June 2, 2021
In building these wardrobes, I was trying to follow the Starting from Scratch guidelines… but the next items in order would include a jacket…
So I’m skipping over THAT step, and moving on to the “complete outfit” step. With warm weather coming, I could neither find nor face jackets!
And I’m introducing some prints into these wardrobes – not a moment too soon, eh?
This wardrobe only had the lone gold tee shirt to represent the yellow/gold accent color, so when I saw these pants, I knew this heroine might want to branch out in this direction:
Chrysalis silk square – Echo; yellow silk-blend polo sweater – J.Crew; black silk-blend sweater – J.Crew; bag – Kurt Geiger London; pants – Ganni; sandals – Kork-Ease
This wardrobe offers 2 distinctive accents – the brightness of gold, or the gentle prettiness of pink…
And her new garments blend seamlessly with her existing clothes!
Our next wardrobe might have the best color balance of all 6 wardrobes here – it’s not easy to balance a variety of colors!
These new clothes are simple classics, but oh so useful!
Patchwork Painted Floral silk square by Echo; white and raven blue tank tops – L.L.Bean; tote bag – Talbots; sandals – Talbots; paisley skirt – Madewell
Doesn’t this all make sense together?
I’m always bad about hanging onto my summer tops to wear under sweaters in cooler weather; unless you get extremely cold, you may just need a touch of color under a sweater!
Ah, let’s look at some purple! My favorite…
Not everyone wants to wear a printed garment below the waist, right…
There are other options!
Lofty plaid ruana – Echo; purple floral top – Sandro Ferrone; tie-dyed top – L.L.Bean; bag – Kipling; espadrilles – Soludos; slate linen pants – J.Crew
You can see immediately how well our new additions fit into this wardrobe:
The printed tops add a lot of options to this wardrobe, and if the weather ever gets warm, the linen pants will be invaluable!
I love this next scarf, even if it requires some SERIOUS searching to find great clothes for this palette:
2 outfit possibilities!
Patchwork Painted Floral silk scarf – Echo; floral tank top – Calvin Klein; green-grey camo wave tee – Caslon; bag – Lauren Ralph Lauren; sandals – Cordani; linen skirt – Whistles
The balance of colors here feels pretty good, doesn’t it?
And our heroine’s new clothes are easy to wear in all KINDS of ways:
Oh dear, it’s my wardrobing nemesis… who would have imagined that I would spend so much time trying to find lovely brown clothes?
I’m going to make a major change here next month. I’m not sure what – it could be as drastic as replacing the scarf (which I’ve NEVER done before!)…
For this month, I chose to focus on the grey and pink – I think it possible that the future of this wardrobe likes that direction.
Yes, I’m a firm believer in light-colored, lightweight pants for summer!
Chrysalis silk square – Echo; pink floral polo – Lands’ End; tie-dye tee shirt – Treasure & Bond; crossbody bag – Sakroots; grey linen ankle pants – Pure Navy; espadrilles – Soludos
This wardrobe is still sort of weird, but it’s clearly taking on a grey feel…
But even with the way I’ve struggled here, the new clothes our heroine chose work well with what she already had in her closet!
And finally, this casual, denim-strong, versatile wardrobe!
No resisting this skirt…
In another life, I could so easily be this heroine!
As one might expect, new clothes fit right in with older clothes in this heroine’s life:
This month, I think the super-purple wardrobe might be my favorite; the idea of being able to wear those tops with linen pants holds a lot of appeal!
And you?
love,
Janice
p.s. Six years ago, I conjured up a navy and beige “Whatever’s Clean 13” wardrobe for weather ranging from cool to warm…
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If you are going to change scarves would you consider https://echonewyork.com/products/natural-swirl-silk-square?
I lust after this scarf but already have so many. Like many others I love periwinkle blue plus all the other blues/soft pink/white and all the soft subtle colours in this gorgeous scarf.
That scarf is beautiful and elegant. I second the wish to see it.
