January 19, 2024
Wow. Just plain wow…
Not many colors, but who NEEDS colors when you have this?
I’m sure your not amazed to learn that matching the sepia tone of the image is impossible to find in clothing! But let’s think for a moment… if this was a photograph, you wouldn’t try to match the color of the frame to the photo, right? So you don’t need to match the main color of a scarf – think of it as your outfit serving as the background or frame for the scarf!
This heroine is a BIG fan of accessories that channel her inner Elizabeth I…. so her clothes are simple and classic:
pink tee – Lands’ End; earrings – A New Day; scarf – Echo; cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; bracelets – A New Day; pants – J.Crew; loafers – Sam Edelman; weekender bag – Lords of Harlech
Wearing dress pants, and then packing a skirt and jeans, gives you a wide range of “dressiness” possibilities:
black sweater vest – Nordstrom; bow & pearls earrings – Latelita; rope hoop and pearl earrings – Ballinger; ionic column capital pearl earrings – Culaje; white cotton/silk shirt – H&M; pale rose sweater – L.L.Bean; skirt – J.Crew; bracelet – Pearls of the Orient Online; 4-leaf clover brooch – Anthropologie; striped shirt – Lands’ End; jeans – Lands’ End; ballet flats – Naturalizer; velvet bag – Fable England; pearl station chain – La Côte Club; boots – Coach
I’m pretty certain that our heroine has about two dozen outfits possible in this tiny wardrobe; when you don’t know about weather or what you’re going to do, having these choices is nice…
But just to fuel our imaginations, let’s take a look at a few combinations!
If this scarf appeals to you, I urge you to strike while the iron is hot! I have a happy hunch that this scarf will FLY out of the Echo inventory…
love,
Janice
p.s. Approximately 10 years ago, we examined at the possibilities of how to wear a “difficult” Hermes scarf – it seems appropriate to look back at it now!
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Perhaps you were wistfully thinking of warmer weather when you wrote the date of today’s post – July? It made me smile.
I wonder whether dark grey would suit this scarf as it looks dark grey on my phone screen. Shopping my wardrobe, I have a grey paisley scarf with a hint of pink/lilac and a rose pink knitted top that I could wear with it. (I could wear lilac as well). Pull out dark grey cords or dark grey houndstooth trousers. Topped of with pink and grey tweed coat. Sorted!
Perhaps as it’s such cold weather, you might do a post about coats. Coats are seen as investment pieces and are expensive brand new but there are lots of places to buy them discounted, preloved, sales. Even supermarkets sell stylish inexpensive coats. It’s also easy (and practical) to just keep to neutral colours but where is the fun in that? I have several coloured coats. Also consider different materials and styles. Should your top coat not go with your outfit underneath in both colour and style? Coats finish off an outfit and people do notice. Why wear a lovely outfit and top it with a scruffy coat? “Oh but I shall take it off when I get there”. How many people will see you on your journey and your arrival. The most chic and polished women I see have stylish coats.
I have navy and grey coats but also coloured and patterned coats that help me to stand out in a crowd. My pink coat in winter is so cheery. I have different styles to suit the outfit underneath – wool smart coats – neutral and coloured, tweed/boucle coats (coloured), velvet jackets, faux fur coat, quilted coat, wax jacket, trench coat, anorak. I’ve recently bought a couple of preloved brocade/satin coats for evening/occasion wear.
My husband can’t understand why I have so many coats so I just ask him why he has so many jackets?😅
Beth t
As I’ve said before, I would love to see your wardrobe. It sounds like so much fun!
You would despair if you saw my coat collection. First of all, I live in central west Florida and the temperature rarely drops below 30° F. I have my bright red parka, 25 years old, for what passes for extreme temperatures here. My dressy coat is a camel colored wool in a classic style. It’s at least 30 years old and cost me $40 at the time. It rarely sees daylight, but when I do wear it I still get compliments on it. I have a peach trench for cool rainy days and a pink lightweight packable puffer my kids gave me 7 years ago. That’s it. I do have a few jackets but they are neutrals and classic so they need something to amp up the style.
