November 1, 2017
Maybe it’s because the temperature plummeted this last week in Chicago… I decided that I’d find some winter coats for all of our heroines! Nary a black coat in the bunch…
Black would have been obvious here, so I went with grey instead! Yes, this might need to be cleaned more often – that’s the biggest drawback to a light winter coat. If you get splashed with slush/muck/salty water, your coat could be ruined if it isn’t cleaned promptly!
Scarf – Hèrmes Carré en Boucles; hat – Lands’ End; gloves – Lands’ End; duffle jacket – Lands’ End; scarf – Lands’ End; boots – Bogs
Everything new fits in very well…
Adding a new coat doesn’t really add new outfits to your wardrobe, but the scarf does give you some options:
This is a coat that you would NEVER wear walking on city streets, but if your don’t have that problem you could wear this pretty outfit and be snug all winter!
Scarf – Hermes Flanerie à Versailles; beret – Halogen; infinity scarf – Hollister; gloves – TJMaxx; down coat – Uniqlo; boots – Sperry
There are a variety of shades of pink here, but with the essential pieces in beige, everything still is useful…
There are a lot of color possibilities for this wardrobe, but I couldn’t resist a classic coat, with an equally classic navy beret!
Scarf – Hèrmes Au Bout du Monde; beret – Madewell; scarf – GAP; coat – Jolie by Edward Spiers; gloves – Echo; boots – Hunter
Even though there are multiple shades of blue, and a few different reds here, this all works together pretty well; there a numerous outfits to be made from these pieces!
The new scarf is a natural with so much of this wardrobe:
While an olive green coat might be more practical with this wardrobe, I thought that this bright orange would be wonderful to during the short, dark and gloomy winter days (and it comes in EIGHT colors…):
Scarf – Hèrmes Collections Impériales; beanie – Banana Republic; scarf – Missoni; mittens – Banana Republic; stadium coat – J.Crew; boots – Bogs
This is a VERY unexpected assortment of colors, but there’s an inner logic to all of the choices that keeps things from being completely impractical:
The scarf might go with every garment in this wardrobe:
This jacket isn’t for everybody, and maybe the boots aren’t either – but for the right woman, this could be such fun! (do bear in mind that UGG boots are NOT waterproof; UGGs + puddles = cold, wet feet…)
Scarf – Hèrmes Etude pour un Iris Arc-en-ciel; hat – Everlane; scarf – Max Mara; gloves – UGG; plush coat – J.Crew; boots – UGG
Grey might seem boring to some people, but I think that this wardrobe is anything BUT dull…
You can really invest in a beautiful scarf when you know that it will work with all sorts of different pieces in your wardrobe:
Yes, another orange coat! This is a winter ensemble for the coldest of weather…
Scarf – Hèrmes Chemins de Corail; hat – L.L.Bean; scarf – Bindya; mittens – L.L.Bean; coat – L.L.Bean; boots – Timberland
The range of orange and red accent pieces here is well anchored by the solid core of beige and browns – it balances very well:
This scarf has been on The Vivienne Files before, but it’s such an excellent color combination, and such a good value, that I couldn’t resist bringing it into this wardrobe too!
I think I’m going to start analyzing these wardrobe during the last week of November, so that the December additions will be well-planned and practical…
Does your favorite wardrobe change from month to month, as mine does?
love,
Janice
For more in the 2017 “Build a Capsule Wardrobe – 12 months, 12 outfits” series, check out the following articles:
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
- Evaluating our 2017 wardrobes…
Looking for more ideas? Follow along as we build a new capsule wardrobe in 2018.
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I love the pastel wardrobe, although it's not for me. I'm a stronger, darker, muted sort of person. You've forgotten your "Post to Pinterest" at the end – I post it most days, and dozens of people save it! Linda M
Black is a core neutral in my wardrobe that I often do choose a black winter coat as my staple- it is such a safe neutral option. But if we do limit our wardrobe to some well coordinated accent colours, then it gives us freedom to splash out on an expensive boldly coloured winter coat because we will be able to wear it often and wear it well. This is a great aspirational goal.
