February 5, 2025
I often ponder what I would do with my wardrobe if I had to start from scratch. I mean ABSOLUTELY from scratch – I got out of my apartment in my moose-print pajamas and nothing else!
Well, THAT’S a nightmare, but I have to admit that I would be very tempted to go this direction:
These colors are timeless, and so appealing. And I think it’s one of Delaunay’s very best paintings…
As we very happily left January, our heroine had this eight-piece capsule wardrobe. It’s small, but you could get dressed for quite a bit of the cold weather with just these:
teak earrings – Capucine De Wulf; leaf earrings – Milou Jewelers; dusty teal sweater – L.L.Bean; ivory cashmere sweater – J.Crew; cardigan – L.L.Bean; tee – Lands’ End; ivory tee – Lands’ End; brown shirt – Alex Mill; navy pants – L.L.Bean; silk scarf – Artifact.; bag – J.Crew; jeans – L.L.Bean; loafers – Cole Haan; bronze sneakers – Ecco
Our heroine could certainly use a brown cardigan, but I didn’t see one that really suited. But at least we’ve put her in a really good position for a “neutral core” in brown – a tee shirt AND a shirt, with both a skirt AND pants. Four neutral cores in brown! The flannel shirt was an obvious, easy addition given that it includes navy and teal, as well as just enough white/ivory to make her ivory cashmere sweater a good match.
And the dress? Sometimes you need a dress!
This heroine really REALLY didn’t need another handbag, but I was smitten with this one…
teal flannel shirt – L.L.Bean; labradorite earrings – Heather Hawkins Jewelry; striped dress – L.L.Bean; brown skirt – Lands’ End; brown corduroy pants – Lands’ End; ballet flats – Naturalizer; bag – Dragon Diffusion
Her updated wardrobe would be so excellent to pack for a late winter trip – so long as she has a toasty warm coat, hat and gloves with her too!
How can she wear these things? Pretty much by just grabbing clothes and getting dressed! But it’s always helpful and illuminating to look at potential outfits:
This grid for the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe is something that’s NOT carved in stone – where you need to make adjustments, you should do so! But I suppose we should all try to stick with the original idea behind the plan – a core of building-blocks, and a few accent pieces, that will not age, and that are almost infinitely versatile. Everyone has to find that core wardrobe for themself, and it can take some iterations and a couple of mistakes!
This is how I pictured this heroine’s twelve garments within our current version of the grid:
Do you ever ponder what you would do if you had to recreate your entire wardrobe? I’m in the process of losing some weight, but that’s NOT going to require a complete rehaul. For one thing, I’ve still got ALL of my scarves…
love,
Janice
p.s. Earlier versions of the wardrobe can be found here: Christmas Day Preview, January additions.
p.p.s. Ten years ago, I considered the merits of buying something “heart-shaped” for Valentine’s Day, and of course for the rest of the year. Don’t rule it out – there are lots of possibilities!
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ooooh I love the dress and the flannel shirt, and labradorite is just my favorite. My DIL bought me a beautiful pendant for Christmas. I tend to stay away from brown, but I agree, were I to start all over, this would be very tempting and I love the painting.
Because I have family and friends who lost homes in the fires in the Los Angeles area, the thought of losing everything I own is one I’ve pondered as I’m packing up boxes of aid for them. These loved ones need EVERYTHING, particularly clothing. As I was packing a box for a cousin with whom I share taste and size in clothing, I realize how little I *need* and how happy I am to share things that will work for her beautifully. She still has a job to go to (which is lucky) and she can’t wear her sweatpants every day. She cannot order things as she no longer has an address. Her usual shop? Gone. So I have tried to curate, from my things I know she’ll be able to use, a capsule wardrobe that will work for southern California and her legal practice.
Despite knowing how much I don’t *need*, I will still always *want*, sadly. That bucket bag is too fabulous for words. I wish it wasn’t sold out!
My step daughter came home from honeymoon – in a hot climate – to find that her house in Northern England in cold November, had suffered an extensive fire and she had lost nearly everything. I simply cannot imagine how heartbreaking it must be to lose literally everything.
For different reasons I have come to the conclusion that I too need very little indeed and in future am going to be very very disciplined. But yes, I too was so disappointed to see the bucket bag had sold out; it was the first thing I spotted!