Jerib, you live in a place where you just don’t need coat very often. Clever you to have a classic, long lasting style in the coats you do have. Here in western Canada, our closets are jammed full with coats and jackets, which we wear almost every day of the year.
Today’s scarf is a great, classic, long lasting one too.
Beth T, your outfits always sound so lovely. 🙂
You are so right about the impact a coat can make. I live in a very casual city and always see people wearing equally casual outerwear. But yesterday while waiting in the doctor’s office a lovely woman came in wearing black pants with cute rubber/rainboots and a beautiful cream coloured coat that featured a black window pane pattern. The whole appearance was one of quiet elegance. She stood out in a beautiful way and the whole outfit was actually quite casual. Just goes to show that you can be casual and still wear lovely clothing.
What a glorious wardrobe!! Yes, you could take it so very many places. One of my favorites in the recent past.
Janice, I knew you would be all over that scarf the minute I saw it. Very lovely wardrobe. Beth T, I don’t have quite the coat wardrobe you do, having gone through it last summer and given away a few of them, but still quite a variety. Sadly, 99.9% of the time, I reach for my gray fleece hoodie. I”m one of those “I only wear it in and out of the building”. During the recent (very) cold snap I have worn my fur coat almost every day. Whatever’s most convenient to grab….. Have a great weekend ladies.
That scarf is absolutely one of the best I’ve seen. Exquisite! Alas, it won’t work for me, but I can think of so many who would look utterly fabulous in it.
The skirt you’ve selected is one with all the versatility one could want. It can easily be styled with sneakers and a casual top, pumps and a satin top with bling jewelry, and even an Icelandic sweater and heavier boots. I would buy it in warm chocolate brown or dove grey or even a bright blue.
I like BethT’s coat comments. I always do the predictable and buy my coat in a neutral, but I live where the weather demands a variety of weights and then there are lifestyle situations: snow, rain, skiing, golf, hiking, dressy events, walks along one of the BEST greenbelts in the US, I had to replace a 24-year-old camel dress coat last year and chose another neutral. But, after some thought, I realize I can wear that old coat on my daily walks in winter! All of my bright scarves go with the the old and the new coats.
Beautiful scarf and fabulous choices to highlight the range of jewelry options!
I’m loving the coat discussion. I have a COLLECTION (it feels like), and have forbidden myself to buy any more winter coats. I have: a red peacoat (that I am unfortunately a bit large for right now), a black wool stadium coat (with an inner cotton? stand up collar so the wool doesnt touch my neck, super useful as i’m allergic to wool – this particular coat isnt too bad though), a camel duffle coat; a mid-brown “fancy” coat ( I call it my “opera” coat); a white knee-length puffer; a blue, fur(?)-lined long puffer from Eddie Bauer that you can get lost in a snowy wood with; a black, faux fur-edged/lined leather hip-length coat; and my blue LLBean waterproof just-covers-the-butt jacket that my mom sent me my first year in college when i emergency called home and begged for a warm-and-waterproof something. I’m still tempted to find an amazing colored coat (i saw an emerald green wool coat years ago and was SMITTEN, but brush-the-sleeve-against-my-face-to-push-up-my-glasses level allergic so it was a no-go). I used to have a teal pleather “bomber jacket” style fall jacket, and would love to find a replacement in leather …. Other than that i have a waterproof black trench, lined; a beige trench that does NOT suit me and i should donate; an olive suede jacket for spring; and a lime-green packable short puffer.
FWIW I think it is really useful to have multiple winter coats if you collect slowly (Jan/Feb sales are EXCELLENT) and have a long cold period (4-6M of cold where I am)
Try estimating a “cost per wear” for your coats – you’ll be surprised by how inexpensive coats really are, since we wear them SO MUCH. There’s nothing (short of undergarments) that gets more of a workout than a good winter coat.
