August 2, 2024
I’m back… I may need to take more time off, but right now, I find work – and thinking of all of you – to be rather comforting!
Let’s start with my favorite? Well, my favorite right this moment…
This heroine has been, frankly, sort of fast and loose about her wardrobe. Oh, she’s been disciplined enough with her color palette, and she’s found some amazing things to include… But she’s discovered that she’s ill-equipped for a serious event that strongly suggests a sober dress or skirt outfit.
Here’s what she has so far:
She so loved her print dress from last month that she thought she’d start this month’s shopping with the same dress, but in black! (this is always a good idea) The addition of a cardigan, a simple silk blouse, and a sweater vest will give her the kind of options that she’s looking for, as autumn approaches and she faces some “adult” activities.
if you like vests, this is your year – they are absolutely everywhere!
Dress – J.Jill; cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; vest – Rails; silk shirt – Everlane; scarf – Echo; pumps – Lifestride; bag – Madewell
These additions don’t make a gigantic difference in the overall feel of her wardrobe, except maybe it has a slightly more balanced feeling:
And she finally has MORE neutral shoes than accent shoes. Not that you have to have more neutral things, but it’s generally going to give you a more wearable wardrobe, day to day…
Her new options open the door for her to attend those meetings and events that require a certain sobriety:
Our next heroine is starting to think about autumn…
Her current wardrobe certainly includes some things to wear in cooler weather…
But she could – at a minimum – use a good pair of boots!
Corduroy pants and a cashmere turtleneck in her ivory neutral – and boots! – will go a long way in cold weather:
Bracelet – BaubleBar; pink shirt – L.L.Bean; ivory cashmere turtleneck – Lands’ End; backpack – Béis; boots – Hunter; soft blue haze cotton sweater – Lands’ End; corduroy pants – Billabong
All of our heroines have enough clothing now that only the most errant of purchases will make a noticeable difference in the feel of their complete wardrobe; this is very much unchanged in overall mood…
Her accessories remain delicious…
Her new outfits are comfortably familiar for her – new clothes, but the same woman!
Today’s last heroine is our friend with the vibrant personal style based upon LOTS of red…
Her painting inspiration:
When you look closely at her wardrobe at the end of July, it’s hard to see any gaps or issues; it’s surprising that a wardrobe with this much accent in it can feel so complete:
Her accessories seem to have all of her bases covered too!
But she shops a bit, and finds things that she loves, and that will be useful for her… The scarf is wonderful, and a very good deal!
Grey “coatigan” – L.L.Bean; red leather bracelet – Bling Jewelry; red birdseye sweater – L.L.Bean; red striped tee – Old Navy; white jeans – Levis; cotton (yes, cotton!) scarf – Mio Marino; leather sneakers – Cole Haan
Here again, new clothes don’t change the overall wardrobe…
And her accessories are exactly what she needs to be able to get dressed without a lot of stress…
Her new outfits cover the range of possibilities from neutral and sober to bright statements:
Does anything here give you ideas for your own wardrobe?
love,
Janice
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Welcome back. We’ve missed you. You have been and will continue to be in the thoughts and prayers of many people around the world. Many of us have been in your shoes. We understand.
Today’s offerings are all lovely and practical.
I applaud the Rothko heroine for her foresight. This past spring, I had to scramble to find a suitable dress for my mother-in-law’s memorial. Something respectful but in keeping with my own style. I found a dress in an unlikely place. A gift shop in a Florida west coast tourist town.
You just never know where you’ll find treasure.
I love the Rothko wardrobe. It’s also my favorite, right now. Although I don’t wear black near my face usually, I would try to make it work if I had this wardrobe. And the accessories! They are so beautiful and fun.
Actually, I love the accessories for all the wardrobes. You have taught me how much accessories can make and change an outfit. I’ve added quite a few new ones to my collection this past year.
On another note, today I will be wearing a black velvet dress with a lovely black lace hem. It’s a little reminiscent of a roaring twenties style. I’m facilitating my monthly book club meeting this month. The book we’ve read takes place in the 1920’s. I try to add a little bit of drama to my presentations. It makes people smile and I have so much fun.
PS
Regarding your look back: I heeded your advice back then and still do today. I keep granola bars in my purse, a phone charger close by(the same one you recommended back then), and a jacket or sweater always goes with me. Your advice has proved invaluable so often.
