March 18, 2022
Admiring colors and accessories is all well and good, and can be quite entertaining, but at some stage you might want to actually WEAR one or more of these!
Therefore, I thought that I would choose some very simple outfits, to show how the accessories we saw on Wednesday (and quite a few new ones!) might look with clothes. When you have large blocks of neutral color from garments in the overall image, the accessories don’t dominate nearly as much.
I’m going to view these in reverse – just to mix things up!
First is Martini Olive – an unappetizing olive to eat, but really lovely to wear; it’s the same intensity as beige, so they are perfect together:
One of the joys (at least for me!) of having quite a few simple black dresses is that they go with pretty much EVERYTHING. While some of the pastel accents might not be good with black, Midnight blue is dark and intense enough that it stands up well!
These sandals are the kind of shoes that you could wear to work in the summer and not be overly casual. It all depends on what the dress code is where you are – they seem to be in a state of flux right now!
This simple navy skirt is a nice subdued base upon which to splash out with Amazon green! This would be a great outfit to wear to lunch or dinner in warm weather…
earrings – Genevieve; green top – Diana Gallesi; navy skirt – J.Crew; bag – Pinko; sandals – Stuart Weitzman
I’m really interested in this white skirt – it looks VERY comfortable. And it’s such a nice companion to Nosegay pink – the soft pleats in the skirt are feminine and a tad swishy…
Pink earrings – Sorrelli; blossom tee shirt – J.Crew; skirt – Gap; bag – Francomina; sandals – Easy Street Shoes
This next ensemble would be just the right thing on a swelteringly hot day! The Caramel Café accessories are a nice contrast to the beige dress, which looks like a little bit like a linen nightgown! Clothes that only touch you at your shoulders are a good option when the temperature (Fahrenheit) nears 3 digits…
yes, how could I resist sandals from a brand called Carmela, when I’m looking for Caramel Café accessories?
Brown mother-of-pearl earrings – Kendra Scott; linen dress – Truly Linen; bag – Furla; sandals – Carmela
Look closely at this dress – click through to admire the seam details on this apparently featureless swath of linen! Designers can be SO clever sometimes.
And I love the way the flowers in the earrings are echoed in the scarf…
Earrings – Kate Spade; navy linen dress – Truly Linen; tossed flowers scarf – Talbots; bag – Steve Madden; sandals – Impo
When the weather is impossible, this is the way I dress. And I already have (and have worn!) this linen “muscle tank” and highly recommend it. The white linen is a tad see-through, which I expected. The arm-holes are just about the perfect cut for me – deep enough to be cool, high enough to cover my bra!
White linen tank – J.Crew; earrings – Tess + Tricia; white linen pants – J.Crew; bag – House of Want; sandals – Olivia Miller
This next outfit is a great way to push the feel of warmer weather, even if it hasn’t gotten super-hot yet! And this is something that can be worn to a LOT of offices… Roll up your sleeves and go!
Earrings – Area Stars; linen shirt – J.Crew; linen pants – J.Crew; scarf – Rag & Bone; bag – Hereu; loafers – Driver Club USA
Here’s another outfit that I would wear often in hot weather; with accessories this pretty, you don’t need to do much with your clothes!
Earrings – Max + Stone; white tank – Lands’ End; white shorts – Lands’ End; Around the World scarf – Jessie Zhao New York; bag – Etro; sandals – Sam Edelman
And this last dress is wool – which sounds terrifying for summer. But it would be ideal for anything that required a bit of sobriety and acting like a grown-up! Remember, Bedouins have worn wool in the hottest temperatures for centuries, and businessmen all around the world wear wool suits throughout the year. (okay, except for the exceptionally spiffy and dapper guys who wear seersucker in the summer!)
Dress – Lands’ End; garnet earrings – Ross-Simons; scarf – Echo; bag – Madewell; sandals – Bella Vita
I’m still adjusting to my new accent – I recently got a brown sweater (holy handbags!) and picked up a brown linen shirt and brown pants.
It’s rocking the very roots of my closet! I think I may need brown loafers…
love,
Janice
p.s. Six years ago, we built an accessory wardrobe for some clothes in lime, coral, beige and cream. Pretty summery!
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Swap the earrings for a hat, and the martini olive is me in a nutshell.
Whilst I like the idea of a navy dress, I know that it would look like an old-fashioned matron’s outfit on me. Most of my dresses are patterned but you are giving me ideas for accessorising a mid-blue dress that I rarely wear. Thank you for always giving us ideas and inspiration 🤗
I admit I didn’t imagine a brown cluster for you, but how nice!! Yes, you need the brown loafers…just sayin’…
I like the olive color as well – my fav of the bunch of “new colors.”
I’m a recent convert to linen pants in the summer that provide all the coverage I want even when the temps and humidity soar. Don’t know if I’m ready for all the wrinkles of a linen shirt and linen pants together – what do you all think? Too much?
Oh, and I wear lightweight wool tees all summer. I size up so they aren’t snug and they really do keep the stink at bay!!
Wool tees – wow! Can you machine wash them (cold, gentle)?
Yep – I machine wash (using a mesh bag) and toss in the dryer for a bit or hang to dry.
Chris, where are the wool tees from?
So, I have about 6 from Woolx. They are 85% merino with a little nylon and spandex in them. They tend to be unstructured if you know what I mean – the opposite of crisp. I deal with that part because I wear them under a jacket or open shirt. And seriously, I the anti-stink part is awesome. When I travel, I hang the shirt out overnight and can wear it again.