And they can last forever; my parka from Lands’ End is 18 years old, and shows absolutely no signs of wear. Plus it’s heavy enough that I could sleep in a snowdrift and not get frostbite. Kind of a miracle garment…
hugs,
Janice
Another coat lady! I love all your descriptions and the reasons you bought them. I get itchy with wool jumpers. I hope you find an emerald coat one day. I have almost as many jackets as I do coats but I tend to wear those less.
This is great Janice! This got me thinking – if our heroine were suddenly transported back to the time of Elizabeth I (Outlander-style), I’m sure she would be taken seriously due to her impeccable style and all that amazing pearl jewelry.
Outlander!!!! A billion years ago, when the first book was released, I worked in a bookstore. I must have sold a hundred copies of it – to men and women! – by shoving it in their hands and insisting that they buy and read it. Only one other book I ever had such luck with! (that would be Gospel, by Wilton Barnhardt)
hugs,
Janice
I feel like an Outlander inspired wardrobe is in order? A modern Claire Fraser style. Ha ha ha!
Oh my no – I could never do her justice! But she is one of my favorite fictional characters…
hugs,
Janice
I agree with you Beth T.
As a person who grew up mostly in warm places, I really noticed how people in cold places are really at the wardrobe mercy of whatever same old coat covers everything else.
I love everything about this wardrobe! The accessories are stellar.
To pile on the coat discussion… I love coats, but where I live, EVERYTHING has to be waterproof, so I just can’t do those beautiful wool winter coats. Even though it’s cold/rainy more than 6 months of the year, I only have a few I switch between: a waterproof gray-brown hooded trench with a zip out lining, which gets by far the most wear, an old black leather jacket I’ve had forever, a gray Sherpa-lined hoodie, and a 30+ year old black cashmere overcoat that I got on deep discount as a desperate exchange student in Europe, but is the warmest thing! The irony is that yes, they are all neutrals, but I don’t wear any of these colors except for in outerwear. Not even shoes!
I really must up my coat game!
Trench coats with warm linings are so versatile. My Mum bought me one about 35 years ago. it has a full length zip out tartan lining. It was in the 1980’s when everything was oversized. I still have it, even though it’s stained and no longer waterproof. It was long as well. I live in hope that I might one day find a replacement that doesn’t cost the earth.
Yikes! Compared to you ladies my coat game is not very strong… but honestly I just don’t like coats (I have broad shoulders so unless the cut is just right I feel like I can’t move my arms much) so I wear lots of cardigans and the one puffer vest I have and can get away with it here in the PNW. I have 2 coats, a dressy black wool one from my working days (pre-kids) that I didn’t wear for years and just pulled out and have been wearing again. Now that I know my colors I kind of wish it was camel… I’ll just keep my eyes peeled for that. My 17 year old son is part of our Heritage Society and for the Olde Fashioned Christmas at the cabins he was able to borrow it and wear it with his old outfit of pants/vest/bow tie and bowler hat. My only other winter coat is a long turquoise puffer jacket that I love! Fun color and so warm.
This wardrobe – like all of TVF wardrobes – is a study in versatility. It’s wonderful!
What a fun coat discussion! I live in Eastern Canada and we get lots of cold and lots of ice and snow. I have a friend who must easily own twenty winter coats – mostly black (which suits her) – but I only own two.
One is a black faux fur that I wear when it’s extra cold. It definitely gives me more bulk than my generous frame needs but it is cozy. It came to me after my eldest sister passed away and so wearing it feels like a hug from her. 🥰.
My everyday winter coat is graphite and white plaid double-breasted wool’ish fabric with a fine line of deep burgundy in the plaid. I wear various solid-toned scarves or pashminas to mix things up.
