August 27, 2021
I don’t image that you’ve forgotten this lovely and inspiring painting:
When we looked at a wardrobe inspired by this painting, I started with a simple Weekly Timeless Wardrobe in navy and white; I thought it was important that this heroine have a good neutral base for her clothes…
White tank top – L.L.Bean; navy tank top – L.L.Bean; striped tank top – Caslon; 3/4 sleeve top – Caslon; navy gingham shirt – L.L.Bean; white linen shirt – J.Crew; striped tee – Lands’ End; navy tee – Lands’ End; white linen pants – J.Crew; sleeveless pique polo – Tory Burch; navy Bermuda shorts – L.L.Bean; navy linen pants – J.Crew; dress – Lands’ End
And then we of course moved into bright colored clothes to spark up things…
So I was thinking – what if we started with a handful of essential neutral accessories, and then added bright things to go with the bright clothes?
In this approach, we start with this handful of classic things to wear with navy and white:
Link earrings – Talbots; gold necklace – Talbots; watch – Fossil; tote – Hortons England; scarf – Talbots; navy sandals – Jack Rogers
Then let’s take each accent color and find some accessories that will also serve as accents…
Like this!
note that these very appealing earrings come in five colors… sigh…
Tank top – L.L.Bean; tee shirt – L.L.Bean; skirt – The Kooples; Floral shorts – Uniqlo; earrings – Kate Spade; bracelets – Madewell; sandals – Jack Rogers
I’m not suggesting that one would wear all of these accessories at the same time, or that these could only be worn with their matching color. A couple of these pieces with a solid navy outfit (or solid white!) would be a great change of pace…
Polo shirt – Universal Textiles; hooded sweatshirt – Colorful Standard; dress – River Island; long-sleeved tee – Lands’ End; chalcedony earrings – Lionette; bracelet – Marc & Marcella; sandals – Naturalizer
Maybe you wouldn’t always buy a pair of accent shoes/sandals – perhaps earrings are your thing. Or handbags… This is a chance to indulge in an accent accessory in your favorite category. I would, of course, get more bracelets!
Short-sleeved shirt – Lands’ End; sleeveless shirt – Lands’ End; white jeans – J.Crew; sweater – J.Crew; sunglasses – Converse; tote – Mali + Lili; sneakers – Vans
There’s no reason that you can’t have a few pairs of sunglasses, right?
And yes, I probably could have found pink earrings, but I really like these heart ones… they echo the heart charm on the bracelet!
Polo shirt – Lands’ End; bow-tie top – Cece; sweater – French Connection; skirt – Treasure & Bond; heart earrings – Jenny Bird; bracelet – Panacea; sneakers – Easy Spirit
A clever heroine will find at least a few things that look good with more than 1 accent color; this scarf could be lovely with the bright blue clothes, or the green…
Faux wrap top – Loveappella; cardigan – Benetton; white canvas shorts – L.L.Bean; skirt – Michael Michael Kors; earrings – Kendra Scott; scarf – Jessie Zhao New York; sandals – Naturalizer
So after this exercise, our lucky heroine has a 33-piece summer wardrobe that should get her to almost anything she has to do:
And she has these accessories to take care of her feet, and also take care of her desire for ornament and whimsy!
Do you have a plan for accessories? I generally live with a very short list of items that I “need” (ahem…) that I watch for…
And then whappage takes care of the rest – I often fall in love with accessories… Unrequited, but nonetheless true desire…
love,
Janice
p.s. Four years ago (plus or minus 2 days!), our heroine was off to a posh conference. The art for this wardrobe still lingers in my mind…
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I love this colorful, yet cohesive wardrobe. One of your best!
Great post. Core is great, and the accent colours work for me, building on my “night sky” basics. Some really good ideas for combining things I already have in my wardrobe for a fresher look. I may have to give in to some very tempting accessories.
I am not a barer of arms, so don’t ever wear polo shirts, but you’ve offered plenty other choices.Thank you.
Scarves that pull in 2-3 accents plus your neutral(s) are like a wardrobe superpower! I love this capsule.
Love these ensembles. I love accessories and have a huge collection of scarves and pashminas from my days of working in NYC. It’s difficult to find a reason to wear them now that I am living in SWF, but I do whip one out whenever I can. I have been looking for a pink slip on sneaker and usually buy the GoWalk brand. Have never tried Easy Spirit, but am tempted to purchase these. Have a lovely weekend.
