October 9, 2023
Let’s visit our friend with the very pastel wardrobe!
Her wardrobe at the beginning of this month is 29 garments (as I believe all six wardrobes should be…):
There are no glaring holes in this wardrobe, but our heroine can clearly see that she could justify more yellow, pink or green clothes. And she would like to have an outfit for cooler weather, even though she doesn’t live in a relentlessly wintery place…
This is what she finds; she knows that the corduroy pants aren’t a perfect match for any of her other garments, but she’s content with blending shades of colors. Being flexible is sometimes useful…
Earrings – Marchesa; sweater – L.L.Bean; flannel shirt – Orvis; scarf – Nordstrom; tote bag – Betsy & Floss; pink corduroy pants – American Vintage
Her updated wardrobe doesn’t really look changed – just a bit more balanced.
And yes, when she was looking for a pink sweater, she went back to L.L.Bean, because she already has a cardigan that’s perfect. This is often a smart thing to do – if you’re having luck with a retailer, don’t forget to keep looking there! There are no personal style bonus points for buying things from a hundred different places…
I love these accessories – you get such a feel for what our heroine is like when you look at these:
As always, when our heroines go shopping, if they stick to their color palette they are confident that new clothes will be useful immediately. But, as always, I like to pull together new outfits, just to be sure…
This wardrobe is far from anything that I’ve ever worn, but it would be fascinating to borrow this for a month and see how it feels to dress like this…
Would you like wearing this wardrobe, if you didn’t have to buy it?
love,
Janice
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
The link is not working
The link for the look back isn’t working. So I went back to October 2015 and found a treasure trove of posts. I’m particularly interested in the 6 piece navy with different styles annd colors of accessories. This is perfect for planning my wardrobe for an upcoming trip.
As always, thanks, Janice!
Possibly this
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2015/10/my-favorite-posts-packing-with-camel.html/
I just tried to update it – fingers crossed!
hugs,
Janice
still not working on my machine, i’m afraid… the link provided by sandy does work (thank you sandy!)
I love this wardrobe and I wear pastels all year round. The unseasonably hot weather that we are experiencing in southern England (25.8C was the top temperature yesterday) makes me wonder whether I could properly trim down my whole wardrobe and just have a few simple accent collections with shades of blue/navy and grey that I could wear year round whatever the weather. Certainly my husband would encourage the idea as it would save him having to cart sacks of clothes up and down from the loft. It is supposed to be the beginning of autumn yet it feels like summer and some of the plants in the garden are blooming again. The leaves on the trees are showing little sign of changing colour.
I am gobsmacked you found pale pink corduroys! Amazing.🤣 Although pastels are generally not for me, I do like the variety of accent colors. We have a girl at school I never see in anything but white, pink, or lavender. For three years now I have admired her commitment to her colors. I wish I could do the same, but I just can not seem to limit myself when it comes to color. Doing better now than I used to – thanks to you – but I do love my variety. Have a good day ladies.
Nope, wouldn’t make it a week. The colors are lovely, but I’d simply destroy all those fragile pales. At best, I might manage an afternoon party… at someone else’s immaculate house…. ☺️. I’d cheerfully adopt a lot of her earrings, though!
Sadly, this wouldn’t be the right wardrobe for me, although it is lovely. I am deeply committed to burgundy and couldn’t imagine a wardrobe without it and without darker colours in general.
You put together a pretty pastel wardrobe. Not for me though. These colors would make me look like a ghost.
I would look pretty washed out in this wardrobe, pretty as it is. The blue outfit is my favourite but I’ve discovered I really prefer dresses over skirts, with their binding waists. This looks like a warm climate wardrobe which is not what I live in. As well, when I’m on holidays in the tropics, I want bright colours.
I love the shapes and garment selections, but tend to fade away in pastels. LL Bean offers the exact kinds of clothing I wear every day, but someone there has an aversion to bright, clear colors unless they’re cool. The result is that I’ve found very few garments that really fit my palette.
The capsule, however, is really elegant. I love the accessories, the lovely skirts and shirt dress. It’s pretty close to how I would dress in apple green, flamingo pink and bright blue. All are much more difficult to find, but worth it when discovered. I could wear the yellow (as long as it’s not too pale) & ivory.
Oh yes! I’ve wondered about the sad lack of warm color pallet at LLBean, too. Their clothing style is what I wear every day as I am retired, but struggle to find attractive warm colors among their offerings. The most reliable are various shades of Coral. Too bad!!
I like seeing pastels on others, but they make me look a sickly shade of pale yellow. I saw myself in florescent light in a bathroom mirror years and years ago and vowed never to wear baby blue again. I never have. All other pastels soon followed.
If our heroine finds that she enjoyes wearing her pink corduroy pants, she may want to also buy the pastel green ones.
This is such a soft, feminine wardrobe. Will definitely be taking some tips from this one. I look washed out in pastels which is weird as I am fair, but that is what makes us all so interesting and different. Will try to find your camel link as I love that colour for a neutral for me. Happy Thanksgiving from Canada!
I love this wardrobe but I fear I’m too messy – dogs, hikes, horses – to wear it. And same for travel – I’d spill something on it. But some of the tops would work when added to my navy/pink/pale blue core.
