March 14, 2025
Sometimes, you’re inspired by something that might not speak to many people. That’s fine – you’re one of a kind, and your inspiration will be unique!
How about these?
I didn’t find all of these colors readily available right now in summer clothing, but it’s always good to know colors to keep in mind…
Our heroine’s dashing off for a quick weekend somewhere casual – and the weather promises to be unusually warm for March! It can happen – yesterday was shirtsleeves weather in Chicago…
So she’s driving off like this:
Rosebud poplin shirt – Alex Mill; rose stud earrings- Unaloe; ivory tee – Lands’ End; sandals – Keen; backpack – Fable England; jeans – Alex Mill
It’s very likely that they will go out for dinner – somewhere nice, but not stuffy or prim… Otherwise, she expects to walk and look out over the water, or to sit, and look out over the water! It’s what one does, right?
Dress – Boden; scarf – Pierre-Louis Mascia; earrings – JanKuo; bag – Betsy & Floss; pink tee – Boden; cardigan – Boden; shorts – J.Crew; floral tee – L’Agence; sand poplin shirt – Alex Mill; gold sandals – Sam Edelman
What a tasty wardrobe! One might certainly want another color here if the trip was longer, but for only 3 days, celebrate your love of berry colors!
Our heroine has included just enough neutral clothes and accessories so that she doesn’t HAVE to wear pink every day – or any day – if she chooses. That core of neutrals is always handy to have!
If you have a small collection of things in your favorite accent color, what would happen if you packed quite a few of them for a weekend?
I could certainly do a nice job with my purple sweatshirt, by purple wool classic-styled shirt, and purple cardigan. And yes, amethyst jewelry, and a couple of purple scarves!
What would your color be?
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, Belovedest and I were going to New York! I was nuts – I packed six items for six days. It works because I packed dresses!!!
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As basic as they are, the off white jeans are favorites. For me, pristine white is almost like a magnet for accidental spills and smudgie things. 😳
Chico’s has no-stain white jeans.
This is a lovely, cohesive, warm weather capsule wardrobe. I can completely see that this would be PERFECT for purple lovers. I have an abhorrence to purple for no reason, other than my own weird taste. However, I adore all other bright colors and I could see recreating this entire capsule by substituting pink (or even orange or turquoise!) for the purple. I’d pack this for a warm weather getaway in my own palette in a heartbeat. I really would like this dress in my own colors, as well as the sandals. How awesome would these sandals be in a tangerine color?
I love it when you do brights, Janice. This is gorgeous.
Bought the sandals before I even read the article! These are made for me as purple, burgundy, and pink are my jam.
During the summer months, my casual wardrobe entails white or black tees so these are the perfect accent!
Wow! This is fabulous! With only 9 garments you have 7 complete outfits. This would certainly work for a weekend capsule wardrobe for me (we have a very corpoate black, white and grey uniform during the week). I am definately saving this post. Thanx Janice 😊
Oh, I love that idea! A weekend capsule wardrobe… I’ll have to look into that! Great call for those of us whose workday/weekday style doesn’t fully embrace our stylistic desires.
Beautiful, cheerful, and makes you ready for a quick get-away! I love the level of saturation. And do my eyes spy a 3×3 slot machine? bottoms: shorts, trousers, dress; 3x short sleeve tees; 3x 2nd layers. If you swap one pair of sandals for a pair of sneakers and throw a pair of socks in your bag, you can dress out of this for colder-than-forecasted weather too with a long-sleeve buttondown + cardigan. Really versatile!!! And I bet for a color magpie this would work pretty well with multiple accent colors. Actually, I’d build it out using the backpack as color inspo! the colors (and floral styling) is a PERFECT match to the sandals colors/floral styling. Fabulous job Janice, as always – the accessories you pick really enliven the whole base.
Happy Friday all!
Ezzy,
Color magpie — that’s me ! As efficient as a one accent color note might be, it would stress me to tears ! Throw in a green or a blue or a purple for color balance, or even a lighter value of the pink, for a two tone look, and then I’m good to go !
Great job!!!
My favorite post so far. Thank you 😍
I have these sandals in a different color way. They are white with this deep rose and turquoise; they have a tie-dye appearance. If you are considering them, you should know they are incredibly comfortable! I would love to find them in a silver metallic to wear for dressier occasions as I don’t wear heels.
Thanks for letting us know they are comfy!
Beautiful! I would add pieces in navy or black to this capsule. Lately have been updating my spring/summer wardrobe with shades of blue.
I love this and would wear these colours in September as I’ve just packed away my plums and deeper pinks. I tend to wear softer purples in summer.
I’d love to see this extended with the other colours in the strap. I can see teal and light pink with a background of dark purple.