Thank you.
Glad to see you back! Hugs.
Very glad you are back. You have been missed. We have been thinking of you.
I missed you, Janice, but I can certainly (and sadly) relate to your journey. Your return post is triumphant and the Rothko group remains my favorite. I only wish that pink and orange were easy to find in winter and they’re truly my favorite. These are all amazing updates to three spectacular wardrobe.
I’m going to find ways to keep elements of both the Rothko and Klee wardrobes into my own. I just don’t do much with white pants. Two immense journey German Shepherds living right on the Bay in Maine? Lots of muddy paws!
What a nice surprise to see a post this morning! Thank you. Be sure to take all the time you need. I can’t think about autumn clothes yet. We’re in a heat wave here in Toronto and I just want to enjoy it for now. The summer is so short! I have summer clothes I haven’t worn yet this year.
Good to see you!
Good to “see” you Janice.
I, too, found that getting back to work helped soothe my wounded soul after my husband passed, unexpectedly, at 55.
The wound never totally heals, but it can be managed.
I have found that talking about him has always kept him close to me, as well as to others in the family and to our friends.
Prayers for you!
Diane
Glad to see you back and hope you are doing ok. My mother has been gone for 19 years and I still think of her every single day. She was very funny and very kind. Although we are still warm here in the Pacific Northwest, I have already started shopping for fall – my favorite time of year. I love fall and winter clothes. This has included some red, for the first time in years, and I wonder if the O’Keefe influenced my decision? That wardrobe is just amazing, and I am still absolutely smitten with the one scarf. Too lazy to go back and search for it, the square one. I think it’s the hint of lavender with the orange. (or at least that’s what it looks like to me) I still don’t think I could limit myself to just a few colors, but if I could, the O’keefe, out of this group, would be the one! Thank you Janice and take care.
Welcome back! You’ve been missed.
So good to see you again. Like others have said, i have been in your shoes right now and understand the fluctuating emotions. The gray, black, and red wardrobe continues to be my favorite. It was difficult to look at sweaters, boots, and scarves when our North Carolina week is flush with 105+ heat indices, but i pushed through the sweat and ordered the lovely red twigs scarf. Thanks!
Welcome back! We have missed you.
That red wardrobe is really growing on me. I admit that I was very hesitant at the beginning, even as someone who wears red all the time. However, it has really come together into something so wearable.
Janice,
It is so good to “ see” you again, but do take any ongoing time that you need to process and work on any ongoing details. You’ve been in my prayers . Much love !
I love the gray and red wardrobe, though it’s not me. I redid my summer wardrobe after realizing your all blue and white one made me happy every time I looked at it, and I think I will take a cue from this one for fall. My summer clothes for work are now all based on navy and variations on blue and white, with a second neutral in black (I love blue and black together) and raspberry/orchid accents. I added ecru jeans as well. It’s my favorite wardrobe ever, and I feel great every time I put anything on. But if have a lot of gray pants and a long gray sweater for fall and winter (along with blue-based, dark forest green for accents) and I think I will evaluate all that when it gets cool based on this wardrobe, going heavier on the black and gray and using navy as a smaller, second neutral. I really love the forest green but the result then is all very dark. This gives me a good idea of how to look at the rest of the colors and hues to vary them.
What a wonderful surprise to see a post from you this morning! I’ve had a lot of loss in my life and I found that working was helpful to soothe me. None of these colors are for me but I love all the different looks and styles of them. Makes it so easy for me to just sub my own colors into the wardrobe. I’ve missed you, Janice! Take care.
Hugs Janice! Work can very definitely soothe the soul. Routine, having something productive to do, etc, is, for me at least, a great morale booster.
Thinking of you with lots of love and admiration!
Hurray!!!! Missed you! Glad to see you’re doing ok at this tough time, and that we can all be part of something that makes you feel better.
Welcome back–you’ve been missed! Grief is a journey, so honor your ups and downs and do what’s right for you. And remember: there can be no great sorrow without there first having been great joy. That has been the mantra that saw me through my times of great loss.
I love all the wardrobes but my absolute favorite is the O’Keefe red and gray one. And I got the Living Modern biography of O’Keefe you recommended. It’s fascinating and is inspiring me to get back to sewing.
