August 30, 2021
Ah, the last garment of summer…. Sounds like a sad French pop song!
But I think that if you’re at all inclined to buy just 1 garment to get through this last 6 weeks or so of warm weather (could be less, but I always assume that it’s going to be summery through September), a dress is worth considering.
You can wear it as is, or pull a cardigan over it when the weather begins to change. If you get something with a background of your dark neutral, you can even wear it with dark tights and a sweater well into autumn; I see a lot of women in Paris doing this…
This is a good time to find dresses marked down, which is always nice, so long as the dress is JUST RIGHT for you. Don’t be lead astray by a price tag…
And any dress you buy now is going to feel almost new next spring!
This taupe dress would be great to transition into cooler weather:
If sweltering weather persists, dress for it!
Here’s another dress that would be easy to wear well into cool weather – dark tights, ankle boots and a sweater… hmm…
This week, the example Weekly Timeless Wardrobe for summer was inspired by sand, and a touch of sunset…
Cream tank top – L.L.Bean; marble print top – Nordstrom; lacy top – Guess; floral silk top – Frame; dark beechwood gauze shirt – J.Crew; heather cocoa cardigan – Barefoot Dreams; butter and shell coral tees – L.L.Bean; tan cropped pants – L.L.Bean; dark beechwood top – J.Crew; shorts – L.L.Bean; khaki pants – Lands’ End; dress – Max Mara
Some gold sandals, and a few pieces of gold jewelry, might be all you would need if this was what you were packing!
I am SO READY for cooler weather, and fluffier clothes! We are moving (within our building, but a move is a move!) and I’m going to organize my fall clothes that day (Sept. 17th). Even if I can’t wear them for a few weeks after that, at least I can look at them…
love,
Janice
p.s. Three years ago, I considered how one might make a decision about buying a new cardigan… The general scheme will work for any potential purchase!
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
The blue dress is a lovely colour. I have a similar coloured dress which has also has pale green in the pattern. I wear it with pale green accessories. This dress also comes in Juniper Green leaf pattern which sounds autumnal. You could get away with wearing a poloneck under a cap-sleeved dress like this with tights and boots. With plain or monochrome dresses, I like to add a pop of colour with accessories.
I’m already sorting my clothes for autumn and trying everything on for fit and putting those that don’t into store. This summer has been frustrating as my planned post-lockdown weight loss hasn’t happened so all the summer clothes that fitted me two years ago have been sat there taunting me. So my autumn and winter wardrobe will FIT!
The look back is very apt for me as I review my autumn/winter knitwear. My brain tells me to replace my navy thin cardigan that had an unmendable hole in it. However, I have a rainbow of thin cardigans and a navy cardigan with 3/4 length sleeves for summer which is when I wear a navy cardigan. I discovered a cream and indigo paisley patterned cardigan that I haven’t worn yet. This fits which is a plus so will be worn this autumn. Indigo is dark blue-purple, so it goes with navy or plum bottoms.
Last year I bought a borg lined navy cardigan for autumn/winter in the Lands End sale so that will do. However, my heart yearns for a patterned cardigan in burgundy/grey/pink….
Good luck with your apartment move. I hope you have willing friends and neighbours to help rather than pay a removal firm. Even if you’re not moving far, it’s always amazing how many boxes you have to pack.
Ah, there’s nothing like a move to make one consider minimalism…
Going back to school today. Students not in until Wednesday – I’m so ready for fall. I have sleeveless tops I wear year around with toppers and layers so have brought out the more “fall-ish” colored ones and worked them into the rotation. I’ve been told the library is chilly and to dress in layers – nothing new there. I have a September 21 piece wardrobe picked out and am going to see if I can manage it – I’ve got all different lengths of sleeves and weights of toppers which I think should cover any type of weather. Generally, I prefer fall/winter over spring/summer in any case. We will probably have warm weather through September, but the leaves are turning and the nights are getting chillier.
Now that the summer WTW is complete, I think I will lay mine out as you do in your examples and see how it looks! Will probably do it for spring as well since there are overlaps ( and a few holes) in my spring and summer collections. For some reason, the WTW has never really clicked with me until you started it this spring. I think maybe the blues you used, as well as the examples, just grabbed me this time. I am so looking forward to the fall and winter WTW! This has helped me immensely in my shopping! Thank you so much Janice.
I hope your move helps you purge some things. I always find decluttering so therapeutic.
Janice,
Your retrospective on cardigans got me into an analytical frame of mind, thinking about how I often bypass the wearing of those cardigans that have a rounded neckline, in favor of those with a collar, more like a sweater jacket. It’s the rounded outer neckline of the cardigan with the rounded inner neckline of a top that I don’t care for when I wear them together. I needed a collared or turtleneck top worn with the round neckline cardigan to feel “ complete”. I tend to buy both rounded neckline cardigans plus the collared style , depending upon what style of neckline on the garment that I plan to wear under them. I would settle on sticking to just one, but I admit that I do like the variety that both provide , though I clearly favor those cardigans with collars.
I know what you mean, Shrebee. The classic round neck cardigan appeals to me, but it is harder to style than a similar cardigan with a V neck or sweater-jacket-ish collar, which are quite versatile cuts.
I like round necks with a complimentary tee or jersey top underneath. I only button the cardigan up to the bust which creates a sort of “V” with a pop of colour or pattern underneath.
