January 8, 2025
“I’ve got tickets for the ballet matinee on Saturday!
We can go downtown Friday night, have dinner, go to the ballet on Saturday and then have dinner AGAIN, and then come home after brunch on Sunday…”
She can manage this – it won’t take much for clothing… Something for Saturday that’s dressy but comfortable, and something Sunday for brunch and the ride home…
And she’s dreaming of packing a soft, water-colored, shades of blue and green travel capsule wardrobe!
The ride downtown is easy – a navy “suit” with her “glacial teal” tee shirt, and her stunning scarf…
scarf – Cassandra Hone; earrings – Ninemoo; glacier teal tee – L.L.Bean; cardigan – L.L.Bean; chinos – L.L.Bean; tote bag – Lands’ End; suede moccasins – Minnetonka
Her navy skirt is perfect for this kind of adventure – it’s soft and comfortable. And she has a lovely pink sweater that will be ideal… add her pink ballet flats and she’s set for Saturday!
And then she decides that she wants to pack her yellow sweater too. And with that, her planned color palette is off the rails:
Pink cardigan – Boden; rose quartz earrings – Herself Collections; bow earrings – Karine Sultan; gold bag – Anthropologie; yellow sweater – Lands’ End; navy skirt – Boden; scarf – Delinor; silk shirt – Orvis; ballet flats – Bernardo
yes, her ballet flats are exactly the same except for color; if you liked them in navy, you’ll love them in accent colors too! This is a smart way to make sure you’ve got comfortable shoes…
She looks at her painting, and then at what she’s going to have with her for a travel capsule wardrobe:
Well, she’s not going to try to rethink her packing at this point – this wardrobe will work just fine:
Friday morning, as she’s packing, she decides to run a load of laundry… And lo and behold:
Navy tee – Lands’ End; scarf – Pashmisy; glacier teal turtleneck – L.L.Bean; necklace – The Met Store; glacier teal cashmere sweater – L.L.Bean; 100% cotton jeans – L.L.Bean; boots – Cliffs by White Mountain
As soon as her tote bag is zipped, she finds some things that really could have gone with her.
But she’s sticking with her bag as it’s packed; it seems likely that this heroine will be travelling again soon!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I accented a basic black wardrobe with amethyst, set in gold… Who knew that some day I would have hair this color?
p.p.s. Just finished The Strangers on the Train by Patricia Highsmith. Creepy, in a very day-to-day, matter-of-fact way. She’s a genius.
When Your Color-Scheme Doesn’t Happen – Start With Art – Abstraction Blue by Georgia O’Keeffe
Very pretty little travel wardrobe.
I am thrilled with the shoes and the great selection of scarves. I think all of it is wonderful.
Get well soon, Janice.
The Pashmisy scarf is amazing. I have become quite smitten with shades of blue/purple combined with shades of orange/rust. For just a weekend trip I think “going off the rails” is acceptable. It’s not like she has to stretch things and mix and match for a week or more!
What a beautiful capsule for the right woman! I love the navy basics and would stick with these completely as is, but amp up the other colors to a hot pink, goldenrod yellow and deep teal. You are giving me ideas about how I should pack for California in April!
For Canadians: Northern Reflections has some tops this year in a similar shade they’re calling Frosted Teal Blue.
Great post! Had to grab the Pashmisy scarf … it will be my travel wardrobe inspiration this Spring. The range of colors in it are incredibly inspiring to me.
I guess I don’t see her as off the rails here – the yellow is in her chosen palette, no? And it’s such a pretty sweater, too… For a longer trip, I’d just add a few more navy basics (t, mock t, dark rinse jeans) and maybe an ivory t.
Has anyone tried a cashmere sweater from LLBean or Lands End? I would love to know what you think of them! One of my goals this year is to purchase only natural fabrics. I very much appreciate that Janice offers natural fabric selections. I am slowly weeding out the items in my wardrobe containing polyester and its derivatives. My problem is what to do with them. Should I donate or wear until they fall apart, stain, etc?
I was disappointed in the last Bean cashmere I tried a while back – pilled fast. LE has been a little sturdier (and definitely varies, with some styles using better fabric than others), although neither compares with my older cashmere, which is still doing well decades on…
I’ve had better luck with cashmere sweaters from Quince. Cheaper, too.
Quince was one company recommended by the Wall Street Journal.
I second the motion! Quince is really good, cotton and leather stuff too.
I have many cashmere sweaters from Lands Rnd. The quality has gradually declined over the 20-25 years I’ve been buying from them. It’s still better than Talbots, however. I also have a couple I purchased in 2016 in Scotland that have held up well. The Scots tend to use yarns that aren’t as soft as the LE yarn, but they are sturdier. Some time in the past few months, the Wall Street Journal did a comparison of cashmere sweaters in their “The Buy Side” column. The WSJ is behind a paywall, but most libraries have a subscription if anyone wants to check it out. (I should add that all of my older sweaters were better quality including a set from Saks Fifth Avenue purchased in 2000, a really old set from Marshall Field, and a set from Robinsons May purchased in early 2000’s. I think as demand has risen, producers are selling shorter and shorter hair combed from the animals.)
