October 3, 2022
Time to augment these wardrobes in some intelligent way!
If you build a wardrobe outfit by outfit, you’ll eventually reach a point where you have plenty of “bottoms” but not really enough tops. Since tops are more memorable, usually need to be laundered more often, and provide more of the visual interest of your outfits, it’s normal for most of us to have 2 tops (at least) for each bottom. Additionally, I like to have almost as many 2nd layers as I have bottoms.
Your feeling about this can certainly be different! But for our heroines, this is a month to stock up on things for above the waist:
I debated with myself about including the Fair Isle sweater here. It doesn’t really perfectly match the brown of our heroine’s pants and skirts…
But I thought it was worth looking at! Maybe the match in person will be much better than it seems to be on my computer screen!
Gold sweatshirt – L.L.Bean; earrings – Kendra Scott; oatmeal turtleneck – L.L.Bean; boots – Naturalizer; gloves – Nicoletta Rosi; Fair Isle sweater – Banana Republic
From here, the sweater looks fine! And the turtleneck and sweatshirt blend right in…
For many of us, if we need a new pair of boots, we’d better get looking! Many sizes vanish in a flash… And while we’re at it, check on gloves too. I hate getting dressed the first really cold morning and then struggling to find my gloves – I’d like to be better prepared this year:
For those of us who wear turtlenecks a lot in cold weather, a new, light neutral one can be so helpful…
I don’t know how I feel about these outfits – the tone of the sweater seems very “ash brown” compared to the pants and skirt. But that could just be the texture of the sweater. Hmm…
It’s hard to do something wrong with a sweatshirt…
Now let’s look at the wardrobe that I think of as the blonde’s paradise…
scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
Two different shades of pink, but since you almost certainly wouldn’t wear a sweatshirt AND a cashmere sweater at the same time, it doesn’t matter!
Neon heather begonia cashmere sweater – J.Crew; earrings – Kate Spade; ivory cotton turtleneck – Lands’ End; boots – Cole Haan; mittens – Acne Studios; washed orchid sweatshirt – L.L.Bean
This wardrobe has a range of pinks – and of greens. Nothing wrong with that – wardrobes should be versatile, not perfectly interchangeable!
Any assortment of accessories is better with a wee bunny brooch…
I love the sweatshirt over the skirt – that’s my kind of mixing of dressy and relaxed!
When the weather turns cold and stays that way, you could wear this turtleneck every week:
Nothing better than pink on a grey day:
I’m more than ready to wear some sweaters! And scarves…
love,
Janice
p.s. Six years ago, our inspiration was Vincent van Gogh…
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Wow – it’s so unusual to find a Fair Isle sweater in autumnal colours. I think it looks great.
The patchwork scarf is a favourite. I like all the variations of pink and green. The grey-beige and ivory are a perfect foil. However the dark brown tee and trousers look a bit odd ones out.
As always I’d like to see more patterns that bring the colours together.
I really like the darker brown pieces in the light wardrobe…though I’m a blonde wearing a brown column of T + jeans today so I’m biased! With just a couple pieces, the brown adds so much possible variety to the wardrobe. But it definitely looks “odd man out” in the context of the wardrobe…which is why (for me) a focus on how integrated the wardrobe looks can lead a heroine astray if it emphasizes cohesion to the point of too much sameness. The ginkgo wardrobe has lots of variety in the bottom pieces, but the sampler has a really high number of light beige bottoms with only the dark brown and the print skirt to add variety. I keep hoping to see a couple medium brown pieces (pants would be ideal) to help bridge the high and low value items and to add some variety!
The ginkgo scarf/wardrobe has really grown on me. I think that Fair Isle is awesome. We are having an abnormally warm/dry fall. Still in the 80’s!!! Not quite sweater weather yet…..
These are both gorgeous! I think the fair isle sweater goes well with everything! Good point about the boots and gloves- thank you for the reminder!
I am loving the looks of these. I was reading your comment about the skirt and hoodie and I really like them together but I was thinking the outfit would be really cute with her casual tennis. Then I realized neither of our heroines have casual tennies (not running shoes, but cute tennies!). Along with a pair of jeans. That might need to be rectified soon. :) I actually really love the pop of brown in the second wardrobe. It gives her some options for different looks.
I think every wardrobe could maybe get a pair of Cariuma sneakers next month; I’m waiting for them to get the violet ones back in stock!
hugs,
Janice
I hope that the sneakers for next month work out – that would be very cute! I also mentally add at least one pair of standard blue denim jeans to every capsule. I think the sampler wardrobe especially would benefit from jeans, as the blue-green-eyed ashy-blonde-haired heroine I imagine wearing it would look beautiful in blue denim and the wardrobe could definitely use some additional variety on the bottom half IMO.
I’m so proud of myself! I mentally picked out what I would pair the beige turtleneck with as I viewed the entire collection of the ginkgo wardrobe. When I scrolled down to see the outfits for this installation, I discovered I’d picked the same skirt. Great minds…. 😁
I’m forever impressed by your ability to find beautiful shoes and accessories, which is really where a versatile wardrobe lives. We can change sizes, change styles a bit, wear out a top… but brooches, earrings and scarves can endure for decades!
Is anyone else eager to see “relaxed style” tops just go the heck AWAY???
Thank you once more for the wardrobe ideas, the links and such entertaining posts.
I dislike the gold in the ginkgo capsule, so I quickly moved past it to the sampler. Love all the additions this month, and certainly every outfit is better with a cute rabbit pin! :) The sweatshirt + skirt outfit is my favorite and goes to show how valuable those print pieces can be. I think the sampler could definitely use a print top that brings together the pink, green, and beige – I’m imagining a soft flannel shirt in this colorway as the perfect item for November! (Much easier to imagine than to source, however.)
If I could find all of the clothes that I can imagine, the shock might kill me! But you’re right – for the woman who has this as her wardrobe, it is important to stay aware of what’s available, so you don’t miss something that could be ideal in your wardrobe!
hugs,
Janice
That math always seems to work in my closet. 1 bottom & second layer to 2 tops.
My current fall capsule is 5 pants, 2 cardigans but 4 pullovers and 5 tops. Some pullovers function as second layers for added warmth so they do double duty. 16 items total.
The wardrobes are rolling on! I have indulged in the sampler wardrobe this year.
I wanted to get some pink in my closet. However I would love to see another
Color pop in like the brown did. It added so much.There is a deep burgundy in the scarf that would still have the pink vibe. Just a thought. I agree that basic jeans
would be great in this wardrobe too.