Thank you for all you do!
So good to see your post this morning! You’ve been missed and in my thoughts and yes take whatever time you need. We all understand.
And just a great BIG thank you for doing what you do !!!
Good to see you back, you’ve been missed! Sending hugs.
So great to see you back! This post brought me so much joy this morning!
On another note, it’s still very warm here in the PNW so I can barely stand to think of the warm clothing I will inevitably need for our 6-8 months of winter, but I’ve found it’s actually the perfect time to shop for them. I mostly shop online due to wearing sizes that are hard to find in physical stores. When it’s hot, I’m far more likely to be picky with what shows up, and it goes back unless I absolutely love it and it works with what I already own. If it’s already cold, I can get seduced by any warm cozy item, regardless if it fits in my wardrobe or with my personal aesthetic.
Mary, your point about being more selective when shopping out of season is a really interesting one! I think I am similarly easily seduced by light and airy pieces in summer, regardless of whether they check any of my other boxes; I need to be wary of adding more linen tops to my wardrobe just because they feel good when I try them on in the summer. (Right now I’m not shopping but this is something for me to keep in mind for later!)
That is so funny, i think it happened to me one winter with rug-shopping! I wanted a rug in my living room, and ALL the options were looking GREAT… then i bought house slippers that kept my feet warm and literally ALL my enthusiasm for a rug vanished. the room still doesnt have a rug….
Maybe you’ve stumbled on THE secret to keeping a tight/neat wardrobe?!?!
Welcome back — but also feel free to come and go as you please during this process. Many prayers and much love!
It’s wonderful to have you back.
So lovely to see your post this morning. You have been missed.
The Rothko continues to make my heart zing. Part of me wishes I could be the Klee woman in head to toe ivory, but I just can’t. As usual, these are all such functional and pulled together wardrobes. I’m always amazed when I see what you decide to add each month because the previous month looked so complete. But then I realized that, yes, the Rothko woman needed some adult clothing.
It’s lovely to see you back. You have been missed. Especially on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I didn’t realise how much I look forward to your posts and reading the comments from your community.
Welcome back! I had those black kitten heel pumps in 8th grade in 1965. Still cute!!
Welcome back, welcome “home”. Take all the time you need, as and when you need it. That said, we’re happy to have you back! I continue to love where these are heading :) why does that red-and-white striped shirt look so CLEAN! spring/summer/fall, its just giving all the vibes!
Janice, it’s so nice to hear from you today – we are sending love and hugs your way.
The red wardrobe is shaping up so beautifully. I think the very narrow and cohesive color palette is allowing a wonderful variety of textures and prints/patterns. The other two palettes have colors that are less easily mixed-and-matched into outfits, so they have less variation in the non-color aspects than the red one…though I am actually impressed with how these wardrobes are improving every month.
Adding more of the black pieces to the Rothko has made a huge difference to its wearability in my view, quite regardless of whether that heroine needs to dress for sober/serious occasions; I think having more of the black neutral helps ground the brightly-accented wardrobe. To me there is something special about black clothing/accessories – it seems to be functionally more “neutral” in outfits than other neutrals, more easily ignorable in some way that allows it to be worn more often and more flexibly. I’m not sure how much of that is about black itself perceptually or how we relate to it socially or that it’s just so common, but I do think a person could wear the same exact pair of black pants every single day and most people wouldn’t really notice, but wear even different pairs of grey or olive or for heaven’s sake ivory pants every day for just a week and it’s a totally different story. (This isn’t to say that being the “ivory pants lady” is bad or anything like that! I just use this as an example of how black clothing/accessories seem to have an ability to act as purer support pieces than other colors, which may or may not be desirable to a given heroine or in a given wardrobe or environment or situation.)
In a larger wardrobe, with effort a person can achieve a broader color palette, a variety of texture and pattern, different silhouettes, and mix-and-matchability. But one of my takeaways from these capsules is that in a small wardrobe, a heroine really does need to decide what is important to her because you can’t have variety in every dimension plus a lot of different outfit options (by which I mean the ability to create dozens of different coherent outfits from the pieces).
