June 12, 2023
Oh, let’s look at this some more!
When we left our heroine on Friday, she had a lovely 9-piece travel capsule wardrobe all sorted out for long weekends this summer:
Cotton cardigan – L.L.Bean; glass triangle earrings – Lala Salama; bracelet – Serabondy; chicory blue tee – Lands’ End; crossbody bag – Betsy & Floss; scarf – Pig, Chicken & Cow; navy pants – L.L.Bean; navy suede loafers – Birdies; Linen dress – Alex Mill; blue enamel necklace – Latelita; earrings – Kendra Scott; scarf – Elizabetta; cotton cardigan – J.Crew; campshirt – Alex Mill; French blue shorts – Alex Mill; gold mini-bag – Sostter; Brilliant Ocean pants – J.Crew; navy peacoat split-neck top – Caslon; gold sandals – Eric Michael; blue sandals – Munro
Wise people learn from their successes, and when your deeply-held preferences work out well, why not continue on that path?
Since the weather is warm, our heroine realized immediately that a few white garments might be useful:
And while she wasn’t wild about the idea of adding denim to her wardrobe during the warmest weather, chambray is a good option!
Prints? Maybe? I admit that our heroine was strongly drawn to a couple of striped shirtdresses, as well as a plaid camp shirt and matching skirt in shades of blue…. Frankly, she could have picked about 20 more garments from Alex Mill…
But she chose these 2:
So now she has a 17-piece summer wardrobe – probably enough for many of us!
What can she do with all of these new clothes? A TON of things…
Part of what made this wardrobe relatively easy to assemble is that blue isn’t difficult to find, and the blues carried by Alex Mill all seem to go together well.
Maybe as fall clothing appears (probably quite soon!), I will try this again with… olive and shades of green? What else do you want to watch for?
If you see art that prompts you to think of a wardrobe like this, don’t hesitate to share!
love,
Janice
p.s. Roughly 5 years ago, we accented a navy and white wardrobe with some sky blue – it seems timely!
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Do so love your wardrobes, especially your travel ones.
We are going on a Danube cruise in September. The weather will be in between. Thinking of taking dark grey (jean skirt and pants) and medium blue (modal dress and pants) as my main three daytime pieces. Taking three bright modal long sleeves and three button downs.
The thing is the dresses for the evenings. It has been suggested that I pack silk, if I want to get them all into a carry on. I have an Eileen Fisher unlined silver silk jacket (to the ankle).
Would love to see what you are able to find.
Thank you
I would love to see a shades of green wardrobe. Or maybe not, because perhaps I would be too tempted. This shades of blue has given me many ideas for our trip to see our son this summer. I’ll be including some accents of orange…..I seem unable to limit myself to just one color!
I think the stripes really make a difference to the whole look of the wardrobe. Interesting what a bit of print or pattern will do.
The introduction of chambray and white makes this wardrobe seem like more than the sum of its parts. I think I would need more than seven tops for a full summer.
I look forward to seeing you revisit this concept using green in the Fall. You mentioned focusing on olive green – a favourite of many – but I’m wondering if you might also feature a forest green scheme.
I agree that this wardrobe would need some more tops for the hottest weather. I think it’s a little heavy on sweater.
Can we see one more round with this wardrobe? I’d like to see what she would pack for a beach weekend: hat, sunglasses, swimsuit, towel, a few more shorts/tshirts, boat shoes, etc.
I love the blue wardrobes! I wear sort of a cross between this wardrobe and the “look back” scheme. As much as I love blue, I have gotten away from denim. I am not sure why; it has happened in the last year. It just does not appeal anymore. I still wear a light chambray top and dress, but jeans have hit-the-road. Have any other readers found denim less appealing with age?
I don’t wear denim at all anymore. Even my denim jacket just languishes in the closet. I find it a little “stiff” and prefer softer more fluid fabrics.
