March 13, 2024
One of you has a BIG trip coming up – a week in New York, and then a yacht cruise!
WHERE TO START?
For me, I’m thinking that a color palette is a good place to start…
I’m particularly drawn to this scarf for this particular trip, because it includes the black that seems almost obligatory for New York (although I can assure you that it really isn’t…), and then includes white for the cruise. Although, of course, this heroine is going to be able to wear ALL of her colors at both destinations.
The turquoise is perfect for this time of year, as is the yellow. This really could be the ideal color palette!
First up, let me state that for a trip this varied and this long, I assume laundry. At least once. It’s just nuts to try to carry this much underwear, if nothing else…
Let’s start with a versatile core of black classics, to get our heroine started:
Station layered necklace – Ettika; earrings – Kate Spade New York; gold bar bracelet – Harbour UK Bracelets; black tee – J.Crew; blazer – J.Crew; black shirt – J.Crew; linen shorts – J.Crew; pants – J.Crew; skirt – J.Crew; bag – Madewell; sandals – Linea Paolo; espadrilles – Eileen Fisher
If I were going to any city for 2 or 3 days, this might be all I would pack!
And then let’s replicate this six-garment cluster idea in white; the clothes will be just slightly more casual:
Earrings – Kendra Scott; necklace – Kendra Scott; bracelets – BaubleBar; white linen shirt – J.Crew; sleeveless top – J.Crew; cardigan – Eileen Fisher; cropped pants – Caslon; pants – J.Crew; linen shorts – J.Crew; sandals – Bzees; sneakers – Superga
Long weekend at the beach would be covered here, for me…
And finally, let’s add some accents to this wardrobe.
You do understand that – at this point – this heroine could add ANYTHING. I would be tossing in some black & white striped tops, and a black & white print dress or two. But this heroine is going with turquoise and gold.
FWIW, turquoise was VERY hard to find, and that’s why our heroine chose her floral skirt… She really wanted a floral skirt in the four colors of her palette, but that was not to be.
3 turquoise bracelets – BaubleBar; yellow shirt – Alex Mill; earrings – Kendra Scott; scarf – Echo; turquoise polo – Lands’ End; yellow sleeveless top – Boden; yellow strapless dress – Lost + Wander; black & white skirt – Whistles; floral tunic dress – Lilly Pulitzer; gold sandals – J.Crew; yellow bag – Alkeme Atelier; turquoise sandals – Badgley Mischka Collection
This looks like a TON of stuff… But remember, flat sandals can be packed FLAT for a day or two. Linen shorts and tops fold up to almost nothing… When you get right down to putting things in your bag, you realize that you can pack a half-dozen summer garments in the space of one winter sweater!
A cursory glance at this suggests that there are quite a few outfits here, but I really wanted to look at a LOT of possibilities for this heroine.
And remember, she could easily include much more jewelry, and a few more scarves…
But what can she wear on her vacation?
I think some of us may have realized that this would be plenty of clothes for the entire summer….
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago today, I based a wardrobe on a photograph of a warm-hued, rather formal yet inviting sitting room…
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This colour scheme is fresh and happy-looking while also being classy and unexpected. Brilliant! Turquoise is such a wearable colour; I hope your heroine is able to find a few other items in that shade if she want to expand this scheme over time.
Heroine: I hope you have an absolutely wonderful journey!!
I’m sure there’s room in our heroine’s suitcase for a few more scarves when she does a bit of shopping in New York.
About seven or eight years ago the retailers carried a lot of turquoise, but it seems some colors cycle “in” or “out”. When one of my best colors cycles back into the shops, I try to grab what I need to fill the gaps. It also seems as if, sometimes, a color the fashion writers gush about being the next big Pantone color only emerges briefly and in small quantities. Wasn’t it earl last winter when a gorgeous wave of red was predicted? I must’ve blinked and missed it. I’m patiently waiting for more turquoise.
I’ve noted how fast beautiful chocolate brown sells out…not oxblood, not rose brown and not brown-so-dark-you need-daylight-lighting-in-your-closet!
Have a fabulous trip!! Janice has certainly given you food for thought.
Oh – it’s NOT me that’s going – it’s one of you! I don’t travel right now; neither my husband nor I can leave our mothers for any length of time, and so we are homebodies! I haven’t even been on an airplane in FOUR years, which for me seems an eternity…
hugs,
Janice
I’m the daughter/child that moved away so I go and visit. Dearest and I will be going to IN for 4 days to celebrate my mother’s 97th birthday. She is the last of our parents. We get there 4-6 times a year. my kids make trips too. Lucky to have her but we have learned it’s best if not everyone shows up at the same time. Weddings holidays etc. really tire her out. Mostly because she doesn’t want to miss a thing!
What an excellent summer wardrobe! Heroine, enjoy your trip! I love the concept, (would change the colors to suit me) all that is missing is a couple of bathing suits, a really large scarf/pareo to do multiple-duty as beach cover-up/ sarong/ beach blanket; and a beach bag! I have some really excellent zip-into-a-pouch-unzip-into-a-tote bags that are great to throw into luggage and unpack when you have the need for an extra bag that works fantastically for this purpose. Hmmmmm… i think i’m going to try and replicate this in my closet (navy, off-white; olive/greens and coral/pinks?)
Oh gosh, what a wonderful trip. I hope you have just the best time. A few years ago I was all about blue and yellow, not so much now. It was great for a summer though! And I got a lot of compliments on the various pieces – mainly navy and then light blue with a lemon pattern…. it was fun.
Janice,
I just recently read that the reason so much black and gray have been worn in the cities began with all of the former soot , smoke and air pollution that ended up on clothes ! And it just kind of continued as the colors ( or lack thereof) to be employed ! Black and grays are also a reflection of the environment of city buildings, as opposed to the greens and browns of a country setting .
This makes sense – I had a beautiful light blue winter coat, and the 2nd time I wore it in Dublin, something dripped from the overhead rail lines onto my coat and ruined it. RUINED. Bah – black makes much more sense if you’re going to live around machines!
hugs,
Janice
This capsule would be instructive for those who fear that yellow + black looks too much like a bumblebee. I strongly dislike this shade of golden yellow but it looks great with the black and/or white and I don’t get any bumblebee vibes. (I actually love bumblebees so I would be tempted to double-down with some bee-themed earrings or something.)
I think this is great!! :) The colors are so fresh and there are lots of casual to dressy options for everything!!
I love the scarf…so pretty. I had to look closer at the edges, but saw a pink, strawberry rose, bright green and a gray or maybe taupe as well. There is nothing on earth that could convince me to wear black, so I would tuck in a few taupe pieces and some of the green to be happy with the capsule. Yes, a few scarves would be perfect souvenirs during the city part of the trip.
Yes I wonder if we will visit the fictional version of the heroine again for a new itinerary and accent colors. Definitely a lot of potential with this skirt and the city + extra idea
I LOVE the pieces you’ve included. I’ll be going to Amsterdam for 10 days in June, followed by a cruise around Iceland and I can see a lot of these ideas working for me (minus the shorts). Colours I’d choose would be navy, white, turquoise, and pinky coral.
I hope your Heroine has a wonderful trip!
I LOVE this Janice. It has given me some wonderful inspiration and all the comments too. Think I need that scarf now. 😉💖