February 2, 2022
Back to our favorite scarves!
scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
I’m changing up the order of these scarves each month, just to get a fresh look at things…
When we left this heroine back at the first of the year, she had a tidy 7-piece capsule wardrobe that would be great for a short trip, or for having to go into the office once a week:
Ginko silk/modal scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; white tee shirt – L.L.Bean; brown cardigan – Jenni Kayne; v-neck sweater – American Eagle Outfitters; brown knit pants – L.L.Bean; knit cords – L.L.Bean; Ginko earrings – Desi Antari; brown tee shirt – Skims; cardigan – Rag & Bone; loafers – Minnetonka; boots – Walking Cradles; bag – Frye
So what does a heroine need in February? For me, a bit of an accent color would be handy, and something to wear during that 2-day “faux spring” that we always see, when the weather is up above 15, and the sidewalks are dry!
While I might still want a sweater, my ankles want me to wear cropped pants!
And I am always a firm believer that most of us can get a lot of wear from a good, comfortable pair of ballet slippers. They serve as bedroom slippers when we travel, and we can slip them on quickly if we have to dash out of the house for something. And a pedicure is NOT required…
Seafoam teal tee – Lands’ End; earrings – Matr Boomie; white gauze shirt – J.Crew; taupe brown capri pants – L.L.Bean; gold ballet flats – Vince Camuto
Truly dark brown pants weren’t available (that I could find…), so our heroine chose a versatile taupe…
Now, her wardrobe is 10 pieces, and looks like this:
Just that one tee shirt makes a ton of difference, doesn’t it?
How can she wear these 3 new garments? I have ideas…
Next, let’s visit the wardrobe of the heroine with the Tree of Life scarf!
Her “end of January” wardrobe was very basic, but extremely versatile! I love the brown leather goods…
Tree of Life wool & silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; black tee shirt – Lands’ End; cashmere cardigan- Lands’ End; cashmere v-neck sweater – Nordstrom Signature; black pants – L.L.Bean; jeans – J.Crew; Onyx earrings – Short & Suite; rust red tee – Lands’ End; rush red cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; brown wingtips – Jeffrey Campbell; Chelsea boots – Sam Edelman; bucket bag – Madewell
As much as this heroine could live for a long time with warm rust and black, it’s maybe time to introduce her beautiful green accent!
And I’m giving all of the heroines a simple button-front shirt in a light neutral; sometimes nothing looks better than that bit of light collar peeking out of a sweater…
White poplin shirt – J.Crew; jade earrings – Ross-Simons; green tee shirt – Treasure & Bond; chino crop pants – Lands’ End; ballet flats – Vince Camuto
Her 10-piece February wardrobe looks much lighter and brighter!
The new additions to her wardrobe give her plenty of options; my only concern here is that I really felt that her ballet flats needed to be black, rather than brown… Are we going to have “what color should be shoes be conundrums” in the future?
We shall address that later! For now, let’s admire the new outfits this heroine has available:
These colors feel like Spring to me…
scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
This heroine’s 7-piece capsule wardrobe at the end of January actually included 4 colors – not the normal system! But it was all practical, and versatile:
Sampler modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; ivory tee shirt – Lands’ End; ivory cashmere cardigan- Lands’ End; tan heather cashmere v-neck sweater – Nordstrom Signature; tan knit pants – L.L.Bean; khaki twill pants – L.L.Bean; Earrings – Bony Levy; azalea tee – L.L.Bean; emerald gulf heather cardigan – Lands’ End; gold loafers – SAS; boots – Caslon; tote bag – Matt & Nat
How could this heroine resist this striped tee shirt? Add in a touch of green in her earrings, and some gold flats – so much fun!
Linen shirt – J.Crew; earrings – Shashi; khaki cropped pants – L.L.Bean; striped tee shirt – Caslon; ballet flats – Fitflop
If I had to pack for a spring get-away to a moderately warm climate, I would love having this in my bag, and I NEVER wear beige…
So many ways to wear these simple garments:
Every year, when I do a grey-based wardrobe, I tell myself that THIS is the direction into which I should be migrating…
scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
In January, this heroine had a good core of charcoal basics, with the easy addition of a twinset in a gorgeous smoky lavender…
Chrysanthemum modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; charcoal heather tee – Lands’ End; cotton cardigan – L.L.Bean; dark grey cashmere v-neck sweater – Nordstrom Signature; alloy grey pants – L.L.Bean; corduroy pants – L.L.Bean; Earrings – Giani Bernini; smoky lavender tee – L.L.Bean; cardigan – L.L.Bean; loafers – Massimo Matteo; boots – Blondo; bag – Topshop
Isn’t this shirt color perfect for this wardrobe?