I always love these and I can never pick which one I like best.
Thanks – I'm looking forward to December. And, again, to next January.
Janice, I think you really excelled yourself with these combinations. My goodness what a possibilities, what a great colour combinations! For me the olive with orange would be the most tempting. Coincidently (or is it in fashion?) I have invested heavily in these colours. Your examples have given me new ideas though. Like hey.. I have an orange scarf in a drawer, never used it, why not try that with my new olive and green sweaters?” So thanks for the inspiration.
Exquisite!
No more practical! These wardrobes need party clothes! A little flash, a little glitter! Doesn’t anyone have fun anymore?
I love the variety of practical clothes in these wardrobes but it is party time! Hugs and happy dancing! Carol S
As the wardrobes have filled in, my favorite has changed. At first, I was smitten by the beige-based pastel (although I can't wear that much beige), then it shifted to the gray-based pastel, but as the months went on, my heart drifted to the black and cognac/rust. And BTW, thank you for including REAL winter boots.
Just got my own winter coat for everyday and because inspired by your blog, did not get black, but a dark green. My preferred green is more loden/forest than olive and that's what this coat is. But to find it–oi vey!
How to find something at once fairly technical (because rain, sleet, snow), knee length and, while sporty, a little more feminine than the average outdoorsy coat because it's for urban wear and travel? Finally encountered Lole, a Canadian brand, and then found a good sale price because that green must not be so popular.
I agree! Shopping for winter coats is hard work! They're expensive, so you don't want to make a mistake. I want warmth and fashion. I'm petite, so finding the right length/sleeve length/hood size is tricky. It needs to go with all my clothes. Like I said, hard work.
I am a big fan of the accent coat. I have a wool pea coat in strawberry red that just makes me SO HAPPY. I'll get some fun kicky boots when my Born boots wear out. Seeing as they're >10 years old and look practically new (granted, they don't get much wear), I'll have to wait for a while.
I love this series. As soon as i got out of bed this morning and was making my bed the thought popped into my head….yay we get a new addition to the series today, lol. I like it that much. You rock Janice.
It's hard to believe there's only one month left in this series! The wardrobes all have such distinctive personalities, and it's always fun to see how the additions fit in. This month I really love the olive and the brown wardrobes – although I could never in a million years wear an orange coat, and beiges and olives are not for me either. – nancyo
I've been following this all year, and doing a mix of the grey wardrobe and the red/navy wardrobe. I now have a closet full of clothes that I love and they all go together. Thanks for all the hard work you put into this, it is appreciated by those of us who lack the ability to dress ourselves!
Diane T
We have finally started feeling the cold here, so adding a winter coat now is perfect timing! The last wardrobe is once again my favorite this month because I love the scarf and the beautiful cayenne color of the coat. Red and orange are my favorite colors and I am really liking them as the accents for this wardrobe. Even though I have gradually come to realize that khaki/beige apparel is not especially flattering on me, I could replace those items with dark brown or olive options and make the collection work.
I can't wait to see how you finish off these wardrobes next month. You have done a great job with all of them. Who knows, my favorite could still change – I really do love that inspiration scarf in the first wardrobe…
How Timely! I was on Uniqlo's web site last night looking at coats. Saturday I am shopping at their Michigan Ave. store. My favorite capsules are the black (minus the caramel items) and the grey (minus the orchid). Maybe I could combine the two? Oh dear, if I could only make up my mind.
I love the first wardrobe, those touches of camel are just amazing. For December, it would be nice to see some festive attire for these wardrobes.
Forgot to mention yesterday, but I would love to see a winter capsule of toasty, warm pieces. It's COLD in the north! We northerners want to look nice and be warm. Please?
Thanks as always for the inspiring post! I was a bit surprised that the colors in the orange & olive palette seem very surprising to you, but then I'm a redhead, so those are my basic colors.
The best, the absolute best. I hope you do this every year. I'm way to busy and like like to shop. Thanks to you I loved every minute of my monthly shopping with you and I look fantastic and live everything in my closet for the first time in 58 years.