July 13, 2022
Self-Esteem
She’s among the many who have to be back in their office – 10 days a month… (who’s going to be counting these days, eh?)
She has completely changed clothing sizes during the pandemic, and she’s changed her attitude toward work. Since she’s been saving her clothing budget since spring of 2020, she’s going to be a little bit extravagant (okay, really extravagant!) and make a personal statement of confidence when she gets dressed!
So she’s already reserved the best office available (the entire place is now running on a “hotel desk” system…), and she’s going to start looking and acting like she should be in charge…
Tee – L.L.Bean; crystal earrings – Cartilage Cartel; black pants – L.L.Bean; crystal-embellished leather jacket – Philipp Plein; bag – Sostter; boots – Vionic
She’s starting with 2 simple pieces of black clothing that are VERY comfortable. After working at home for over 2 years, the very idea of wearing something uncomfortable seems ridiculous.
Diamond earrings – Dana Rebecca Designs; frog prince brooch – Simon Harrison; tee – L.L.Bean; black pants – L.L.Bean; velvet jacket – 8 by Yoox; ballet flats – Guilhermina
And then she’s going to indulge in jackets and sweaters, beautiful shoes, and scarves and jewelry…
tee – L.L.Bean; black pants – L.L.Bean; labradorite earrings – Chan Luu; infinity scarf – Orvis; heather fog cashmere sweater – J.Crew; black ballet flats – J.Crew
Some days she will look rather relaxed…
tee – L.L.Bean; garnet earrings – Ross-Simons; black pants – L.L.Bean; cardigan – Raices by Maud; scarf – Saz Mifsud; boots – Pikolinos
Other days, when she has meetings to attend, she’s going to look more serious. She’s sitting near the top of the table, and will NO LONGER be tasked with taking the notes…
Scarf – Vetka; blue pearl earrings – Hatton Labs; tee – L.L.Bean; black pants – L.L.Bean; powder blue blazer – Paul Smith; black velvet loafers – Eileen Fisher
One of her dearest friends begged her permission to copy her idea, but using grey in place of black!
Scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; earrings – Splendid Pearls; charcoal grey tee shirt – Lands’ End; pants – L.L.Bean; rose cashmere cardigan – J.Crew; grey suede loafers – Tod’s
Some of her outfits are high-contrast with bright colors; other days, she mixes warm neutrals in with her grey…
Earrings – Seol + Gold; silver & gold necklace – Ross Simons; charcoal grey tee shirt – Lands’ End; pants – L.L.Bean; camel cashmere sweater – Nordstrom Signature; tan loafers – Massimo Matteo
She realizes that there’s no color that she can’t wear with grey! And she’s not going to always wear silver, even though it’s what conventional wisdom would dictate.
Earrings – Syna; necklace – Dannijo; charcoal grey tee shirt – Lands’ End; pants – L.L.Bean; oversized blazer – Samsøe Samsøe; loafers – Aquatalia
An all-grey outfit takes on a subtle accent of dusty green…
Labradorite earrings – Dean Davidson; scarf – Pig, Chicken & Cow; charcoal grey tee shirt – Lands’ End; pants – L.L.Bean; cashmere cardigan – Prada; loafers – Munro
Grey and brown? Why not?
Smoky topaz earrings – Max + Stone; scarf – Un Poco; charcoal grey tee shirt – Lands’ End; pants – L.L.Bean; tobacco brown cardigan – Paul James Knitwear; loafers – Vionic
In addition to being an easy way to dress for work, this could be a really fun travel capsule wardrobe – a handful of matching tee shirts, a handful of matching pants, and an assortment of gorgeous 2nd layers and accessories…
I could do this!
love,
Janice
p.s. Six years ago (approximately…), I shared what might be my favorite insomniac heroine!
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I will use this idea with navy. In fact, I’m already doing it.
It’s ideal, if you have a neutral column of colour, you can put everything you want on top and it works for every occasion.
Sweater jackets, blazers, very creative patchwork jackets, trenchcoat, silk scarfs etc.