Thank you all for your input!
I’ve been wearing clothes from L.L. Bean and Lands’ End for decades and have also noticed the quality has gone down for Lands’ End. The same style of corduroy Sport Knit pants ordered this year is less substantial than one ordered a few years ago.
I recently had luck finding my favorite, no longer made, Lands’ End sweater on eBay. My old one was loved to death, and I’m delighted with the replacement.
I own many, many cashmere items. Have to agree that LE quality has dropped over the years but it’s still great value for a ‘fun’ piece in a colour you might not wear often. My first purchase is a ubiquitous black turtleneck that is still going strong several years later along with the black cardigan. I have a black hoody as well that is good quality. My workhorse is a tweed black/oatmeal/ gray hoodie from LE about three years old. It’s been washed (in the machine) a few times and bounces back to shape perfectly. I have slept in it! If you buy from LE stay away from the tweed like cashmeres. Although my hoodie holds up well I have a later cardigan in multi tones that feels flimsy. Always size up with cashmere, even the finest will have minor shrinkage. Sending to a dry cleaner defeats the purpose of wearing ‘natural fibres’ n’est ce pas??
If you are going to buy basic colours that you want to last buy the best you can afford. They usually will not pill. Don’t avoid resale as you can come up with treasures. I have a leopard print ruana that came from Holt Renfrew ( very, very high end Canadian retailer) original purchase price was 795.00 many years ago. I bought it for 75.00 from Poshmark. That thing has been through the wringer yet manages to always look like a million bucks. I saw the original receipt. Also bought a wrap for THIRTY dollars. Pure cashmere, made in Italy for Holt Renfrew. Original purchase price $1,000.00! Seller showed the receipt. It’s about twenty five years old, huge, thick cashmere and warm. Had belonged to seller’s mother, seller was tired of it. She really wanted to get rid of it. For that price I wear it in the house on freezing days or walking the dog the dang thing hits my ankles so full coverage. My husband has been known to wrap himself in it!!!
Also check Bloomingdale’s. Their Aqua is ok but their ‘C’ brand is very good. Have a few sweaters and a couple of travel wraps from them. The C line never pills and washes well. The Aqua does pill under the arms but nowhere else and offers a huge selection of colours in basic styles.
Oddly my latest purchase two weeks ago, was (from of all places) Costco. Yup 69.00CDN for a 100.00% cashmere crew neck pullover. Well made in a gorgeous hot pink, it could fall apart after washing but we’ll see. It’s Costco so can be returned. Over the years I’ve heard rumours that Costco brought in cashmere but never saw it. I sized up because I was suspicious of the sizing. Glad I did.
Never be afraid to wash cashmere in a machine. Cold water, gentle cycle, use soap made for lingerie. I spin mine on highest speed then lay flat to dry. I don’t block or pin there is no need to launder by hand.
A well-curated collection of gorgeous vintage sweaters sounds so delightful! Off to eBay!
Beautiful palette and outfit choices! I could wear all but the yellow. I love this O’Keefe painting.
I have several cashmere sweaters and cardigans from Lands End and would agree with others that the older ones seem to be thicker and better quality. Marks and Spencer cashmere is always recommended as is Uniqlo and are not too expensive. I bought most of my cashmere in Lands End sale. Especially the roll necks and usually size up for casual wear.
O’Keefe had amazing technique. What a beautiful color inspiration and perfect styling. It’s wonderful to see some ideas for dressing up, knowing that the basic items can be accessorized in a different direction. You could easily grab three items from this -at random- then add 3-4 more and create another capsule.
I’m so happy to see this today! I was hoping this would be the O’Keefe painting chosen for the 12 month wardrobes. Besides the items she pulled from the washing machine, maybe we can see what she adds next quarter for spring?
Heads up about L.L. Bean color “Glacier Teal.” Pretty sure this is the same or close to “Glacial Teal.” I couldn’t figure out why some items weren’t showing up when searching by color name. Just a change of two letters. In either iteration, this is a lovely, soft color available in many items.
I should be packing right now! The weather changed and plan A went out the window. Blogger B convinced me to pack a black core. Blogger C says to only wear your “best” colors. Option D would revolve around a scarf I love with a “difficult” color scheme. My room looks like a tornado hit it and the suitcase is empty!
Love the “navy suit”. Your post from yesterday is on point based on the fires now in California. Hope all are safe.
I love this palette! The soft colors are exactly what I would choose. Even that yellow is perfect, and the one shade of yellow I can”get away” with. :-)
I love this painting and was so happy to see this wardrobe today. The LL Bean glacier teal is not as bright as it appears on the screen. It is a very soft muted blue/green. I bought my very first cashmere sweater from them in this colour. Happy with this purchase so far, but have not had to wash yet so will see how it goes. Sending healing thoughts your way Janice.