May 1, 2024
“It’s May, it’s May, the lusty month of May…”
Well, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, unless you live in Camelot!
But we’ve got beautiful things to admire and consider, and we have each other – what else do we need? (yes, we could make a list…)
First up, this most lovely of paintings, which gave us a most unusual color palette:
This is her wardrobe at the end of April – I’m mostly struck by the small number of light blue items, and a little bit concerned that she still only has one 2nd layer in her only neutral…
So we went looking:
Cardigan – Alex Mill; earrings – Rōz Ayca; scarf – Jessica Zhao New York; vest – Alex Mill; soft blue haze tee – Lands’ End; skirt – Alex Mill; sandals – Easy Spirit
Seriously, could there be a better scarf?
Now, our heroine’s wardrobe looks more “strongly beige” – a phrase which may never before have existed. There’s a better representation of that pretty light blue too:
Yes, we’ve reached that stage where showing clothing and accessories separately makes everything easier to see… And there are few things I enjoy more than a page of accessories that share some theme!
You can already easily see how her new clothes will fit into her wardrobe. An ivory cardigan is a year-round workhorse:
I see a lot of images of these vests being worn alone, as little summer tops – that would be great if you can do it, because that takes a cold-weather garment and makes it an all-year piece! Always a good goal…
Unless you live somewhere that gets bitter cold, you may be able to wear short-sleeved tee shirts 12 months a year, too!
Yes, this heroine now has two ivory/beige skirts – one is elastic waist, and quite full. Her newer one is narrower, with a flatter front. For someone who wears skirts every week, this difference is big – a change of silhouette can change everything.
Next, our friend who wears a lot of red, tempered by gray and white…
Her wardrobe at the end of April was beautifully complete, and very versatile – I could live with this for a long time! (and I’ve pretty much phased red out of my wardrobe, in favor of purple; these things happen, with time, graying hair, and purple highlights!)
A little counting suggested that this wardrobe was nearly half red – pretty dominant for an accent color! So our heroine was thinking of a second neutral cardigan, some grey cropped pants, and some white tops. White has been pretty under-represented here, because cool weather just cries out for beautiful gray!
Here are her choices – she also opted for a couple of pieces of classic silver jewelry – even she doesn’t want to wear red earrings EVERY day.
Cardigan – Everlane; necklace – Lovard; earrings – Lovard; white tee – J.Crew; white shirt – Alex Mill; cropped pants – J.Crew; sneakers – Allbirds
Her clothes still have a strong red quality to them, but the additional grey, and the simple white tops, balance things out quite a lot:
And her accessories tell a very coherent story, don’t they?
Her new white tee shirt brings a fresh bit of clarity to her favorite red:
And her white shirt layers easily under any 2nd layer, bringing white close to her face – this can be flattering in cold or dark weather:
Her new cardigan brings a completely different proportion to many of her outfits:
And her cropped pants are perfect for days that are just starting to warm up – or to wear for work, or out with friends etc. Imagine her bright red pedicure, simple silver sandals, and cropped pants… (hmm, silver sandals may need to go on her shopping list!)
The last painting for today is this lovely study in blue; this has grown on me so much… For someone who really wanted to use this for a wardrobe, there’s of course some tree branches in there that just might be dark brown, as well as some greenery around the bottom edge of the painting. In case you couldn’t live in unrelieved blue!
Her April wardrobe is both cheery and very practical…
Our heroine didn’t really have a plan for May, until she saw the Blue London scarf. Whappage, and a realization that she may as well pick up more navy things. It IS, after all, her primary neutral!
And yes, she bought a cashmere sweater in May, because it’s still available, and it’s an obvious classic garment for her to have. If she waits ’til October to buy it, the price will have gone up, so why not grab it now? Depending on where you live, you may still get to wear it every few weeks through the summer – evening get cool…
Silver leaf earrings – Unaloe; Blue London silk scarf – Richard Allan London; navy tee – J.Crew; navy linen shirt – J.Crew; navy cashmere sweater – J.Crew; pleated skirt – J.Crew; ballet flats – Munro
Her updated wardrobe is better balanced – still an abundance of accents, but a more solid grounding in the navy which she will wear the most:
And her accessories help explain how some of us end up collecting scarves…
She’s not really concerned that her new clothes won’t pull their own wardrobe weight, but she sorts out some outfits just to be prepared.
