April 1, 2024
I’m going to start on the “Six Paintings – 12 Months” wardrobes on Wednesday; it may take me three posts to get them all done!
Today, our heroine is going to the beach for the weekend. You might be surprised, if you don’t live near a big lake or the ocean, how many people head out 3 out of 4 weekends to hang out beside some water…
Our heroine saw this scarf and knew immediately that this was going to be a favorite:
scarf – Echo
Black and white are always her core neutrals, but this summer she’s looking for accents in green and pink!
Scarf – Echo
yes, she could certainly use blue also – I didn’t find any of the right shade of blue that really felt worked…
For the trip up there (it’s always “up” no matter what direction you’re traveling, in my mind…) she’s breaking out her scarf, and a white cardigan that will be an essential 2nd layer all summer:
Green tee – J.Crew; earrings – Swarovski; scarf – Echo; white cardigan – Lands’ End; green chinos – J.Crew; tote bag – Ted Baker; loafers – LifeStride
It’s entirely possible that she will just leave all of these things at the beach house all summer….
And I think she must be going to the ocean, because she’s seized upon seashells as her signature motif! If you’re inland, you can always fall in love with fish, or trees, or sailboats…
Pink seashell earrings – CJ.314; gold seashell earrings – Swarovski; pink gauze top – GAP; pink dress – J.Crew; black shirt – J.Crew; seashell bracelet – Linya Jewellery; white cropped pants – Lands’ End; striped tee – GAP; black linen shorts – J.Crew; flower handbag – ELEMOOD Japan; pink sandals – Madden Girl; black sandals – SoftWalk
This isn’t a lot of clothing, but if you’re only away for two – maybe three – nights, it’s plenty. Even if she has to head back to work on Monday morning, the green pants give her something that’s work-appropriate…
As always, a sensible woman will work her way through some outfit possibilities, just to be certain that she’s not overlooking something essential!
From Chicago, people decamp to the Indiana Dunes, to the lakes in Michigan, the lakes in Illinois, or the Lakes in Minnesota… EVERY weekend…
love,
Janice
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When I saw this come through on my Echo email subscription I was hoping you would do a capsule from it. Not my colors, but I love what you’ve done with it – of course. :) I really went down the rabbit hole on Friday’s post. Specifically the look back. I went to “Recovering Shopaholic” and then her new blog ‘My Wardrobe, Myself” and then went to Sally in St. Paul’s blog “Within a World of My Own”. All gave me much food for thought. My wardrobe and the desire to “manage” it would benefit if I could figure out what I wanted to be when I grow up. I’ve got the colors figured out, now if I could just decide what “style” to settle on. Mostly I’m about comfort, and being casual and at the same time ok to wear to work. About the time I think I’ve figured it out I see something that might “work better”. Maybe I’ll just never be a minimalist. Happy Monday everyone!
My plan is to do capsules for all 100 scarves! It’s the least I can do, since Echo has been generously sharing lots of my work in their email and social media.
Hugs,
Janice
Thanks, Sheila, for the blog information. Now I can go down more rabbit holes. (smile)
While I’m not a professional like the bloggers, I have been doing informal color consulting for decades – clothes, paint colors, garden design. Most of my life, I preferred tailored and sporty clothes, and had the figure for it. But weight gain as I aged (I’m 72) made tailored clothes less comfortable, would love to wear belts again. Chico’s has options that mostly worked for me but I veered too much into bold prints, more “billowy” clothes, chunky jewelry. I do better with solid tops or I feel I get “lost.”
However, patterns can be helpful in determining your style. At some point, I looked at my closet and saw so many vertical, striped shirts! I am the Wood element as per the five Chinese elements, and stripes fit that element. (I studied in feng shui.) So although I no longer wear tailored clothes, stripes can still convey a tailored look. Second most common pattern for me are plaids, the Earth element, which are sporty. There’s a lot more to using the Chinese elements, too much to write in this space. In addition to tailored and sporty, other style descriptors are romantic, bold, dressy, youthful, edgy, classic, etc. You can search online for more to help find keywords for your personal style.
Look into your closet to see if there are any overall patterns. Pull out the clothes you wear the most. Take a look at them to see if you can figure out what works for you and clues as to your personal style. Also, pull out clothes that you love but don’t wear. Those will give you clues as to what doesn’t work for you. Mistakes?
Another trick is to pay attention when you get compliments. But, be careful. Do you get the compliments or the clothes? As in “You look nice.” vs. “Great shirt.” The idea is for you to look your best, not show off clothes. And if there’s a style that appeals to you but doesn’t work on you, use that in your décor.