I don’t often dress in a column, preferring patterned tops – but everyone once in awhile I do, and I’ve always found it oddly freeing. hahaha Since I can’t make up my mind about my neutral, I have in my closet the items do to this in either black, gray, or navy. Lucky me. And since I love sweaters and scarves, I’ve plenty of those too! Love this post – Thank you!
I like the Plan. And I simply Must have that embellished leather jacket. 😉
I gaped and then said “Hello Mummy”.
I had a beautiful cream linen biker jacket that always looked amazing. Unfortunately I left it behind in a hotel. A new biker style jacket is on my hunt list.
That’s very much what my fall things are going to look like…well, not crystal embellishments and Prada, but grey underneath and fun on top.
Lovely, Janice! My way of dressing in black and navy now I will branch out and do some shopping for gray items. I recently purged all my printed tops as I feel more put together with the column style, it’s easy, neat and more professional 💗
I bemoaned the ubiquitous term ‘column of colour’ as an excuse for being lazy, lacking in style or just too hungover to make a decision. It’s a great way to travel but as quotidian style it gets boring fast and quickly goes into ‘uniform’ territory. Again, nothing wrong with that (we all on occasion get lazy, lack style or are hungover;) but a wardrobe should not be built around it. Real style requires some effort otherwise one is just ‘getting dressed’. I commented on another blog that at a recent restaurant dinner I counted no less than nine ‘columns’ at various tables. With the exception of the red none looked particularly stylish or chic! As Janice has laid out quite clearly if the ‘column’ is the adopted course of action ensure that the accessories have some wit and style. I’d also consider investing in items on the higher end for the column. They are the ‘heavy lifters’ after all.
Food for thought. I was all set to put a couple of columns together for fall, but if I do, I’ll be sure to take your advice about investing in higher-end shirts and pants.
Funny you mention “lazy” a couple of times. This is the third VF heroine in a short time span who’s been pouting about having to go back to the office in person and whispering “who’s really gonna be counting how many days I show up?” Poor examples of a work ethic, but at least this one seems to be making the best of it with velvet, cashmere, and diamonds.
I enjoyed seeing the luxury items in this post. (Please feature some Hermes scarves on occasion, Janice. I miss them from your early years!)
I second the Hermes scarf request. It’s always good to look at the best.
I’m curious what you do consider business wear that isn’t lazy then. A black suit? A black dress? (I’m not trying to be snarky, but as someone who wore business attire for decades, appropriate attire came and went. This seems perfectly appropriate to me.) And dining out — a different category of dress — I still find black, either a black dress, or black slacks and sweater ala Hepburn plus accessories to be wonderful. I appreciate Janet for demonstrating that the third layer and the accessories are the fun part.
What would suggest to women who are returning to work post-pandemic? Or just to work post-summer?
Wonderful post, Janet, as always! The grey column is the way to go for me and will breathe new life into the blazers, sweaters and scarves already on hand.
Now … about those earrings … wonderful selection. Those blue pearl ones are absolutely stunning, that may be my splurge for the year! Or maybe the Pearl Earrings in the gray/pink ensemble? (The link for the latter seems to be going to the shoes on my end.)
What is a “hotel desk” system?
JeriB, “hotel desking” is when office workers do not have desks of their own but have to reserve a desk. It’s slightly more civilised than “hot-desking” which is first-come, first-served.
I would be very interested in seeing this done with navy and perhaps olive. In keeping with the slightly over the top vibe, although casual might be more useful. When the weather turns, and I know it eventually will, I think about dressing a bit nicer.
Janice, the link to the pearl earrings in the hot-pink sweater outfit goes to the loafers. I know you like to have people tell you, since the sites don’t like you to click all your own links. I had a lovely time browsing the Splendid Pearls site on my own, but I’d rather you got some revenue from my clicks.
I fixed it – thanks for catching the error and letting me know! You’re always so kind…
hugs,
Janice
Absolutely love this! I think my “black” is a charcoal gray. Love the mixing of the grays and browns— something I would not have thought of on my own. Always mixed a neutral with a bright color in the past. Made it hard to mix and match. Enjoying my my trip in Georgia. My all linen, neutral capsule has made it easy to get dressed and I am staying cool without having to show too much skin. Thanks for the help!