First up, her navy shirt gives her a long neutral column under accent 2nd layers:
A navy tee shirt is classic with white jeans, but also a nice base under her accent blue cardigan:
It’s impossible to go wrong in this wardrobe with a navy v-neck sweater – this is a garment that could almost be something everyone should own…
Her new navy skirt is a good weight to wear in cool weather, with layered tops, or in the spring and summer with a fresh white shirt:
I realized yesterday that – at least in the summer – this last wardrobe is very close to my own, except that my clothes are (literally) all black, grey and white. It’s very restful to dress in such an uncomplicated way, when everything else is busy and stressful!
love,
Janice
p.s. Five years ago, we were adding an outfit per month to six wardrobes based on six Hermes scarves.
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Although the colours of the clothes are not good for me, except for the green, the Klee painting would make my absolutely ideal scarf! I have a very neutral small wardrobe, most would find it boring I think, but I am always on the look out for scarves, earrings and brooches to pep it up.
I’m absolutely loving the Magill blue wardrobe. I’d almost stopped wearing blue on it’s own. This has given me so many ideas. I would like to see a patterned top that brings the blues together.
Today I’m wearing navy trousers, a leopard print top in blues (navy, cobalt, sky blue, ice blue and white) topped with sky blue textured jacket.
Of the other two – Klee is not me at all. I would like the O’Keefe in small doses. However, if I swap red for purple/lilac, then I could wear that all year!
I see what you mean about the “Blue London” scarf in the all-blue wardrobe. It’s gorgeous!!! Serious whappage!
I’m looking forward to seeing pale blue and that rich orange used in some outfits in the Klee wardrobe – blue and orange are marvellous together! It’s such a fun wardrobe – with a nice selection of accent colours. This is the type of wardrobe template I could live with for a long time.
I love that song! I love everything about the month of May. Spring has truly sprung, and it’s my birth month, so what’s not to love? Re: the purple hair. I have been using an at-home dye called “Amethyst”, and it really only colors the grey, leaving my still dark strands dark. Most days I have a lovely purple haze. I treat it as a neutral, though, and I still wear all of my colorful clothes. Sometimes I wish I could be as disciplined as you, Janice!
These wardrobes are so beautiful! The Klee is still appealing to me but I would have added a light blue jean into the mix. For me jeans are the workhorse in my wardrobe. Gardening, housework, dog shows etc. not an exciting piece of clothing but definitely a must in my world. Can’t wait to see part two.
Gosh, so many thoughts running through my head. First of all, I love the red and gray and the blue. That red and gray is just amazing. The blue more closely resembles my closet.
That being said, can I add that for the past couple of weeks I’ve been wearing more “spring” clothes than winter which means instead of navy (which I’m so very tired of) it’s more of a royal blue (like the above wardrobe) and then sometimes lavender/periwinkle/larskspur mixed in. You know what? After just a couple of weeks I’m already wanting to throw a coral or green or anything but shades of blue in there! Color me very surprised.
Sandi and Janice – let’s hear it for purple hair! I used a product called Overtone – which covers the gray and leaves my darker strands alone, much like you mention.
Wendy – I have a pair of orange pants I’ve been wearing with my blue tops. It’s always a little shocking when I put them on, but I do adore that combination. It’s a leave in rinse I can use every morning after my shampoo. Sometimes I use it sometimes I don’t. This morning I did and a student caught me in the hall to tell me how much she liked my purple hair. If I don’t use it for a couple of days it fades out to a very pretty lavender color. I, too, just continue to wear any color regardless of the hair color.
Anyway, loving all the comments today and looking forward to the remaining three on Friday!
Gosh, somehow my sentences/paragraph got out of whack. Sorry.
Sandi and Janice – let’s hear it for purple hair! I used a product called Overtone – which covers the gray and leaves my darker strands alone, much like you mention. It’s a leave in rinse I can use every morning after my shampoo. Sometimes I use it sometimes I don’t. This morning I did and a student caught me in the hall to tell me how much she liked my purple hair. If I don’t use it for a couple of days it fades out to a very pretty lavender color. I, too, just continue to wear any color regardless of the hair color.
Wendy – I have a pair of orange pants I’ve been wearing with my blue tops. It’s always a little shocking when I put them on, but I do adore that combination.
