April 18, 2022
Making Compromises, When Your Palette is Difficult
She’s really committed to these colors, even though she knows that it’s not going to be easy… There’s no real way she can envision getting dressed for an entire season without wearing black – even if it’s hot!
And the rest of the colors? She has accepted that “her” beige, that green-ish, rain-soaked and slightly lichen-colored quay, isn’t going to be anywhere to be found; she’s prepared to compromise with the much more common beige…
The accent colors could be tricky; she can’t actually see herself wearing soft lime OR light periwinkle with black!
But she gives it all a go – it’s just clothing, after all.
Starting with the simple stuff – it’s never difficult to find black linen in the spring:
It’s also not terribly hard to find nice ivory and beige summer garments…
It took a little while for our heroine to find summer clothes in that bright, light green that’s such an important element of her favorite painting. She really would have preferred to find things that were in a print that included either beige or black, but she didn’t have much luck. She realizes that this is going to limit how much she can wear her green with her beige and black, but everything doesn’t HAVE to go together, right?
Double layer gauze shirt – L.L.Bean; faded mint tee – Madewell; shorts – Sohuman; skirt – Cobbler’s Lane
Here’s where she really begins to get concerned. She is already aware of the limitations that her new green clothes have brought to her wardrobe – they are probably going to be fine with beige, but NOT with black.
And now, she’s finding beautiful light blue linen shirts – maybe with the right scarf they can be work with black. But there are NO pants, nor shorts, nor skirts to be found in this blue…
She has options here – more styles in beige or black, or introduce another neutral that is present (if only in wee bits) in her favorite painting. Since she loves linen, and is preparing for some truly hot weather, she opts for white linen!
Short-sleeved shirt – J.Crew; long-sleeved shirt – J.Crew; white linen pants – J.Crew; white linen muscle tank – J.Crew
Here’s where our wardrobe is – for someone who wears a uniform to work, a Four by Four wardrobe should be just about enough for warm weather.
But our heroine still feels like the black looks out of place – clearly something she needs to think about, if she finds that she enjoys the softer summer colors in her wardrobe!
Just to make sure that she will be able to work with these clothes through the summer, our heroine chooses a few accessories to use to envision her various outfits:
Onyx earrings – Judith Ripka; peridot earrings – TJ Maxx; tanzanite earrings – Artisan; taupe bag – J.Crew; black raffia tote – Btb Los Angeles; black sandals – J.Crew; natural sandals – Draper James
Everything into her closet – or on top of her dresser! It doesn’t look bad – but that black… sigh…
Even with her concerns about black that can’t be worn with her accent colors, our heroine has plenty of outfit possibilities. She could even travel for quite a while with this wardrobe:
But this is a heroine who is on the verge of making a big wardrobe decision: keep black and cut back on pastels, keep lighter neutrals and pastels, and cut back on black, or keep things as they are and learn to live with less than flawless versatility!
It’s just clothing, at the end of the day, right?
love,
Janice
p.s. Three years ago, our traveling heroine had a wardrobe in yellow, black and white!
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Perhaps a better dark neutral for our heroine would be a ‘charcoal’ grey taken from right-hand side tree trunk in the painting? Not as easy to find as black but it might not be such a stark contrast with the lighter colours.
And I forgot to say, Thank you Janice for your wonderful blog!! I look forward to it every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I’ve learnt so much about capsule wardrobes, packing, colour combinations…and many other things besides. Even when the colours belong to a different season to my own I enjoy thinking about what it would be like to wear those clothes or to be in that heroine’s life for a day.
I am improving on packing but I still feel overwhelmed by it, especially like now, when it’s not a holiday so I have no idea what to expect when I get there. I’m going away in a few days time and already feeling very stressed about it… Does anyone remember the post about packing for an emergency trip, please could someone find me a link?
I think this is the one you’re looking for?