Ashen quartz gauze shirt – J.Crew; earrings – Talbots; blue tee shirt – Treasure & Bond; granite cropped canvas pants – L.L.Bean; ballet flats – Fitflop
This heroine’s expanded wardrobe has such pretty accent colors…
If you had to live with THIS wardrobe for a while, you’d be in good shape!
Yep – I changed the color wheel for this scarf, and wardrobe! It’s important to remember that NO wardrobe decisions that you make are carved in stone; we are works in progress!
scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
This 7-piece capsule wardrobe is pretty colorful – as 7-piece wardrobes go…
Ruskin’s Meadow modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; white tee shirt – L.L.Bean; v-neck sweater – Treasure & Bond; olive cardigan – Jenni Kayne; thyme pants – L.L.Bean; olive canvas jeans – L.L.Bean; Earrings – Argento Vivo; tee shirt – Outdoor Voices; cardigan – L.L.Bean; loafers – Eileen Fisher; boots – Camper; bag – Little Liffner
In the best of all possible worlds, this tee shirt will match your blue cardigan! And the earrings are NOT to be resisted….
dark lagoon heather tee shirt – L.L.Bean; earrings – Saachi; moss chino cropped pants – Lands’ End; olive shirt – L.L.Bean; ballet flats – Softwalk
The overall character of this wardrobe didn’t change with the addition of 3 garments, but the core of olive green is better established… Sometimes you build up your basics, and sometimes you get flashy with accents!
As with any addition to your wardrobe, these new pieces bring fresh options to your “getting dressed” daily project…
This might be one of the prettiest scarves I’ve ever seen…
scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
At the end of the January post, this heroine was also left with a solid core of her navy neutral, and 2 pieces in a beautiful shade of pink:
Hydrangea modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; navy tee – Lands’ End; navy cotton cardigan – L.L.Bean; navy cotton v-neck sweater – L.L.Bean; navy pants – L.L.Bean; navy knit cords – L.L.Bean; Earrings – Ted Baker; pink gale thermal knit Henley – Caslon; pink gale cardigan – Caslon; loafers – Sam Edelman; boots – Karen Scott; bag – Madewell
big editorial warning – when I copied the image of this pink denim shirt into my work, it turned GREY. GREY!!!! I’ve tried to re-color it to look more the way it appears in “real life,” but you need to click through to see it… For what it’s worth, the shirt is available in TEN colors…
If your wardrobe accent colors are pretty pastels, run with them!
ruched sleeve tee – Wit & Wisdom; flower engraved hoop earrings – Sterling Forever; dark navy cropped chino pants – Lands’ End; pink denim shirt – Frank & Eileen; ballet flats – Fitflop
These additions make this wardrobe even prettier!
So many things you can do with this wardrobe now:
Has your favorite changed since last month? I have to admit that I’d kiss someone I didn’t like for that grey wardrobe….
love,
Janice
p.s. Six years ago, I built a wardrobe around an Hermes scarf with a panther on it; the scarf is still lovely, and the wardrobe is timeless!
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After starting with the Tree of Life (maybe it’s spring fever and a desire for brighter colors), this morning I’m finding myself drawn to Ruskin’s Meadow and the olive and teal (blue?). The gray and purple are also lovely, but I’ve decided not one more piece of purple will be added to my wardrobe unless it’s something truly outstanding! :)
I admire your self restraint, Sheila ?
Thanks for the research putting these wardrobes together. Days getting longer. Need some brightness. Especially with snow coming to southern Ontario.
ps the Saachi earring link goes to LL Bean. Thank you!
Ooh, thanks for letting me know – I fixed it!
Proof yet again that The Vivienne Files is written by one very fallible woman!
love,
Janice
My favorite is still the teal and olive. It’s inspiring me to replace more black items in my wardrobe with olive.
My favorite scarves are Tree of Life and Ginkgo Leaves, but my favorite wardrobe is the olive and teal. My core wardrobe is navy-denim. Am I confused or what? I could infiltrate the olive and teal with the navy-denim…
I also don’t wear khaki but the sampler scarf wardrobe is still appealing to me. The colors are so soft and soothing. The olive base wardrobe is also catching my eye. I look forward to this series at the beginning of every month- thank you for putting it together.