I’ll never be a minimalist as are my mother and youngest sister to the point of being OCD. Some of those capsule wardrobes are simply boring to me. A collector in general, I love variety and having choices. When I travel, something inspires the colors for that trip and then I “curate” that capsule wardrobe from what I have.
P.S. My careers are too numerous to mention, still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
Ha – I went down that same rabbit hole!
I did find it interesting (from the VF flashback post) that I have roughly 90 items in my wardrobe (tops, bottoms, and dresses, not including grubbies, athletic wear, or pants I’m holding onto even though they don’t currently fit).
Yes, I show 84 – that does not include Middle School, College, or Air Force wear! 🤣
You made me laugh, Sheila:
“My wardrobe and the desire to “manage” it would benefit if I could figure out what I wanted to be when I grow up. I’ve got the colors figured out, now if I could just decide what “style” to settle on.”
Do we ever ‘grow up’ or do we just change slowly with the seasons, our environment, our physical changes and the rolling by of years? I believe that there is an essence of who we always will be that has been there since we were a child. I’m a tomboy at heart and like my clothes to be comfortable and easy to wear but I also love to dress up and swan around in swishy dresses like a romantic heroine from the Belle Epoche. When I was in my 20’s, I squashed the tomboy as I had ‘grown up’ and mainly wore dresses and skirts. Then I had kids in my thirties and tomboy became more prevalent no matter how much I fought against it. That was my confused era and I felt scruffy as a tomboy and out-of-date as a ‘romantic’. In my 40’s and 50’s, I was a mixture of the two but the ‘tomboy’ won out because of health problems. I rarely wear dresses and skirts because of difficulties wearing comfortable dress shoes. However, I’m going to make an effort to find ‘dress’ trousers so that I can dress up again, at least on my top half. Maybe not Belle Epoche but certainly 1930’s/1940’s glamour.
I’m working my way through the book Janice suggested in a look back a few weeks ago when she was looking at the picture of a room and imagining dressing like that:
Style Statement: Live by Your Own Design by Carrie McCarthy and Danielle La Porte (2008). The idea being that we can hone our style to just two words (that encapsulate a lot more). The first word describes the 80% that is your inner you – your core. The second word describes the 20% which is your creative edge – your special twist. My initial description above might change.
I’ve never counted the clothes in my wardrobe – perhaps I should.
Well put. Reflecting on your early childhood can yield clues to your authentic self. Young girls have such a great spirit…I see it in my 3-year-old great-niece who is a firecracker, so free. As we grow up, numerous factors can diminish that spark. But it’s never too late to recapture that spirit.
I somehow knew you would pair the striped tee with the flower handbag and I’m here for it! I’ve been reading TVF so long, I’ve surely learned to see some of the same possibilities as you.
Here in NJ people go “down the shore” every weekend and also try to rent a house for a week or two. That took a little getting used to because I grew up in New York and we just went to the beach. In fact, my high school was right on the beach and we even had fire drills on the boardwalk.
I love black and white and any and all colors you can put with it.
If you lived in Philadelphia, you would have written “down the shore.” Not down to the shore, but down the shore. And, everyone meant the Jersey Shore, which is actually East of Philly, so perhaps the first person who said that was geographically challenged.
Mary,
As a native Pennsylvanian , a bit northwest of Philly, the phrase “ down the shore” has always annoyed me ! I guess that I’m a bit of a “ grammar Nazi “ !
If you’re driving south on the Garden State Parkway, which is how just about everybody in Jersey gets to the beach, then you are literally driving “down the shore” – each exit number going down as you approach Cape May at the southern tip of the state.
The other telltale NJ quip is “What exit?” when you inform someone you are from New Jersey and they want to figure out where your town is located. The Parkway exits are numbered in miles from the bottom of the state – Exit 4 Wildwoods is four miles from the southern tip, Exit 163 Paramus / George Washington Bridge is just about at the northern tip. Also helpful when calculating how much travel time between exits, whether you’re going down the shore or somewhere else!
Here in Minnesota we have so many lakes in every direction that we just say we are going to the lake. Most everyone knows the most popular lake adjacent to their little town so we don’t bother with lake names unless we are going fishing. Then we let our nearest and dearest know “which exact one” just in case the canoe or boat tips over.
Today’s capsule is lovely! Not really my colors but very pretty to look at on others. And that scarf is so gorgeous.
I’m definitely looking forward to what you do with the monthly wardrobes!
