she might pack for that…
love,
Janice
p.s. Just a year ago (that feels like a DECADE ago) I pondered what we might do to have our wardrobes ready for the upcoming holiday events. This year, we will be home, and festive socks might be a good, small, way to mark the events…
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Oh what a cosy wardrobe. I do WISH that I could wear warm colours like this…sigh… I will mentally swap with shades of burgundy and wine with ivory and pale grey.
Let’s hope the engineers find the cottages and don’t get rerouted by Satnav and end up miles away (this happened to me).
Thanks for the look-back. I’ve ticked every suggestion and I’m all set but with no parties on the horizon unless the UK government allows us to socialise INDOORS and in groups greater than 6.
Whilst our heroine is waiting, she might check that there aren’t any old electrical appliances in the cottage that might interfere with the new broadband signal. And also friendly enquiries with her neighbours. Someone might have an ancient TV set or microwave…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-wales-54239180
She might end at the cottages for much longer than ‘until Spring’. As for the old couple, the villagers did a whip-round and bought them a new TV.
I love the palette (and these are colors I wear) and the bracelet, I hope Alison continues to use gold-toned beads from time to time!
I hope everyone will be responsible enough to stick to the recommended small gatherings for the holidays, so that we can hopefully enjoy a “normal” Christmas next year.
Sorry Beth, I didn’t mean to post this a reply to you!
? Hi Alice. Nothing to apologise for. I’ve done the same!
I did wonder who Alison is, but then I realised that she’s the creator of Fierce Lynx designs. I’ve just read about her inspiration from nature. Wow.
The lockdown is certainly giving me an excuse to watch ‘blob TV’!
wow. What a lovely wardrobe. I’m with Beth, it makes me wish these were my colors. Just gorgeous. I’d feel like I was wearing a spice cake. yum. Thank you for starting my week off with a beautiful selection of items.
Hi Janice. Apparently, a cardigan you featured a few weeks ago, has been worn by one of the most stylishly dressed women on the planet.
The Abercorn scalloped cardigan by Boden comes two lovely colours – Conker (which would fit with today’s colour scheme) and Frosted Blue.
The Duchess of Cambridge was wearing the frosted blue version on Zoom call with two nurses. Boden now say that there is a 15 week wait for pre-orders….
https://www.boden.co.uk/en-gb/abercorn-scallop-cardigan-frosted-blue/sty-k0398-pbl?awc=1669_1605530197_85b96b164261debf3cff902a3e7cd8b7&code=6T2C&cm_mmc=AWUK-_-103504-_-Affiliates-_-text
I wonder if the Duchess follows this blog?
I ADORE tigers eye and this color palette. Bravo!
The ruana and the cognac-coloured turtleneck go so nicely together! Bravo! I also wish I could wear these colours. Wearing cognac near my face makes me look like an 11th century peasant who’s been working in the fields all day.
Please send this whole package to my mailbox. Just beautiful, cheery and cozy. ?
mine too!
Love the wardrobe and warm colors but I absolutely cannot wear those colors. Maybe you can do something similar in wine/burgandy?
Yes please, Janice.
I noticed that the cute fleece jacket also comes in navy (and I like it better without the contrast tipping) so I was thinking a range of navy/soft indigo/soft blue would also be a stellar option for an alternative.
Oh my, I really did not intend that pun, but I’ll keep it. :)
The dressing gown comes in the colour Black plum. It looks sooooo cosy.
I love the story line. The bold ruana is a standout that blends so well with the selected items. The jammies and fleece-lined robe are must haves. Thank you for this great post!
I like seeing these wardrobes with neutrals that don’t quite match. My eyes snag on these combinations at times, so I benefit from the opportunity to get more familiar/comfortable with them. The warmer walnut sweater with cooler dark brown pants (In Transit) challenges me a bit, for sure. The very warm pecan turtleneck and less warm camel cords in the last outfit are also more difficult for me, but the combination of the puffy vest breaking those pieces up visually and the bridge scarf (which I wish had just a tad more of the orange-y color if I were in charge of everything in the world) make it work. I would happily look at versions of this in all the neutrals and semi-neutrals (teal, burgundy, etc.).
