May 2, 2022
Let’s visit our gradually growing wardrobes, based on beautiful scarves from PJ Studio Accessories!
Hydrangea modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
This month, it was SO easy to shop for this wardrobe! I can’t imagine how I personally would get through the summer without a shirtdress in a light fabric…
Lucite earrings – Shashi; green linen sweater – GAP; linen dress – J.Crew; Fierce Tranquility bracelets – Fierce Lynx Designs; linen pants – Saks Fifth Avenue; navy sandals – Munro
Each of these wardrobes now includes 19 garments – pretty much enough to get through the summer! If you’re inclined to participate in the “21 Garments, 21 Days” challenges, any of these wardrobe plus a couple of tops would get you through the next 21 days pretty easily. Yes, some of these garments are skewed a bit toward cooler weather; some substitutions might be needed…
All the shoes you might need – from boots to sandals!
How might one wear their 3 new garments, within the context of their existing wardrobe? Let’s see:
Next up, the endless quest for brown continues!
Having said that – I didn’t choose ANYTHING brown this month! I found a dress that’s lovely, a simple, basic sweater, and pants that are NOT versatile… Sometimes, you find things that just make you smile, and that’s worth a certain amount of practicality and utility!
earrings – Talbots; linen sweater – Nic+Zoe; wrap dress – Nissa; bracelet – Talbots; brown sandals – Dolce Vita; floral pants – Ted Baker
This wardrobe is certainly unexpected, but it “hangs together” with a coherent feel, thanks to the scarf that literally ties it together!
I don’t know that I would ever get enough turquoise jewelry, if it was a favorite color!
Our heroine’s new garments bring some interesting options to her life! Of course, she would want to wear her floral pants with her new white sweater, too…
Now, let’s look at my (current) favorite; I’ve not had an opportunity to wear my brown linen yet, but I’m already happy with brown and black together in my wardrobe!
I’m particularly smitten with these six items…
Barn owl earrings – Fable England; black linen shift dress – J.Crew; Fierce Creativity bracelets – Fierce Lynx Designs; paperwhite cotton sweater – L.L.Bean; red oak pants – Boden; sandals – Free People
Of course, in the best of all possible worlds (thanks, Voltaire!) the pants and the reddish-brown tops would be exactly the same color. We do NOT live in the best of all possible worlds…
I think that next month’s accessories will skew toward black…
I would wear EVERY ONE OF THESE OUTFITS. I almost never say that…
This next color palette feels quintessentially spring-like to me…
Sampler modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
This sweater is LOVELY… and it comes in light blue AND bright orange; we may see it again…
And the shirtdress… sigh…
AND THE EARRINGS!!!
(I’m having a shopping lust moment…)
Pink opal earrings – Ross-Simons; cream pointelle cotton sweater – L.L.Bean; pink shirtdress – GAP; bracelets – Talbots; sandals – Talbots; cropped pants – L.L.Bean
I could imagine being gone for MONTHS with this wardrobe… the entire US in 3 months? 12 European countries in 12 weeks? Bring it on!
It’s interesting how the aggregation of a number of pretty things can have much more impact than any single object, isn’t it?
A heroine traveling with this wardrobe would rarely be at a loss as to what to wear…
This next wardrobe has been quite… dark… what with the large amounts of grey I’ve included.
Chrysanthemum modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
Time to lighten it up a bit!
Light mint cotton sweater – L.L.Bean; earrings – Pequitobun Jewellery; green pants – Boden; bracelet – Auree Jewellery; linen shirtdress – Haris Cotton; espadrilles – Esprit
These espadrilles make a LOT of difference for this heroine!
While this wardrobe still feels like it belongs to someone in a mostly cool climate, we can clearly see that warm weather is coming!
I think that I’m going to need to find this heroine a necklace or another scarf next month!
She still doesn’t struggle to get dressed…
Et enfin, let us admire the work of John Ruskin – one nutty but talented man!
Ruskin’s Meadow modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
FINALLY – some duck-egg blue pieces! And a dress than I really tried to resist, but to which I finally succumbed…
earrings – Talbots; duck egg blue tee shirt – BC; green dress – Haris Cotton; bracelet – Kendra Scott; cropped chino pants – BOSS; sandals – Talbots
Those 2 light blue garments make a lot of difference, don’t they?
Her accessories really cover a wide range of her needs and preferences:
Her wardrobe options continue to expand; always remember that if you bring something into your home and can’t find AT LEAST 3 ways to wear it, you need to think…
I’m not saying don’t buy it, I’m just suggesting that you be absolutely sure about what you’re doing!