Terrific post. You have made the process of dressing so much easier. Kudos for your efforts.
It’s still a toss up for me between the navy and the grey wardrobes. Though I agree with you Janice, even if I never wear beige, there’s just something about that beige wardrobe I really like.
I AM doing Tree of Life. But that green, while beautiful, is scaring me! I am worried about building around it. I confess I’ve been nervous for February’s additions. Terrified of green. I may miss this build bc I’m frozen by fear. What else can I search for? Jade? Uh oh…
That’s the joy of these wardrobes…. While I will probably not invest in any of the brown for this selection, I might end up with some of the tan (beige? taupe? I don’t know) and I was eagerly awaiting the addition of the green as that’s one of the colors I’d like to have more of in my closet. You can pick what you like and leave the rest. Also – if you have the scarf in person, you might find a green that will coordinate and work for you. Sometimes the monitor colors are just hard.
Thank you Sheila! The encouragement is so kind. I do have the scarf! I will keep open eyes (and heart) to all the color opportunities.
Well, jade usually IS green…. you could always work with more ivory or white, or a lighter shade of brown. You could also use an accent color that you find more comfortable – a pretty shade of light blue would be lovely with both brown and black… Every color you use doesn’t have to be found in the scarf, unless you plan to wear the scarf EVERY day and make it a signature!
hugs,
Janice
Janice, I am a newbie. I have been binge-reading The Files. I am currently in the 2020 shutdown times…
I appreciate your vision and heart! I am so excited to build with Tree of Life. It’s ridiculous to be scared of green. Lol.
I used to be scared of green too. It’s about finding the right green for you. Green can have a yellow or a blue base. They also have different intensities. It’s about finding the right green next to your face. Blue greens like Teal, Duck Egg, and soft greens like Jade suit me best. Yellow greens, dark greens and bright greens just look ugggh. Having said that I do hanker after olive green but on my bottom half with a top in a colour that does suit.
I really find bits of each appealing…anything blue, green, white, beige and yellow calls to me while black, grey, red, pink and purple feel wrong. I appreciate seeing all types of wardrobes & the lessons, but enjoy them all the more when they have one of my favorite colours included. What a lovely post on a very snowy day. Thank you Janice!
You’ve got my attention! 5 of the capsules include green, my eye color! I cringe at the sight of golden yellow, so I can rule those capsules out. I’m picking “Tree of Life” this month. That scarf has such a pretty, gentle, calm motif. I have both brown and black leather goods. I also need footwear in different sizes to accommodate light weight and heavy, winter socks. It’s a problem.
@Lily, I was reading another blog recently, and the author suggested sizing up in winter footwear, and using inserts like Dr. Scholl’s when using those with thinner socks. Haven’t tried it myself (I’ve got wide feet—not adding anything inside a boot that I don’t have to), but thought it might help you.
Talk about “something for everyone”!!! You have certainly worked your fingers to the bone coming up with all of these beauties! Thank you so much for all of your inspirations, you and your wisdom and guidance plus hard work are greatly appreciated. I’ve always worn black ONLY but your capsule ideas have helped me add camels and reds into my winter wardrobe and totally flip my summer wardrobe to navy, blues and coral. You have certainly brightened my world, many thanks!
Hi Janice and Everyone! I think the favorite by a nose for me today is the Sampler scarf outfits with the Hydrangea a close second. There is something about my retinas today that finds the pink/beige/green very appealing.
PS everyone be safe during this upcoming snow ❄
#1 Brown – Love that taupe-brown color of the pants! And it’s gorgeous with the seafoam T and dark brown cardigan.
#2 Black with brown – I see no problem with having both brown and black shoes in the capsule; you’ll only ever wear one pair at a time! Does outfit #5 work without the brown bag? I feel like it would need the scarf to look balanced.
#3 Beige – So many pairs of stone/tan pants! All 3 are from LL Beans and have a sameness about them. The pleats are also not my favorite. But I do love the green striped T. Substitute a pair of blue denim jeans and maybe a slightly darker cool beige for another and this would be my favorite. I personally don’t like wearing beige khakis AT ALL but could do this with a pair of blue denim jeans (which I think every capsule could use!), the knit pants, and the taupe-brown pants from #1 and I’d wear it.
#4 Charcoal – It’s very pretty but kind of boring to me right now. I think the green will be very welcome when it arrives.
#5 Olive – Yes to less of the golden yellow!
