December 30, 2020
A Snow Sabbatical
She adores snow…
She likes the clarity and simplicity of a landscape with snow! And so when she was planning her wardrobe for a quick weekend away, she decided to stick with clear, wintery colors:
She will be walking about town quite a bit, but she doesn’t expect the weather to be bitter cold. And frankly, she’s not concerned – she’s one of those people who just does NOT get cold…
It’a gift!
grey merino crewneck – J.Crew; earrings – American West; watch – Shinola; turtleneck – Uniqlo; scarf – You by Tokarska; denim jacket – Everlane; boots – Propet; socks – Urban Outfitters; satchel – Aimee Kestenberg; grey corduroy jeans – J.Crew
In an ideal world, her sleeveless dress might be a heavier ponte knit, or maybe even wool. But she has her snowflakes with her, and her warm jammies, and slippers that she would cheerfully wear out on the street to breakfast…
white shirt – Lands’ End; blue earrings – Ana Cristina Llapa; snowflake earrings – Napier; blue sweater – J.Crew; print shirt – Chaps; snowflake scarf – Echo; clutch bag – Olga Berg; flannel pajamas – Nordstrom; black sleeveless dress – Caslon; marled cotton sweater – L.L.Bean; black jeans – L.L.Bean; striped scarf – Echo; slippers – UGG; tights – Muk Luks; beret – Wild Fable; waterproof boots – Sperry; coat – L.L.Bean
She just wants a day or 2 to be away from the usual. To walk, and to think. To look, and to reflect. To see others, and to be calm and strong…
She’s not concerned (too much…) about how she will look. She knows that she’s packed wisely and well. But it’s her way – she thinks about how things will come together each morning, or each evening, during her little break from her normal life:
If you could get away for 2 or 3 days, right now, where would you go?
I’m torn between Dublin and Paris, but then again, I’m ALWAYS torn between Dublin and Paris!
love,
Janice
p.s. This might be an extremely good time to dig out your travel toiletries and USE THEM ALL UP! Maybe start on New Year’s Day, and see how long you can really live with the toiletries you pack…
Also, if you have things like a back-up battery for your phone, this might be the time to completely drain it and re-charge it. If we’re not going to be able to travel, we might as well take the opportunity to refresh all of our travel gear!
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
Another “peaceful”, “calm” wardrobe. Sigh. Well done! If I were to get away for just 2 – 3 days right now it would have to be close. Maybe the Oregon coast? Even though it’s rainy here, the ocean never loses it’s appeal. Although I had a friend go to Suncadia Lodge in Cle Elum and she had just a wonderful time with the spa, etc….. thank you for the feedback about purging clothes. I admit, one of my favorite things to do is clean closets. I’ve already gone through all the closets, book shelves, DVD’s, kitchen cupboards and pantry, and garage during this break so it might have been I was just looking for an excuse to do something more.. Fortunately, yarn should arrive today for a blanket I’m making for son’s girlfriend for graduation, so maybe that will get my energies focused in another direction. I really love this wardrobe, the snowflake scarf is just awesome, and I’m looking at other ways I could create it from what I have. Thank you Janice! and Happy New Year! the only way to go is up.
***THIS*** is my ultimate color pallette and the clothes you have assembled here are perfect. I’m tempted by the blue waffle sweater and the black marled sweater, but I already have that LLBean sweater in a denim blue marled color–so really, a great combination of the two sweaters. And since these days I don’t get cold either (thanks, hot flashes!), I felt like you were writing this one about me!
BTW, I would love to see one of your heroines speak specifically about the challenges of dressing for hot flashes and the need for layers. I invested in a bunch of gorgeous thick cashmere sweaters in my early 40s, having no idea that I was about to experience a 5 – 10 year stretch where I couldn’t even imagine wearing them. Sure, not everyone gets them, but many of us do and I was so unaware and unprepared because the fashion world doesn’t really talk about it. (My own mother didn’t really get them, so she was no help.)
I love your blog! It’s the only thing I still read even when I’m taking a break from the internet!
yes, there were a couple of years where I could not wear any of my beautiful warm sweaters, and combine that with our often moderate winters here in Georgia, those sweaters have gotten used to sitting out the season!
And yes again, this is my ultimate perfect palette as well! – nancyo
Sigh. How I would love to see snow. Here in Western Australia, we’ve been close to 100F for nearly 10 days and no end in sight ?. I detest hot weather. Just reading this post made me think of a snowy holiday to Japan which was bliss.