This is very similar to what I’m putting together for my own ‘dream wardrobe’ . . . a white top, grey skirt, and various purple accessories (which will eventually grow to include hand crocheted shawls, cardigans, and the like). I already have people commenting about how I always wear something purple, and one gentleman at church calls me ‘the purple girl’.
Why not, right?😄
Absolutely. I’ll join you in purple! In fact, I could easily do a column of purple with grey, teal, blue or pink.
For the small number of times the heroine has to go in, the idea of columns is very practical. Every day, all the time would be boring for me, but on a limited basis, it saves time. I’d love to see this done in ivory, cream or white and also with a non-neutral like aqua or yellow as the column. I think that if it’s a small number of days, then it could be very fun and freeing to apply a twist to the uniformity of the column. My outfit yesterday was a pair of mint slacks, white top and mint cardigan, so not quite a column, but it would have been fun to do. Thanks Janice, I enjoyed the idea presented here.
Such pleasing, lovely outfits! I love the column approach and the accessories are divine.
I enjoy a mix of moderately priced and extravagant items in your wardrobes. I can’t imagine paying more for a jacket than I did for my car, but what a fabulous piece!
Surprisingly, my favorite outfit is the black column + oatmeal sweater + green scarf! I also really like the grey column + pink cardigan (with a different scarf). The black column + burgundy boots is also a great combination. Bonus points to the all-grey outfit for having a rabbit on the scarf!
A column is a very practical basis for an outfit, but I do think there’s a difference between a black column and any other color, even grey and navy, as your every day uniform. People may be less likely to remember what you wear if you only go into the office twice a week, but if you are wearing the same thing every time they see you, some people will notice. I think black (and in many cases blue denim) is such a common neutral that you can more easily get away with wearing the same thing without people noticing. But if you wear a grey or navy or olive or brown column over and over again, I don’t care how you accessorize it, some people will notice. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course! But I think it’s worth considering before adopting such a rigid uniform whether you mind having this particular kind of visibility in the workplace.
I would recommend to the heroine that for a tiny fraction of the cost of one of these designer pieces (the $24,000 jacket – my god – esp. for a woman whose weight recently changed!), she could buy both the grey and black columns, allowing her to both switch up her base column color and mix-and-match the grey and black pieces so she isn’t stuck wearing a column every single day. Even if the mix-and-match is a no-go because our heroine is committed to the column, being able to vary the base outfit color is something to strongly consider.
I definitely like having the inner column option available. I aim to have at least a few neutral or semi-neutral columns for each season. I wear the column components broken up more than I wear them together, but having those paired pieces does make it easier for me to create outfits.
Hi Janice and Everyone: Thank you for the capsules – the two blue blazers jump out at me, and the brown cardigan. The sparkly leather jacket is fun but I will look for a knock-off at my local thrift store ☺.
Today’s post reminds me of a post/strategy on ‘Whatever’s Clean Monday’ for those days when one doesn’t want to think about matching colors or patterns or what looks good together. For the most part I usually wear a combination of 3 colors (thanks to TVF) or a patterned shirt, top, blouse etc. For me to wear a ‘co!umm’ of color I would need a pin or scarf or other accessory with serious whappage.
Great ideas, with superb accessories (the gold and silver necklace, for exemple, with the golden flat shoes…), with simple basic clothes – “simple”, but beautiful (cashmere pull overs…).
And so, so, comfortable, with something a little bit “boyish”… ;)
Something good, perhaps, to work…
In my undergrad days, my linguistics prof always wore a column of color. Only the two pieces, typically slacks and a pullover sweater, in many different iterations. It always fascinated me – it had to have taken her years to assemble – but she looked good every day (and is really the only one whose clothes I noticed/still remember, 40+ years later).
“Purple girl Kate”: I, too, adore purple, and am now wearing amethyst hair color rather than graciously go grey.
I strongly recommend Punky Color for those of us doing fun things to our grey or white hair! It only takes about 5 minutes to apply, leave in for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, and the rinse! The magical thing (in addition to having purple hair!) is that this product actually conditions your hair and leaves it softer than it was. I’m smitten…
love,
Janice
The black column capsule reminds me of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s wardrobe. She always wears a black tee-shirt and black pants with a solid color cardigan or jacket. She varies her look by selecting a wide-range of colored cardigans.