#6 Navy – I would like to see some lighter/softer navy pieces to go with the light, de-saturated, heathery new tops. The capsule is calling out for denim.
Do y’all like the square toed ballet flats? I don’t. I do have one pair that has a much less severe square toe that are OK (I bought them for the wonderful shade of blue), but these with the very abruptly squared off toe look off to me and at odds with the simple elegance of a ballet flat.
I do always enjoy your comments, your analysis is always so interesting and often causes me to go back and look at something. Same with Beth T. Have a good day!
Thanks so much for your comment, Sheila! I think this blog has a terrific comment section with a lot of perspectives, insight, and kindness. It’s a pleasure to be a part of this community.
I love your posts and get so much inspiration for shopping my closet. I could almost call the year done right now by combining the grey and navy wardrobes and scarves. I’d probably skip the green accents (not my favourite) but I love the muted pink, blue and violet accents.
I love the chrysanthemum and hydrangea scarves. The softness of the wardrobe colours appeals to me. The green in the chrysanthemum scarf is a soft teal. However, I do like light green in the summer but find that I don’t wear it too often as blue, pink, and lilac are my dominant summer colours.
This winter in southern UK has been so mild but very grey and gloomy skies. I decided early on that I just wanted to wear lighter shades mainly because I could continue to wear round and v-neck long sleeve tops and thinner blouses. This has cheered up the grey and gloomy days. My darker shades have scarcely had a look in.
I’m also drawn to the sampler scarf because I like the juxtaposition of pink and green and would like to experiment with taupe as a third neutral.
There is a forecast for cold weather and maybe snow at some point in February but it only lasts a few days. It is so mild that leaves and flowers are beginning to appear on trees and bushes. The worry is that the blossom will get caught if we have some sharp frosts or it will be over by the time the bees come out.
Love your thought process, Beth!
Since allowing my beautiful silvers to shine, I too am struggling with wearing lighter colors year round. I’ll be paying close attention to your journey along the same path.
Thanks,
Pat
Beth T, I’m feeling taupe aspirational also, but my goodness, it’s hard to find, and when you do, it’s all in a variety of shades from very cool to very warm…and I am wanting the cooler versions. Luckily I’m in no hurry…which is almost assuredly what Janice would advise to us as a default mode!
I would love to see some taupe-based capsules on the blog this year.
I agree! I have not yet added a cool taupe to my wardrobe because I feel it may be a bit too frustrating, but have toyed with the idea. Would love to see what magic Janice could weave with a palette including a cool taupe.
Adding taupe to a wardrobe would indeed be aspirational, because I can look at clothes for hours and not see ONE SINGLE THING in taupe. At any price point; it used to be that if you were willing to pay a small fortune for things, taupe was possible, but right now it’s almost non-existant.
Sheesh!
hugs,
Janice
So taupe always confuses me. Is that the color shown w/the Tree of Life scarf? ON the color wheel? I would also like a lighter color for the summer – I tend to just get everything in black for the ease in finding something.
My post crossed with Janice’s… AND I googled it ..wow.. so many shades. No wonder I get confused. I’m not sure what the color is on the Tree of Life color wheel – tan? beige? Whatever it is, I’m sure Janice will work her magic around it’s inclusion into the wardrobe.!
Am I the only one who is a little bit disappointed with the green addition to the tree of life scarf? I was counting on warm green, maybe moss green like on the scarf. I would personally not wear this cool shade with the scarf. But I’m still looking forward to the series!
For what it’s worth, I own that Ruskin’s Garden scarf and in person the dark reds rust to burgundy to brown are pretty prominent, so I’d be tempted to add that in to the color wheel (yipes, not another change?!). Also, there are teals but the “robin’s egg” background is decidedly a mint green, which was a disappointment to me. A lovely scarf, though. – nancyo
actually, I’m trying to remember the scarf’s description from back when I bought it, and it was probably “duck egg blue”. And on the Tree of Life wardrobe, I think a variety of shoe colors is welcome. I’d probably add shoes in cordovan/burgundy because I find that to be a really versatile color in shoes and would blend with the rusty color. – nancyo
OH Nancy, I embrace change. Change is the only thing you can count on in life! I will take a closer look at Ruskin’s Garden (I’m a big Ruskin fan…) and check out the colors again!
hugs,
Janice
Oy, i am so far behind on creating my wardrobe, lol, but I have my interpretation in the closet now… https://sewrandom.blogspot.com/2022/07/start-with-scarf-2022-2nd-addition.html