May 13, 2022
Why yes, many of you got a lengthy preview of this post on Thursday! My domestic responsibilities managed to do a distract me from my normal organizing skills (ahem…), and I neglected to put an appropriate scheduling time on the release of this post. Sigh…
Love,
Janice
They love this scarf for very different reasons…
And they will all find something different in it…
Clary
Yes, they all suspect that her real name is Clara. She publishes historical romance novels, and that soft, flowery, ruffled aesthetic seems to permeate much of her life!
Cashmere cardigan- J.Crew; green amethyst earrings – Auree Jewellery; Desert Lynx bracelets – Fierce Lynx Designs; weathered sand linen tee – J.Crew; chino pants – J.Crew; scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; tote – Fable England; ballet flats – Sam Edelman
She’s the woman that you see walking along the beach in a long skirt – perfectly, winsomely tied to keep it dry! She has these skills…
Green earrings – Mounir London; sapphire earrings – Gemondo; El Amor Silk Bandana by Lost Pattern NYC; green amethyst pendant – Mounir London; indigo cardigan – L.L.Bean; smocked top – J.Crew; floral tee shirt – Erdem; smocked waist skirt – Vince; green bag – Sinbono; indigo pants – L.L.Bean; bracelet – A Blonde and Her Bag; floral top – Vince; floral espadrilles – 8 by Yoox; blue espadrilles – Bella Vita
This travel capsule wardrobe could belong to no one else!
Even though she’s packing three printed garments, she still has plenty of outfit possibilities to get her through a weekend with her loving friends:
Does every group of friends have a true romantic among them?
love,
Janice
p.s. Eight years ago, our art inspiration was the oh so famous Girl with the Pearl Earring. Bright blue, warm gold and brown, and lots of black!
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Well, this was a nice surprise – checked in at work and found an unexpected post today! Does that mean there will not be one tomorrow? AND let me say, I have a couple of items in the J.Crew faded pistachio and it’s prettier in person – a very soft green. Even though I have a few soft green colors in my closet, I have to admit I still favor the Sunny wardrobe from yesterday. I mentioned this last week, but Fierce Lynx just added a spring green bracelet set that is just amazing. Cheers!
I was excited too for the early post ( but dated the 13th) . Perhaps Friday the 13th is messing with you Janice?!?! Yikes! I will take it though. These aren’t my colors as much but I like the boho style and the fun long skirt. That cardigan looks so cozy! I need to get a warm navy cardigan before fall this year. I finally realized that while I have some of my colors sorted I don’t have all my things in the right weight. My only navy cardigan (my core color) is a lightweight one, same for pants. That’s an area to grow this year.
The pistachio color is lovely (and prettier in person? swoon) and the items selected for the travel outfit are perfect. Of course you had me at “Wonderland” with the tote bag print. I don’t care for the poofy, super-feminine items in the bag, but substitute in floral items with simpler silhouettes and a pair of closed-toe flat espadrilles for the wedges, and I would happily wear this one.
The contrast between the love scarf and the rest of the wardrobe is really stark! I can see why this heroine picked out the soft green and indigo colors from it for her travel wardrobe, as I don’t think the bold optic print and colors of the love scarf work at all for her aesthetic. Am I the only one who thinks that when she wears the fourth outfit…the indigo “suit” with white top and love scarf…she is wearing her most lacy feminine underthings underneath it so she still feels like herself? I’m guessing the greatest appeal of the love scarf is that it’s based on Love in the Time of Cholera, which (if I remember the plot correctly) could definitely appeal to a woman (romance novelist no less) with a strong romantic side! (I admit that I didn’t finish the book, though I do remember about the parrot and the mango tree!)
If you were wondering what’s the deal with the odd scarf motif and the book some commenters are referencing, click through on the love scarf link and the item description explains that Love in the Time of Cholera inspired the design.
