July 19, 2020
Time to check in on our neutral, timeless wardrobe pieces; today we need something to wear on those freakish days in the summer that turn cool, or for the air-conditioning that turns normal places into meat lockers!
First, a simple column of white (or any color, really) can take on a ton of different looks with an overshirt and some accessories:
White linen tank – J.Crew; earrings – Kendra Scott; white linen pants – J.Crew; brown print shirt – Uniqlo; bag – Malibu Skye; sandals – Michael Michael Kors
For me, this is the quintessential summer 2nd layer – a black cardigan that’s warm enough to do what needs done, but sheer enough not to look like it’s October!
It’s kind of a suit… And here again, you could use a LOT of different accent colors!
Earrings – Adina’s Jewels; rich turquoise cotton shell – L.L.Bean; Watery Stripes silk scarf – Echo; navy cardigan – Banana Republic; navy cotton pants – Banana Republic; ballet flats – Geox
A black “suit” can also be worn in a million different ways – some days you just want some silver and onyx, and a simple grey top…
Gray heather tank top – L.L.Bean; onyx earrings – Bhavesh; black linen mandarin collar shirt – Eileen Fisher; onyx bracelet – Rituu Agarwal; linen pants – H&M; sandals – Who What Wear
The right scarf (or necklace, or bracelet) and earrings make so much difference:
Navy linen shirt – Marks & Spencer; blue chalcedony earrings – Narayani; Painter Plaid wrap – Echo; navy linen pants – Marks & Spencer; lake blue cotton shell – L.L.Bean; cap top ballet flats – David Tate
Your neutrals go together perfectly – we don’t always need an accent color in an outfit!
pale cypress linen muscle tank – J.Crew; green amethyst earrings – TJMaxx; stone jeans – Madewell; pale cypress linen shirt – J.Crew; bracelet – Mimi Shou; sandals – Steve Madden
If denim is one of your neutrals, a chambray shirt can be madly useful! Yes, it’s not strictly “dark,” but if denim and beige are your neutrals, it’s as close as you can get!
I can’t suggest often enough the usefulness of one of these shirts…
Alabaster ball cap – Made Well; sunglasses – Ray-Ban; tank top – L.L.Bean; khaki Bermuda shorts – L.L.Bean; chambray shirt – J.Crew; slip-on sneakers – Toms
Four our new friends, or for those of use who keep losing this list, here you go!
I found this list to be really useful when I was pondering what (if anything!) to get during the pre-season sales…
The one item I most wanted? Sold out by the beginning of the sale… I suspect that if I’ve lived 61 years without that sweater, I could easily live another 61 years without it…
love,
Janice
p.s. Five years ago, we built a “One Piece at a Time” wardrobe in black and beige. It’s a cool weather wardrobe, but it’s still lovely…
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Love the Lake Blue. Not usually a color I would have thought of wearing with black.
Black and navy are gorgeous with pretty much any shade of blue in my eyes! Those light blues don’t seem as obvious a choice, but can work very well, I think…especially with a scarf or other print to pull the colors together.
Ha! I don’t have a card so everything I’m interested in will also likely sell out or I will forget about it by the time I’m ‘allowed’ to shop it. Just as well!
Things are selling out quickly everywhere. I was prompted to get some of my favorite Ts as and add on to my pajama order last week. Glad I did. They are sold out in most sizes today.
Hi Janice,
Those “One Piece at a Time” series were incredibly useful. Thanks for reminding that amazing series.
The Watery Stripes scarf really caught my eye…that blue + coral color combination gets me every time. So I pinned the outfit for inspiration to wear a summer “suit” and aqua or blue tank with one of the many very lovely scarves I already own. It’s hard to get more summery and cheerful than the blue twilly style silk scarf with light blue, pink, coral, and green tropical fish! I also have a few striped silk scarves that would work well…such as a cream silk scarf with wavy stripes in mint, teal, pink, and soft brown to which I could add a pair of orange ballet flats to bring in the coral. I would really like to spend the rest of 2021 shopping my closet! I did manage to snag the Olaplex I wanted from the Nordstrom sale, though…my hair needs all the help it can get.
This was such an easy one after last Friday’s post. I am still working through that one, but I know that my chambray shirt will definitely make the list. It is one of those lucky finds; bought it at Target several years ago. Lightweight, Tencel, doesn’t wrinkle and long enough to wear with leggings. Strange how some purchases really work on and others don’t. I bought a similar striped shirt at the same time, but it ended up being turned into masks.
These are all great, wearable suggestions!
Has your heroine ever gone on a Caribbean cruise? I’d love to see how she packs!
I don’t tend to wear dark neutrals on my top half in the summer (omlynon my bottom half). I prefer pastel or dark accent colour cardigans. I have one navy cardigan with 3/4 length sleeves which are cooler for summer.
However the brown patterned shirt really appeals. A subtle pattern lifting a plain shirt.
My favourite image is the blended olive and beige outfit. I would sub soft purple, lilac and silver grey.
The One Piece at a Time look back was very instructional. Have you done this with other colour combinations.
I’m lucky enough to be a 30+-year cardholder at Nordstrom, so got into the sale early. Thanks to Janice’s examples and planning guides, I avoided impulses and laser-focused on items that will plug in the gaps. Very excited that I found a grey winter coat to replace a 23-year-old camel coat. I will wear they grey more often and more happily.
Janice, your comparison of over-air-conditioned spaces to a meat locker is so very apt!
And finally, the Echo Scarf is another simply beautiful and uplifting accessory. And THAT is a true temptation. I love reading your posts so much.