November 25, 2024
Our heroine has a couple of weekend holiday trips this year, and since the people that she will see don’t overlap (that’s handy!), she’s decided to really refine a small wardrobe and take it for all of her trips…
AND!!! She’s really being brought down by the darkness that comes so early in the Northern Hemisphere this time of year. Therefore, she’s decided that she’s going to work with bright colors to accent her chosen neutral of navy…
This scarf would be delightful in the heat of summer, but she’s going to make it work in November and December!
She’s chosen her accent colors from the many that she found in the scarf. Orange might be tough to find in November (oddly enough – isn’t it a fall color?), but she’s not worried… She doesn’t need to have every color with her!
Her travel outfit is BRIGHT! And warm, too. She will hang her navy coat in the back seat, in a garment bag, for when she wear a skirt. Otherwise, she’s going to be indoors almost all the time. Her family and friends won’t be hauling her out to sled-ride or ice skate!
and yes, you can put a pin on an insulated coat or vest – just do it carefully. I can generally get at least the insertion point for the pin’s bar to fit through a bit of quilting stitching, and then I poke the tip of the bar back out very gently. When you take the pin off, take a minute to smush the holes away…
scarf – Echo; snowman brooch – Talbots; earrings – Talbots; red vest – Lands’ End; white turtleneck – L.L.Bean; green cashmere sweater – J.Crew; navy knit cords – L.L.Bean; red shoes – Minnetonka
Knowing that she will be attending at least one even that’s solemn and that her mother likes her to dress conservatively for that, she makes certain that she has enough of her core navy to prepared. Offending people is NEVER in good taste, no matter how great you look.
Ornament earrings – Talbots; green earrings – Gold & Honey; blue lightbulb brooch – Talbots; fuchsia scarf – Elizabetta; necklace – Gem Bazaar Jewellery; evening bag – Jewel Badgley Maschka; pink cotton sweater – Boden; navy cashmere sweater – J.Crew; cobalt turtleneck – Lands’ End; skirt – Boden; striped silk shirt – Boden; Navy pants – L.L.Bean; loafers – Earth; flats – Vionic
The night before she leaves, she double-checks everything – navy opaque tights? navy sheer stockings? extra socks?
Picturing your outfits, and actually imagining getting dressed, can help you remember these essentials.
Enough brights to cheer up everybody she sees, and enough neutrals to be appropriate – just right!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I was adding metallic accessories to wardrobes to dress things up for the holidays. I’m still astonished by seeing shoes with SPIKES STICKING OUT OF THEM! A careless moment crossing your legs could require plastic surgery…
Definitely my kind of wardrobe; navy with accents is my style. I could wear any one of those outfits.
With regard to brooches (pins to you) going into quilted items, you are right, use the quilting lines, but I also put a piece of felt behind to support the pin and put less stress on the garment. I do this for knitted items too. In fact I keep a felt square in my jewellery box, ready to use. My bug bear is the sticky backed “badges” that you expected to wear at venues to show you’ve paid and may enter. They sometimes leave a sticky residue on quilted items, or waxed coats, that is impossible to get off. I refuse such stickers these days.
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Perhaps keep a pretty pin that you can use to pin the sticker on to your garment. That could work if you can leave the paper backing on the badge.
I am in love with the necklace by Gem Bazaar. It can be worn with everything.
I’d love to have that pink cardigan.
This wardrobe is fun without being over the top.
A great way to start a Monday.
Thanks, Janice!
I love this! Of course, you all know how I love my color, and navy is my basic. Back to work today after several days off because of power outages due to the cyclone bomb that roared through here Tuesday. Some schools still don’t have power, but most of them do at this point. Many people still without. Your heroine isn’t the only one craving brights – I’ve got a red and orange outfit all laid out and ready to go. The little snowman brooch is adorable. My personal favorite is an Avon Christmas tree I bought close to 20 years ago….
Such a pretty capsule to me! I love the brightness and cheerfulness here. That being said, it’s just not saying “holidays” to me. I completely agree that holidays don’t have to be kitschy red and green! However, this is a capsule I’d take with me somewhere in January or February—cozy, bright and cheerful. At that point, I’m completely over the holidays and looking forward to Spring. Up north here, that doesn’t happen until late April, so I love bringing in these cheerful colors long before the temperatures warm up. This is inspiring me for my February ‘city’ visit trip.
I would definitely wear the pink and cobalt with navy. I’d love to find an orchid pink cardigan that can be worn most of the year around. The snowman brooch is so cute. I know that the bauble earrings come with a brooch. Wearing non-traditional colours during the winter certainly brightens me up. I’ll be getting out the sparkle too.
Probably just not fully awake yet, but it looks to me as if she packed a pink cardigan and scarf (“in her bag”), but then didn’t wear them? Sounds like something I might do!