July 9, 2021
Sharon was our winner! And her choice of scarf was…
scarf – Echo
But we’re going to be looking at VERY different colors than normal with this scarf!
scarf – Echo
Sharon is dreaming of a wardrobe for a getaway to Italy! Her dream includes ALL of the good stuff: museums, churches, shopping, a boat tour, lounging in cafes, romantic dinners, and maybe an alfresco concert!
Where’s my ticket?
Rose gold rose quartz earrings – Matta; sunglasses – Kate Spade New York; woodrose layering tank – L.L.Bean; powder rose linen sweater – J.Crew; watch – Fossil; silk scarf – Santinni; denim pants – L.L.Bean; tote bag – Gaëla Tulum; sneakers – Keds
Sharon was thinking of a short getaway because she lives in the UK, but I went a little bit overboard with her packing! Summer clothes pack small…
I was trying to be careful about modesty – I can’t count on both hands (and feet!) the number of people I’ve seen turned away from churches in Italy because they weren’t appropriately dressed. Something to cover bare shoulders and bare knees is essential…
So a couple of seersucker shirts that can be worn over tank tops are a good choice. The linen sweater or the cardigan are also useful in these circumstances…
Silver flower earrings – Wadarat Supasirisuk; hat – Helen Kaminski; blue topaz earrings – Narinee; beach glass tee – L.L.Bean; white and beach glass seersucker shirt – L.L.Bean; pale pink cardigan – M&S Collection; blue patchwork scarf – Echo;lake blue and white tank tops – L.L.Bean; white straw bag – Chica; floral tops – Caslon; blue scarf – Jessie Zhao New York; white linen skirt – Nic+Zoe; chambray skirt – J.Crew; white linen pants – J.Crew; white shirtdress – Madewell; rose gold sandals – Gentle Souls; denim sandals – Impo; white sandals – Birkenstock
This wardrobe just scream HOT SUMMER NIGHT AT A CAFE to me:
And what might some of her options look like?
Congratulations Sharon! And thank you – all 200 of you! – for leaving a comment and playing along.
Don’t be a stranger!
love,
Janice
p.s. Six years ago, a bright painting led me to a bright work to weekend wardrobe…
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
Wow, this is so lovely!! I really enjoyed how you took a complete different turn to the same scarf as in the echo series, it reminds me of a favorite of mine when 4 heroines went to a trip (I think!) together wearing the same items but with each with a very distinctive feel.
Congrats to Sharon both for winning the contest as for her getaway ;) I must say though that summer in Rome is NOT to be underestimated, if you’re going in the true summer months (June to mid September) just drop the sweaters and add 2 tees and some fresh shorts or Capri pants for the archeological sites. I would also add serious walking shoes and confortable sandals with a strap. Even when you don’t intend to walk a lot there’s just too many beautiful things to see…!!! BTW, when I went about 3 years ago, took a lovely capsule with your help Janice!! Thanks to you I’ll be daydream all day long thinking about the Eternal City ❤️❤️❤️
A good and blessed day to everyone!!!
Thanks Arwen77 for some sound advice. I had a long weekend in Rome 8 years ago and remember the heat and stoned streets well. We packed in so much sight-seeing and trips to archaeological sites that I was glad to have had my sturdy, but comfortable trainers with me. I did notice however that a lot of young people wore flip-flops!
You’re welcome dear!
Congrats to Sharon! What a great summer capsule. Very different from the twelve month project look. Much cooler. Some items might be a bit warm for her trip, but back home be very useful. It would be interesting to see a fall grouping when the year advances.
Thank you Janice for offering up the opportunity to win an Echo scarf – I was so surprised when I saw your e-mail and so pleased that I was able to choose the scarf that I’ve been coveting all year. As a light/cool summer I was looking at the accents of cornflower, duck egg, teal green and wild rose within the scarf with bright navy/chambray and white neutrals as a core.
This capsule captures these colours nicely, albeit the pink is more of a peach on my monitor, but still, some great ideas Janice. It looks like we’ll be holding off travelling this year after all, well at least until everything settles down, but an Italian escape will be in our future no doubt about it.
Congratulations to Sharon, and how lucky you are to be planning such a trip! It sounds wonderful.
(Even if it needs to wait a bit.)