I often find that the bottom of a proper V-neck cardigan is rather low on me because I am short. I turn a round neck into a v-neck by tucking in the edges. V-neck jumpers are better on me because the V is often higher.
Last spring I bought a collared button up fluffy cardigan. I rather like the cute collar which looks good with a poloneck showing. Shawl collars are also an alternative to consider.
Beth T,
Thanks for the tip about tucking in the edges of a round neck cardigan to create more of a V shape, as I clearly find that to be more flattering on me . That will be harder to do with a bulky texture , however .
A round neck cardigan also works for me if some skin is showing, such as wearing a tank top under it . It’s the high round necked cardigan with a high rounded tee under it that makes me cringe ! Hopefully, I’ll get some more wear out of those cardigans that are lying dormant folded Kon Mari style in my drawers !
And yes, I am also a shorty !
Thanks to my Covid weight gain I need a few new summer dresses, so I just ordered that llbean dress in both the blue and green color ways. In case anybody wants to know, the garment length is 38.5″ on the Med and 39.25″ on the Large. Glad llbean has an online chat so that I can find out these things, but wish it was just posted on the website like it used to be. Hoping these fit and look nice because I’ll be able to wear them till mid-October!
Yes, that is so helpful. I don’t understand why they don’t post it, either — I truly think they’d make more sales. 38.5″ on me is just below my knee, which is the modest look I wear. I had just rejected the idea of this dress for me because it looked so far above the model’s knees. I know my minimum number-of-inches standard, and I want the same info about garments.
Good point! If they are going to use models who are so much taller than the average shopper, why they can’t give the length of the dress/skirt/etc. is beyond my understanding. I think a lot of us are VERY particular when it comes to having a minimum length we will wear.
That soft blue dress with the subtle print is a winner! The taupe t-shirt dress is cute and a terrific color that’s hard to find, but I don’t understand the pocket. It ruins the look for me. Maybe it’s just that my bustline isn’t particularly aided in any way by awkwardly positioned front pockets!
Am I alone in finding short-sleeved dresses relatively difficult to layer a cardigan over? Sleeveless, cap-sleeved, and long-sleeved all work well, but the short sleeves are often cut in such a way (loose) that they bunch up awkwardly below the cardigan. Any tips? (Other than more patience than I usually exercise, that is.)
The look back at whether to buy a cardigan (or other garment) was interesting…although I would be challenged to find a garment that appeals to me that I couldn’t easily wear half a dozen ways. Perhaps those of us with larger wardrobes need to use a different set of criteria. :D
Right, Sally! I can always come up with at least 6 ways to wear anything that’s a color/style that appeals to me. As for Janice’s question in the 3-year-old post, “you don’t really need to have 6 or 7 grey cardigans, do you?” I will answer yes, yes I do. There’s the grey zip-front merino wool cardigan with pockets that is great for travel, the dark charcoal merino, the long open-front Oxford grey cardigan, the newer pale grey cashmere, the old much-darned pale grey cashmere that I wear around the house/cats to save the newer one for going out, and the grey cotton cardigan for summer. That’s not to mention the grey pullovers. I do have other neutrals in my closet, but if I limited myself to combining assorted black skirts and grey sweaters, I’m sure I could wear a different outfit every day for a month.
Thanks for confirming that one can have several cardigans and jumpers in different shades of the same colour group. The defining characteristics are differences in style, form, function, textures, embellishments and patterns.
Ha! That’s me with black cardigans. – nancyo
Sally, did you change something about your comments section on your own blog? I wasn’t able to comment there. It said there’s already an account with my e-mail address, but wouldn’t respond to either my WordPress or my Google password, and I didn’t think I ever created a separate account for you. Are you getting a lot of spam, or is this a standard thing with the platform you use?
Janice, so sorry to use your blog to communicate with Sally! Thanks for facilitating fashion discussions of all kinds!
It’s an annoyance but my blog platform does require its own log-in and password. And it is VERY confusing because the screen that comes up is for signing up (creating a new log-in). For returning commenters, you need to click in the corner of that screen on the much smaller text that says log-in. The number of times I have gotten tripped up by it myself…well, it’s more than one!
If you still have difficulty, email me at sallyinstpaul at aol dot com.
Janice, thanks for your understanding :)
I think we fans of The Vivienne File may need to start a list of Janice’s very best one-line words of advice. Today’s is : Don’t be led astray by a price tag.
That should be branded on our wallets!
PS even though I don’t like or wear olive, that dress with the gold jewelry is really lovely. And the featured capsule is lovely. ( Also in colors I don’t wear, but I’d steer my friends who love those colors right here!)
I think that the problem of sleeves riding up or creating a visible arm line is more to do with knitwear sleeves are not shaped enough to accommodate arms. Tops with 3/4 length sleeves are are even more tricky to put knitwear over the top. Even quality manufacturers are guilty of giving knitwear narrow arms.
However, the current trend for loose and bell-shaped sleeves is a boon for those with generous upper arms. Slouch cardigans or those knitted in ribbing are often stretched.
Lantern sleeves, colman sleeves, batwing sleeves and even slightly drop shouldered sleeves are looser at the top. It is frustrating but sometimes poor reviews can bring about change. If you can knit or crochet, then handmade knitwear has more generous sleeves.
Beth T, thanks for this input. I could definitely benefit from paying more attention to the shape and size of cardigan sleeves so I don’t get stuck with ones that are too narrow for easily layering under them!