I have the “Penelope” one from Vionic, if you’re looking for a lighter pink. It’s cute! https://www.vionicshoes.com/penelope-slip-on-sneaker.html?76=952
I’m still a little hit or miss with an overall accessories plan to deal with things like shoes and bags, but have done well with a plan for jewelry. I wear jewelry every day and like how pieces can complete an outfit so I own a lot of jewelry – some fine, some costume, and several custom-made pieces made by crafters or jewelers.
My plan for each wardrobe neutral and accent color as well as basics (silver, gold, diamonds, pearls):
Earrings – one pair studs and one pair drop/dangles (or huggies)
Bracelets- one dressy, one casual
Necklaces – one short, one long, one statement
Note on Rings – Do not buy. Used to rotate with outfit changes but now only wear wedding rings on left hand and anniversary ring on right hand. Sad to stop wearing all those beautiful rings, but couldn’t bear to not wear my favorites every day. (Know thy self – make gifts to others.)
Having a plan has been helpful in weeding out pieces I never wear and seeing gaps in my collection. Now I can make smart purchases and don’t mind waiting (or saving up for) just the right piece. I am slowly adding investment quality gemstone stud earrings, pendants and bracelets in my favorite accent colors. Loosely quoted from The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning – One wishes to inherit nice things, not all things.
Lena, thanks for sharing your jewelry plan. This is giving me food for thought.
If I buy an accent ring, I get it to fit my index finger! That way I can still wear my “never taken them off” rings…
hugs,
Janice
I absolutely adore this. Quite possibly because it’s similar to colors I have in my closet. I love accessories. I do have many different “accent” shoes, but purses not so much. I find I don’t want to take the time to change things from one purse to another. I’m still looking for which color purse i can work with this coming fall. The purple one I bought last fall was used all year and is slightly the worse for all the wear – I don’t spend a lot on them. I always wear earrings, usually a bracelet, and usually a scarf as the weather cools. What a perfect way to end the week. Thanks Janice!
Janice,
As much as I love seeing accessory color families, I cannot bring myself to buy colored shoes for these big feet of mine that attach at the bottom of my height challenged body ! And changing purses ? I’m much too lazy and impatient ! My mother was always changing bags to go with her outfit, and then was always misplacing things as a result , so maybe that has colored my attitude .
However, I do have color families in scarves, necklaces, bracelets , and earrings, keeping the focus on my upper body . I love to wear them ( not all at the same time) both with the same color of clothes, or use them to vary neutral colored outfits, as you have pointed out here and in other posts in the past . They are lighter and smaller to pack than extra clothes .
I was just getting back into the mode of packing again, but that has now come to a screeching halt with the advance of the Delta variant. We are sadly even having to miss my granddaughter’s wedding in another state , as are her other set of grandparents .
Yesterday I reconstructed my packing list as it varies by whether the trip is auto travel vs an airplane trip, just an overnight stay , a multi night changing location stay, a rental house beach stay, or stays at various family member’s homes with what provisions that can supply .
What I have learned the most over the years of delving into your posts is how to take LESS and still feel that I have plenty of variety , so deep gratitude for that !
I’m the same way. I don’t change my bag for every outfit but do change them for every season as with the earrings and sunglasses. I also choose bags that go with my neutrals – black, grey and navy. Right out I’m keeping my eye out for a bag that combines two of those neutrals so it will look intentional but really it’s because I’m too lazy to change out the bag. Lol.
If you’re interested at all in changing purses: for years I needed a sturdy work tote because I worked outdoors, and I never wanted to carry a purse too. So I started using this method to make sure everything made it from one bag to the other.
I found two simple make-up/zipper bags of the same size that fit in the purse (like this one: https://www.blueq.com/shop/item/330-productId.125848872.html). Everything goes into those bags instead of the purse lining. So when you need to switch, you just pull the two zip bags and drop them into a different purse.
It works great, and it reduces the amount of digging around I do in the bottom of bags. Doesn’t eliminate it completely, of course, but every bit helps! If you give this a shot, use zip bags that have a light-colored interior to make it easier to find things.
Amy I love that, your system sounds a little like the packing cubes I love in my suitcase.
Genius idea!
Yes! I do the same, or I tuck my very efficient and lightweight Baggalini crossbody bag inside my handbag. That way, if I want to go with a smaller bag, it’s already ready! I have another pouch with folded re-usable bags from Baggu. – nancyo
This just suits my approach to jewellery – all the colours of the rainbow. I am aware that I have very few all silver or gold pieces of jewellery; they just look lost on me so stone set is my preference.