Lovely colors, fresh for spring! I do think about you and thank you every time I update my closet with five items in a new vibrant color that I believe you call “The French Wardrobe”. It’s brilliant and freshens up whatever new season we’re in. Thank you again for that brilliant suggestion and all the lovely examples.
I’m considering a “French 5-Piece Wardrobe” for myself, if (and only if) Eileen Fisher or one of my very short-list of favorites does something purple! My summer wardrobe is pretty complete – lots of black and white linen, some of it YEARS old, most from Eileen Fisher. I won’t buy or replace unless something has real whappage…
A nice refresh makes everything you have look better, doesn’t it?
hugs,
Janice
Tahoe is THE lake in Northern California. And guess what, I’m there!! I’m spending a week at Tahoe with family for an Easter vacation. Great for the skiers because it has been snowing–from flurries to white outs. Im comfy in a dark navy cashmere hooded sweater that has worked great over all shirts and dark wash jeans. For the most part I have noticed a lot of black clothing up here, from ski outfits to casual and evening. Fantastic to see women wearing black cocktail dresses with fun black shoes at casino dining spots. Well, that’s my lake story. Happy Monday, and hope everyone had a meaningful Easter.
I kind of love the weirdly wonderful utility green with the black, white, and brighter pink – it has the intensity to stand up to the other colors (even if looking at the scarf, I imagined a softer green). This seems like a color that would be very difficult to match later and hence a good candidate for stocking up if it floats your boat.
This capsule is a great example of the spring/summer sleeves and layering dilemma in action. For stand-alone shirts/dresses, those wide and/or cuffed camp sleeves are very popular and look great, but I can’t fathom trying to layer them underneath a cardigan, especially the classic narrow-sleeved version here. The cardigan will work great with the two t-shirts (if you don’t mind white over dark in your layers) but the two shirts and the dress are assuredly a no-go. So what’s a heroine to do? I personally save the wide sleeved shirts for true summer heat and stick to narrow t-shirt type sleeves for layering situations, but that would mean packing more items for travel with both hot and not-as-hot weather. But perhaps there is a jacket or other topper layer that has more generously sized sleeves that would fit easily over this kind of shirt. It would be nice to see what that piece would look like.
If you know the magical secret to layering these kinds of items, let us all know! I simply cannot make it work. It bunches up, looks ridiculous, and feels uncomfortable. I definitely want to take the topper layer on and off without making a production of it. And the bunching…ugh. Maybe I’m less tolerant of that than other people.
In another month or so, people in the Twin Cities will open up their cabins and start spending many of their weekends “up north.” Minnesota cabin culture was not a thing I was prepared for when moving here from the southern US.
Same here on the sleeve problem, Sally! It’s worse with short sleeves like these but even long-sleeved linen shirts, wonderful for layering over a tank in hot weather, bunch up hideously under cardigans. Under a lined blazer they *look* okay but *feel* bunchy. If it’s the right degree of warm, you can just toss a cardigan over your shoulders without putting your arms in the sleeves, of course. But like you, I stick to t-shirts for most purposes. I love the way a crisp collared shirt looks on some people, but somehow on me they just don’t behave.
I agree on the sleeve problem so I decided to just eliminate them. Now I only wear tank tops or other sleeveless tops under a second layer. I also decided that my fat and flabby arms are what they are. If people don’t like them then they don’t have to look, so if I should need to shed the second layer I do. I still have some sleeves in my closet but then I rarely “need” a second layer. Also slick fabrics and linings in jackets and such make a huge difference in getting a second layer on or off. For me comfort trumps all.
Perfect timing! My ivory cashmere sweater needs to be retired and the Lands End cotton sweater is a great replacement.
Two things – Number 1, I love that watercolor-y scarf. One of my favorites. Number 2, you do NOT want to find yourself heading back into Chicago, on Interstate 94, Sunday afternoons in the summer. Especially not on a holiday weekend.
It’s April 1 and here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina we’re hitting the low-80s and the beach is 30 minutes from my house. I love all the things in this capsule, especially the pink dress and slides. That black and white purse is perfection! I’m currently wearing a hot pink shirt, blue skort, and tan slides as I sit by my window and work. I hope you have a lovely spring. Keep the great ideas coming!
Amanda Hudson,
If you are seeing this post, the seasonal two neutrals rotation post that was mentioned by a reader on Janice’s prior post from last week( Friday , I think) was from July 5, 2017 . Janice’s post that day was “ Can You Plan Your Entire Wardrobe, Maybe “ and the name of the person posting the rotation was LENA .
