June 1, 2017
Big important notice – the “Six Scarves, Six Wardrobes, over 12 Months” post for June will be here tomorrow! I hope! The Internet in my building (yes my entire building!) has been off and on, as they work on it… Don’t they know that we have important blogging to do? Knuckleheads…
In case you haven’t seen the earlier versions of the navy and beige summer wardrobes, you can find the one accented with dark camel and moss green here, and the first one with accents of mint and lavender here.
Today’s colors just jump off of the screen:
Just for the benefit of those among us who are joining this adventure in progress, this is the neutral starting point – a half-dozen core pieces around which I will try to build a coherent travel capsule wardrobe:
classic navy cardigan – L.L.Bean; classic navy tank – L.L.Bean; classic navy pants – L.L.Bean; heritage stone pants – L.L.Bean; heritage stone shorts – L.L.Bean; heritage stone cropped pants – L.L.Bean; espadrilles – David Tate
And for my own reference, as much as any else’s, I’m always working with a template in mind so that I make certain to cover all of the necessary wardrobe components:
This pink was surprisingly difficult to find, in clothing! It seems that absolutely everyone has jumped onto the “blush” bandwagon, and have thus turned their back on any other shade of pink. How unimaginative… (and a word of caution – some of the clothes that are advertised as being “blush” or something lovely like that actually, in person, look like Calamine lotion, Pepto-Bismol, or something else really disgusting that I’ll tell you only after we’ve had a couple of glasses of champagne…)
Often, when I’m adding an accent color, I try to find a really basic, classically styled top, and then I look for something more relaxed and unstructured, or something with some innovative design elements. Tops like this tank top come in a dozen colors, so your chances of finding a great accent are pretty good. More time is needed to find a beautiful, unique piece… I think this is a good way to approach an accent, but your experience might be very different!
tank top – Land’ End; earrings – Kate Spade; bracelet – Gorjana; loose blouse – NYDJ
The orange wasn’t easy to find either! But I love the idea of buying a couple of pieces that match, but that will easily stand on their own. These are in some sort of athletic fabric that might be idea in the hot weather…
This bracelet could be the kind of thing that you wear constantly for a few months, and the put away for 2 or 3 years. I’ve found that I do that a lot with jewelry; it’s the big thing with every outfit for a while, and then I don’t want to see it for at least a year!
sleeveless top – Uniqlo; bracelet – Alexis Bittar; sandals – Kork-Ease; jacket – Uniqlo
These little “tie-like” scarves are everywhere this summer. Hermes makes them – they call them twillies – and they can be very versatile. I thought that this would make a great belt, or a wrapped bracelet, or a bit of dash tied to the handle of a handbag…
The bracelet is simply for fun – Novica carries a lot of beaded bracelets that are really affordable, and look great. If you have a color scheme in mind, they might very well have what you want!
And the tee shirt is completely over the top. Sometimes, I show you insane things just to remind us all that we can treat ourselves and be lavish, if we’re in the mood!
skinny scarf – Ted Baker London; bracelet – Rosario Ratzan; tee – Etro
To finish up this wardrobe, we should add a couple of pieces in one of the neutral colors. I’m opting for this most excellent tunic, mostly because I really like it, and I can’t believe that it’s not sold out yet! (there’s one in black and white too; I’m very tempted!) And I’m adding navy shorts and tennies, just to give us a little outfit here. This shows that you can build a wardrobe outfit by outfit, if you have a plan!
tunic – L.L.Bean; shorts – L.L.Bean; shoes – Keds
So this is how the wardrobe looks, within the template. I’m pretty confident this is really close to a “Whatever’s Clean” wardrobe – maybe the orange jacket over the pink blouse might be a bit of “mood mixing…”
This is always my favorite image, with the accessories… You can already see that you’re going to have a wide variety of ensembles here:
Putting together the outfits is so much fun!
Yet again, changing just over half of the pieces in the wardrobe, and changing out accessories, has completely changed the mood of the wardrobe. This is really proving to be an interesting exercise, isn’t it?
love,
Janice
p.s. I discovered a wonderful sunscreen for the face:
You close your eyes, tuck in your lips, and spritz your face (and neck, and nape!) a half-dozen times. Wait… wait…. you want to let the mist settle, so that you don’t get it in your eyes. And you’re DONE! No rubbing, no getting goo on your hands, no slippery fingers… Supposedly it sets makeup, but I know next to nothing about makeup. But I wore this Monday when we walked THIRTEEN MILES, and I didn’t get sunburned. That’s pretty amazing… Plus, it smells good!
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What fun these colors are! Thanks for the sunscreen tip – I will try it.