However, layering metal chains with beaded or stone necklaces and bracelets would add the colour I need, as well as allowing me to wear more than one piece at a time.
I rarely wear earrings but wear different dress rings on my right hand every day to go with my outfits. My engagement and wedding rings stay put on my left. Some women, I know wear different stone rings with their wedding band.
The scarves are great and will go with several of the accents. I would also look out for a multi-coloured floral/patterned bag or shoes.
These aren’t my colors, but I absolutely love the method and thinking used to put this wardrobe together. The foundation-plus-clusters somehow “clicks” in my head. Drawing that out into accessories is even better. For me, a complete wardrobe must include a very formal dress ( know a lot of people rent these now, but I need to have one in my closet.), a black dress, and outerwear, but otherwise this is the perfect size wardrobe, too. I can see how 33 pieces is just about right.
I do hope you do a couple more of these. I love to see one in browns, with bright accent colors.
Oh–also, I love all the print skirts. Happy to see them making a comeback right now.
I’ve been thinking this through since my original comment, and I finally know what I want for myself: Browns, camel and cream for the foundation, and then coral, turquoise, lime, rust, and teal for the accents.
I don’t know why this is THE post that made it click, but there it is. Thank you for all your lovely work!
Julie,
I think we would enjoy each other’s closets as we share an an affection for the same colors ! Throw in a bit of sage green, aqua and peach or yellow for Summer colors too. In Fall and Spring I use olive green and golden yellow , as well as coppery rust colors , and in Winter I add burgundy and warm red , with teal as my “ cool color” . Off white in tops is year round, but I just change the fabric, necklines and sleeve lengths with the changing seasons. I have an “ at home”capsule with varying values of denim blue — lighter in the warm months, and going darker in the cooler months. I enjoy rotating out both garments and seasonal colors .
I love Janice’s use of a foundation in neutrals and then the addition of seasonal accent colors, both in garments and in accessories ! Easy peasy !
This foundation neutral clothing + accessories, supplemented with accent color clothing and accessories, is a remarkably simple but effective approach. But I’m definitely feeling an itch to turn the “everything” photos into a grid for analysis!
This is the capsule that has convinced me that 33 garments probably would be enough for a season, as long as one could supplement with unlimited accessories…certainly more necklaces and scarves and very likely shoes. (I would probably decide to go up to 36 garments though to make room for 3 print tops that might or might not print mix with the print skirts.)
Handbags and sunglasses are where I am a minimalist. I have carried the same purse for over 20 years, a very basic black nylon crossbody bag from Gap that I bought used on eBay. I am just not willing to trade out handbags and adjust how items fit from one bag to another. I’ve been waiting for this bag to wear out before buying another one, and now I wonder if it will ever happen! For work, I do have a black leather laptop bag as well as a black Kate Spade tote with a rabbit on it. For sunglasses, I wear very expensive prescription lenses, so I have only one pair of sunglasses at a time. Right now they are oversized grey leopard Prada frames.
My pewter grey shoulder/cross over bag is now looking disreputable. Trying to find a replacement of the same size is tricky. Many bags are stiff box bags and I like mine to be soft. It must have a zipped top, one or two outside pockets for documents and tickets, an inner pocket and a long adjustable strap.
Great idea to use a pouch or two. I have one for my lipsticks, makeup stick and mirror.
Decades ago, compartment bags were very popular with pockets, hooks and tabs for everything. Can you still get them?
You hit this one out of the park for me, dear Janice! This is my current color palette. I adore colored footwear, and am constantly on the lookout for fun but comfortable shoes for my fussy 6.5W feet. Thank you so much!
I love using the mini bites of a colour to spice up my neutrals. Some years back when I understood the whole French Five concept, it freed me up to go whole hog face first into my beloved neutral core wardrobe. Thanks to Janice and her TVF on that, I started grouping my accents into mini capsules. 3 to 5 and even more with my more used accents like blush. When I get tired of a particular accent in a seasonal capsule I can swap in another one. By grouping the tops, accessories and jewelry by colour I often see combinations that work well even if I’ve ignored a scarf or some earrings for a few years.
As I was reading this, I was thinking about which accessories i would actually end up wearing and realised that it came down to hat, scarf, gloves, bag, shoes and coat. I have some jewellery but rarely wear any and what i do wear are either bracelets (that either stretch or open, no bales unless they are huge) and necklaces.