Remember, I bought a brown sweater, not all that long ago…
So where has your heart (or your brain!) landed this month? While I’m pretty committed to black and brown, I don’t know that I wouldn’t be able to manage with any of these wardrobe for a few months…
love,
Janice
p.s. Seven years ago, we started with a basic 5-piece navy wardrobe, and then accented it with ORANGE! Why not?
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
I love the Ruskin Meadow wardrobe! The colors are similar to my current wardrobe with olive as my dark neutral and teal, ivory, and caramel accents. It felt too dark for the spring so I have been looking for lighter blue and teal pieces. The robin’s egg blue shirt is just what I have been searching for!
I’m with you Janice, this month I could go with any of them. And yes, sometimes you buy something that just makes you smile. I bought a pair of lightweight summer pants that have a navy background and a lemon print! Still embracing the yellow, and I can also wear them w/green. We had the coolest April since 2011, and apparently that trend is not changing any time soon, so I may be wearing sweaters for awhile. Always look forward to these monthly posts and see what you are doing next!
PS Fierce Lynx recently released a gorgeous green bracelet – works with Tree of Life green.
I am leaning towards the last wardrobe. I love the olive and dark teal, and that lighter blue has been a great addition. I’m not thrilled about the mustard yellow. I was looking closer at the scarf and i think I would ditch the yellow, keeping gold jewelry. I would try to pull out the soft mauve in the flowers. I think that would look gorgeous with the olive for summer.
I totally agree with you about ditching the mustard and adding mauve instead. Olive + any kind of dusky or muted pink is just so pretty. I like your idea of keeping the gold jewelry in this one, which I hadn’t thought of!
I still love the navy Hydrangea collection, probably because all the colors work for me. This month my second favorite is the quintessentially spring Sampler wardrobe. Great work on all of these, Janice!
Love, Love, the Barn Owl earrings!!! I’m not crazy about the scarf but am really starting to love the “sampler scarf” wardrobe.
I just can’t settle on loving everything from just one of these. I adore the bright turquoise and yellow in ginko, the greens in tree of life and sampler and have a strong pull to the gold mustard in Ruskin. Could anyone see a wardrobe of white and pale rosy sand/stone accented with those colours? I just might see how many things I already own in those colours that I could pull out for a mid-May to mid-June capsule…but would it work?
I think that would be so fun! You should pull out the colors and see what you think. But I am all about color. In fact I am basing my spring/summer capsule on navy and denim (cognac brown for leather goods) and then adding french fives in bright pink, royal blue, turquoise and mustard. I love the ginko scarf collection first and the hydrangea second. Those pants that go with the ginko scarf are amazing!
Kristi – your response prompted me to look at my own closet and I realize I’ve also got navy as a neutral with fives in shades of green, yellow, and still working on light blue/french blue. If I get bored with those I can always pull out the black neutrals and the red and purple things I’ve put away temporarily because I was so bored with them. My problem is always going beyond five things…..
Sheila, I think 5 is just a ball park figure… or at least that’s how I think of it! :)
Navy is my pick to wear with the addition of the second mint piece (though I would love to see a white T in this one). Beige continues to be just so delightful to look at…if I could get over my beige pants aversion, it would be my favorite because the pink and green accents are so fresh and wonderful (though I am ho-hum on the scarf itself).
Best accessory option of the month award goes to the barn owl earrings, which are gorgeous and whimsical!
Best column of color addition goes to the duck egg sweater + pants, which look great together and with both the olive and, especially, the teal. Replace the gold in the Ruskin olive wardrobe with (what appears to be in the image) the pink from the scarf and it would be my hands-down “heck yes, I’d wear this wardrobe” pick.
I love all your picks this month, but that turquoise and yellow wardrobe has really been catching my eye. What a gorgeous May!
Those golden print pants!!! Genius with the scarf:) what a fun find. I am enjoying watching these wardrobes come together and may be getting those navy sandals – I’ve been looking for a pair for quite awhile and the ones you found are perfect.
My ADHD brain is all over the place this morning! Starting with the navy shirt dress: I had one in a cotton silk a few decades (and a few pounds) ago. It is madly versatile! And pairing it with the slingbacks is just elegant. I’ve noted the three-strand pearl necklaces are making a comeback. Wouldn’t one of those look beautiful with that dress?
I love how you used metallics on the shoe choices in a few of the wardrobes. I eschewed metallics for too long! Talk about versatile, especially if the shoe is simple and classic.