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2011/11/packing-last-minute-suitcase.html/
Thank you mmep! You’re so kind, just what I was looking for :-)
These are pretty! I also find a few black pieces very handy regardless of the season. But in hot weather I avoid solid pieces on the top half. Maybe some stripes, small flowers or dots could do the trick even though won’t go with the other patterned items, it would work best with the solid ones. And the piece that I think strikes the most is the black tunic, if it was me I would have to change.
But as usual, the exercise is so helpful for us in the process of changing wardrobes. Actually, I’m also building a temporary wardrobe – following your plan of course- for a 3 month trip to Mexico visiting family with a toddler and weather ranging from mild cold to desert-like hot…! Talk about challenges! Thanks to Janice, I don’t feel so lost, but any word of advice is welcome ;)
Happy Easter & blessings to you all!!!
Love the painting and the methodical wardrobe approach, as usual, but not the black(also as usual!).
Janice, you are a clothing and wardrobe genius but have a heavy bias to black. Yes, you wear it a lot and it is easy to find but the black in the picture looks more dark grey or dark brown, depending which part of the picture it is. Both of these would look great with the other wardrobe colours, although we all know how difficult dark brown is to find.
Seems I am odd man out here. I do not have a problem with the black, and would not have issue wearing it with the accent colors. I love this painting and the colors chosen. I don’t have a lot of any of the blue or green, but I do have some. I”m currently in process of adding more green, so this is great. More ideas. (Or temptation!) Generally I just prefer darker colors on the bottom. You have certainly sparked some lively debates lately! I, too, look forward to M, W, F just to see what you have for us. Thank you!
I agree! I think the right patterned accent blouses or tees could tie the green and blue/lilac together with the black…. knowing Janice she has some scarves or a plaid shirt with exactly the right tones. I could also see switching the black to more of a navy or dark blue. Just some thoughts
This painting intrigued me so I was happy to check out more of his works. William John Leech uses this light blue in so many of his paintings. After looking at his other paintings, I really “see” the blues, greens and beiges/whites in this painting. Initially it was hard to enjoy the colors, but after looking more I really enjoy what I think of as dappled, like the variegated bark of a sycamore tree in early summer.
In my, often frustrating, experience neutrals are friends. The accent colors are usually the troublemakers. That might not be everyone’s experience, I know. If a person picks the right neutrals, they look good and she likes them, she should keep them and wear them. Adjust fabric and styling for the season, as has been done here. Black, tan, white. And that green is very nearly a fourth neutral.
Also, neutrals are usually easier to find. Except for brown.
The colors in this painting remind me of the colors in the chambray Echo Abstract Landscape scarf that I purchased last year. It has various shades of blue green, olive, beige, and black. It could help to coordinate the black with the green and chambray items in this wardrobe.
I love the green with black – even have prints with both colors in them. I do think navy would have been the ideal choice for the base color though, even if it wasn’t in the painting.
I actually like the green with the black. I don’t think I’d wear the green pattern pieces but I would wear the solid pieces.
Janice,
While I don’t personally wear black, if I was this heroine, I would reserve the black items in hot weather for evening wear and focus on the pastels by day . In a second look at the painting , I am seeing a deeper blue that could be picked up as an accent color to be used with black , and even a bright mustard in the upper left hand corner. I think the issue here is the need for more saturation of colors to be used with the black, rather than the soft pastel blue , though I like the pastel blue used with the olive green . Perhaps it is just a visual interpretation , but in the top of the painting I am seeing more of a cooler grassy green which might work better with black, which I interpret as being on the cooler spectrum , even though I recognize that black is actually achromatic .
Shrebee, that is a good point. Use the black for, say going out to dinner, and lighter colors in the day.
My constant shopping dilemma is finding prints that I like that include at least one of my neutral colors in combination with my chosen accent colors !