I hope that you see this .
Shreebee – I just updated that July 5, 2017 post to include how I came up with the 52 items of clothing. 🙂
How in the world did Shrebee find that post!!
Lena,
I saw that ! I wish that you could show a visual illustration of that concept ! So a central box is divided into 4 sections , with each section representing a different neutral color. Within each of those individual boxes are listed 8 garments in that given color . Is that right so far ? The location of the 5 other boxes is what I haven’t understood .
Lena,
How many groups of French 5 accent colors per each season to go with the 2 neutrals for that same season ? Only one ?
Lena,
Or is that 5 groups of a French 5 per season, hence 5 accent colors per season of the 2 neutrals ?
Lena,
Some people’s children are a little slow—- me ! Upon several re-readings I think I get it ! You use 5 groups of accents ( 5 French 5 ‘s) per season that harmonize with the two given neutrals for that season. I confess that I often rotate in a third neutral too within some seasons , being careful that the accent colors also work with the added neutral, though if not 100% , then that’s fine too .
Thanks, Lena. As I’ve only been following TVF since last summer, I occasionally browse older posts including the ones featured as throwbacks on current posts. But I hadn’t yet seen the July 5, 2017 post. Now I have yet another way to figure out the “perfect” wardrobe. And the way you described the boxes in your update make perfect sense.
Packing efficiently for travel originally drew me to TVF which I now call my guilty pleasure blog. It feeds my love of color, math geekiness, and background in graphic design. I have to admit to creating an Excel workbook with multiple tabs and a PowerPoint file to aid in visualizing different scenarios. It was easy to see how the “palette pies” could be made using PowerPoint because I use the software similarly to build simple graphic designs like floor plans, furniture arrangements, color options, etc. In fact, I just got another inspiration…good thing I’m retired!
So here’s the best I can do using text as a drawing tool.
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The big middle boxes are for the seasonal neutrals. I put 8 items in each box.
The small outside boxes are for your french five accent colors. Each little box holds one item.
You get two accent colors (2 groups of five items) for each season by coordinating the row and column of colors on the sides of each middle box (outside corners).
The middle boxes represent the four seasons neutral color choices.
The little outside boxes represent your four accent colors.
Let’s do an example to see how this works. You may find it helpful to draw the diagram on a sheet of paper and label it as follows:
Neutrals
Top left big box – Autumn, navy
Top right big box – Winter, black
Bottom right big box – Spring, light gray
Bottom left big box – Summer, white
Accent colors (French fives)
Top row – olive
Left column – burgundy
Bottom row – pink
Right column – turquoise
Now, if you are looking at the top left middle box (Autumn, neutral navy) and you put olive items in the little boxes on the top row and turquoise items in the left side column boxes then your color scheme for Autumn is navy, turquoise and olive.
If you want to expand your color scheme, grab an adjacent big box and its corresponding accent color. For example, if its still warm in your area in Autumn, grab the Summer neutral box below it (white) and the row below it to add another accent color (pink). Now your expanded color scheme is navy and white neutrals, and pink, turquoise and olive accents.
When changing seasons, just swap out the accent color that is no longer touching the middle box(es) you are now using.
Hope this adds clarity instead of making it more confusing.
Well that didnt work on my screen! Ugh! The diagram is totally not aligned anymore.
Okay, one last try. Sharing a Google Doc. No idea if this will work.
The doc is titled 52 Items Wardrobe Diagram – 4 Neutrals, 4 French Five Accents. Maybe if it doesn’t work, it will come up in a Google search.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PoAuzdjand_P0WJHHqX1l-DsrR4NbrWR3YBh1HdDfOY/edit?usp=sharing
I am seeing this. Thank you shrebee! I will be checking it out. We are going to the lake for the eclipse. Should be pretty warm so light weight fabric is in order. We are lucky to have a house there to stay in as I understand hotels, b & b’s and air b& b’s are long gone. A local winery is doing picnic baskets with viewing sunglasses.
Love this scarf and I’m delighted you will be doing something with each Janice. The purse in today’s post is really fab!
That sounds like a great location, nice touch with the winery picnic basket. The eclipse path will go from southwest to northeast. In an open space, you will get a dramatic show along the horizon when the eclipse curtain falls and rises. Expect temperatures to drop during the eclipse. Warm colors – red, orange, yellow – will be vibrant while the sun is out but subdued during the eclipse. Cool colors like blues will stand out during the eclipse. Will be fun to either wear or have things in those colors to compare. Also, nice to be near vegetation to observe changes in animal behavior during the eclipse and, of course, the unusual shadows during that time.