All that being said, the only change i would make to the above is too have hats instead of earrings.
This method is amazing! Core set + 5 or 6 accent colors? and then core jewelry and accent accessories?!?!? Brilliance!!!! I’d love to see this repeated a few times in different color ways… over time, you’ve repeated multiple examples of a principle, and sometimes it takes seeing it done multiple times to make the concept “click” well enough to be able to extrapolate. I can see a fall-style core of navy with cognac, maroon, olive, purple and mustard accents; or a winter weight core of black/grey, with ivory, maroon, petrol/slate blue, forest green, and hot pink accents! Thanks as always Janice, for your imagination and creativity, twirling infinite possibilities into finite numbers while retaining an infinite range of options :)
I will be happy to show this idea again – I understand these concepts better when I work with them repeatedly!
hugs,
Janice
Oh, the fall and winter ideas sound great. Somehow this is easier for me to get my head around than the four by four approach or the WTW with two accent colors. Strangely enough. Also, can’t wait for the fall WTW series! And to the person carrying the same bag for twenty or so years, as a minimalist, my hat is off to you.
I agree! I am still working on my core of light navy, creamy white and denim, but have some accents in shell pink and baby blue for warm weather. Would love to see this project done in lighter colors! Seeing a core with capsules of accents really works for my uncreative mind! Genius at work once more Janice!
I think this core neutrals, accent neutrals, core accessories, accent accessories idea is resonating with a lot of readers. I look forward to seeing this played out in more examples!
I’m also enjoying this post, even though not all these colors or accessories would do the trick for me, the overall plan is genius as usual! I’m also on the “one bag group”, a crossbody medium size cameo pink kipling bag (highly recommend it, lightweight, lots of designs and fair price when discounted says the Quark in me hehhe, wink to DS9 fan who commented the other day) that got last year for my birthday and in my mind goes with everything! I do have a navy backpack and a little phone bag I use when walking with my little one.
Nice weekend & blessings to all you beautiful people!!!
I know I commented above, but just to chime and say how much I agree that having core neutrals and then picking up a few items in an accent color in the spring and fall totally works for me. Last year I went a little overboard on more than “a few” items in purple, but I managed to keep it down to size this year and added kind of a dusty/heathered rose color in four items. The French Five capsules totally work for me with my love of color.
Just discovered that you can buy separate organiser compartments for bags that can be lifted whole and put in a new bag. Genius idea.
yes, I have had a couple over the years, but I find that I prefer an inner pouch or bag that I can zip closed. Probably because I carry handbags that I habitually leave open on top, although I only purchase ones that are able to close. LOL!
Also, I’ve been on the lookout for a nice little black backpack. I had one that I loved to use as a shoulder bag but the vegan leather disintegrated (which I find it does distressingly quickly) – nancyo
I’m looking to.replace my gym backpack. I always find that one side of the straps always comes adrift, the other side is OK. It’s really annoying because apart from the strap splitting where it joins the pack, there is nothing wrong with it. I wonder how many bags get thrown because the strap breaks.
What a wonderful wardrobe! I really love ALL the colors, and somehow feel more visually satisfied when a wider portion of the spectrum is involved.
One of my favorite accessories is a multicolored bead necklace, which can brighten up an outfit and/or tie it together. My necklaces function in my wardrobe like scarves do in yours, especially since I live in South Florida and it’s rarely cool enough for a scarf.
Thank you for sharing your wardrobes, insight, and creativity!
Bookgoddess, your multi-colored bead necklace really appeals to me. Time for me to start planning what colors I would like to bring together this way. Since making simple bead necklaces is in my skill set now, this would be a fun DIY project.
Thank you so much Janice for this post. It gave me new ideas on making travel wardrobes – start with a patterned scarf and build my 13 pieces from there! We are retired and pre-pandemic traveled a lot. We got depressed canceling trip after trip so we started planning new trips for when travel starts up again. So far, we have six!! I have created capsules for each trip with the help of the app Stylebook on my IPad. I highly recommend this app – only $3.99 – and you can do so much. Anyway, I’ve made categories for each patterned scarf and have started making outfits for each one. The good news for us is that our travel budget has really grown so we’ll be able to go for longer trips – but I still have to keep it to 13 items so I can sling my suitcase on and off trains!! Of course, I take more on car trips?. Thanks again Janice. I’m having such fun!!