Janice, your heroine is right that it feels a bit off. As some others suggested, moving the black towards a deep charcoal might make it better. If it were me, I would temporarily keep the black bottoms and switch the black tops for charcoal while hunting for 4 pieces in a brown which is what my screen shows for the trees. I freely admit that I dislike black, hate wearing it, look awful in it and much prefer the softer feel of brown or navy, so that may not appeal to someone who loves and looks great in black. Very interesting problem you have sneakily shown us today…so good for us to consider how to deal with a noncooperative colour or a wardrobe in transition. Thank you for a thought-provoking question.
I think this wardrobe works very well. Sometimes capsule wardrobes can come off as too matchy-matchy. This wardrobe gives so many variations that our heroine wouldn’t be bored. Personally, I would exchange the green gauze shirt (which seems too sporty) for Nordstrom’s mint linen jacket with black buttons to layer over the black. I personally like the iciness of the mint and blue against the black.
There are pieces here that aren’t to my taste (anymore at least) the full skirt, the shorts, but black doesn’t bother me. I believe black works with everything, and I’m sticking to that, especially black linen. It’s true that as I’ve aged I wear less of it, especially in the summer, because people look at me as if I’ve just come from a funeral.
But I’d wear that light blue with black. And I’d probably be more comfortable with the black linen than the white.
The nice thing about these stories and the wardrobes that result is that it’s easy to see how something might work for some but not for others. And how adjustments might be made to make it work for me. (And I think I have a jjill turtleneck in that greige color — I think they even called it cement.)
Take care.
Shrebee and SandyB I also keep my black items for evening in high summer.
I can picture the green shorts, and both shirts going with black just fine, but the floaty-ness of the skirt didn’t seem to gel. Perhaps for blue she could have gone with some loose chambray pants/capri’s (which I have and wear black or navy tanks/tees with all the time). That might have given her more options. I think if you really love a color you can figure out ways to work it in (if you can find it!)… also maybe the green is an outlier, or a french five that she adds when she feels like it?
I don’t understand why the heroine is reluctant to wear black and green together. The green shirts would look good with either the black shorts or (if it’s cooler) the black linen pants. I think the black shell top would look fine with the green shorts, maybe also with the skirt (depending on what it’s made of — I can’t tell if it’s a linen shell, or a knit one). If you substituted a long black button-down linen shirt for that (to my mind, largely useless) black linen tunic, it could be a light-weight substitute for a sweater that would work with anything here.
I bought a light purple long sleeved linen shirt last year and wore the death out of it all summer long as a topper if I went somewhere and got cold. It was awesome.
This is my favorite kind of TVF post…one where something is (to some eyes) somewhat off. These provoke more thought for me than when the capsule is nearly perfect (although who doesn’t enjoy looking at and being inspired by perfection?). My thoughts on possible revisions/additions to the capsule:
1-Trade in the black for charcoal or dark brown (as suggested by lauren and zaidie) which are softer colors. Noelle mentioned navy, which would also work if the heroine decided to go off piste.
2-Add more prints that combine the colors (easier said than done, I know)…not just scarves but clothing, like tops, too. This is probably going to take quite a bit of time/effort to find these pieces, though.
3-Introduce darker versions of the green and blue to stair-step in value from the light accents to black…or seek out ombre prints, which I love for this reason
4-Select black items with less optic intensity…some textured/marled/heathered fabrics/knits will look more muted (I like the “dappled” idea mentioned by V). Or wash the black items 100 times so it starts to fade. :)
5-Select pastel items with less of a muted appearance. Linen fabric “softens” a color, to my eye, but it softens black less than pastels, leaving a mismatch in intensity here. Black can look *fantastic* with icy pastels but is tougher to get right with soft, muted, desaturated pastels. More saturated accent colors and/or a change in fabrication for the accents could make a lot of difference.
This also raises the question of how many women would look great in stark black and muted light colors anyway. Is she a black and white high contrast type of heroine or a more muted one? That will help her think about whether to soften the black or brighten the accent colors.