A nice, cozy selection. I envy our heroine being somewhere it’s still so autumnal. It’ll be 18F overnight in St Paul, MN tonight, so we are in Stage 1 Coat Mode for night-time stargazing as far as I’m concerned.
Sally in St Paul,
Your comment about teal and burgundy being semi neutrals struck a resonant note with me ! It dawned on me that I have been using colors like these as accents, whereas when I think of them as semi neutrals, I suddenly realized that I really am drawn to subtle , mostly neutral like colors. My prior thoughts on this were that an all neutrals wardrobe , in my case a sliding scale of the brown family, would seem incredibly boring and restrictive, and yet that is what I tend to grab first. Add in the semi neutrals, to which I would add olive green and medium denim blue, as well as a bit of navy blue, and I am looking at the majority of my wardrobe , with some patterns thrown in, as well as a few seasonal accents. Thank you for this epiphany about my color selections !
Burgundy/Plum/Purple form the bulk.of my October to January wardrobe. Teal is an all rounder. I can’t think of a colour that doesn’t go with teal.
I love the way the Madewell scarf ties it all together, and makes her endeavors feel so scholarly! I have that Uniqlo vest in a rose color and it’s lightweight and toasty. – nancyo
LOVE this combination of colors! And, thankfully, I can wear them. The Madewell scarf is absolutely perfect for bringing it all together and does indeed give it a scholarly or detective vibe, which I love. I have some caramel fabric with a fine gray pinstripe that I hope to make into suiting separates and the gray in that scarf would make it coordinate perfectly. I love that the bracelet features gold-tone beads, too. I might have to indulge myself. I would happily wear all of the pieces featured today!
Lyneisa, I couldn’t reply to your question down below about colored jeans with wide enough legs to go over boots, so I will do so here. I bought the LL Bean “toasted coconut” jeans above this fall and am enjoying them very much I think they would work perfectly for your needs. They come in several colors, and there is also a fleece-lined version. They are called straight leg, but to me they have more room than that through the calf to the ankle.
https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/122144?page=womens-true-shape-denim-classic-straight-leg-colored-jean-misses&bc=&feat=toasted%20coconut-SR0&csp=a&attrValue_0=Toasted%20Coconut&searchTerm=toasted%20coconut&pos=16
Once upon a time I had auburn hair and loved to wear all these colors. They are not friendly to grey hair and blue eyes at all, and I am hoping winter will bring some cool color wardrobe ideas.
Janice,
This is beautiful and right up my color alley ! But I have a color question that you or your readers might help me solve.
I have warm soft coloring, as I have stated before and I wear tans, browns and olive green , with accents which all work together, such as mustard and rusts in the Autumn. However, when I introduce medium denim blue for my at home wear, which is most of the time right now, the warm family colors combined with the denim blue create a jarring effect and visually cut me in half , say like trying to combine a mustard top with medium denim blue pants — yuck ! I am thinking of relegating my denim and harmonizing cooler family accents to just a stay -at – home module, and reserve the warmer families of colors for my away from home modules . I do like the variety of color which the denim introduces, but I obviously can’t seem to make it work with the warm accent colors . My issue seems to be with the accent colors that I use with the warm colors that do not seem to work especially well with the cooler vibe of the medium denim color. Though some do, like burgundy . I really want to maximize my mix and match options ! Any ideas ? Or have I just answered my own dilemma by keeping the denim blue capsule for my at home function ?