Good eye! Senator Warren is doing this so effectively, I hadn’t noticed. Rep. Maxine Waters goes in a different direction, but has a beautiful style. There are a number of women in Congress who dress with flair. And, the late Madeleine Albright had a legendary brooch collection. Part of it was on display at The Smithsonian about 12 years ago. She would have adored the frog prince.
Madeleine Albright’s brooches were memorable like Dr. Birx’s scarves!
Absolutely. I’ll join you in purple! In fact, I could easily do a column of purple with grey, teal, blue or pink.
I would love to see this strategy with a column of olive.
I quite like the idea of columns. I’ve been experimenting with this in navy. So far, I’ve learned I want a few different tops and bottoms in navy so I can get some different silhouettes. And I want the base pieces to look lovely on their own, because thanks to the menopause fairy, I’m going to be shedding that outer layer sooner or later.
Seeing the brooch made me want to chime in with something fun that happened. I had told my mom that after seeing some brooches on this site I was thinking it would be fun to try one out and yesterday she brought me a fun coffee mug brooch. Turns out I gave it to her sometime in my teen years and she still had it. She wasn’t wearing it anymore so she passed it back to me! :) Also I just picked up several fun scarves at a big garage sale our church hosts. I’m looking forward to trying them out as the weather cools this fall.
I love it when jewellery and accessories do the rounds in families, going back and forth between the generations. It certainly does in ours; my son is now wearing some of the odd earrings, chunky pendants and bead bracelets.
It’s too hot in the UK to be considering long sleeves. Average temperatures are 29-31C. An amber alert for heat has been issued for next from Sunday through Tuesday meaning a threat to life. Average day time temperatures will be 35C plus. It might even become a red alert as the heat moves up from Spain.
Thinking ahead though, I would only wear a column of grey if it was in a light to mid grey. This grey is too dark for me. I love the sky blue and turquoise, particularly the dragon fly scarf and the gold and turquoise jewellery. Gold adds a richness to turquoise that silver does not.
It’s interesting to read how column dressing is viewed. Is it simple and stylish, lazy or getting dressed without fuss and bother when life is hectic? Does real style require a lot of effort? What effort – time or money? Spending 2 hours getting ready every day or spending a lot of money on clothes and accessories when you could get good quality for less.
I agree that materials for clothes and accessories can make one look polished but do we need to spend a lot of money in the process? “Having more money than sense”, as my mother would say. You can spend a lot on poor quality. A fancy designer name doesn’t guarantee that something will wear well or not fall apart. When you pull apart the costing of designer goods, the mark up is in the name. Particularly when you realise the designer garments are often made in the same factories as ranges from high street stores. I spend time hunting for things that I would like but I won’t spend a lot on them. Some of my most complimented items didn’t cost much.
Some of the most stylish people I’ve seen are those wearing a column of colour with simple accessories. The business woman in London who was wearing a cobalt blue dress, black patent court shoes and a chunky gold necklace. She had a neat bob. Stylish, simple, elegant and she stood out in a sea of grey and black suits. I bet it didn’t take her long to get dressed. The ‘uniform’ of several elderly ladies I know – neat slacks, a blouse or jumper and a light quilted jacket with a scarf at the neck and flat shoes. All reasonably priced clothes – nothing flash, nothing expensive. They don’t spend a long time dithering over what to wear because their lives are too full and too busy.
I know longer work but my maximum effort, then and now, is put into colour coordination, whatever the activity, regardless of the clothes. It is the thing that I’m known for; it’s my style. I’ve always got dressed in less than half an hour. TVF and Janice made my wardrobe organisation so much easier that I can pull an outfit and accessories together on minutes.
The ability to select clothes and accessories to actually Be chic and stylish must also be taken into account. I, personally, just don’t have the aptitude for it. Kudos to those who do. I am still working on Style 101. Which why I am devoted to TVF. My look has greatly improved since I began reading here. Many thanks to Janice and all the others who have added their own ideas. I doubt I will ever, ever get to the point of being Chic. And I am fine with that.
