April 29, 2024
It’s perfect, she thought… Just what she needed to focus her summer city packing…
The brown in her new scarf is actually sepia, but she knows better than to try to spend the rest of the summer looking for sepia clothes! So she accepts that her favorite brown is going to be pretty close – certainly close enough! – and she has her color palette ready!
Next, she just start taking things out of her closet, and assembling outfits that fit the palette and the scarf. Some outfits are perfect for travel, others for the occasional business meeting, and some are flat-out casual!
scarf – Echo; earrings – Bling Jewelry; linen top – J.Crew; black cardigan- J.Crew; white linen pants – J.Crew; flats – Madewell
Although she won’t be doing a lot of business “stuff,” she still likes to always include a dress – you never know when you’ll be somewhere with a glorious, dressy restaurant. Or maybe a special concert…
scarf – Echo; earrings – Retro Chic; bracelet – Retro Chic; tote – Madewell; dress – Nordstrom; sandals – Gentle Souls by Kenneth Cole
Travel with white can be nerve-wracking, but in hot weather it just seems right! If not now, then when?
scarf – Echo; earrings – Lila Rasa; camp shirt – J.Crew; white linen jacket – J.Crew; linen pants – J.Crew; loafers – Vince
She quite loves the look of very “long shorts,” and having a linen shirt to layer over something sleeveless helps with both air conditioning and too much sun:
scarf – Echo; shell earrings – CJ:314; linen shirt – H&M; sleeveless top – Lands’ End; shorts – Lands’ End; sandals – Madewell
After four outfits, this is what she has planned to pack. You can see that a black & white striped tee shirt, or a white cotton eyelet top, would be lovely additions:
But she might find that doesn’t want to wear the outfits exactly as she initially envisioned them – does she have other options?
Of COURSE she does… Would this be The Vivienne Files if the heroine didn’t have a great, versatile wardrobe?
She has a shocking number of trips coming up in the next four months – graduations, birthdays, special museum exhibits that she doesn’t want to miss…
And she knows that she doesn’t tire of wearing neutrals – so she’s all set!
I could do this…
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I showed eighteen garments that could be combined into over 200 outfits. If you REALLY don’t want to own a lot of clothes, but you do want some options, this is one way to do it!
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My first thought was that this palette is so dark and heavy-looking for summer. I guess I’m one of those people that needs more colour and variation in colour saturation. 🤷♀️
The dress is really nice and I would happily wear it (if I was an XS or S) in less dressy situations…shopping, visiting….
I found this palette so soothing and lovely. I could definitely do something like this.
The chocolate linen trousers are calling out to me!
This is lovely. And, of course, a pretty white top and a black and white striped top would definitely expand this wardrobe beautifully.
A friend of mine told me about an acquaintance of hers that has only three bottom pieces and ten tops. No second layers were mentioned but as they are in Georgia second layers aren’t needed much this time of year.
This idea fascinates me and I’ve decided to try it. Kind of like Janice’s experiment wearing one dress for a hundred days. I’m taking baby steps. I’m starting with one week and will expand the experiment as I can.
I’m starting with tan shorts, white gauze pants, and black jeans. My tops will be white tee, white button down, navy tee, navy and white striped tee, navy tank top, chocolate brown tee, turquoise tank top, peach hand knit top, and a bright patterned sleeveless top with hot pink, orange black and white. I know that’s only nine tops but it seems enough. I may have to swap out my black jeans for dark washed jeans. I’m not sure how the navy and brown tops will work with the black ones. But the black ones look so much dressier than the blue ones.
Janice, I would love to see your take on this experiment for a season. Your wardrobes are always so cohesive and instructive.
Ooohh Jeri B, this sounds interesting! Keep us posted please!
This sounds fascinating – I’ve been living this way since my mother came home, but I hadn’t really formalized it. I’ve worn black jeans, blue jeans, or black sweatpants (really nice looking sweatpants that don’t have elastic ankles!) a handful of shirts, and a handful of sweaters. I was thinking of it as “cold weather clothes that I’m not packing away yet” rather than a defined wardrobe.
But after our “first of the month” painting posts, I will give this some thought and share my ideas with you!
big hugs,
Janice
Oh, Janice,
I love the idea of sweatpants, sans the elastic ankles! Please share the brands you enjoy?
Thank you,
Trish
Lands’ End and especially L.L.Bean… (ahttps://shopstyle.it/l/caQ0I)
Just keep your eyes peeled for them – I have been wearing mine in rotation since mid-March, and they pretty much look like normal black pants…
hugs,
Janice
Thank you, Janice, so much!
I love walking on the beach or long distance walks, but I don’t particularly care for wearing tights. Great knit pants will be perfect!
You’re the best,
Trish
I have a drooly dog (bulldog) so unless I want to do laudry daily (or more!) that wouldn’t work for me. But I do buy multiples of basics I like. Don’t make me count how many navy chinos I have!
Yes, jeri, this sounds very interesting. I have found having navy tops and black pants is limiting. I use dark wash jeans, and my life is casual enough that it works for me. I also keep two identical pair of each style and color of pants, to help with the laundry schedule. Your plan sounds great, though!