Love this wardrobe. Last year, having spent decades not wearing black, I bought black trousers, black velvet jeans and houndstooth check trousers. I wore them with blue and pale grey/silver.
I love the delicate accessories and have similar. including a silver brooch with a blue stone. Blue agate aquamarine jewellery would would be ideal with this wardrobe. I’m still not into denim shirts but a shirt or tee in that mid-blue would be OK.
I love the snowflake scarf as well with its shimmering shades of lilac, pink and blue. I found a crochet pattern the other day for a snowflake stole or scarf. I could dispense with the suggested colours and instead use coloured metallic or silver wool to create the snowflake motifs linked together with white or black wool.
The look back on pastel mint and blue. One of your combinations was navy with pastel blue. You remarked that “When I was a kid, this would have been considered an off-limited color combination, but I don’t think I can remember WHY…”. I am only a few years younger than you and I too remember being swerved away from wearing navy and pastel blue in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I have no such qualms now. Do any of the older readers know why there was an aversion to wearing navy and pastel blue?
I also don’t have any qualms about wearing blue and green together as long as the tones are similar. Again I was told that blue and green ‘should never be seen together’ though I remember blue and green patterns, plaids and checks being popular in the 1980’s.
Where do these ‘rules’ come from?
Beth t, I heard something similar too in the 60s and 70s, but it was “yellow and green should never be seen” which makes more sense to me, as I adore blue and green together and would never have avoided it. And my primary school uniform was navy and pastel blue, I’d never have wanted to wear the two colours together after that!
I always wonder about how the shirt/sweater/sleeveless dress combos are intended to be worn. If the dress is intended to be worn as a jumper, most sleeveless dresses’ armholes are cut too high to be comfortable. Plus to me it seems such a schoolgirl look. If the sweater or shirt is over the dress, why not just a skirt? But maybe I’m misunderstanding?
Hi Janice and Everyone! Thank you for creating this wardrobe of colors. I received a long sleeved chambray shirt for Xmas which I think would blend into this combination.
I am being my 2020 sensible self for my 2 day getaway, and it would be someplace with a fireplace and coziness and mulled cider and good hiking trails nearby. (someplace like Ellicottville NY or Greek Peak, which are at most 2 hours away…And there’s tubing for us non-skiers ?).
I had another fashion revelation about myself when it comes to color conundrums: it appears that my basic fashion staple for fall/winter clothing is a long-sleeved top or t-shirt. I can wear them over or under turtlenecks. I can top them with a sweater. I can wear it on its own. So- I took a color inventory and I think (?) I will have more ease choosing a 21 piece color combination.
As far as toiletries go, this past summer I cleaned out our insane stash that was taking up 2 shelves in our linen closet :0. So I poured out all the contents and sorted out was looked worn or used to dispose of, and set aside about 75% of the remaining stash to donate to a local organization. I saved primarily toothbrushes/oral care and shampoos, as those seem to be the items we use most frequently when we travel.
Finally, I don’t know about the ‘blue’ rule, but the one I heard most often was ‘don’t wear white before Memorial Day and not after Labor Day.’ I don’t even know if that’s still a thing.
Thank you for reading!
You had me at the Ugg slippers. As one who DOES get cold, the Ugg slippers and Ugg boots are winter essentials. Who can resist grey cords? Grey is the most amazing neutral, if you can wear it. But, if I could travel right now, I’d leave the warm and snuggly clothing behind and find an island in the Caribbean where I could wear shorts, Ts, flip flops and a few loose dresses, gorge on conch fritters and find a funky little bar with a great steel band! I’d make my capsule, turquoise, white, coral & light grey.
Can any one tell me? The snowflake scarf is silk. Is silk always slippery? Seems to me I might have silk scarves that are not, but then maybe they are mixed with something? I usually cut tags out, so I’ve no way of telling. I have difficulty tying it if the material is slippery. What a dweeb.
I think the weave of the silk can make a lot of difference. Silk twill has a diagonal weave, and the diagonal fiber “catch” on each other a bit and hold a scarf in place. A satin weave scarf with long, smooth exposed fibers can be slick, and hard to tie!
I’m madly tempted by that snowflake scarf; I adore snow, and a black background makes it pretty compelling…
hugs,
Janice
It seems right to go w/all my black and purple :)
If I could travel anywhere it would be to the hills and dales of Yorkshire (England) but that wont be for a long yet… sigh. We are now missing the freedom to go on a long weekend visiting friends or simply discovering new places whilst staying in a country house hotel. Small pleasures…
I remember my mother (now in her 90s) and her sister telling me about not wearing blue and green together. We happened to be standing in a pasture with green grass, surrounded by green trees and a beautiful blue sky.
