June 3, 2024
Time to visit our six heroines and see what intelligent, well-considered wardrobe additions they make this month!
knowing full well that these wardrobes could be expanded in ways that defy logic…
This painting doesn’t grow old:
At the end of May, our heroine had 24 garments in this capsule wardrobe – LOTS of red:
And her accessories were just right for her – I will always believe that you can tell much more about a woman from her accessories rather than just her clothes!
Our heroine only has one dress – the classic grey one – and she feels like she wants something for summer. It wasn’t a big leap to decide that a two-piece camp shirt and skirt was perfect:
Camp shirt – Alex Mill; striped tee shirt – J.Crew; earrings – Amazon Essentials; white cardigan – J.Crew; silver bag – J.Crew; skirt – Alex Mill; silver sandals – J.Crew
Filling in her clothing purchases with a striped tee and a white cardigan felt obvious, and useful. But what’s REALLY useful? – a silver bag, sandals and earrings. No-brainer accessorizing…
And now, her wardrobe is even MORE red – as soon as autumn clothes begin to arrive in stores, she SWEARS that she’s going to buy more gray:
Her accessories are great – such a neat range of earrings!
The ONE thing that this heroine needs to remember – always launder her red top and skirt at the same time! It would be SO easy to wear the red top much more often than the skirt. But by the end of summer, they might not match anymore…
And how to wear these lovely new things? Let’s see:
Let’s make a BIG color palette swing:
Her 24-piece wardrobe at the end of May is a really efficient, but still interesting, model of a capsule wardrobe:
And her accessories are beautiful! Do we assume that this person has blue eyes?
This heroine went shopping without a clear plan – maybe a pair of shorts… When she saw this embroidered top, she KNEW the direction she would take!
striped tee – Alex Mill; earrings – Harfi; crossbody bag – Mali + Lili; Embroidered top – Boden; linen shorts – J.Crew; cardigan – L.L.Bean; espadrilles – Anabella by Rossy Sanchez
Even though it’s only one top, the embroidered top brings a happy feeling to this entire wardrobe:
And you get the sense that those blue espadrilles are going to be real workhorses for the summer:
So many new outfits, from buying two “statement” garments and two dead neutral classics:
I think I say this every month, but I stick with my feeling that I could wear these shades of blue for a long time…
Today’s last wardrobe is based on this enigmatic, elegant yet earthy painting:
This particular (freckled?) heroine finishes the month of May with this 24-piece capsule wardrobe:
And these accessories:
This heroine already has a couple of pairs of shorts, and she has NO interest in a dress or skirt… hmm… Capris, or cropped pants, seem to be something for her to consider. And she would like a casual 2nd layer – a nice sweatshirt (yes, these things exist!) is a thought…
Sweatshirt – L.L.Bean; bay leaf smocked top – L.L.Bean; earrings – Ettika; paprika brown tee – GAP; cropped pants –L.L.Bean; bracelets – Nordstrom; sandals – Mephisto
Her wardrobe is a model of cohesive planning. Her accent tops in shades of rust don’t all match, but that’s a compromise that has to be made sometimes, when you’re looking for a color that’s difficult to find…
And her accessories are beautiful…
She’s never lacked for ways to get dressed, and her new purchases make that even easier!
Have you picked up any ideas for your wardrobe? For my birthday, at the end of this month, I’m getting a new sweatshirt…
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I based a wardrobe on a photograph of a flowering tree that I found in a parking lot; beauty is where you find it!
p.p.s. This is released tomorrow – you can order it here… I’m pretty doggone sure that many of us are going to devour this:
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All lovely wardrobes, but my favourite is the third one, In the Park. It turns out I already have many of those pieces (or similar things that are available here in Oz) but you make them feel special! Thanks again Vivienne!
omg The O’Keefe just keeps getting better and better. Just stunning. Also love the additions to the Magill – that embroidered top is amazing. The wardrobe for the Denis is very nice, I just can’t get past the colors. Which is weird because a few years ago I was trying to build a wardrobe around them – unsuccessfully as it turned out. In fact, I’m currently working on a granny blanket with almost the same colors and I don’t like it. And I picked the colors! In my head I think they were going to be a bit brighter, and they are not. Anyway, the new additions are just perfect. Can’t wait for the rest on Wednesday.