Sally Was just thinking that although this heroine loves her friends….not sure her love extends to a purchase of this particular scarf . It only works with the blue outfit which doesn’t really mirror her aesthetic making it look like she bought the scarf to please her friends and will donate it or gift it after their get together. The scarf is aggressive and bold in its colour way and I see her wearing something with swallows or swans in her preferred soft, pretty colours. I would wear the parrots in a heartbeat as I love those birds as well as those colours. For Mother’s Day I was gifted a lovely scarf with hydrangeas printed on it in soft greens, lavenders and blues, believe me I am calling on all the knowledge I’ve gleaned from this blog to work it into my wardrobe and I’ve had some success.Yeah VF!!
I just love it when you pull pieces together that are a notch or two above casual/core pieces! It’s also fun to see matching separates that form a dress when worn together. I love that versatility.
I absolutely love this wardrobe. It is so me, although very unpractical for my current lifestyle. I would buy that skirt in a heartbeat and love the shoes too. It is also very clever too have the option to wear the floral top and skirt together to look like a dress.
Hmm…I really like the green. The softness is so serene. Not a huge fan of the sleeves on the top that matches the skirt. Also feel like the blue cardi & pants may not have the soft romantic vibe as the rest of the pieces…I would swap out that floral top for a solid color that has a mandarin collar with modest keyhole cut-out. Also would look for a more flowing type cardi…maybe a big ruffle at collar and cuff. The pants…maybe a more high waist and wider leg to give more of a swishy fabric feel. A romantic at heart may be drawn to dripping ruffles, hint of glamourous vintage travel and voluminous fabric.
Oh how lovely. I like the green but whether it is too yellow for me needs to be tried out. I agree with Kari that the blue cardigan could have a ruffled collar and cuffs or a waterfall front. I’m not a fan of the green trousers so I would swap out with stone wide leg trousers. The top matching the skirt and the green top are a bit frou frou for me. The scarf that inspired this wardrobe is too bright for either the green or the blue. Could this demonstrate that just because a colour appears in a scarf, it doesn’t mean that should achieve a dominance in a capsule wardrobe?
Love the look back – it’s one if my favourite paintings.
I was also figuring that the scarf wasn’t working as well as in Sunny’s wardrobe. Until I clicked the link to the scarf and saw it folded! On the image, the model wears it on the head with a simple beige/ivory top and it looks great! The deep red and gold make a nice contrast with the muted more dominant color in her outfit. Sometimes we forget scarfs aren’t worn as paintings :D
On a different topic, I think Cherry was asking the other day for ideas to store shoes. To me the game changer has been moving the ones in season to the entryway as Germans or Canadians. Either you have a space to call a mudroom or you have a compact rack and a shoe bag to hang on a wall – like me -, is really practical to put on shoes when you’re ready to go out and then take them out the first thing you arrive home.
Happy weekend to all!
Agree re: wearing a scarf, not a painting
I have scarves with colors/patterns that look very different depending on the fold or tie of the scarf.
And of course smaller scarves that look different tied on a handbag vs. On my body or head.
Many women kind of freshen their makeup every hour or so. I freshen my scarf to be sure it is still laying right and flattering
Janice,
I am loving the soft feel of the minty or pistachio green with the indigo — a perfect combination !
The Still Life silk scarf is absolutely lovely !
I love all your posts and one of the things I like most is how often you switch styles and colors. I don’t care for most of the clothes in this one, and I don’t like the color scheme (for me, that is — I can see that they would suit some other people very well). But that’s actually better than loving all the clothes and all the color schemes, because that helps me pay attention to your methods and how they work for a variety of people and styles. Whenever I love the clothes and colors, I tend to start thinking about how I would love to have all of them instead of how to use what you’re demonstrating. Your stories and invented people make it so much fun to see how the principles work!
Every one of these items would look right at home in my closet, so I must be a romantic like “Clara.” Thank you for this style inspiration. I’ve saved this post for reference.
Hi Janice and Everyone: Thank you (again) for the color combo of indigo/Navy blue with the sage/pistachio green. They work well with the white and ivory/stone. I am not a ruffly person but I do like how it is out together.