Cindy,
I now only wear my jeans to do gardening ! Softer knit pants for casual wear and nicer fabrics for dressier occasions seems to be the direction in which I am headed. The older I get I want to dress my way , which is more comfortable, and not a method prescribed by the fashion industry , though still looking current . Classic, comfortable and current is my MO !
Sheila, yes, I stopped wearing jeans a few years ago. I do have a pair of lightweight denim pants, but they aren’t a jeans style.
Janice,
I have observed what I gravitate toward for my Summer’s “ stay at home “ wardrobe , and it’s pretty much a repeat of what you have shown here but with stone instead of white . My tans with various colored accent tops and toppers seem to” have decided” to be worn as my “away from the house” collection, though sometimes I include an older tan outfit on a stay at home day . Quirky, I know, but that’s me !
Endless possibilities here! It’s not merely that the T is striped that gives it a certain flair. It is the sleeve cut. Is that technically a cap sleeve or a French sleeve? Either way, that is one hard-working little tee.
She can easily add a Breton top in a 3/4 sleeve when fall approaches. So very classic! Oh… and if the days get really hot, our heroine is allowed to add a white eyelet dress…or bright blue? Right?
What a perfect wardrobe. I especially love the shirt with all the stripes. These are not colors I wear so I look forward to the green wardrobe coming up in the fall. Love olive green and chartreuse if you can fit it in. Many thanks for your brilliant work.
If I were to have a single color (+ white) capsule, it would look a lot like this one! The white and chambray lighten up the wardrobe wonderfully, and of course I love the addition of striped shirts. Wouldn’t this capsule make a marvelous base for adding a few pops of color in the form of a French 5 or similar? Orange/coral would be stunning with the various blues and the gold for a vivid complementary color scheme but really, I’m not sure you could pick a bad accent hue (though some versions of that hue would work better than others).
Part of what makes this so successful in my view is that because our eyes are trained to read so many muted blue colors as neutral (because of denim/chambray), we can mix the dark, light, muted, and bright blues pretty freely here. Also, as Janice alludes to, it helps when a lot of the pieces are from a single brand with shades that coordinate well. (Alex Mill will never get my custom due to their lack of size inclusivity, and I would guess their prices are not realistic for many, but we can certainly apply this concept at stores that cater to our individual sizes/budgets/etc.)
I would love to see this done with olive and/or a dark green for fall.
Yes please – olive and green! I love it! Thank you.
Hi Janice – thank you. Would love to see the same concept in a berry or Pantone’s “Fired Brick”.
And do you recommend Alex Mill’s quality? I would be ordering from Canada so like to besure before I order as international returns are….not fun!
Appreciate all your work on the blog!
Hi Kris, I can’ only speak to the Alex Mill sweaters, but I’ve been really happy with them.
Highly recommended – some of my very favorite clothes right now are from there!
hugs,
Janice
Thank you!
I would love to see 2 different versions in the fall. First up would be emerald/kelly green. Second would be a soft mustard gold. Those would be different and yet seasonal enough to find items.
Janice,
I love the blue and white, such classic choices. I recently stumbled upon beautiful creations made by glass artist Josh Simpson. If you are looking for new inspiration pieces you might want to check out his website. Any search engine should bring up the link.
Amen, hallelujah, yes please to green! Moss, olive, khaki, peridot, seaweed, apple…. 😊
I loved the grayed blue and gray mix you presented with the Monet painting in March. I think that combination is the prettiest I have ever seen!
This is making me rethink blue. Well done for expanding my world again.With each addition, I’d add to the accessories.
Perfect! A blue striped button shirt is so classic and versatile.
I second the idea of a forest or hunter green capsule. It seems to me that olive has been done to death. I keep waiting for the wheel to turn on it and it keeps coming back season after season.
This all blues wardrobe is quite lovely, versatile & practical. If I could be happy with a one colour wardrobe this might be it.
Little bit late commenting – this is one of my favourites yet. Similar to what I’ve brought on my current family holiday to Austria, but with less navy and more grey. And a couple of soft pink pieces for variety. This wardrobe is better matched, curated and accessorised though! Still much to learn and be inspired by, thank you Janice.