One other reason I like this company is due to the large range of sizes – I’m sized out of many other companies’ offerings.
They ain’t cheap, but I’ve had mine for over a year now and wear them all-year round. Also, they regularly offer discounts and sales, so that helps!
Don’t forget to keep an eye on the offerings at Sierra Trading Club – they occasionally get really good wool tee shirts from Icebreaker!
hugs,
J
I received a gorgeous undyed, natural brown alpaca sweater from FourObjects – it’s part of their 4 garments per year plan. I so very love the Georgia O’Keeffe shirts that they make, I got the sweater even though it was WAY out of my normal life…
Visit them at https://fourobjects.com/
I’m a fan!
love,
J
Very interesting company. And clothes.
I’m happy for you, Janice, to be trying brown. You jumped into pink a while ago (pink and brown play so nicely together) so that’ll be great. Plus, I sense that you will mix some black items with your new brown clothes. It’s a great look and I know you’ll do it with panache!
I love the navy and yellow. I would probably wear a tshirt or tank and use the long sleeve blouse as an overshirt inside. The scarf is amazing. J Crew has their linen pants in a slimmer leg as well as the wide leg this year – I didn’t like the wide leg linen, but I may give these a try to see. Thanks Janice!
Love the earrings in the Rose Violet collection. Went to the website and those earrings come in so many wonderful colors.
I’m struggling with thinking of these as an autumn/winter palette.
I thought maybe I am the only one who is confused…but I am seeing autumn/winter colors for a spring/summer wardrobe? Is the idea that we’re getting a jump on the autumn/winter colors or…?
If you were curious like I was, here is the link to the Pantone site where they discuss the rationale behind the picks:
https://www.pantone.com/articles/fashion-color-trend-report/new-york-fashion-week-autumn-winter-2022-2023
Well, we apply the colors to clothing, when I think Pantone’s really BIG emphasis is on decor and housewares… So, I guess we have to be seasonless!
If I tried to find coordinating winter clothes right now online, I would go further insane…
hugs,
Janice
Icy colours as decor 🤔 Maybe if you like to live in a fridge! Perhaps it’s a moment for the re-emergence of the different shades of white that were popular in the late 80’s and 90’s – orchid white, blossom white, jasmine white, bluebell white etc. Or perhaps shades of brown, beige and olive will be popular, though I hope that doesn’t extend to coloured bathroom suites!
Janice, my security software absolutely does NOT want me to visit that link for the white Gap skirt. Perhaps it’s being overly protective but I thought I’d mention it in case the link isn’t correct. (I chose caution and didn’t test it.)
I will check the link – but go ahead and just hop onto the Gap site… I was surprisingly interested in the skirt!
These are some very lovely combinations, but two things surprised me in this post:
(1) Janice is starting to wear brown?!?! What a change up! I hope we will see how you are incorporating that into your wardrobe.
(2) The black dress with Midnight accessories is a combination I was not expecting at all. I don’t dislike it, but it’s taking me a minute to adjust my eyes to black + dark blue. But I struggle with black + navy also (though not black + dark blue denim) so it’s par for the course for me. I think that’s a combination where I would need a bridge piece to help wrap my mind around it. I do appreciate it when combinations stretch my boundaries a bit!
FYI, the Caramel Cafe color on the Pantone site looks much warmer than the cool brown here, for what that’s worth, so who knows how that will play out in the marketplace. But I am glad Janice has sourced such lovely cool brown pieces for us regardless! :)
Dear Sally,
I use the RGB settings provided on a bunch of internet sites to TRY to match the colors as closely as possible. But by the time I save the images, put them onto WordPress, and then YOU see them on your computers… Well, it’s amazing that they are at all recognizable!
My relatively new laptop seems to do a rotten job with colors; I can cut and then paste something and it will change quite a noticeable bit…
hugs,
Janice
Hi Janice and Everyone! I think as far as complete outfits go, I like the Martini Olive one the best. I appreciate the inclusion of lightweight closed -toe shoes for those of us who stub their toes on furniture on a regular basis.
Janice: my Dad used to say ‘xXxX is all well and good, but…’, usually followed by an opinion on directions, football, or saving money. 💗🍀
Janice thank you for including an out fit for more ‘solemn’ occasions. A few summers ago, prior to Covid, I had to attend three funerals and coming up with appropriate options was a challenge. Pretty much anything goes at other functions during warm weather but funerals, for the most part, require some decorum and modesty. I think cap or short sleeves are acceptable at most churches though a shawl/large scarf is handy if a temporary cover up is needed. Both the navy and black dresses fit the bill.
To be truthful I loathe most of these Pantone colours accept the yellow, orange and the orchid which would play well with the navy or black dress when not required to be too grown up. Though some might feel yellow and orange partnered with black could read too ‘bee’ or Halloween trust me it’s all in the styling although both colours are bosom buddies to navy. The orchid in an even darker shade would work well with black as would the taupe. The other Pantone colours are so drab and flat. Not what we need in our lives right now. Summer is the time for clearer, brighter colours and this summer we might need them more then ever.
Nice to see how to work these new colors. Amazement that Janice is into brown. I would be curious how brown would integrate into a black and white wardrobe or capsule. I think I remember seeing a post here on wearing black and brown. I must go search.
For those of you who like the brighter end of Rose Violet, Lands’ End currently has a number of items in that color. And actually called Rose Violet.
That’s MADNESS!
love,
J