November 13, 2020
Friday the 13th, what might go wrong?
She’s still craving calm, peace and quiet. There’s quite enough upheaval in the world right now, without her adding to it!
So she finds a favorite painting, and isolates a color palette she loves:
And then she adds to her core Common Wardrobe of grey garments some accent things in each of the 3 colors; her wardrobe for the month looks like this:
heather charcoal open-front sweater-blazer – J.Crew; camel cashmere crewneck – Halogen; aqua cardigan – Vicolo; striped cotton turtleneck – Old Navy; grey slub-knit turtleneck – L.L.Bean; cashmere open cardigan – L.L.Bean; heather mineral cashmere crewneck sweater – J.Crew; heather lemon cashmere sweater – J.Crew; grey dark heather cashmere v-neck sweater – Halogen; white shirt – Lands’ End; white tee – Old Navy; butter tee shirt – L.L.Bean; ivory turtleneck – Lands’ End; waffle-knit Henley – L.L.Bean; silver blue turtleneck – L.L.Bean; corduroy pants – L.L.Bean; light grey knit pants – L.L.Bean; floral skirt – Loft; dark gray knit pants – L.L.Bean; camel tee – H&M; sweatshirt dress – H&M
In order to keep the peaceful organization of her closet growing and advancing, she decides to focus now on the accessories that she wants to wear with her wardrobe. So she chooses a number of outfits, accessorizes each of them (sort of like playing with dolls!) and then stores away all of the rest of her things for a few weeks.
Let’s see!
silver blue turtleneck – L.L.Bean; sweatshirt dress – H&M; tights – Hue; earrings – House of Elliott; scarf – Oscar de la Renta; boots – Naot
She didn’t do a lot of technical analysis, nor counting of things; she just finished off her outfits with the accessories she would want with them, and then moved on to the next outfit!
heather charcoal open-front sweater-blazer – J.Crew; butter tee shirt – L.L.Bean; corduroy pants – L.L.Bean; earrings – Anton Heunis; scarf – ImageDiary; loafers – Clarks
If you KNOW you’re going to wear your slippers all day, then they get included. These days, we should be honest with ourselves about where we spend our time, and how!
cardigan – Vicolo; waffle-knit Henley – L.L.Bean; light grey knit pants – L.L.Bean; earrings – Kendra Scott; wool & silk scarf – Urban Fable; socks – Icebreaker; slippers – UGG
It’s not wrong to dress nicely for dinner with your family, is it?
Camel cashmere crewneck – Halogen; white shirt – Lands’ End; floral skirt – Loft; necklace – Sonoma Goods for Life; opaque tights – M&S Hosiery; ballet flats – Josef Seibel
Some days, she’s focused on looking bright and snazzy for a video-conference…
grey dark heather cashmere v-neck sweater – Halogen; butter tee shirt – L.L.Bean; dark gray knit pants – L.L.Bean; scarf – The Met Store; socks – Urban Outfitters; loafers – Clarks
Even a soft, warm dress that feels more like a nightgown than a work garment can be “Zoom-appropriate” with some jewelry…
turtleneck – Lands’ End; sweatshirt dress – H&M; knot earrings – Primal Gold; necklace – Gurhan; boots – Naot
Even if you’re home alone all day, earrings can still be worn with gusto!
I’ve worn earrings every day of quarantine…
Heather mineral cashmere crewneck sweater – J.Crew; striped cotton turtleneck – Old Navy; corduroy pants – L.L.Bean; earrings – The Met Store; wool & silk scarf – Urban Fable; driving loafers – Driver Club USA
Feels like pajamas, but still looks appropriate for work – from the waist up!
cashmere open cardigan – L.L.Bean; tee – H&M; light grey knit pants – L.L.Bean; earrings – The Met Store; scarf – Lands’ End; slippers – UGG
Tone-on-tone scarves bring a subtle richness to the simplest outfits…
tee – H&M; floral skirt – Loft; earrings – House of Elliott; cashmere scarf – C by Bloomingdale’s; opaque tights – M&S Hosiery; ballet flats – Josef Seibel
As she gets to her last outfit, she realizes that she already has enough accessories!
heather charcoal open-front sweater-blazer – J.Crew; silver blue turtleneck – L.L.Bean; dark gray knit pants – L.L.Bean; earrings – The Met Store; wool & silk scarf – Urban Fable; socks – Icebreaker; loafers – Clarks
Now she carefully folds scarves, checks jewelry for weak links or loose bits, and looks over all of her shoes and boots for any needed polish or mending:
Monet scarf – The Met Store; knot earrings – Primal Gold; turquoise earrings – The Met Store; grey druzy quartz earrings – Kendra Scott; pearl on gold hoop earrings – House of Elliott; aqua floral scarf – Oscar de la Renta; disc necklace – Gurhan; beaded necklace – Sonoma Goods for Life; dangling knot earrings – The Met Store; cashmere camel floral scarf – C by Bloomingdale’s; pearl & crystal cluster earrings – Anton Heunis; shades of aqua wool & silk scarf – Urban Fable; grey & yellow scarf – ImageDiary; plaid scarf – Lands’ End; grey suede boots – Naot; aqua socks – Icebreaker; camel opaque tights – M&S Hosiery; yellow socks – Urban Outfitters; slippers – UGG; camel ballet flats – Josef Seibel; charcoal loafers – Clarks; driving loafers – Driver Club USA
In a world where so many things are far out of our control, having a tidy, clean, neat, well-mended wardrobe for the near future is a good step toward a feeling of peace…
love,
Janice
p.s. Five years ago, a lovely rose-print scarf inspired a black and pink wardrobe designed to make getting dressed for the holidays less stressful. Remember dressing and going out?