Hi Vivienne, I like brown and it is in my wardrobe as my dark neutral and grey is my light neutral. I can help you with some brown items:
https://www.womanwithin.com/products/convertible-length-cargo-pant/1036819.html#q=Chocolate%2Bbrown&lang=default&searchplaceholder=Enter%2Bkeyword%2Bor%2Bitem%2Bnumber&start=1
https://www.womanwithin.com/products/capri-fineline-jean/1002996.html#q=Chocolate%2Bbrown&lang=default&searchplaceholder=Enter%2Bkeyword%2Bor%2Bitem%2Bnumber&start=1
https://www.womanwithin.com/products/7-day-knit-a-line-skirt/1007764.html#q=Chocolate%2Bbrown&lang=default&searchplaceholder=Enter%2Bkeyword%2Bor%2Bitem%2Bnumber&start=1
https://www.roamans.com/products/ultrasmooth-boatneck-swing-dress/1036930.html#q=Chocolate%2Bbrown%2B&lang=default&searchplaceholder=Enter%2Bkeyword%2Bor%2Bitem%2Bnumber&start=1
https://www.roamans.com/products/lattice-neck-short-sleeve-ultimate-tunic/1048005.html#q=Chocolate%2Bbrown&lang=default&searchplaceholder=Enter%2Bkeyword%2Bor%2Bitem%2Bnumber&start=1
https://www.roamans.com/products/ultimate-sleeveless-mock-tank/1006270.html#q=Chocolate%2Bbrown%2B&lang=default&searchplaceholder=Enter%2Bkeyword%2Bor%2Bitem%2Bnumber&start=1
Love all the colour choices and that petite length is standard. Wish we had this amount of choice in the UK. Far too often garments come in one or two colours or patterns.
That is gorgeous. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!
This month I’d have to say the Mt. View. That and the purple have been tied for me until now. The skirt did it for me vs. linen pants. Changing scarves sounds daunting. I’m thinking you mean a different scarf, but one where you could perhaps use the wardrobe you’ve assembled so far? Good luck! I’ll look forward to next month’s post – of course, I do that anyway :)
I agree, the Mountain View, the coral tank did it for me;)
Ditto!
It might not be a total wash, to change the brown and grey set. There is only one pair of pants and a hat that are brown. Which emphasizes how hard it is to find. The scarf has black, but that would be like the other butterfly scarf. What goes best with grey and is easy to find? Navy would work with the rest of the wardrobe. The mountain view set is still my favorite.
The brown capsule is definitely getting greyer, but is that maybe ok? Is there a reason that the main colour of the scarf has to be the main colour for the wardrobe? I find it to be an oddly satisfying mix of things. The grey tops don’t really work with the brown pants but everything else does. Maybe I just relate to this capsule because I have a few ‘difficult’ items in my own closet! Or maybe I’m sympathetic to the problem child.
The other capsule I am just loving is the red/olive patchwork one. These colours are absolutely the worst for me, but watching this come together is a revelation. My initial reaction to that scarf was to shield my eyes – it just seems kind of clashy to me. But as a capsule, the whole thing works.
All of the others are a bit more ‘normal’ and easy on the eye. It’s hard NOT to like the denim capsule, but I don’t think it’s as much of a challenge. The one item I find difficult is the tan sweater/blazer in the blue patchwork capsule. It looks like an odd man out to me – too brown maybe? But that may well be my computer monitor. Love this series and look forward to it at the beginning of each month!
I agree – if I wore those colors the red/olive is just outstanding… almost makes me wish I had my auburn hair color back! I have had to change my entire wardrobe since going (mostly) gray.
For anyone who is looking to add a little more brown to their wardrobe, J. Jill has some nice looking pieces in various shades of brown right now, including a pair of Bermuda shorts. I know this won’t help Janice too much with her dilemma because they don’t usually have the right kind of photographs.
Good lead!
I really want the brown set to work. I think at least some of these could work and help get the set back on track:
https://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/raja+dress.do?from=Search&cx=0
https://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/francesca+cotton+dress.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search
https://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/everyday+explorer+shorts.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search
https://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/le+meridien+pants.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search
https://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/quinn+pants.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search
https://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/aukai+kimono.do?from=Search&cx=0
https://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/l.a.+nights+jeans.do?from=Search&cx=0
https://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/vintage+pixie+jeans.do?from=Search&cx=0
I really want the brown set to work. Check out Sundance Catalog. Search for these; I think at least some of them could work in the brown colorways and get the set back on track:
Raja Dress | Sundance Catalog
Francesca Cotton Dress | Sundance Catalog
Everyday Explorer Shorts | Sundance Catalog
Le Meridien Pants | Sundance Catalog
Quinn Pants | Sundance Catalog
Aukai Kimono | Sundance Catalog
L.A. Nights Jeans | Sundance Catalog
Vintage Pixie Jeans | Sundance Catalog
Sorry for the duplicate comment. The first lagged in posting so I didn’t think it went through.
Actually, it was bounced back to me to approve because it had links in it – you did nothing wrong!
big hugs,
Janice
You nailed it.