This might be a question of differing taste, ie, what our eyes are used to seeing and accepting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an accent color that I didn’t think looked fine with medium denim, but maybe because of my love of denim I’ve just conditioned myself to accept denim as a true goes-with-all neutral? So if I saw you in a mustard top and denim jeans I wouldn’t have a negative reaction, but I might if you wore mustard with pink, which is a common combination these days that I really don’t like. – nancyo
Thanks for the input, nancyo ! My issue is that I see medium blue as a color, rather than as a neutral . I totally agree with the mustard paired with pink aversion ! I am short, so I don’t want to visually split myself in half with opposing color undertones in the same outfit, as well.
My initial reaction was similar to NancyO’s in that surely everything works with medium denim. But after an image search on mustard and denim, I kinda see what you mean there.
I LOVE all kinds of blue denim with everything I wear (as a soft cool summer type), but if you’re not liking a combination with a warm accent (and yuck is a pretty strong reaction, I’d say), I wouldn’t force it just to maximize your mix-and-match options. If you like your medium denim jeans with some accents but not others, that seems OK to me. (I mean, you might not pack them somewhere, but I personally wouldn’t purge them from my home wardrobe just because I can’t wear them with all my accent colors.)
It sounds like you may have two overlapping capsules (is that even thing?), if colors like burgundy work for you both with your blue denim and your warm neutrals. (Personally, I think olive looks terrific with blue denim also.) Lining that up with at-home and away-from-home capsules is interesting; I don’t think I would have thought to arrange things that way. Is it that you only want to wear blue denim at home and prefer to wear your warmer colors out and about? Do you have warmer colored denim in your wardrobe also for your away-from-home capsule? Or are you a jeans = at home kind of heroine? Or is it just simpler/better/easier to create separate color capsules that also have separate use cases?
Though the specifics of your dilemma differ, some of the contours of it do feel very familiar to me. I have been pondering also what to do with neutral colored items that I already own and like but that are outside my “core” neutrals. It seems that picking the neutrals is always step 1 in the scenarios, so even if clashing accents are added to the wardrobe (mustard and pink, yes! I so agree, NancyO, my eye does not accept it), all accents work with all neutrals. I would be interested to see how Janice might approach your dilemma because I think it probably resonates for many of us who are not starting from scratch and are not interested in throwing away and starting over!
(Personally, for non-travel situations, I don’t really build capsules, so I just accept that some things go together and some things don’t and that’s fine. I’m currently focusing on not buying more of the non-core ones…not buying anything at all, really…unless the whappage is substantial and I’m willing to give up multiple things I already own. I truly have more than enough.)
That’s always interesting.. about neutrals. Once we discover the real benefits of capsule dressing, it may very well be that we have too many neutrals in our closet already. Then our choice is: keep them and wear them when we have the urge… or bless someone else with them by donating them to a thrift store that helps others. The more casual pieces can be worn hard at home these days! But, going forward, if we stick hard with our selected core neutrals, a closet of easy choices shapes up.
Sally in St Paul,
Yes, I pretty much prefer to relegate my blue jeans to at home wear and for projects. I am 75 years old and rather old school ! I love capsules, even for at home wear , it’s just fun to me ! I could wear a warm accent garment with the coolness of blue denim, if I wear it as an outer garment , as long as I also wear an off white top to break up the two opposite colors. Still not my favorite, but doable . I have recently been limiting the number of pieces in my at home capsule , which also functions for a quick breakfast out ( during non Covid times) , and for grocery shopping. Twill is my preferred fabric in warm colors — brown, tan or khaki, and olive green , for an upgrade in wearing outside of the home . And then there is the second capsule of church , travel, and special occasion clothes, which are all in the warm family and dressier fabrics . I divide my closet by my life’s functions. It just makes sense to me to have the equivalent percentages of garments that equal the life time periods when they are used . And right now, at home is the largest piece of the time pie ! Again, I just am not seeing medium denim blue as a neutral, but rather as a color, though it is a common practice to do so . I guess my answer is to “ be blue” at home and wear my warm coordinating colors for my other life occasions .