This year I’ve added a few brighter accents to the calm colors I’ve worn for years. 2020 has given me a desire for cheerful colors!
Assuming I could teleport there rather than spending two of my days in transit, I’d want to spend a weekend in Osaka. Tokyo is lovely but really needs more time than 2-3 days. Osaka is fun, laid back, and has some of the best food on Earth. Good walking shoes, a pair of cute going out shoes, a weekend bag’s worth of clothes, and away we go!
I think teleport has to be assumed, right now!
hugs,
Janice
Hi Janice and all,
I’ve got a “slipper-y”question; can these slippers be worn outdoor?
They’re water-resistant, so I vote yes! I’ve been wearing slippers around our (very large) building, to the laundry, garbage, grocery etc.
I know college students who wear them to class, so we’ve got their endorsement.
That said, they definitely look like slippers, to me. If you’re not comfortable with someone thinking that you’re wearing slippers in public, they won’t work.
But after 2020, it feels quite comfortable to me!
hugs,
Janice
I think it would depend on the slipper. I have LLBean’s moccasins, and I wear them in and out. Not in pouring rain – but sometimes even to go to store. Sadly, they are on their last legs. I think I got them two years ago?
Well, them being water-resistant is really a game-changer, here in Vancouver! I definitely should consider them, I guess.
Thanks for the help, and happy holidays!
It’s nice to see a return to your earlier, less colorful but attractive and well-thought out wardrobes. This could go anywhere and I’d take it to the Cotswolds, followed by a week in London. Be still my heart!
I’d be on the ferry to Victoria in a heartbeat! Very nice wardrobe for an island getaway ?
Love this one. Your December 9th post (also blue/grey/snowflakes) inspired me to “test drive” this combo. I got a coatigan, long sleeve tee and two scarves for $68 at Christopher & Banks. Not the same pieces as shown, but close enough for my experiment.
These are my fav clothing colors, and just love this combination that you pulled together. The colors are so versatile for any season.
I admire this wardrobe, but I’d never be able to commit to this palette. I always crave a rich red to wear in the winter! (Much like the berry color in which the last post’s ruana is available. I was tempted…) We usually head to the Oregon or Washington coast in February with extended family. The weather can be awful, but we usually get in some good beach walks anyway, and sometimes find wonderful shells. This year, alas, it is not to be.
Lily referred back to the December 9 post that included snowflakes with navy and grey. Put these two wardrobes together for an extended stay….
I think Dublin would be my dream 2-3 day trip too!
Great palette. I’m not sure where I’d go just now, but I think I’d find the simplicity of the capsule soothing, even on the shelf. I sorted my sweaters by color the other day (black, camel, grey, and a stack of random cardigans), and found it ridiculously satisfying.
Hi Tinad. I too am finding it satisfying sorting out, neating up and decluttering. It’s one of the few areas that we have control over when the rest of our lives are topsy-turvy or on hold.
Love this color combo and wear it often! Thanks for the idea of using up travel potions. I’ve been using up candles, jellies, fancy condiments, etc. throughout 2020. It is interesting to learn what I do not need to purchase!!
Would always choose some place cool/cold as I live in a warm clime.
What lovely art! I enjoy seeing the fashion items you choose. Interesting.
You “get” colour better than any other Blog I read. The colours may not be always be “mine” but they are always impeccably put together!
The only thing I would change is an easier way to get from your e-mail to your web page…..a larger link at the top would be so helpful
Would love to see a Start With A Scarf post focusing on the Echo Snowflake scarf that you adore. Would be beautiful for evening and dressier events.
I love this color palette for the second half of winter, especially with pink added as a second accent color. Following the more vibrant colors of the Christmas and Valentine’s seasons, these icy pastels against the variegated black, grey, and white that evoke winter in the city look lovely and feel so calm.
Since I’m already living in a winter wonderland, I’d be looking for 2-3 days in a warmer climate…and one with a lot of birds. I’m not picky! But if teleportation is in play, can time travel be part of the scenario as well? Because it would sure be handy to travel to, say, Arizona in the winter of 2018 instead of 2020…
I would love to see this palette and inspiration extended throughout the year, even though it’s based on a winter scene! – nancyo
Oh how lovely this capsule wardrobe is. I’m wearing a denim blue cashmere pullover with black pants as I read this, and I want to run and see how much I can copy with what I have. Thank you again Janice.