Although I don’t care for brown outside leather accessories, this combos are nice to look at on someone else. I’m on team Wendy needing some more colors, although I could pull it off temporarily adding denim. The white and black are lovely, especially the black dress with the comfy sandals.
I remember the slot machine exercise. A part of me so wishes to be this disciplined, but the whole me feels a bit too restricted (and would add 5 wildcard items just to mess it up a notch). Will keep this in mind, we have a big move later in the year and I plan to keep only what truly works for me now in terms of condition, style and size.
Cheers & blessings all!
Janice,
Our church was having a clothing drive for the Hope Rescue Mission, and since it coincided with the seasonal clothing change overs, I tried on everything and ended up taking 7 tall kitchen drawstring bags of clothes to add to the other donations. I took the plunge and divested most of my navy blue clothes, keeping lighter values of blue items. The dark navy is just that — too dark for my aging fair skin. It’s been bothering me for a while .
In addition, I looked at my wardrobe in terms of function and divided it into four sections.
1, Stay at home ( I am retired ) with a small subset of grungy jobs like gardening or shower scrubbing . Mostly older pilled clothes for at home wear , or those with a small stain (I’m messy apparently ) .
2. Slightly elevated beyond home wear for local errands, breakfast out periodically ( rural setting) , etc.
3, Smart casual for appointments, lunches or dinners out with friends.
4. Church and more formal occasions .
I saw a vlog on Youtube by Hannah Louise Poston, who inspired proportioning my wardrobe’s contents this way, based upon actual lifestyle needs. I knew on some level that I tended to shop for level 3 , when I really needed more level 1’s so I took some of those excess level 2‘s and put them into the level 1 category , and moved some 3’s down to level 2. I physically separated the various levels into their respective categories within my closet, separating the sections with colored hangers so that the boundaries for each level were clear. Within each level, I organize the items by color families, with an all neutrals group and an all accent colors group in a ROYGBV format .I found sone overlaps between levels 2 and 3, but that’s OK.
So that’s it, finally a smaller , more curated , and functional wardrobe for my levels of living ! With attrition and the wear out factor, I plan on paring down the number of garments even more over time . I have a few “ holes ” to fill, but not many, as this system really shows me what I already own
Arwen,
This is a great idea. I’ve copied your response to my wardrobe notes and I’ll probably do this when I finish my 10/3 experiment.
Oops I meant Shrebee. I am so sorry!
That sounds like a satisfying project and you’ve ended up with an organized wardrobe. Enjoy and bravo!!!!!
Great system, easily adapted. I’m also retired but Level 3 would have been suitable for my job. We have a lot of gatherings in my neighborhood which would be Level 2. Since I have a lot of colorful clothes, my tops (not blouses) are folded on shelves and are organized by neutral, warm and cool colors into cubbies. Easy to see the options.
I really like this idea. I too tend to shop for “3”, but live in the “2” category. I have unconsciously started moving things to 2 or 1 depending on wear and tear of the garment, so I tend not to buy for those categories. So, yes I do sometimes wear unusual combos to the gym or to work in the garden.
What an awesome and satisfying project, Shreebee!
And inspiring.
* some, not sone — typo . Also, I store all of my church and my few more formal pieces in a separate closet, as they get much less wear than levels 1,2, and 3. My greatest percentage need is for level 1 clothes, which I had as my least amount before figuring this out ! And when I say spotted, I’m meaning a small bleach spot on the underside of a long sleeved sweater, or something minor. Nothing majorly spotted, that would feel depressing , as if I was disrespecting myself .
I’m in the mood now that I would embroider a bug or a flower or something over the bleach spot! I’m REALLY beginning to hate churning through clothes every few months – what a waste. And bad for the environment. And the budget. And the morale!
hugs,
Janice
Thanks for this comment shrebee.
Although this is the first time I’ve heard this, I’ve already sorted the clothes like this.
My stylish clothes also hang separately with the jackets.
I sorted 2&3 by season and color.
I saw that video too and tried to make it work, but I couldn’t figure out my levels in a way that really made sense. I think I just don’t have enough separation in my life for this approach. I ended up making a list of 52 imaginary “occasions” — 13 categories x 4 seasons — and just started weeding through my closet with the goal of picking the items that would fulfill all my ‘what if’ requirements with as few pieces as possible. I intended that after I relieved myself of the need to have a lot of ‘just in case’ stuff, I would be able to focus on my “wear everywhere” clothes.
My rules were super simple: I needed to pick things I would actually wear, I was supposed to start by looking at what I had already picked, and I wasn’t committing to getting rid of anything just because it didn’t make it onto the rack.
It worked surprisingly well. I found 16 garments that literally met every need except going to a *formal* event (which I haven’t done in years anyway) and having enough pieces that I’m not a slave to my laundry. Bonus — I took a hard look at the items I kept passing up. Like, that cardigan that’s made of some icky fabric that I don’t like. Nothing is ever going to make me like that cardigan, and I keep not buying a black cardigan because ‘I already have one’. Or I kept passing up a sheer topper because I didn’t have a navy cami to wear under it.
