April 29, 2022
She wasn’t sure that she loved the painting, but she saw something in it that REALLY spoke to her…
She’s Always Been a Towhead
She violated all of those pieces of advice about looking at art, and she got up REALLY CLOSE to the painting…
THIS is what she saw, that called to her:
Her hair was turning from blond white to just plain (amazing!) white. She avoided the sun, as all wise women do. And she embraced the soft, the pale, the subtle muted colors that suited her so well…
if I didn’t already have a white summer cardigan…
white line muscle tank – J.Crew; cardigan – Lands’ End; white linen pants – J.Crew; cropped chino pants – Lands’ End
Beige is the core of her wardrobe – winter, summer, no matter! And light grey wool, in the cool weather…
She’s excited to add some light green to her wardrobe! It seems so obvious…
Of COURSE she wants beautiful light blue…
Short-sleeved shirt – J.Crew; long-sleeved shirt – J.Crew; pants – J.Crew; embroidery sleeve t-shirt – Sophie Cameron Davies
When she assembles her wardrobe for the warmer weather, she feels so at home…
Before she makes any permanent commitments to buy anything, she sorts out some accessories, and double-checks that everything will work well together; planning is NEVER a bad idea!
Sunglasses – Boden; beige acetate earrings – J.Crew; gold hoop earrings – Talbots; green floral scarf – Nordstrom; beige bracelet – Swarovski; beige & light blue bandana – J.Crew; bag – J.Crew; slingback canvas flats – Boden; pale gold espadrilles – Boden
So far, at least on screen, everything looks beautiful!
But is it practical? Will she be able to get dressed for a week or so without having to do laundry, and without being tempted to dash into Nordstrom for an extra tee shirt or 2?
Does EVERYBODY agree that she must have blue eyes?
love,
Janice
p.s. Nine years ago (holy moley!), we accented a beige and white wardrobe with lots of turquoise. This is timeless…
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Well done Janice – I really love the softness but it isn’t insipid. The more my hair goes grey (white underneath), the more I am drawn to soft muted cool colours. The accessories are lovely too, though I would include some of the other accessories from the previous incarnations this week.
I’ve enjoyed this short series – three different takes on the same theme. It shows how much variety we probably have in our own wardrobes. It is easy to get into a rut of putting outfits together and sticking to the same combinations.
My tweaks would be ivory and silver grey instead of white. My green would be mint or beach glass. I’m looking forward to getting my summer clothes out, this weekend. May Day is the first day of summer for me.
The close-up you use would also make good “wallpaper” for a cell phone or tablet. That way you’re pleased every time the phone rings. And you remember where you visited the painting. I use an enlargement from a Renoir background.
So I absolutely mean no offense at all when I say I am bored with this wardrobe. Which only goes to show the softer muted colors – for the most part – are not for me personally. I very much like the blue and have some in my closet – I find it restful and calming. I also have many shades of green in my closet from muted to bright emerald. I just seem to also require some brighter colors and higher contrast. Which is interesting, because I’ve never really thought about contrast in relation to what I have in my closet until recently. I think Sally in St. Paul comments on contrast. It’s something I’ve gotten from reading TVF for sure, because it’s not something I’ve considered before. So I shall head out this morning in black pants, and a red floral shirt under a yellow sweater. Yes, the floral has yellow in it as well the the periwinkle blue and olive. Quite a contrast to yesterday when I wore a column of minty green. Thank you Janice for all the lessons and have a great weekend everyone – shall look forward to everyone’s comments.
The Nordstrom scarf pulls this wardrobe together! I love blues and greens but the colors in this wardrobe are too pale for me. They would look lovely on a true blonde like Jill Biden.
These colours are so soft and pretty. I gravitate to more saturated colours but am consciously seeking out some paler colours as my natural colouring is fading.
think today’s heroine might also have green eyes.
Signed,
A green-eyed blonde with whitening hair. 😉
I’ve got green eyes, Wendy. My natural hair colour is Ash Brown but going grey with white underneath.
Ahh, I could see that!
hugs,
Janice
I saw my future self in this one a bit since I have eyes that can look blue or green depending on what I wear, but my blonde hair hasn’t started to grey/whiten yet!
Beautiful colors. Wish they suited me. Well done.
I agree with Sheila, that this wardrobe is a bit pale for my liking. Haha I thought there was too much contrast in the last one and not enough in this one! Just call me Goldilocks!
However, that is totally personal taste because the choices are just so good. I feel like the accessories really give these outfits a quiet elegance
Well, I have the white hair and blue eyes, but I never wear very pale colors because I fade away and disappear. Adding deep turquoise to the beiges, as in your nine years ago post, or sapphire blue or hot pink, is more to my taste. Or of course, my beloved black.