Of course it’s also possible to just create two capsules. It could be along the day/night distinction mentioned by Shrebee or not. To my knowledge there is no law that says you can only have one.
Even the exercise of dividing the capsule into Light, Black, and Crossover sections and Venn-diagramming it might help the heroine think about what she could add to that Crossover area that would work in both capsules. Over time, the two capsules might merge. Or the heroine might decide that she doesn’t need/want the capsules to integrate at all and can work with two mostly separate ones if she likes.
I ALMOST didn’t post this because it felt “off,” but I knew that there’s as much to be learned – probably more – from things that don’t go perfectly…
I’m glad you see that side of things, too!
hugs,
Janice
While I don’t have problem with the black here, I’d swap out the black for a deep camel. Actually this is where I see my wardrobe headed for the summer.
In any case, it’s a lovely post today.
I’m so glad you posted this difficult wardrobe. These are exactly the colors I struggle with. I live in a place where black is omnipresent, and navy stands out in a weird way. I look very washed out in black so try to keep it on the lower half of my body. My favorite colors are warm green and blue – that beautiful green is impossible to find! I have tried to go charcoal instead of black, it works better than navy but it’s still not exactly right. This post helps explain why I have so much trouble, and the comments have many good ideas on how to work on things. Thanks everyone!
I also found this a really interesting discussion. I am another who would have no problem mixing the accents with black, but I don’t look good with solid black near my face.
The different perceptions of the colours are interesting too. When I first looked at the painting, I saw a very dark aubergine in the tree trunks, which I think would go very well with the accent colours – though whether it would be possible to actually *find* linen trousers in deep aubergine is another matter altogether!
Not sure why the heroine wouldn’t wear her accents with black. They look fine together to me and very practical. To each their own I guess :)
Having soft summer colouring, cool and muted, black near my face makes me washed out. For years, I stuck rigidly to a no black wardrobe unless I had to wear it for a concert. This even went so far as not having a floral pattern on a black background but that was because I didn’t have black shoes. However, a similar debate about black in this group, discussed the idea of finding blacks to suit you because blacks have an underlying tone of blue, green, red, or occasionally purple and brown. I then realised that I could wear blue-black, red-black or purple-black as the underlying colours suit be. It is but probably best worn as a dress broken up with a pattern near and I can always wear coloured shoes.
My solution to black in summer came from reading a colour style book which suggested wearing black marl or black tweed. The marling comes from the addition of white threads so the overall effect is charcoal grey. Same with black and white tweed or houndstooth.
I have found some black marl linen trousers for summer which look lovely with periwinkle blue and light aqua greens.
However, my biggest challenge at the moment is trying to create a wardrobe for April and May which is adaptable for highly changeable weather. We have a saying in the UK – “Ne’er cast a clout, till May is out”. Clout means cloth or clothing. So in other words “Don’t take off winter clothing until May has gone”. Two weeks ago, I was still wearing three layers, a coat, hat and gloves! Then the weather suddenly warmed up and Easter weekend has been very warm – temperatures reached 24C (75F). I haven’t swapped wardrobes yet but polonecks and thick jumpers, even in lighter colours, were wholly inappropriate. I get caught out like this every year but my accessible spring/summer garments were too small (ahem) or I didn’t have the right colour tee available to go with a new skirt. You might think then that the weather is set fair. However, though it was sunny, there was a cool breeze and in May, we can have some sharp frosts. So this is my conundrum, making my wardrobe versatile for seasonal transitions. I may add that I have the same problem at the end of summer. Blouses with roll-up sleeves are an option but the one such blouse I had available could only be worn with the light grey trousers which I’d just put in the wash.