I have another thought about the gold-yellow and white floral pants to stretch their versatility: blue top and the focus scarf ties the blue and yellow/gold together! Yes, I would pair the two florals. Or tuck a white tee and add a brown or blue belt. You’re right about them being one of those WOW pieces.
You’ve done it again with the beautiful and worthwhile accessories. I have quite a few scarves & brooches left over from my TV days and they’re going to get worn this year!
It almost slipped by me, but here’s another Janice Gem I’m taking to heart:
“always remember that if you bring something into your home and can’t find AT LEAST 3 ways to wear it, you need to think…
I’m not saying don’t buy it, I’m just suggesting that you be absolutely sure about what you’re doing!”
So True!
I have been struggling with wearing scarves. One day I feel chic and the next I wrestle with tying it and look like I have no neck. I am struggling a bit with this years wardrobes, also. I am repulsed by golden yellow, don’t like purple or the sampler print scarf. By process of elimination, I am left with brown and black. Still fun to study the capsules. I really, already, have plenty of clothes.
Brava Janice! I love them all!
I’m still loving the navy/Hydrangeas and the grey/Chrysanthemums. But I am totally 💯% smitten with the turquoise wrap dress from the brown/Ginkgo collection. Probably a good thing the don’t carry my size. I need to “let it go” not bring it home. LOL.
Building with Tree of Life. Every month has challenged me to use what I have or to grow in certain areas to develop an organized wardrobe with you all. What fun to see Fierce Lynx this month! Because it is similar, I can use my Fierce Lynx June birthstone bracelet :) ALL the six scarves wardrobes are SO MUCH FUN. I love waiting to see each new month…
This month, the sampler scarf is getting my vote. It appeals to the experiment I began a couple of years ago with pink and green and light brown/taupe.
Whilst I love the hydrangea and chrysanthemums scarves, I’m not a fan of the heavy emphasis on navy or dark grey. I just don’t see navy in such a large amount in the hydrangea scarf – the greens and pinks dominate with soft heather purple on the edges and touches of ivory. The light navy/indigo trousers are a much better fit as would denim. The green jumper and the Fierce Tranquility bracelets are lovely. I have a similar colour cotton jumper which I shall keep out for summer. I would balance the grey in the chrysanthemums with a soft slate blue or teal blue trousers or skirt.
My other favourite, surprisingly, is the gingko scarf. I wear turquoise in high summer. It is just so well balanced.
I agree with others who would like to see the soft mauve brought in for the Ruskin scarf. It would look lovely with olive and duck egg blue. The yellow feels too strong and could be limited to gold jewellery.
I’m never going to be a fan of the Tree of Life at this time of year. It just seems too dark. However, the owl earrings are too cute for words.
I’m really liking the sampler this time! But I might toss in the duck egg items added to the Ruskin, they look so nice. Agree also that I wouldn’t mind having any of these in a bag to travel without packing…!
BTW, the link to those cute butterfly pink opal earrings takes me to a pair of linen pants (!).
Cheers y’all!
Of only I could wear yellow. I would wear those trousers with any of the tops on show, I would just need to be careful with the choices I make for layers. And a pair’s of bottoms that weren’t brown were needed here.
The pink dress is objectively nice, but not me. I think a similar length version of either the black or turquoise dresses would be my option, otherwise linen/light cotton equivalent of a sweater dress or some other fit and flare type.
I have studied these wardrobes for nearly two days. (yes I might have a bit of time on my hands). They all are great for what they are, barring colors I just can’t wear. They seem to be way more complete than Mays in previous years. It was good strategy to front load January and February with core pieces. And now even the accessories are pretty complete, or close enough for me. Still love tree of life; can’t wear it. However. The colors in the Chrysanthemum set have caused me to dump grey as my second neutral. Seeing such a quantity of it made me realize it just is not my best color. Ruskin’s Meadow is now my favorite, and olive my second neutral. I could wear the yellow if it were a toned down wheat or soft corn yellow. And the soft blue now looks wonderful.
Janice, I was going back through the 2022 scarf wardrobes to pull out clothes from my closet in my colors that mimic your clothes and this post didn’t come up with all the others. It looks like it doesn’t have the 6 scarves, 12 months tag that the others do. Just a heads up! :)
The ‘May’ set is finally photographed; I had to do a little fudging. But I think it works. https://sewrandom.blogspot.com/2022/11/start-with-scarf-2022-may-set.html
Y’all, this graphic design work is tough stuff. Mucho props to Janice for doing it so well and making it look so fantastic.