I’m having buyer’s remorse. I bought the red Echo scarf because it’s so pretty but also because I’ve been searching for a few years for a scarf that combines coral (one of my accents) and olive green (one of my neutrals). It is a beautiful scarf and I went to a great deal of trouble to get it since Echo won’t ship to Canada. I haven’t worn it even once. That could be a covid thing, not going anywhere. However, I think I was seduced by the beauty of the scarf without focusing on wearability for ME. Hopefully in the cooler weather of fall, with more possibilities of going out vaccinated, I’ll start wearing it.
I wish if I’d gone to all the trouble of getting a scarf that I’d gotten the Mountain View. That wardrobe really fits me. Oh well. Live and learn.
You are not alone. I know I’ve made plenty of mistakes just like that….
That’s too bad, Lizette! Have you figured out what is making it not-wearable for you? When you put it on and look at it, what are you thinking/feeling? I’m curious whether this perhaps mistaken purchase has some lessons we can learn from it.
Thank you for your comment. I love color and usually I do wear scarves daily. However my everyday, retired, covid wardrobe is all calm denim blue and olive. I think when I start going out again in person I’ll be more likely to add colourful accents like this scarf. Here’s hoping!
The Mountain View capsule just gets better and better every month; it’s cohesive while having enough variety of accent colors, and the accent colors mix and match with ease.
I also like the purple capsule, but I’m starting to feel bored with only one accent color. Even though it’s not in the ruana, I would like to see some teal here and perhaps some pink.
Neither of the butterfly scarf capsules are doing it for me, but I think that’s because I don’t care for the selection of accent colors. Really, these scarves are just difficult to draw nice palettes from somehow. But I would find the accent colors green, pink, and some kind of blue preferable. I would also use black instead of grey with the brown version.
The blue patchwork scarf is so full of possibility! I would be happier with a palette like navy, white, denim, aqua, teal, and coral. I am just not loving the beige here.
The red patchwork palette is close, but I would have chosen the light yellow in place of the burnt orange. Substitute out the orange pieces and I’m a fan.
I have such fun looking at these and hope you have fun making them. This time what stood out is what a difference a few garments makes. I love the first wardrobe but really dislike all three pieces you added today (completely different from my taste — although they DO go with the color scheme and wardrobe). I don’t much care for the second wardrobe but really like the three pieces you added. If I put the three pieces from the second in place of the new three pieces from the first, I really love the whole thing. Of course they aren’t the color scheme of that first scarf, but they would all go fine with a different scarf. Funny how three pieces can make a visceral reaction (good or bad) and change the whole look of a wardrobe when you see it all together! The second thing that is really helpful about this is seeing how the particular pieces a woman picks, not just their colors, works (or doesn’t work) with the rest of the clothes.
I’m on the “save the brown scarf” train … using some of your frequent sites …
JCrew – anything Burnished Pecan
Nordstrom – Zella items in Green Juniper; Eileen Fisher in Casis
Kettlewell – items in Periwinkle, Terracotta, or Nectarine
I would also use a ton of white with that scarf in the summer. Just some thoughts …
linda in bluffton-
I’ve never heard of Kettlewell before. I love the way they organize their product by color and am intrigued. Have you ordered from them before? Good quality & service?
I have been closely following these monthly wardrobes and following the Starting from Scratch concept after retiring from a profession in which I wore scrubs to work. I have been drawn to the Mountain View, but when it came time to add an accent, I was adding another shade of blue. It just hit me today that my wardrobe closely resembles the purple one with denim replacing the gray and all shades of blue replacing the purples. However, like others, I wish I could wear the coral and green patchwork wardrobe.
I have an inkling brown may be having its day. I walked into a Banana Republic the other day and was floored by all the browns in every shade imaginable. Perhaps that scarf will fall into place.
I always look at this series post first thing in the morning, then throughout the day to ‘see how the wind blows’ ,in the comments.
So I’m adding my vote to ‘save the Brown Chrysallis’. I’m adding brown to my neutrals of navy and grey so need some help. Perhaps part of the problem is using the same accents as the Black Chrysallis. Rather than re placing the scarf, perhaps you could tweak the accents for the brown scarf and swap out the purple and replace it with emerald green which leaps out when you zoom into the pattern. At the moment, you only have one purple tee shirt so a swap would be simple and then carry on from there. It could be transformative. Please stick with this as brown should become more available or widen your search to some of the websites suggested by others. Though, I appreciate that there might be copyright reasons why you can’t do that.