Enjoy !
I love this group for the great variety of conversational chat. Firstly, it will have to get a lot warmer in the UK before I consider short sleeves and sandals. Currently 14-17C daytime temperature with rain at some point every day for at least the next ten days. According to weather records the last time we had a completely dry week was October 2023 when we had a mini heatwave. It has also been the wettest year in the last 20 years with some places receiving 18 months of rain in 12.
The clocks went forward an hour on Sunday to British Summer Time so at least we will have an hour longer of daylight. The shops are full of linen so I’m hoping that come May, we might have enough sun to warrant wearing it. I am now moving out of cord trousers into coloured cotton jeans.
If I want to be beside water, I live about 80 yards from our local lake and nature reserve. To be honest, it is more like a large pond. It is 0.65 miles around, though a longer walk through the woods will take you a lot further. There are two other local nature reserves plus the University campus and lake all within a one mile walk. The sea is 75 miles away!
The most memorable eclipse I witnessed was many years ago and as the shadow moved across the sun, all the birds and insects stopped. It was eerily silent save for traffic noise!
I love this scarf and the colours of the capsule. And I’m seriously considering putting the flower purse on my birthday wish list. As usual you’ve done a fantastic job, Janice.
Vicki from NZ,
I took a screenshot of lena’s thread when it was posted and keep it in my photo file on my iPad . I do that when I see a response to Janice’s posts that I want to review in the future.
Janice,
Thank you for allowing me space to clarify Lena’s concept on neutrals and accents rotations ! I continue to learn from both you and your readers !
Lena,
Help ! 8 garments per each of 4 neutrals = 32 pieces. When you add just one French 5 , of 5 pieces each , for each of the 4 seasons, that then adds 20 pieces to the original 32 garments , equaling 52 , for a year round wardrobe . So each of those French 5 accent colors then needs to work with all 4 neutrals, right ? The placement of those French 5 boxes is what has kept me so confused !
Lena,
Good try ! I made an illustration on paper, using your verbal description. So another example might be black and light gray , the two right hand big boxes, one below the other, with accents of olive ( top border) and burgundy ( right column border ) and could add pink , if desired ( bottom border ) . Is that the idea ? Maybe you can tell that I like multiple accent colors per season ! Another example would be light gray and white as the two large lower boxes beside one another for another season, , with accents of pink ( bottom border ) and burgundy right ( column ) or
could add in some turquoise ( left column) . . Your initial description shows burgundy in the left column, but your later example has turquoise there instead .
What are some examples of your 8 items of a given neutral ?
The neutral boxes are as you first described in 2017, with one large box divided vertically and horizontally, with one neutral color in each section , comprised of 8 garments for each neutral . Then the accent colors surround this central large box of 4 neutrals sections , using one accent color on the top border , another accent color for each right and left outer border columns , and another accent color for the bottom outside border . 4 neutrals, 4 accent colors, but using 2 neutrals and 2 ( or 3) of the bordering accent colors per season . Right ?
And each accent color is comprised of a French 5 .
By George, I think I’ve got it ! Phew !
YES! You’ve got it!
For the eight pieces I use 4 tops and 4 bottoms
Tops: a sleeveless, a short sleeve,
a middle layer (either a long sleeve button down or a 3 season sweater – idea is to be able to wear alone, over the tank or short sleeve top or under the topper),
a topper of some sort.
For bottoms: dress pants, casual pants, shorts, and a skirt or dress
Lena,
Thanks so much ! Great plan !
You sound like you know NJ pretty well — is that your general locale ? As I said I’m in
PA, northwest of Philly by about 1 1/2 hours or so .
Shrebee – Lived in New Jersey and in Orange County NY for about 30 years. Central New Yorker now. Family still in New Jersey and the Philly area. We should get together sometime – we’ve been chatting on TVF for at least 7 or 8 years now 😁
Lena,
That would be fun !
I’m late to comment (as I save up the posts to binge about once a week) but wanted to mention how flattering the pink dress is, even on my mature apple shape. I saw it a few weeks ago when I was ordering the black dress Janice showed from J Crew on March 15. Both dresses are the most flattering on me that I’ve seen in a very long time so I got both styles in a couple of my colors. My partners have generously given me a week at a villa in St. Martin for my retirement so that is my excuse for needing 4 new linen dresses.
Forgot to mention that I bought the Tall version for my petite frame so it falls just below my knees which is exactly what I wanted.