I really should get two or three more coats, especially something for cool and/or wet Spring and Fall days. Shawls have filled the gap but they’re not the real answer.
I love the coat discussion too! I have been on the hunt for a dressier coat but couldnt pin myself down to one style, color, or fabric. When I voiced this to my mom, she handed me her short raincoat with fur lining. She said she never wears it, too dressy for her. But I’ve already worn it several times. Hand-me-downs or second-hand coats sometimes fit the bill very nicely!
Oh LUCKY you!
hugs,
Janice
A coat story. When our family lived in California, I had to accompany my daughter on a trip to the East Coast with her school in February. I knew that I needed a warmer coat, and on a trip to Palm Desert earlier in the year, I found a man’s camel colored wool coat by Hart Shaffner and Marx for a very low price. This is a beautiful coat with bound buttonholes, leather covered buttons, hand stitching around the edges, and all the other touches that you would expect to find on a very expensive coat. And the best thing is, there are button holes on both sides of the front. All I had to do was let out the seams on the side to accommodate female hips and reverse the way I buttoned it! I still have the coat, but, alas, my hips have gotten a little bigger yet, and I can’t wear it anymore. But I’m keeping it in case I ever get a little thinner again. And the other odd thing about this coat was that I found the receipt in the pocket, and it had been sold in a store in Dayton, Ohio, where my good friend was the manager. She probably wasn’t the manager at the time this coat was sold, but it still was quite a coincidence!
What a great story!
I love finding treasures in coat pockets – especially money.
Coat comments from the other side of the world, currently it is 32C with a feels like of 37. And it will be like this for another couple of months. But I love a coat and jacket and have far too many for my climate. Sorry Janice, I am the one where cost per wear coats are tough, it is rarely cold enough where I live to wear one so they are mostly for travelling, but oh so hard to resist when I see an amazing one. Last year I bought FIVE tweed jackets, insanity but I saw such great ones and all at good prices I couldn’t resist. I did however stop myself from the lovely powder blue one I saw during the week but it was tough🤣 Beth T I can totally relate.
Great wardrobe again Janice. My question is : you show the colours as powder pink, white, brown and black. I don’t see any brown in the outfits. What am I missing?
There IS no brown in the outfits – the brown in the scarf is a kind of sepia tone that seems to be the color of many old photographs, and is VERY difficult to find in garments. If our heroine ever bumped into something that color, she should certain grab it with both hands!
Thanks for giving me the chance to clarify that for everyone,
and lots of big hugs,
Janice
Some years ago, I decided not to buy any more coats that required dry cleaning because so many are available that can go in the washer. The only two left to dry clean are a knee-length, camel hair coat which can go casual or dressy and a vintage, aqua, full-length swing coat from L.S. Ayres, a former Indy-based department store chain.
In addition to those two coats, my coat collection is large. A couple of fleece jackets (aqua, soft orange) to mostly wear when I get cold in the house; three quilted jackets (black, coral, navy/brown/tan houndstooth) which are my go-to items to wear in all but the coldest winter weather; a pretty teal/teal print quilted coat that is reversible (thank you Lands’ End!); a mid-length, quilted black knee-length coat to wear when temps go below 20; a khaki barn coat for yardwork; three lightweight windbreakers (coral, teal, tropical print) with hoods for rainy days in the warmer weather; and probably a few more I’ve overlooked. Most of these are in solid colors with the exceptions noted, and the majority came from L.L. Bean or Lands’ End.
But the coats that draw the most attention are a Volcano Red, fleece pea coat I got from L.L. Bean and a woven, coat-of-many-colors I purchased at the Otavalo market in Ecuador. People always comment on these coats. Since they are warm, I wear them during the coldest weather when their vibrancy adds a cheerful note to the otherwise gloomy weather.
Because red is such an attention getter, I’ve held on to a bright red trench coat and an light red princess-style duster that are both one size too small. Hoping that someday I’ll be able to wear them again. A girl can dream…