Sheila, that granny blanket will be your torture, lol. Been there…
Maybe it will turn out to be PERFECT for a blanket – you knew it was going to work somewhere, you just took two tries to find the right spot!
hugs,
Janice
Beautiful, Janice! Again! Your work never fails to teach and inspire me.
Fyi: I just unsubscribed one of my email addresses so that I’ll get one-a-day and not two-a-day. Didn’t want you to think I was really leaving!!! I look forward to your messages every morning! =)
Camille
Janice,
Switching out the black for brown, Dans Le Parc screams ME ! Love, love, love ! The short sleeved dark rust tee almost looks like burgundy on my monitor, and I thought , “ why not use it in Summer instead of relegating it to just Fall or cold months “ ? I have a long sleeved burgundy top that I packed away for the Summer, but I think I’ll pull it back out again ! So thanks for my “ free” extra garment !
Can someone who has seen an Alex Mill skirt enlighten me? The description says 100% linen but also “fully lined”. With what? I’ve never seen anything lined with linen. Or is it polyester (a sauna suit). Or (Bemberg) rayon? Or…?
Danielle, I have the skirt in Navy and White. The lining is 100% cotton. Very soft and makes the white so wearable. I bought them a month or so ago and have worn both. Comfortable, pockets, easy to iron. Haven’t washed yet so can’t give testimony to that but I really like the skirt.
We are still living in temp housing while our house is repaired and I have bought a few items to supplement the things I pulled to wear. These skirts have been great!
Love the Magill and I could definitely survive with it!!!
This freckled heroine could be completely happy with the In the Park wardrobe except I would need skirts. I have always leaned toward deeper shades of the green, but as my hair has lightened, I think the softer shades work. Rust tops are indeed hard to find. It may well be my favorite color to wear. I know I am always reaching for the ones in my closet.
I was tickled to see the laundering suggestion for the two-piece dress. I made myself a lovely two-piece dress from printed cotton in the early 90s. For me it was the skirt that got worn a lot more often. I was so dissapointed when I found out that they could no longer be worn as a dress due to the skirt fading more.
Time and again, you’ve shown us that patiently assembling clothing in a specific palette makes dressing/ packing easy. It really works!
Once again the Magill captures my attention. In the early 2000’s I had 2 matching skirt and shirt sets. One was red and would have been able to slip right in to the O’Keefe and the other was a medium blue that would have found a great place in the Magill wardrobe. I’m not sure why I quit wearing them and then donated when we changed houses. I could kick myself now. Hindsight’s 20/20, right?
So many pieces in the Magill are just right for me and I have similar items in my closet. Including the bright blue accent crops which still haven’t made an appearance on my body! And now it’s summer so too hot for them!
And regarding the heroine’s eye color, why yes, I do have blue eyes!
Oh my… I’ve donated clothing that I would cheerfully buy again, if it could ever be found! What was I thinking…
hugs,
Janice
In the section on the red/gray Georgie O’Keefe painting, there’s a red v-neck blouse with a gathered bodice. I looked back and tried to find where the source of it was linked, but no luck. Can you tell?
https://shopstyle.it/l/cb5ym
It’s from Lands’ End – the link above will take you right to the top, if you copy it and then paste it into your “address bar.” Oh, the things we’ve learned…
hugs
Janice
Janice, I am a new subscriber and found you on Pinterest. I am so impressed how you take a painting or artwork to make a capsule wardrobe of gorgeous color combinations along with accessories too. Your work is amazing!!! I have silver/white hair and the Maple Leaf and Glen combinations would work fabulous for me. I look forward to getting your daily emails.
Blessings, ~Lisa~
I’m loving the Magill. The ‘blue’ experiment is working a treat for me. I’m adding in turquoise as summer begins which naturally adds light grey as an additional neutral (I don’t wear white on my bottom half). I’m not buying new clothes but just making the most of the ones I have. The embroidered top is similar to a white top I have with navy embroidery. I am in the market for new bags though. My summer go to is a silver or light grey bag because it goes with everything. However, I have yet to find a silver bag to replace the two I’ve just had to get rid of because they were so tatty. My navy bag strap broke and is unmendable.