As a “column dresser” myself, I really appreciated this post. As I understand things, wearing one colour all the way through is a column. It can be an inner column, as your post demonstrates so clearly, or an outer column, where the colour travels through on a jacket or similar and there’s a contrast on the top beneath, as with a suit. Either one can make plenty of use of other colours in plains or patterns of whatever type is your thing, just so long as one dominant colour travels through. To my eye, anything else is just a top with a skirt or trousers and looks uncoordinated
One of your correspondents intrigued me. S/he identified nine column outfits in a restaurant (and disapproved, seeing it as lazy). But when a number of people do the same thing with their clothes, isn’t that usually called a fashion? Or are we saying fashion is lazy? Perhaps it is. Also, how do you see what people in a restaurant (presumably seated) are wearing on their lower halves? Plus, nine people sporting the column ethic, but how many people were there? Twenty? Two hundred? It makes a difference to how significant the number is.
Whatever the answer to these questions, I wish your correspondent more interesting dining companions so that they are not reduced to counting outfits. Truly, the other person/people must have been exceedingly boring!
These things also crossed my mind…
But they provided food for thought and discussion.
And I wonder that if every man in the restaurant had been wearing a suit, s/he would have commented at all – even though that seems the epitome of ‘lazy’ dressing.
I think the column of color as Josephine describes it is very elegant, especially when done in finer fabrics. It’s easier to do in cool weather when you can wear a third piece and scarf. But elegance isn’t always the goal, some women want fun or lots of color when they dress. I’m only 5’2” so I usually wear a column. I dress casually now that I’m retired and have gone silver. But I still like to look put together and it doesn’t take me long to get dressed because I tend to wear the same things. I have found that a really nice scarf can truly elevate an outfit. My husband compliments me and I get the occasional compliment from strangers and even from my sons every once in a while. But I dress to please myself. When I’m dressed I don’t think about my clothes, I just go about my day.
Just sayin’ back in 2012 Janice did a series on columns in five neutral colors. When I lived in New Jersey I wore black columns consistently. Now I find that depressing (for me). That being said, when I am “fuzzy” in the morning, possibly from a night of not much sleep, the column is a super easy way to go. The discussion on this and the differing viewpoints has been fascinating.
What an interesting discussion! Thanks Janice, for providing so much food for thought, and everyone, for sharing your opinions. For myself – I’ve never really liked column dressing until very recently. I think it struck me as boring, lazy, and mostly I didn’t feel comfortable in it – although i admired the look on some others. Recently (past 2 years?) I’ve realized that it is more about the pieces you choose for that column – for me, they need to be interesting, fit & cut well, flattering, the right proportions, and different textures so the lack of “exact match in color” doesn’t bother me. Previously i knew it was a “way to show off a more interesting piece and not compete” but I didn’t put the right effort into the base pieces – a teeshirt that i thought I looked frumpy in, but its OK because it will be covered by a really cool cardigan… but it’s not OK because i still feel frumpy, and i can’t take off the cardigan. I still don’t do it often, but this post inspired me to wear a navy column to work today. Navy ankle pants, an asymmetric navy sleeveless top, and some really cool sage/beige/gold accessories. I feel elegant, put-together, and appropriate.
Another thought – tonal dressing, where your column is in “shades” of the same color. Olive trousers/ sage top? Black trousers, marled grey/black top? Coffee trousers, beige top? I think it can look really elegant, interesting, and no need to worry about matching perfectly :)
Love this! I frequently use this system when packing for a trip. It always looks pulled together and I don’t have to stress about what to wear. I second the request for more Hermes scarves!
The column controversy is interesting. I think it’s impossible to categorize anything as absolutely as the original column = lazy commenter suggests because it’s all about the details – what are the fit, silhouettes, fabrics, textures, proportions, accessorizing, etc., and how does to work with the heroine’s own physicality, grooming, etc., to create the overall look.
And let’s not pretend that the age, size, shape, hair style, make-up, etc., of the heroine do not play a huge role in how we view and evaluate an outfit. A million women can be rejected as “frumpy” and “lazy” for wearing a white T, mom jeans, and big white sneakers, but then a young celebrity wears the same formula and is lauded for her street style. It’s partly due to the celebrity wearing more expensive pieces that have been tailored within an inch of their life to look just right on her body and proportioned to be worn together, but also due to her own youth, great skin, gorgeous hair, and trim figure.