I have a couple more comments about tweaks. I would not have put the Sandro floral tee with the purple Ruana wardrobe. If this is a blended wardrobe, then adding a tee orange floral pattern doesn’t quite fit. However, the Sandro tee would fit perfectly into the Chrysallis wardrobes! The other tee shirt swap I would do is the Lands End pink floral tee (more of a peachy pink) is a bit pale with Brown Chrysallis but would blend perfectly with the Patchwork Orange or the Mountain View wardrobes.
Now for comments on each wardrobe.
CHRYSALLIS BLACK – does this need white? Please add in the purple.
PATCHWORK BLUE – I’m not sure about the pattern of the skirt as I find monochrome patterned skirts difficult to wear with any other colour than itself. I’d like to see some aqua added to this going into summer.
RUANA PURPLE – This is coming along very well. I love all the additions except the Sandro purple floral tee which I would add to the Chrysallis scarves.
PATCHWORK ORANGE – I love this even though I couldn’t wear it. It’s very well balanced. All the tops and all the bottoms are completely interchangeable. The Lands End floral tee (added to the Brown Chysalis) would look lovely with this wardrobe.
BROWN CHRYSALLIS – please keep but just swap the purple accent for Emerald Green.
MOUNTAIN VIEW – a lovely balanced wardrobe. Love the addition of the coral and slate blue skirt. I love this colour combination for summer so this wardrobe is becoming my favourite. I’m now in mind that a short denim jacket and light green tops or bottoms would be great additions for summer.
Lastly thanks for the Whatevers Clean packing look-back. Although, the forecast later next week is looking warm and reasonably sunny, I’m still going to be prepared for chilly mornings.
Beth T – I do the same thing – monitor it through out the day – and even the next day – to read all the comments. Sometimes I find I “miss” things and then have to scroll back for a 2nd look!
I enjoyed your analysis, Beth T, and don’t disagree with any of it. That gold in the black butterfly wardrobe is so out of place for me; the purple would look much nicer with the pink and give a more cohesive feel. I too hope the brown butterfly can be saved…and the substitution of emerald green would be wonderful.
As for the navy/white skirt in the blue patchwork capsule, I would treat the skirt as solid navy and wear it with any accent color top (or navy or white).
Someone (sorry, I forget who!) had mentioned the camel sweater blazer looking out of place in the blue patchwork capsule, and every time I look at it, I’m more convinced that they are right!
So I got curious and went back to look. The camel sweater/blazer was added in March with the camel/beige pants and shoes, the coral t-shirt, and the 2nd scarf. It’s a very pretty outfit. The camel also looks nice with the navy. So I’m not sure that it looks out of place, or maybe more elements need to be brought in to bridge the colors? Although in my own experience, sometimes you can try like heck to bring something in and ultimately decide it just doesn’t work. And then you’ve thrown good money after bad…… :)
Thanks Sally. I might be brave enough one day to try a monochrome skirt with an accent. I have done it with black and white houndstooth with purple jumper. Having said that, I did put the samr trousers with a pink and grey floral shirt.
Maybe it’s because it is a patterned skirt rather than a monochrome top which I would happily wear with a plain accent skirt.
Mmm – some ideas to experiment with.
Thank you Janice for your hard work to find clothes that fit the scarf patterns. I would vote to ‘save the brown’ and try some new colors for accent pieces. I do not wear much brown in the summer but in the fall/winter I find that greens, light blues, and any shade in the orange family works for me.
Ahhhh, purple…an underrepresented color in my wardrobe. If I could find a print top with purple in it so it will match all my summer neutrals I’d be all set (black, navy blue, beige/tan, white, olive, gray).
Janice, I love the patchork scarf ith the navy clothing. I really like the navy and hite skirt you added. I ish you ould have added blazers even for hot eather. If you can include cardigans then you can include blazers. I have to eyelet blazers trimmed in denim for the summer. Also. there are linen blazers and seersucker blazers that are great for the summer. Please keep adding bron to the bron and grey grouping!
I also hope you consider keeping the brown. I noticed H&M has several dark brown garments right now. My fav is the brown linen shirt.
I absolutely adore this series. Thank you for all your hard work in putting it together. ☺️
Hooray! Another good brown lead.
Another vote on “save the brown”, with a summer suggestion – I find that grey and brown work particularly well when they are both light. The colour wheel suggests that a taupe/cool beige or tan might be a possibility and would be easier to find in summer. Dark brown tends to turn up more in Autumn, I think.