January 21, 2025
Do you love the rich, classic colors of precious gems? A little ruby, a few emeralds, maybe a sapphire or two?
This bracelet is ALL about those beautiful colors!
A pretty classic outfit takes on a new feeling with some velvet loafers, a brooch stolen from the angels, and your new bracelet:
Navy wool blazer – Alex Mill; angel harp brooch – Ninemoo; striped shirt – Lands’ End; bracelets – Fierce Lynx Designs; vest – Lands’ End; navy wool pants – Alex Mill; velvet loafers – Birdies
Burgundy and navy are classic cool-weather colors – add some pretty earrings, a lovely scarf and timeless loafers:
Earrings – Ross-Simons; turtleneck – Lands’ End; cardigan – L.L.Bean; bracelets – Fierce Lynx Designs; scarf – Aspinal of London; cords – L.L.Bean; loafers – G.H.Bass
This late in the winter (well, in the winter clothing season!), it’s hard to find forest green, but it’s always worth searching!
Deep forest tee – Lands’ End; malachite earrings – Kate Koel; quarter-zip sweater – Lands’ End; Black Watch plaid wool scarf – L.L.Bean; bracelets – Fierce Lynx Designs; twill pants – L.L.Bean; shoes – Floafers
Maybe your life suggests that you should have a dress! Or another piece of green clothing? And some amazing jewelry is never a bad idea…
Corduroy dress – Lands’ End; lapis necklace – The Met Museum Shop; earrings – The Met Museum Shop; pine sweater – Eileen Fisher; ballet flats – Vionic
One could do much worse than packing this capsule for a week in a lovely city – one might want to include a navy & white striped tee shirt, or a navy and burgundy print silk shirt. (assuming that you can FIND these things…)
Of course our heroine has more options that just her three favorite outfits; one of the joys of packing with a small color palette is that it gives you all kinds of outfit options. Well, it SHOULD do that – I haven’t had one yet that went haywire…
There’s always something so attractive and comforting about this color palette – timeless and rich!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, we looked at the possibilities inherent in a six-piece olive wardrobe, accented with brown, with gold lace and pearls, and with turquoise and coral. A lot to process!
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What a beautiful bracelet. What a classy, elegant capsule. I wear these colors, but in more casual styles.
Thank you for a lovely post today!
I have a harp brooch that brings back memories of a trip to Ireland every time I see it in my jewelry drawer – not because I bought it there, but because it looks like the Guinness Harp Lager logo! Talk about sparking joy!
I’ve played the harp since I was eight years old and rarely do I see such a lovely piece. It may be on its way to me now. My mother started me on a collection of music-themed brooches and pins at a young age, and they bring comforting memories.
Hope you are in fine fettle as I missed your post yesterday. Glad to see this lovely capsule to liven up Tuesday.
This is a lovely bracelet. Shopping my wardrobe, I could definitely do this. I have lots of pearl, blue and burgundy jewellery and scarves that will go. Instead of t-shirt style tops, a couple of silk or satin shirts would elevate this smart-casual look. I would like a pair of burgundy boots but I’m not sure how often I would wear them. So my boots will be black but hopefully no-one is looking at my feet. For some reason the company I buy my boots from (for arthritic feet) just don’t do a really dark navy.
I love the first outfit which could go from ‘office’ to party/concert/theatre. My take would be navy velvet jacket with smart jersey crepe trousers. Shirt during the day and swap to an ivory top for the evening with colour blue/red/pearl jewellery. The harp brooch is just beautiful if you are going to a concert. I would also wear a navy or burgundy velvet scarf for the evening.
The navy and burgundy outfit, I could do the inverse of with burgundy cardigan and trousers with a navy top. If that looks too much, I have an ivory polo neck. I have a cream and navy scarf with burgundy roses. My scarf has a navy background, burgundy and ivory roses with an ivory edge.
This is ideal for those occasions when someone says that there is “no dress code” for a group event which includes a three-course dinner and perhaps a theatre production or concert. I had such a do at the weekend which included dinner. We were told that there was No Dress Code. So at the dinner, people were wearing everything from jumpers/hoodies with checked shirt and jeans to everyday clothes that we see them in all the time or to a small group of us who made a bit of effort – jacket and tie for the men and sparkly tops/dresses for the ladies. My husband wore a red velvet blazer. I wore smart trousers and a purple top with a sparkly neckline and a silver coatigan. So this wardrobe with it’s mix of smart and casual would suit me perfectly.
Thank you for making an effort! Maybe it has to do with age but my husband and I like to look a bit dressed up when going someplace a bit special. Even just out to dinner locally I prefer to be somewhat dressed. I just feel better.
This is IT. The holy grail. A perfect color palette and perfect pieces for this time of year.
I’ll say that I’d need warm boots in this color selection—either navy or burgundy–to make this work. However, I recognize that not everyone lives in Maine and wears snowboots, even inside!
I agree about this being the holy grail.
Gorgeous winter shades!! Thanks so much. Ordered that navy stripe shirt!! I’ve been looking for one just like that. And love Land’s End no-iron shirts!
I have all these colors in my closet, though in “more relaxed” styles. I love the Aspinal scarves. I don’t think I’ve ever bought one as they’ve been too pricey for me, but there have been a couple over the years I really pined for. Have a lovely day everyone!
Don’t forget to look for them second-hand. I but LOTS of my scarves used… The RealReal, Vestaire Collective, and of course Ebay have tons of scarves!
love,
Janice
If you could just pack up this whole wardrobe and send it over to my house, that would be great. Thanks 😊
The gold metal (instead of silver) is what first grabbed me.
Simply lovely. It would blend well with your denim series from September 13, 2024.
This is one of my favorite wardrobes ever! Not least because this is basically how I dress during cold weather. My base is navy, and both forest green and burgundy are my accent colors, though I lean more toward the forest green. I just got a forest green Kate Spade cross-body small tote bag for my January birthday. :)
I recall a similar but dressier wardrobe featuring jewel tones with a black base, but this one really spoke to my heart!
I love the idea of velvet loafers. These come in several colors (I checked.) Alas, the beautiful blue is sold out in nearly every size.
Check the second-hand shops online – lots of people buy shoes in a “close” size, and then never wear them. After a while, they sell them, and you get to buy them on the cheap!
love,
Janice
I can almosr see our friend, the professor who loves Lucas Cranach the Elder – Saints Genevieve and Apollonia Archives using the bracelet in her wardrobe.
I thought of her…
love,
Janice
There’s nothing in this wardrobe that doesn’t make my heart flutter. These are my colours and I love them. I was told by a stranger today that I really suit these strong colours ( I was holding up garments and checking them in a mirror). If I was able I’d send for the complete wardrobe. Beautiful as always Janice.