Second bonus– seeing those sixteen items hanging together on a rack suddenly brought my personal style into sharp focus for me. I have a uniform. I didn’t realize that. It’s jeans, a breton top, and black ballet flats. I could probably live for years at a time without going off that script. When I’m not wearing that, I’m just swapping out the bretons for 3/4 sleeve solid v-neck or boat-neck t-shirts. I have bretons and 3/4 sleeve solid t-shirts in just about every color I can get away with.
Lovely wardrobe, not for me personally, but I would enjoy it on someone else and think “wow, she is really put together”. Some of you just amaze me at your organization. I am on the cusp of retirement (I hope) but fortunately my workplace is casual enough that most of the work clothes will translate into stay at home clothes. My “just in case dress clothes” go in garment bags. I only have a few. Things here in Seattle so casual that for the most part my work clothes can also translate into going out clothes with the addition of jewelry or a special topper or something. My closet organized by season – 2 seasons. Most of my wardrobe I wear almost year-round (I layer in the colder weather) except for the summer clothes for when it’s really hot (and I don’t have a lot of those). Those are actually in the vacant bedroom. Then I organize by color. That’s it. It works for me –
I am just north of Seattle, close to the border and I agree… our dressy and our casual isn’t a big divide and our seasons don’t change nearly as much!
Oh, I think this idea would be a great base for me. As I look at my closet I really have this in a navy and chambray color way. My life is going in the more dressy direction. Five years ago (as my kids got older) I started working two days a week teaching and this next year I will be adding another job teaching at another school on the other three days each week. However they will be half days. So I will probably still change from level 3/4 to level 2 somewhere during the day. But with church on Sundays added in that will be 6 days a week that I will now need to be a little more dressed up. I am glad that over the last few years I have started this journey from stay at home mom to work world (again) so that I have some ideas of where I want to go with all of it! I definitely know my base colors and and some of my other favorites and am getting a handle on the silhouettes that I favor.
Janice,
Oh I like the unexpected idea of a flower or bug appliquéd onto a clothing spot for my at home wear ! I’ll have to make a trip to Michael’s and see what I can find ! Thanks for the idea !
I want to wear black with brown next time.
But I have already swapped the black for ruby red (sweet kiss) on the capsule. 🤎🔴🤍
I love the brown shoe selection.
Ah, the magic of computer screens! I see NO brown in the scarf, it looks totally grey on my screen! I’d consider getting it if it was grey, but I will take your word that it is brown and not think about it. Although I do think black and brown look fine together, I can’t do brown near my face so I usually don’t wear brown bottoms either. Love the wardrobe though (as I do almost everything you post!)
I enjoyed seeing ideas for dark colors in warm weather. My primary neutral is Chocolate Brown, but I often wonder if it is appropriate in the summer – although I worry less about being appropriate than I use to. Colors are often so seasonal, it is helpful to see them used out of their season. I am so thankful that there are dark brown clothes available to buy again! Thanks for your posts, they are the candy at the end of my day.:)
I love chocolate brown in every season so I vote yes, it’s completely appropriate to summer!
I loved shrebee’s post and have copied it to try myself since it could make all the difference to my situation if I think about the categories of clothes I might need and actually use.
While I did buy some new clothes to update my wardrobe I haven’t yet got rid of anything yet.
What’s more I still have work clothes and haven’t been to work since 31st March 2020.
Since then had been caring for my ailing mother. However mammy passed away last November and I haven’t got a new routine yet and can’t seem to make one. All mammys stuff is untouched and how to start dealing with it is beyond me.
People say you shouldn’t make any big decisions in the year after a bereavement and I have big decisions to make like should I sell our childhood home (an ancient 3 storey house in need of extensive repairs) or move to a manageable apartment just for myself.
However, even small decisions have been difficult.
For example I bought 6 different handbags (what Americans call purses) one after the other and returned 5 bags before finally keeping the best bag.
Did the same with the new clothes. I tried them on at home. When they didn’t feel right or didn’t go with a least 3 other things I liked wearing or I didn’t look like me in the mirror they went back. I was ruthless based on all the advice gleaned from Janice and contributions from everyone on this blog.
Agreed with arwen7 who needs more colours as so do I and an additional 5 items sounds about right. Much like when Janice adds a French 5 to a common wardrobe. In my opinion those colourful items can all be different colours they don’t need to be the same colour.
I enjoy hearing how everyone else is doing and about their stylish ideas.
Thanks for listening.
Take care of yourselves.
Susan from Dublin Ireland
I just read what jen did and it makes so much sense that I also copied her way of doing things.
I am going to use what both shrebee and jen did to try and find a collection of clothes that work for me.
It has been inspiring to read what both ladies have to say.
Best regards to you all.
Susan from Dublin Ireland
Susan, sorry for your loss. And that’s a big adjustment to be considering. You’ll know when you’re ready to make decisions. I agree with you about Shrebee’s and Jen’s postings – super-helpful. All the best to you.
Thank you vicki from nz
I appreciate what you said