It’s interesting to consider whether for some heroines, it might be sensible to forgo much of the mix-and-matchability to make room for variety, and what would make that work. For example, if a heroine loves to wear dresses on the regular and builds her wardrobe around that, there is much less need for mix-and-matchability than for a heroine who is all about the top + bottom + topper combination. This may seem to be moving away from capsule-based wardrobing to outfit-based wardrobing, but I think the ideas at work in Janice’s capsules remain relevant regardless. Even in the extreme case…a heroine with a closet containing X number of set outfits with zero mix-and-matching of her clothing…she would benefit from strategic consideration of whether/how an accessory capsule, outerwear capsule, etc. could be built to support her wardrobe.
What I take as the TVF philosophy can be applied to any wardrobe – with tenets like:
Be thoughtful.
Be selective.
Have a plan.
Take your time.
But also allow yourself to fall in love with (and sometimes buy) truly special “high whappage” pieces that will go the distance.
Sally, your thoughts about an outfit-based wardrobe vs. a capsule wardrobe are very insightful. I’ve noticed that as I increasingly wear dresses these days, the process of how they fit in and if they will match the other things in my wardrobe has changed. Now I just need to make sure I have a couple of sweaters, cardigans, or jackets that will work, maybe a scarf or two, and some shoes. It is actually much less complicated.
Hurray!!! You’re back!!! I can not add anything to what’s already been said, except that filling the profound void after my mother passed 20 years ago was a challenge. The impact of the silence . . . But tending to the work at hand and developing a rhythm was helpful. I love the rhythm of your posts as well as the creativity, and the wisdom of your advice, and I find the reality of time off to be grounding, too. You’re in my thoughts and prayers with gratitude for all you do and for how you share who you are with us
The Klee painting colors are not mine, but if they were, I’d look for boots in more of a chamois or tan color (like Kamala wears). I just can’t see ivory boots in the seasons where it’s cool enough to wear boots at all!
I’ve been really interested in seeing how often sweater blazers are worn by actresses in French TV series (Murder in…). May have to buy that one from LL Bean. Curse you! (lol)
So happy to see a post from you. Glad you are back even if it’s necessary to be sporadic. Hope all the sorting and paperwork stuff is not too mind boggling.
Welcome back — you were missed by all of your Vivienne family. Keeping you close in good thoughts for you and your family.
It is lovely to have a post from you today. Take time for yourself when you need it. We’ve just had a restorative holiday after a stressful period following the passing of my MIL. We had no plans and took each day as it came.
I’ve been intrigued by the Rothko perhaps because of the delicious pink. I’ve always eschewed black but my hair is going silver/white, so black no longer looks so awful.
Since joining a choir and MIL funeral, I’ve realised that I should have a small capsule of stylish black. Last year, I bought a pair of heavy black crepe trousers in M&S (I’d like similar in navy). For MIL funeral, I found a Phase Eight stretch jersey wrap top in a charity shop. I’ve also acquired a couple of black jackets and a black lace top from MIL’s extensive wardrobe – she had white hair for all the 30+ years I knew her. She looked lovely in black. Perhaps I a long black skirt would be a good addition as well.
I do need a decent pair of black courts and a stylish black handbag. Does anyone else find shopping for handbags frustrating? I know what I want but finding it is another matter. For occasion wear I prefer a grab handle bag – less likely to get wrapped round furniture or tripping over the strap.
Looking forward to the Nash and Magill blue wardrobes next week.
Welcome back. I am swooning over the Rothko…. I absolutely love the colors and would never have planned a wardrobe around them… thank you for your work and the inspiration!!
Welcome back. You were missed, but I don’t believe anyone would begrudge you the time you need to heal. It seems we’ve all been there and we understand. Hugs to you and yours.
Such a nice surprise to see your post, and a great way to start the month. Nice to have you back but do take care of yourself going through a big loss. Hugs
Welcome back, and I’m sorry for your loss.
I’ve always been a fan of striped shirts, but I was struck by what a difference the new striped shirt made to the Georgia O’Keeffe wardrobe! I think it’s the wide stripes of white mixed in; it just seemed to lighten and enliven the whole mix. I know there’s another striped tee, but it doesn’t compare. The sweater is winner, too, probably for similar reasons: the pattern is good mix of two colors making it well-delineated even from a distance.
Just want to add one more ‘hugs and prayers’ to the list, Janice. Thanks for your work 🫶🫶🫶, we’ll patiently wait for the other 3.