April 23, 2021
She just wants to be calm. Quiet. To walk the streets and admire the architecture and the window displays. Rain or shine…
bracelet – Fierce Lynx Designs
Her colors are simple – her favorite navy, with the pastels that reflect her desire for peace and harmony:
bracelet – Fierce Lynx Designs
It will rain. The sun will shine. The temperature could be all over the map. She doesn’t care! She can always sit in a cafe until the rain lets up…
scarf – Pink House Mustique; earrings – Harinee; tee shirt – Stefan Brandt; bracelet – Fierce Lynx Designs; watch – Olivia Burton; raincoat – L.L.Bean; tote bag – Pacsafe; loafers – Hush Puppies; navy canvas pants – L.L.Bean
She starts with her navy cardigan and skirt, so she knows that she has her neutrals covered! Then she adds a few tops, and her favorite yellow dress…
And why NOT 3 pairs of ballet flats? They’re comfortable, they’re flattering, and they make her happy – what else might anybody want?
Face masks – Lucky Brand; purple bead necklace – Kendra Scott; vintage lilac merino cardigan – J.Crew; linen shirt – Wallace Cotton; pastel hoop earrings – Kendra Scott; purple stone earrings – Souk + SEPIA; powder pink linen top – Eileen Fisher; falling sprig scarf – Christopher & Banks; wavy colored scarf – Christopher & Banks; floral bobby pins – Forever 21; yellow tee shirt dress – Uniqlo; crossbody bag – Coach; pleated skirt – J.Crew; navy fleece cardigan – Gibsonlook; yellow & pink ballet flats – Sam Edelman; navy ballet flats – Clarks
It’s not a wardrobe for everybody, but for her, it’s just the ticket:
She’s only going into the city for a couple of days – maybe 3, if things work out that way. But she knows that she has plenty of options for getting dressed, rain or shine:
I particularly love a sleeveless sweater that can double as a sweater vest!
If I could vacation right now, I’d be window-shopping in Paris. (yes, I know they’re locked down… my dream isn’t possible anyway!)
What’s your dream trip?
love,
Janice
p.s. Five years ago, many of you mentioned that I might be able to combine 2 capsule wardrobes from earlier posts… Of COURSE you were right!
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Gorgeous. This reminds me of an ice cream sundae! I love these gentle colours and also wear them with light grey, as well as navy. I can easily shop my wardrobe. The accessories are so pretty.
By the way, the link to the bag takes you to the website but their designs don’t include floral bags. Is the bag from a different company?
The link to the Coach bag worked for me, Beth T. Perhaps it’s another US/UK issue? This is the name, if it helps: Kitt Messenger Crossbody With Floral Print
Thanks Sally. Perhaps, I was automatically transferred to a UK site by the algorithmically illogic of Google….
This is SO my colours and both scarves are so pretty. It will look nice with grey neutrals too. Lovely, thanks Janice.
I’ve been working at balancing out my predominately red and black wardrobe with these same colors – although mine are brighter. Not quite so muted and pastel..introducing navy and even some gray as neutrals -the gray mostly in bottoms since it does nothing for me close to the face. So thank you for the ideas! Love that jacket. Happy Weekend everyone!
Janice,
It just amazes me how the change of a few colors of garments for the top half of the body , as well as accessories, can totally transform the feel of the grouping ! How much more Springlike this post feels than the prior one ! Thank you for these visuals !
Yes! Please more of these types of color combinations! I couldn’t wear the yellow (I substitute in green instead) but definitely I wear all of these colors with my overarching neutral of navy.
The accent combo is almost my summer ideal (beige rather than actual yellow) and I can see it working with a grey instead of the navy.
Most of the “personal taste” substitutions were straightforward, but I do have difficulties with shirts and bitty patterns -especially when they are together. I particularly have trouble understanding the intent of a shirt and this what would be a reasonable substitute.