On Easter Sunday, we were visiting a garden and I wanted to wear something lighter as it was very warm. My winter colours and clothing was largely inappropriate. I found some navy cotton trousers and a thinner periwinkle blue cardigan but was stuck for a white or ivory top. Then I remembered that I’d kept back plain teeshirts to wear under shirts in winter. I’d put them in a drawer with camis, slips and thermal vests. A white tee was ideal. I found a scarf I recently bought from a charity shop – periwinkle blue with pink flowers. Later on as we sat on a bench I the sun, I noticed that the fine stripe on my husband’s brown shirt was also periwinkle. He was also wearing brown trousers and a beige jacket. Not that we try to blend our outfits but it gave me the idea that periwinkle would look good with dark brown. So perhaps next winter periwinkle will be another accent colour that stays put, along with some thin cardigans and short sleeve or lighter coloured tops. My husband has fewer clothes so his summer shirts are folded up in a box in the bottom of his wardrobe and his summer jackets and blazers are easily accessible to. There is a lesson here – have fewer clothes all year round!
I think the essence of the problem is, that all other colors are very light, and black makes a very strong contrast with all of them. So my suggestion would be to add one more color- a medium shade to bridge pieces and soften overall look. Denim could work, or undyed linen, which is a slightly greenish darker beige…
My 2nd suggestion would be to replace the black with very dark brown, like dark chocolate brown. “There’s no pitch black in nature”, as my art teacher used to say… Of course, such a shade would be another hard to find color.
I think Lands End do, or have done, trousers in a very dark brown-black called Black Coffee.
I loved this mildly ‘wonky’ wardrobe. I think the discussion on how to make it work better is so educational. And my wardrobe certainly has some wonky items that I struggle with – although I have much less of this kind of thing now that I am a regular reader of TVF!
The various solutions – a day/night capsule, adding accessories that help bridge the gap, finding a medium stepping stone color, finding prints that help merge the pieces, choosing a different ‘dark’ color – all so interesting.
Perhaps another series exploring each of these ideas and seeing how they work out? I LOVED the four part scarf series and I’d be happy to see this series too!! I think we learn as much from what doesn’t work as we do from what does.
I second this idea. I have a few ‘wonky items’, mainly because my mind’s eye can’t find the colour I want in reality.
Oh, Barb, what a great idea! Yes, if Janice would be willing to work out the suggested solutions for us, I too would love to see the variety of fixes. I learn more from seeing examples both right and wrong, so this would be a good exercise. Actually, didn’t Janice have an early 52 week that she used to demonstate evaluating a wardrobe in a manner like this where a few pieces were wonky and she replaced them at the end?
Beth t just for information it’s the May blossom on the blackthorn bush not the month of May that the saying refers to.
I have no problem with black and blue together but I would pick out the white from the painting rather than the green. Black, blue, beige and white I don’t think you can go wrong but I personally like floaty black in the summer as anything else looks too heavy I think.
Thanks Cherry. It does stand to reason that it is referring to the May blossom. Although, our fickle UK climate means that I still keep a couple of polonecks and a thick jumper in my wardrobe for cold snaps in summer!
Hi Janice and Everyone! When I first saw the painting and color choices, I thought: I don’t know if I’m going to like this one…! But I do like the pieces that were chosen, and the thought process into our heroine’s color dilemma.
I am in the camp of wearing black in the summer with these accent colors. I think it depends on the weight of the item and what temperature it is going to be. I have a sleeveless v-neck black tunic in a jersey-ish fabric from Chico’s via consignment which is one of my favorite dressy summer pieces, day or night. I think the black tunic seems misplaced because it looks like too much fabric for a hot day.
I keep telling myself that I can wear black in the summer because I stay out of the sun! Therefore, the black doesn’t heat up…. (that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!)
hugs,
Janice
You can replace the black with medium-gray with black undertones instead of blue. That would satify the painting.
You can replace the black with medium-gray with black undertones instead of blue. That would satisfy the painting.
This is a beautiful painting and wardrobe inspiration. I love the greens and pale blues, and don’t have any problem wearing them with black linen. I live in an area that doesn’t get overly hot (other than last year’s “heat dome”) and wear black often in the summer, with pale blue or white shirts.