Try tan, camel or other warm colored jeans. Maybe.
Sandy, I already have those in my wardrobe. My issue is struggling with the blue color of denim.
Denim blue is a cooler colour which is why it jars with warmer tones – tan or cognac leather being the exceptions.
The theory that denim goes with everything is the same as saying that black goes with everything. They might look OK hanging on a rail BUT the acid test is what they look like on YOU. I can wear denim but I can’t wear black unless I have to for a concert but even then, I wear lots of make-up.
My daughter also has warm colouring and gave up on blue denim because it jarred. However denim blue is just a dye colour originally made from indigo (the history of Denim on Wikipedia is very interesting).
My daughter solved the problem by wearing black denim and thick cotton twill jeans and trousers in shades of brown, khaki and olive.
I have three pairs of denim jeans – dark wash, light wash and grey. All the rest of my jean style trousers are cotton twill in a myriad of colours!
beth t, where do you find cotton twill jean style trousers in different colors? I have to wear lace up steel toe boots for my job most days and I confess that I am growing weary of wearing blue denim jeans every day. When I do find casual pants in other colors, they typically don’t have wide enough legs to go over my boots.
There’s just something so rich and elegant about gold and cream. I wish that I could wear these colours, but I have to go for cooler browns and navy is much better still.
Would you feel like indulging us with an at home, luxurious holiday in pyjamas post? Also debating the merits of silk versus thermawhatsit for long underwear…We are thinking of celebrating julabukaflod this year, chocolate, books and a good fire (well, screensaver here..) sounds pretty idyllic to me! I love that it was a tradition that began in a different challenging time. https://www.readitforward.com/essay/article/jolabokaflod-meet-favorite-new-holiday-tradition/
What a lovely tradition, you’be introduced Eleanor. When our kids were kids,we had a box of Christmas books which we would read during Advent and the 12 days of Christmas. We also have a book of little Christmas books, as an advent calendar for every day of December, to hang on the tree.
Love this wardrobe. The only thing I would need to change for me would the pants would be skirts. Thank you for all the time and hardwork you put in!
I also tend to think denim goes with anything – but realize I have both dark blue and medium blue, and have never paid attention to how I might combine one over the other with a top. Although oddly enough, now I’m thinking about it, I don’t wear either of them with my sage green. Also, I’m slightly color blind and have issues with determining shades, so if they are “off” I might not notice it as much as others. Maybe that’s the silver lining to what I’ve always considered a curse. :)
Hi Janice and everyone! Great to read everyone’s comments and ideas.
It is now Day 18 of the 21 Day Wardrobe Challenge with colors very similar to today’s pallet (chocolate brown, caramel brown, ivory/cream, with rust and a wee bit of taupe as accents. And Hooray! My ‘nude’ tights from M&S just arrived! I have observed that there is always some chocolate brown worn every day, that most of my rust accents are lighter-weight material, and that I need more cream/ivory t-shirts and turtlenecks for layering. Wednesday s are all-day Zoom lessons so that’s the day for dresses and skirts. I have –vowed– that I will wear the dresses and skirts that I own and get some mileage out of them. I realized this morning that this tan shirtdress I chose today could also double as a shiffrobe ( I think that’s what it’s called) in warmer weather,perhaps.
Yes I am all for festive holiday socks. We need a little sparkle and whimsy.
Stay well everyone ?
I love all these warm, cosy colors. Warm neutrals are very much my core wardrobe, so this is giving me ideas…
Janice, thank you so much for all your hard work. Your website is, in itself, an incredible work of art. I have been following for many years, although I very rarely post. Maybe very, very rarely…
To everyone else, I so appreciate your comments and have learned so much from all of you too. Today, Sheila, your comment about “wearing a spice cake” made me slow down, take a deep breath, and imagine those spices. I needed that.
Thanks so much! Stay safe, everyone!
Roberta