This is to “Rex” who has trouble with shirts. Rarely do I wear shirts and find substituting T-shirts or turtlenecks or jumpers works just as well If a shirt is worn as an outer garment I use a cardigan. This works for me since I am usually cold and a shirt never keeps me warm enough.
The floral bag and the bracelet are stunners! I love it when the bracelet is a stack of separate bracelets rather than a single multi-layer bracelet. Throw in a set of silver beaded bracelets, ooh and maybe a pearl one, and our heroine could mix-and-match them to great effect. The floral shirt doesn’t look like much in the small image, but click through to the large image and it’s really beautiful.
I like this OK with the dark navy, but I think I would like it better with a softer navy. The contrast level here is just a bit high. This said, I certainly would/do wear a darker navy with pastel colors. I think the difference is that I instinctively use bridge pieces with navy and the lighter colors in them to connect the outfit. Most of these outfits feel very colorblocked and too stark for my personal coloring/style; a dark-haired heroine or one who enjoys high contrast might disagree, of course. Even if a heroine isn’t yet ready to commit to this palette, I think a couple accessory bridge pieces (e.g., scarves) would do wonders in adding a stronger cohesive note. I also think that adding white would help lighten this wardrobe up a bit. That’s part of why I love the white floral bag in this capsule…it is a bridge piece and a “lightener.” And everything I said about the stark high-contrast thing goes out the window when we’re talking navy and white, for some reason. I think my aesthetic preference for (and my eye’s comfort level with) navy and white trumps all other considerations!
As other readers have noted, this wardrobe would look wonderful with grey instead of/in addition to the navy. If I had a good assortment of core pieces in grey (esp. a light grey), I would likely pack those instead of the navy.
I agree with the remarks regarding high contrasts. As a person with low contrast in her overall coloring, if I wear high contrast in my wardrobe, you see my outfit and I disappear. I was reminded of this when I saw a picture in which I was wearing navy pants and a pastel top. Seeing yourself in a photo can sometimes be a wakeup call!
I envy those who can pull off the navy/pastel combination.
Oh, I also meant to say: 100% YES! to the linen sweater being worn over a shirt like a vest. This particular sweater + shirt combination looks gorgeous.
Or use the floral shirt as the “jacket”. Could depend on which needs laundering! Either way beautiful.
Oh yes, on a warm day, that shirt would be perfect over a tee shirt…
hugs,
Janice
Dear Janice, I, too, am pining for Paris. My one and only trip there was May, 2019. A small group of avid readers met up with our favorite writer, Cara Black, author of the Aimee Leduc mystery series. Each book simply immerses me in a Paris arrondissement, where a murder is solved by young, complicated Aimee. Black is known for impeccable research. I think you might love her stories. Our Paris trip involved lots of walking, Metro, busses, as we scouted out scenes from the books. I wore a navy raincoat, and a wardrobe kind of like this one today! You were with me in spirit, Janice, I can’t thank you enough for your guidance with wardrobe advice for all occasions, particularly this most wonderful trip.
I LOVE her books! Her heroine is so larger than life – falling through the skylight in a “passage” was perhaps a bit nutty, but still such good fun. I’m envious that you got to meet Cara Black…
hugs,
Janice
So happy you like Cara Black books! She walked us through many Paris passages, but we did not have to fall through any skylights. LOL
This is so beautifully Spring! I am in love with yellow, but it is difficult to find this year. Thank you for including it!
If I could travel . . I would go to Italy!
This would certainly make a wonderful travel wardrobe. Like others, I would add gray as a second neutral (swapping in a pair of gray jeans for the navy skirt). Toss in a white tee shirt and I’m good to go!
My dream trip is a months long return trip to Ireland. Since that isn’t possible for the foreseeable future, I’m tickled to have found a new TV travel series called Ireland: County By County. Now if I could just find an importer of Orchard Thieves Cider, our stay-at-home date night would be perfect!
Orchard Thieves… oh my….
I make do with Magners, but it’s NOT the same!
hugs hugs hugs,
Janice