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Good morning dear and thanks for the shout-out! xoxox
Hi Janice! I am a funky sox person so I appreciate your including them as part of ‘accessorizing’. I like all the shoeware too because they look so comfy. But when I saw M&S’ nude opaque tights that made my day! as I have been looking for this item for forever. I ordered 2 on the spot!
I’m interested to know what the camel tights look like on and what the stretch is. It says Natural which is what I where for 15 denier tights. But a pair of warmer ones for winter would be good as long as they dont look too camel coloured.
Yes, “natural” colored winter weight tights are challenging. I have rarely seen them, and when I have, they can look very strange. This is a place where I would rather wear a more cream color, preferably with a subtle pattern or texture, where they are clearly not my legs nor trying and failing to look like my legs, if that makes sense. I have a pair of beige chelsea boots, similar to the tan ballet flats in this wardrobe, that I have just given up on wearing with tights because I haven’t found a light colored pair of tights to wear with them. Man, if I could find the mythical cream colored cable knit tights discussed in a previous blog post, in plus size, that would be perfect.
Target has some in ivory and oatmeal:
https://shopstyle.it/l/bot3z
hugs,
Janice
I wonder too – I picked these because they were the ONLY photograph I could find of “camel-ish” tights. Why are tights such a headache?
hugs,
Janice
Janice, thanks for the Target link to the plus sized tights. They are exactly what I was looking for! The only question is how many to order. :)
Unfortunately, the colour reminds me of the medical support tights which my dear mother and grandmother had to wear…. I hope I’m wrong and that they just look cosy. I like your idea of cream or oatmeal cable knit.
I will let you all know what the tights are like when they arrive. For the longest time I had ‘suntan’ tights which I loved because they were a heavier weight than regular nylon stockings and therefore more durable. It makes It more enticing to wear dresses and skirts in the wintertime.
Janice,
I don’t wear gray — too cool for my complexion, but I am loving this post ! Wonderful job on the accessories ! And yes, I wear my fuzzy lined slippers a lot around the house, but I do wear shoes many times too ! And earrings, always earrings ! And lipstick ! I’m really saving money on lipstick as I don’t wear it under a mask for the few times that I leave the house !
Morning. This is a lovely wardrobe. Not vibrant enough for my coloring, but I can appreciate it nonetheless. A far cry from my red turtleneck and red/pink plaid pants! Thanks Janice, Have a great weekend.
Just a lovely wardrobe. After watching Queen’s Gambit, I’m in a 60s mood. Wouldn’t a grey dress be cute if it were a jumper (in the American sense as a sleeveless dress) and wear the aqua turtleneck under that? As for all these nice shoes, it’s winter here so I’m either wearing boots or slippers or sketchers (not the most attractive but such a great house shoe). Every one of these accessories is perfect and for those zoom meetings, we are all learning that a scarf really helps.Thanks.
Funny, I was just browsing for jumper style dresses. I had one years ago that looked very smart. In a charcoal would be perfect.
Will continue the search.
The accessories really pull this all together; cosy and stylish!
Well this is so lovely and calming after Wednesday’s run in with a high maintenance dangerous predator. Sadly, I’ve twice had the misfortune to work for women like that…. though neither were at all glamourous.
I feel peaceful just looking at the teal/aqua and grey. I don’t wear camel or yellow so I’d choose a soft shell pink and very pale blue instead.
I have a scarf from Next which is very similar to the Urban Fable teal scarf. Cosy slippers, bootees, and fleece lined slipper socks are a must at this time of year. I also like the grey and ivory outfit with the gold and silver jewellery. I have a watch that would fit that outfit. I don’t mind mixing metals, though I know some people do. The earrings are delightful.and I have similar.
Thanks for the look back to that heavenly rose wardrobe. You can almost smell summer.
OK, I have been converted to the grey/beige combination with the addition of that perfect scarf. I am also enjoying the silver/gold toned jewelry here.
I loved this. I especially loved the Oscar de la Rent scarf. Thanks for trying to lift us all up
The gray + aqua is scrumptious – I’m going to have to search for a good scarf for my wardrobe and wallet!! I agree that the scarf realllly helps the gray + camel. Also, last year I bought those Naot boots in plum and they are fabulous, even for my picky feet. – nancyo
Thank you Janice for all the lovely wardrobes you create. I especially appreciate the pretty, more colorful collections you’ve gathered recently. I live in northern Minnesota, where winters are long and cold and days are short and sometimes dark. These uplift my spirits!