I love the all blue wardrobe! My closet looks similar tho I have a couple of grey/silver basics (pants and a knit jacket) for fall winter and a couple of summer t-shirts in soft lilac/lavender/mauve. This month’s scarf is lovely and may find its way into my closet. I can’t wait to see what other lovelies you add to this wardrobe.
I’m still loving, the red and gray wardrobe and the blue wardrobe. The addition of white to the red and gray really improved it, in my opinion. White is just so useful as a neutral, especially in the summer. I’m pretty sure that even when we get to December, these two wardrobes still are going to be my favorites. Oh, and the Blue London scarf is gorgeous!
I hope the first heroine gets a light blue bottom next month.
And this final heroine skirt is a lovely addition. I happened to find a dark blue shirt second hand and I’m also in favor of light jeans. 💙
Now I’m looking forward to my favorites on Friday. 🤩
I love that Blue London scarf. All those blues and whites could be my wardrobe, or the majority of it. I keep trying to branch out a little, but always end up back there.
I’m just casting on an ivory cardigan! I too thought it would be a(n almost) year-round workhorse :) I love the blue wardrobe and the navy additions. And still love the charcoal and red, as well!
The last is my favorite as it most closely resembles “Blue” by Hoffman of a few years ago, with the addition of a French 5. Okay 7. But isn’t that how accent colors go sometimes?
On the bright blue accent, almost the exact same color as a pair of pants I found buried in my closet last week. Time will tell if I’m able to actually use them and feel comfortable with that accent color bottom piece that’s not a skirt. In general I like the blues I wear with navy to be more muted and less bright and clear.
Janice, I thought you must have removed most of the red from your wardrobe based on your comments here and there. What have you done with the beautiful scarves featuring so much red? In particular a valentine scarf I remember from years ago?
And to everyone who commented about the accent color bottoms last week, thank you so much!
I wear pale blue with bright navy. Seems to work. I wear soft slate blues with marine navy.
Of these, Klee is most like my colour preference. I recently wondered if there was a formula that would create the (almost) perfect capsule for 12 days work with no laundry & for someone who can’t repeat the tops worn next to the skin due to that wonderful hot flash-sweats experience. So far, I think 4 bottoms, 12 tees & 2 2nd layers may be the smallest number. The folks I work with call the 12 day stretch “the dirty dozen.” Janice, your 4×4 have given me a few ideas. Thank you.
You’re not far of my formula. During the pandemic when we were in lockdown in the UK, I noted what I wore regularly – 16 tops, 8-12 jumpers and 8 bottoms.
Kari,
Your 12/4/2 idea seems more workable than the 3/10 I’m trying. I’ll keep with it for a bit but I’m pretty sure I’ll get tired of it after a couple of weeks. This is where accessories can make all the difference. And possibly the 3/10 with one or two second layers would work well for a travel wardrobe. I love trying to incorporate Janice’s ideas into my own travel wardrobes but I seem to always run amok when I have to add pajamas and lingerie. I just run out of room no matter how well I pack.
Kari and Jeri, I just don’t see how this would work with only 3 or 4 bottoms. Maybe jeans, I guess. That’s just me. It reminds me of a challenge that was out several years ago. The Six Items or Less challenge they called it. At the time I thought they would be run crazy with the laundry, lol. Good luck with both of your projects!
Hi Everyone, I have 3 preferred bottoms for work right now, and sweats for weekend. Seems like I’m always running out of pants and doing laundry! And I usually wear them two days before washing them. Just sayin’ I’d love to have just one more bottom to wear to work.
Ladies, thanks for chiming in. I am ok with 3 days for jeans or a twill type trouser that does not wrinkle which was what I envisioned. Even a denim or canvas skirt could go 3 days. On 2nd layers, those are on-off all day, but my mind was going with a light cardi that does not wrinkle. Work has been crazy & depending where I end up next will determine if I have a 5, 6 or 12 day stretch. I want an easy plan if I work 12 days in a row! Hmm…wonder if it should be 5 bottoms and 3 2nd layers to go with 12 tops?
If I were doing 12 on like that, with the hot flashes that I too have just begun having, the 12 tops, 5 bottoms and 3 layers would probably be the minimum. Good luck!!
If I combined the Klee, for all the colors, and the Magill, for the navy basics, that would be my perfect wardrobe!