Your comment about being turned away from Italian churches – my daughter was doing a semester abroad several years ago and took a weekend trip to Italy with friends. She had shorts on but had her jacket with her. When she almost got turned away at the church, her jacket got zipped up to make a skirt and tied around her waist to stay up! She was determined to see the inside. :-)
Congratulations, Sharon! What a lovely spread of summer fashion. I’m not a fan of white skirts, but this fling skirt may change my mind. I like the elastic on the back of the band.
So lovely! I am a light summer as well and have been cultivating a wardrobe using lots of light blue and denim. I wear white on the top as an accent under some other garment usually. A couple of very pale pink items have made their way into my closet and I have been considering adding a bit of green. This post is loaded with possibilities. I really am looking at this Echo scarf more fondly with this palette. Great job Janice and congratulations to Sharon!
Congratulations to Sharon!
This wardrobe is lovely! I am struck by the versatility of the two skirts in this wardrobe. They look casual, comfortable, and modest for walking through the Uffizi and yet they transition really well to evening dinners or other slightly dressier occasions. I’ll have to keep my eye out for a summery A-line or tulip skirt.
Lovely wardrobe, Janice, and congratulations Sharon! The link to the pink cardigan isn’t working though!
Mrsba if you go to M&S website and type in pink cardigan it is easily found, I am feeling tempted!
I have been following you for years, this is my first comment. I love this ensemble. I am 62, ready to retire, and get away from my Navy work wardrobe. I can definately adopt these colors and ready to wear items. Perfect for travel and at home. I am a plus size, do you ever source items specific to those sizes? Thanks for new ideas all the time.
Janice,
I add my congratulations to Sharon , that is the scarf that I would have chosen too!
That Echo scarf is so versatile for inspiring a variety of colors in a given capsule, as you have proven so well ! I am loving seeing blue used as one of the bottoms, which for me, functions as a basic or a neutral, though I tend it to view it as an accent color as well . So with that in mind, you have shown blue, green and pink as accent colors, which really floats my boat ! If there are any spare Patchwork scarves in this color way hanging around in need of a home, I’m available !
In my own wardrobe, I am having trouble with the color pale blue , as I am a “warmie”. It seems to want to be used as a basis of an all cool capsule, perhaps mixed with a darker denim blue and a stone as my neutrals with an off white top and a coral topper to introduce some warmth. But it does not seem to work with tan or beige as an alternate bottom.it would work with brown as my dark neutral, but I tend to reserve brown for cool months, though I could wear brown as a topper. And I don’t wear gray , nor navy , which are not warm colors. So what to do ? Just keep this grouping as an “ at home” cluster ? I find that the somewhat darker denim color can alternate with beige more readily. Maybe wear out this very pale blue and go with the darker denim in the future ? Any other “ warmies “ here as readers ?
Hi Shrebee. I am soft autumn and fell for a light blue button up shirt to use as a light layer. As I am struggling with my neutrals, what I should wear versus what is available, the shirt only really goes with my mid and dark jeans. Which is fine, I had just hoped for more versatility. When I put it with tan pants, I look like a shop employee. Which isn’t the look I was going for, although it works for some. Stone twills would be great but they are hard to find. I wear dark tops usually to camouflage a tummy roll, which further complicates outfits. I seem to be venting, sorry. Just to say you are not alone. I’m afraid I may have made a mistake with it…
Stone twill pants are always available at L.L.Bean – I once wrote an entire post about them!
Find them here: https://shopstyle.it/l/bv9wx
And find the post here: https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2019/09/i-want-a-different-pair-of-pants.html/
hugs,
Janice
Thank you, Janice! I will check all that out. I am coming to the conclusion that a blue Oxford shirt might not suit my short stumpiness. A bit billowy.
Sandy,
Thank you for your response ! As Janice says, the stone twills are available at LL Bean . I guess I’ll do what I mentioned — keep the pale blue outfits to a minimum for the hottest of days, but add a few darker denim bottoms with some denim and tan patterned tops. That might be like finding gold on the moon, but I’ll keep trying !
Beautifully cool wardrobe. Makes me wish that I was off on holiday. Love these soft colours. Just the vibe, I’m moving towards.
Congratulations Sharon on winning the scarf. Hope you have many years of wearing it with different wardrobes. A neighbour of mine, years ago, came from Rome. She said that only tourists visited Rome in summer. The locals escaped to their houses in the hills or abroad. Enjoy your trip whenever you go. Pity, we can’t stow away with you.