I too would swap the gold sandals for a pair of closed toe shoes for a bit more mileage. I can’t imagine going on holiday and doing absolutely nothing. I can do that at home. So a pair of comfortable shoes for a short walk in some lovely gardens or the seaside prom or potter round the shops/market or a gallery/museum or a stately home.
As for going to the gym for an hour every day (the lookback), I’m happy not doing that on holiday!
I would love to see teal along with this too. Maybe she’s travelling for a month? Thanks for reading my emails, Janice!
I love this! The sandals are gorgeous and you bet I could work it into my summer wardrobe!
The sandals are great, but that backpack! Wow! Wow! Wow!
I have spent too long on the Fable England website already!
I do love this capsule! And the sandals because that is literally all I ever wear. Well fitting supportive sandals are more comfortable to me than any sneaker!
The color I would choose would be Kelly Green, bright and clear. I have uncomfortable ballet flats and a pair of sandals in that color!
I am always attracted to bright clear colours and this is lovely. Thanks for the tip about Chico’s jeans. I love white jeans but between dogs and grandkiddies always feel like they never would stay clean lol. If i had to pick just one accent colour, for me it would either be coral or turquoise.
I could wear this wardrobe color year round..As a big fan and collector of Keen footwear, I spy my next pair of Keens! Keens totally agree with my feet and I love the feminine look of these Keens. Thanks for another lovely wardrobe.
I can and do wear this color year round, so these sandals might just be coming my way. I love everything about this wardrobe, but especially the sandals and backpack. If I had to choose just one color, it would be purple.
Oh, I love these colors! I have had luck with Keen in the past too, they are lovely for sore feet. Thanks for these bold berry colors Janice!
This is lovely! I like especially the dress and the cardigan, throw in one of the tees and a scarf (plus the sandals) and you have the French 5. I also see the potential of the idea for building summer wardrobes with any accent color like pink, teal or sky blue.
Cheers and blessings!
I would do this type of capsule in turquoise, aqua with white and/or navy as neutrals.
I see a propensity for shorts being included in these capsules and have often wondered how many of the followers here actually wear shorts other than for exercise. I’m honestly curious. I never/rarely see women wearing shorts.
I think shorts are more common in warmer climates. I’m in the southwest US and shorts of all types and lengths are common here with over six months of warm to downright blistering hot temps. I also see them in warmer coastal spots in California.
I’m in the southeast and usually wear skorts or skirts or dresses rather than shorts. That way nobody can see the shorts riding up my thighs!
I have and wear lots of shorts and I’m 73 years old. Not for working out (I go to a studio, Pure Barre, that requires leggings). It’s HOT in TX in the summer (May-Oct.). I also wear sleeveless dresses, tops and tees. I lift weights to help with the arms but really don’t worry about it much. Skorts are also great for golf, walking, pickle ball etc. Love this beautiful color!
I totally wear shorts all summer – nice linen or chino for more polish, zipoff hiking pants & knits for more casual. And yes, I loved this wardrobe too, altho it’s not my blue/ green/navy/ khaki Midwest summer vibe at all. But it’s so darn cheerful!
Wendy, I was a shorts hater in my youth but moving to southern Spain with a real summer made me love them. I think the same as Amanda Hudson, weather appropriate clothes are for all ages. BTW, here bikinis are worn during the entire human life cycle and across all body shapes.
It snowed here. This capsule makes me excited for summer. I’m wearing yellow and turquoise. Now green/fawn.
I’m going on a short vacation soon, and this wardrobe is helping me a lot. By the way, I like to wear long dresses or shorts in the summer (in the garden/for running).
Initially, these shoes were not my taste, but wow, the clothes made them much more appealing. Such a pretty collection.
I’m seeing a lot of these slide right into the Elizabeth Magill wardrobe. Love that backpack!!
Love this wardrobe! The color is so me. Janice, how would you expand it if the trip was going to be more than three days?
Add denim and/or navy. Probably. It might be fun to find a second pair of really excellent sandals and build from there…
love,
Janice
Add teal please!
This is a gorgeous, capsule wardrobe for a quick get away. I love purple in all its iterations. Great idea to start with the sandals. I could do the same thing with a pair of burgundy, red, L’ Artiste boots that I have. Thanks for the inspiration! – Amy
https://stylingrannymama.com/
Like others, my travel accent color is a medium green, a little on the blue side. Like a lighter pine color. I wear this with navy, denim, and white when traveling in summer. It’s not exactly my favorite, but travel clothes are easy to find in these colors, and they photograph amazingly well! So nice for the photo books.
Like Beth, I ordered these sandals…they arrived today….so comfy and vibrant. I highly recommend them. Like Kim, this is my also my favorite post to date. Purples & Bright Pinks are so flattering with my graying hair. “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple…” ~Jenny Joseph