A simple column like Janice shows, worn as a base layer for statement pieces…isn’t it basically the pants equivalent of a dress? (But unlike a jumpsuit, it doesn’t take 15 minutes to undress to use the bathroom.) Is the simple sheath dress also lazy?
Amen to Sally in St Paul for pointing out that a person may be judged on physical attributes that are independent of the clothing & unfairly criticized in comparison to others.
Never judge. It’s a slippery slope… My goal in life is to love and to admire everyone, regardless of their choices. Well, unless they’re an ax murderer!
love,
Janice
100% agree! the overall look is so much more than the clothes themselves. the material of course, but also the fit/tailoring, the wearer’s body/build/characteristics/coloring, hairstyle, makeup, grooming, attitude, posture, occasion, location … the mood/attitude of the person viewing and judging.
To elaborate on Sally in St Paul’s example (and be extremely judgmental using the “benchmark” standards of the .. 1990’s? not my own personal criteria, for the record…):
Young (early 20’s?) slim woman, jeans, white tee & sneakers, on the streets of Paris, running to the subway with her medium length straight hair being tousled by the wind as she runs; being viewed by an American tourist who has heard all her life about the amazing street style in Paris, the glory of the done/undone look… verdict: wow, she looks amazing! so simply dressed but how je ne sais quois! Her life must be so under control. So CHIC!!!
Young (early 20’s?) average-build woman, jeans, white tee & sneakers, on the streets of (not-big-city, midwest, USA) running to the … train station? with her medium length straight hair being blown about by the wind as she runs; being viewed by a Parisian tourist who has heard all her life about the sloppy dressing in the US … verdict: wow, that lady mustn’t have her life together. look at her running, why is she late? her hair is a mess. So SLOPPY!!!!
Some extreme examples perhaps (change the second one to 40-year old woman, see where that goes!), but to illustrate the point – there’ s a LOT more that goes into these (unfair) judgements of a woman and her clothes than the woman and her clothes! and a fair amount of that is in the mind of the observer, and the cultural stereotypes we’ve grown accustomed to hearing. Mental narrative is something else.
My 2 cents i guess, would be: dress in a way that makes you happy or makes your mental narrative about yourself happy. that’s the only thing you can really control anyhow :) and it’s one less thing to preoccupy your own mind. Leaving you free to run a little faster to catch that train!
Ezzy, YES!!!! I’ve thought about this so often. Thanks for articulating it.
I like your site, I’ve been working out a mix and match type capsule wardrobe system and have ended up with a mish mosh of loads of colors trying to transition to my best color palette. I can probably put together a 4 x 4 in about 5 or 6 colors. I have done a few color palette analysis tests and am in muted color tones which are warm and have decided to transition out the really dark colors and really light colors in favor of mid tones. Black transitions to charcoal gray; Navy transitions to shades of teal; Dark brown transitions to rust toned browns; Ivory and cream transitions to camel tones. Not to get rid of all, because… interviews. Can’t beat black and navy for interviews, and must have the off-white button downs. I’ve got about 13 years of career time left and I prefer dressing for work rather than being super casual working from home and we may not be able to work from home forever. I was looking for transitional wardrobe articles or working out how to weed out items over time to consolidate to a core set of colors. I completed some test using my eye color, natural red coloring, skin and hair colors to get my core personal color set (teals, warm grays, beiges, rose and grays – all muted).
Janice, this post really speaks to me. In particular the Heather fog sweater with the black column and the gray and brown combo are really appealing and would work well for so many situations. The earrings, shoes and scarves in this post are all lovely. I appreciate that you have created a somewhat elevated and easy to wear overall look. Cheers!
I love this post. I’m a big fan of the core neutral column adding colours with cardigans, jewelry or scarves. It’s quiet but when I dress like this I always feel good. I have those exact pants in navy and charcoal grey and they’re extremely comfortable.
crushing on those loafers. forever love! and yes, this is my work style, gray and navy foundations and all the colors! so many scarves now I have to file them for rotation!