Congratulations to Sharon! That would have been my choice as well. Lovely capsule, hope you are able to take that trip sooner rather than later!
I’m happy to connect with your blog again. I went on a two week trip to Switzerland pre-pandemic with only a carry on suit case. I’d eliminate one of each type of clothes! As others have mentioned, I’d rethink the shoes. I did my September trip with 3 pairs of shoes. One waterproof bootie, one walking shoe and one athletic. I find sandals lack protection on dirty streets. A Parisian girl with a blog had 5+ pairs of white athletics in her wardrobe, so this American could wear them. I had a dark pink oversized scarf that was my plane blanket and extra layer. Your winner, Sharon, should have a great time in Italy with her new scarf ready to pull her wardrobe together.
Thanks for the summer wardrobe suggestions.
This scarf works delightfully well with a lighter, softer palette than for the 12 month scarf project. I enjoyed seeing this variation.
Congrats to Sharon. I own this scarf and love it. It goes with almost everything I have and even a grey top looks great if I use the opposite more pastel side of this lovely scarf.
And Janice, I love this pastel wardrobe here – just beautiful and so feminine. You have given me more ideas on how to wear this scarf.
– Janice Collins Coyle
On the subject of holidays, any suggestions for the wardrobe for 5 nights camping in a tent with hiking and site seeing on the agenda in England’s unreliable weather? Note show preference is hiking sandals, colours are pink/red/purple, green, beige/brown and grey, if this goes anywhere. (Not sure how to properly suggest a post topic.)
Hi Rex
I’m not sure whether you live in the UK or not. My experience of hill walking in England is to always wear layers and take waterproofs as the weather near the top can be cooler, wetter and even foggy, than at the bottom. Sudden showers on a sunny day are common. If you are camping on the move, I know some people take a packable raincover which covers them and their rucksack quickly.
A tee shirt, cotton long sleeve shirt and a jumper/fleece is a good hiking minimum. For five days, I would take 4-5 tees, 2-3 shirts and 2-3 jumpers or fleeces. Zip-off trousers are a good idea, so you can wear them long or unzip for shorts. Wear long sleeve shirts (can be rolled up) and a neckerchief to guard against midges (plus repellent).
My travel/sightseeing clothes are separate to my walking clothes, though you could wear clothes for sightseeing one day and hiking the next. You would need to take advice on the terrain as to whether walking sandals are appropriate, though I know some people wear them all the time. My choice would be a good pair of waterproof walking boots with ankle support but they can be expensive but mine have lasted for decades. Materials these days are lighter so they don’t feel heavy. Even well marked paths on maps might not be well maintained and very likely muddy, uneven or full of sharp stones. Perhaps wear the sandals or a pair of trainers for sightseeing.
Your colour choices are similar to mine. I try to colour or tonal match my tee shirts , topshirts and jumpers/fleece keeping brown and grey for the trousers. I’ve built up a collection over the years. As waterproofs can be very expensive, I like the jacket and fleece combo (mine is plum) and I bought a size larger in case I need to wear all the other layers underneath. I wear this all year round though I’m.thinking of getting a lighter colour like lilac for spring/summer.
Do shop around for outdoors wear as it can be pricey. Links to Lands End on her Support page and you are helping her too. They have excellent sales. The other online and discount sstores use are Cotton Traders, Blacks, Mountain Warehouse, Decathlon. Charity shops are great for bargains. You might want to consider tee shirts that wick away sweat but England rarely gets that hot.
However, I would recommend Cotswold for the best advice on footwear and rucksacks. They have proper free fitting services for both and they have a wide range of sizes, particularly if you are very tall or small. The right footwear and rucksack are essential to avoid getting a bad back and blisters. Double thickness socks are worth buying, though I like to wear separate cotton socks with thick socks over. I change the cotton socks at least daily. The people at Cotswold are very knowledgeable about their stock and are very involved in outdoor pursuits.
Hope you have a good holiday wherever you are going.
By the way 2-3 trousers for hiking and a pair of trousers/skirt for sightseeing.
Congratulations Sharon. What a great wardrobe Janice has put together for you both versatile and lovely. Enjoy Italy.
Congratulations Sharon, I wish you the loveliest of trips straight from Italy (much Norther than where you’ll visit, though) :)