This wardrobe speaks to my soul. Soft pink, blue, yellow, and white or beige are my true colors. Now I want to find the links to everything shown. Thank you for this post. I would love to see more silver accessories.
Beautiful but no I would not try this. It would wash me out completely but my daughter and one niece would look stunning in it. I am getting ready for a month long trip to southern Spain and Portugal and noticing the warm temps. I’ve laid out clothes, tried on, put back, tried more, and think I am close to the final. One carry-on roller and one small bag to sit on top of it. I feel I’m up to the challenge thanks to finding Janice years ago. For me shoes are the hardest. My feet do better with a change of shoes and we do tons of walking. So two pairs is a minimum and I prefer three. If I wore a tiny size 6 that wouldn’t be an issue! I have a friend and she was telling me about packing and finished up with “and then you just tuck your shoes in the corners.” Size 9’s do not “tuck”!
Amanda, I hear you! My size 11s REALLY don’t “tuck”. I resort to packing my socks, undies, scarves, anything small, inside of my shoes (which are usually boots, on top of the size issue).
Pretty to look at but I need contrast in my outfits.
Pros of wearing the wardrobe:
-5 colors is more variety than we typically see in capsules
-I love (blue), like (sage, pink, yellow), or can tolerate (beige) these colors
-Accent color pants/skirts are always welcome
-The light, muted accent colors probably suit my coloring reasonably well
-I like all the shoes (and appreciate blue ballet flats and pink loafers) except the sandals (which I simply don’t wear; I also dislike about 90%+ of the ones I see)
Cons:
-Too much beige; I wear beige only sparingly and would prefer to see some soft white thrown in
-The light, muted accent colors do not suit my personality to wear every day
-Way too few prints
-Not suitable for Minnesota climate
-Overall skews too feminine in style of items
-I don’t like wearing light neutral or accent color pants except in very limited colors/situations
-It is unthinkable to me to not have a good representation of blue denim/chambray in my closet
-I’m pretty committed to navy and olive and would miss these core neutrals very much
If the blue clothing, scarf, and ballet flats were to magically appear in my closet (in my size), I would love that (come spring)! That’s a gorgeous bundle I would make room for.
Love your posts. I’ve been following you for some time and now I’m going to try to pare down my fall/winter ward robe to 30 pieces, using this post as a guideline. Thanks for your inspiration.
It’s so easy to imagine this lovely lady! She must be a cool toned, Summer blonde, who looks as delicate as a dandelion puff in June, but has inner strength for days. I imagine she works as a freelance illustrator, who’s work is in high demand because of her exceptionally detailed wildflower drawings and watercolors. Perhaps she has an online platform where she creates instructional videos and offers advice and support to other artists. Her wardrobe is absolutely beautiful.
Have you read the Mitford book series. This is what I imagine Father Tim’s wife, Cynthia wearing. And she is just as you described! Although she is a children’s book author/illustrator. I feel like there was a post quite a while back where Janice made a wardrobe for a book character. I might have to hunt that one down!
Those are SUCH lovely books, aren’t they?
hugs,
Janice
I just ordered the first Mitford book online. Thank you for the reading suggestion! 💗
This chick clearly lives in Arizona and doesn’t have an English Bulldog!
i love this one. since i wear dark colors for work, i stick to lighter/pastel for at home colors. so, two wardrobes. every now and then a piece crosses capsules when i get bored.
This is exactly my color set, with the exception of the yellow. If we swapped that with some light purple that is on the slightly bluer side I would happily wear this wardrobe forever and ever lol.
I adore pastels!
These colors are great for a person who suits them (unfortunately not me)
I would also like light jeans and a shirt with pink, green and blue flowers. Ideal for a warm place to live.
Dearest Janice,
I love, love, love, how you try to create ensembles for all your precious follows (me included). After reading comments over the years, I’ve recognized a pattern from most of your followers regarding extreme contrast no longer working for them, especially after becoming a silver foxette (sp). Would it be a new thought process creating a medium tone base wardrobe with slightly lighter and darker coordinating pieces? Just a thought to get your wonderful creative juices going.
a faithful fan,
Pat
Janice,
I’m enjoying the one-at-a-time version of these. Seems that I’m paying a lot more attention to each one rather than focusing on just my favorites.
Thanks.
If the tops appeared in my closet I would happily give them a season’s try. I have really never felt comfortable in the icy pastels that are supposed to be in my palette. My father liked to see me in pale pink but I can’t remember anyone else ever complimenting me when I wear pastels. I needed and wanted more contrast. But now that my hair is greying (still more pepper than salt 😒) I wonder if I can soften up some of my colours. I’d like to give it try without breaking the bank.
Given my figure I can’t see myself in those pale bottoms. Mid tones or darker are all I wear. Also, dogs, paint, assorted foodstuffs, and just general mess all have an impact on what I wear. I could never be mistaken for a neatnik.
I usually steer away from pastels myself, but I like a cohesive color pallete so I do find it interesting! I wonder about the two pink cable knit sweaters though – so similar! It’d be lovely to switch one out for a blue or green!