I think she just needs a good summer hat. But otherwise, beautiful. I can see my mother wearing this and she has white hair and bright blue eyes.
I find it interesting that you gave this heroine four pairs of linen pants.
I am a recent convert to linen pants in summer. I do hate the way they get stretched out when I sit in them for too long, but I love the coverage and the light weight when the days get especially humid.
I adore the soft green pieces. Well done!
J. Crew has quite a few pieces in that pistachio color (that’s what they call it) And I do have a tshirt and a striped shirt from that collection I wear frequently. It’s prettier in person. Still debating on the linen pants – not sure I have enough other tops that will look good with them, and I need them to be very functional/versatile….. I just couldn’t do an entire wardrobe with the muted colors….
Oh my, I must be in the minority today. I love the feeling of floating in clouds that the colours give. Now, I would adjust the green to a more minty one to suit my colouring better, but I could be happy with these shades. I can see why those ladies that are silver-haired might want more colour, but just going to a deeper shade might take care of that. Granted, I have my own vibrant tone without needing to seek it out in clothing because of my hair. Think Maureen O’Hara or Susan Hayward. In fact, today I ended up with a white top, mint cardigan and since it’s Friday, a pair of medium blue jeans.
Hi Janice and Everyone: For some crazy reason this combination of colors works so well. Removing the black or navy just makes everything blend together, in a good way, much like the painting makes all of these colors work together. I still would lean toward a minty green…and do I see an errant splotch of gold in the upper left corner-? That would be interesting…
I liked the look back post of turquoise with the beige/brown common wardrobe.
I missed the lookback post at first. Beige/brown with turquoise and that dark orange is gorgeous; of course blue-green and red-orange are complementary colors, and I love the drama of that color contrast.
Scroll to p.s. the end of the post and click on the words “Nine years ago” to go to the look back post.
These colors are lovely…relaxing and peaceful. And my systematic brain likes the clean layout of the 16 items as 4 color-based rows. For the right low-contrast-loving, linen-adoring heroine, this wardrobe is terrific. I was pleasantly surprised to see the variety in color in the bottom pieces with at least in each of the wardrobe’s four colors!
This low tops-to-bottoms ratio would make me feel a little on edge as I prefer at least 2 tops per bottom, but I just mentally add an extra top to each row to get the sense of abundance I need there. And I really don’t know what I would do with that extra long “beach shirt” in a non-beach context. It seems like it would be a bit long and stiff to wear as a topper over pants. One of those pieces you would need to put through its paces before deciding to buy/keep.
I just met this blog a few days ago and since then I have been reading it about nine hours a day! Janice, I cannot thank you enough for creating this resource! I ran across the capsule wardrobe concept in the early 90s but I never really understood how to put an outfit together, so I never got the full benefit. I just stumbled around a lot. The way you use stories to share your thought process has, for me, filled in some big gaps in my style education. It’s as if a kind, loving friend took me by the hand, flipped on a light switch, and helped me see a world of joyful beauty in a whole new way. ❤️
Dear Susan,
I AM a kind, loving friend – we just haven’t met yet!
hugs,
Janice
I adore these colors and this wardrobe!!
I am a brunette (with caramel highlights), hazel eyes and pale skin tone. I’ve always gravitated toward muted tones and softer colors. Brights just aren’t my friend, although they look spectacular on others. And, it took me a while to figure that out.
So I am swooning over the posts with these colors! Actually, too many temptations, but so enjoyable! ha ha
Ooh, Janice…I would love to suggest an artist for a later wardrobe. I find myself falling more for the amazing beauty created by Alphonse Maria Mucha. It may be the combination of the swirling lines and the gold and peach tones that are in a startling contrast to the unexpected pop of turquoise and emerald in some of his pieces…but I could stare at the images for a long time quite happily.
Mucha is WONDERFUL – I will look at him very soon, I promise!
hugs,
Janice
This is a wardrobe I could easily wear, with a few adjustments. The colors would be refreshing long about July. I would replace the white bottoms with light or mid wash denim or chambray, as I am not neat enough for white pants. And I have very little experience with linen. The last time I wore it was years ago and it was very wrinkly and not very machine washable. I suspect this has changed. I would look for loose cotton pants if I could find them. And, as I am short, I don’t know how I would style the beach tunic. But I am sure there are regular length shirts in that color. I have found something to inspire in each of the three versions of this, and enjoy the wide variety of opinions. Also Alphonse Mocha’s work is fascinating.
This is a perfect wardrobe for me. I have grey eyes that can go blue or blue green depending on what I wear. I recently switched to light neutrals (black is my true love but I have cats and I’m working on simplifying my life. Cat hair is a terrible mess on black). I adore both the blue and green shades you chose.