I like it when you include outrageously expensive things like the Etro tee. Even when the specific item is not for me, it's always good to shake things up a little. It enlarges my frame of reference. And, who knows, maybe sometime I will see something I just must have.
Dear Caro,
Thanks so much for this; every time I include something that's at all expensive, I have to brace myself for the really critical emails that I receive… It's not at all lost on me that we can't all buy these things, but I think that they can be beautiful inspiration, and sometimes just lovely things to admire I'm so happy to know that you're not angry or offended…
big hug,
Janice
I also love it when you add an expensive gorgeous item. It raises the bar for everything else in terms of design and colour which is always a good thing. Just add a champagne colour midi length chiffon pleated skirt to this mix, wear it with the Etro and bim bam wow.
I'm another who loves seeing the expensive items. I find it much easier to dial the price down than up! I'm sorry you don't feel able to include such items as often as you used to, but I wonder if there are more people out there who love them, than would complain about them? Linda M
I'd love to hear more comments; when someone minds the expensive pieces, they're very vocal (and harsh, sometimes) but I don't hear too much of the other side of the coin.
hugs,
Janice
I'll add my two bits. One of my all-time favorites is the wardrobe you did based on a Dane Gabriel Rossetti painting, Dantis Amor, where you went all out. It was gorgeous, and the fact that I probably would never buy the pieces made not one bit of difference to me. Please continue to show expensive clothing. People need to train their eyes, and expensive clothing is often better-made clothing using better fabric. God knows we see enough junky fabric and workmanship in our everyday lives.
There is something very invigorating about putting the orange and pink together.
For such a small wardrobe this one seems to live large. Maybe because all the colors are so very different? It really is beautiful and versatile. Learned a lot from this one that will help with travel packing.
One of my favorite tops was fuchsia and acid orange. I love this combo.
Way back in the late 1960's, I had a scarf (Pucci-inspired?) that combined hot pink and orange. One of my all-time favorites. Also remember the controversy when Jackie Kennedy appeared wearing hot pink and orange together. :-)
I agree with others, it's much easier for me for find "cheaper than" what you show us. It helps me visualize how that spendy item is sometimes the cohesive glue for the look. The sizes are hardly ever large enough for me, so the pricetag doesn't matter. Yes, I have and continue to wear pink and orange and/or red together. Why not?!? Deb in KY
Love this lively, fun wardrobe. All it needs is a beach and a cool drink with a straw!
Janice,
Fun, fun, fun !
I love pink and orange for summer! And yes, I would wear the orange jacket over the pink top!! :)
My absolutely favorite "accent purse" is hot pink AND orange – color block. It looks great with my black columns (and not bad, but not quite as good, with my gray columns), and wonderful with gray/white and black/white. In other words, people are probably tired of seeing it, but i shall not stop carrying it for a while. The pink is much hotter than my usual mid-pink clothes, and the orange is normally totally out of my comfort zone, but somehow it just works. I think you have shown why with this navy/beige wardrobe. Thanks!
This one screams my name. I love brights and hot pink and orange are just happy together. My favorite winter puffer is hot pink with bright orange lining. A gift from my mom who couldn't believe I wanted it because pink and orange don't go together lol. Years later my mom is no longer with me but my puffer coat still is and I love it every bit as much as the day she bought it for me. :)
Love this! I love bright colors, and of course, the navy base is perfect.
I don't understand the critical emails/comments. Not everything is going to work for everyone, but there are nuggets to glean from just about every post. I know I speak for the majority of your followers when I say I really appreciate all you do for us, dear Janice!
I would wear pink + orange: with denim for nonchalance, or with white as a clean canvas or black as a clean slate. With navy or beige, I would personally want a scarf or other pattern to tie the colors together. – nancyo
Pretty cute! What a cheery summer wardrobe!
Dear Janice,
Complaints about your choices are reflections of the complainers and not you. Your choices are, of course, yours and are generously given to us to open our eyes to other possibilities. I must remind myself of this when I get snarky about the black and white, bright or high contrast wardrobes. That said, I love the pink and orange combined although I might mute the colors a wee bit.
Hugs and more hugs!!
Lesley
What a great post. Mixing pink and orange is so much fun, if you know what you are doing, and you have clearly given us a great road map here. Besides, if you think about it, one of the great summer colors is coral (and my personal favorite), which is a mixture of pink and orange. How much of each is what works best for your skin tones. In my case, I always go a bit heavier on the orange for my ivory (yellow-based) skin tones.
I have no problem w/the introduction of pricey items as long as you get what you pay for. That, as always, is the bottom line. If it works, it's worth the money. I have replaced a few high end items w/cheaper drugstore finds, but there's always that high end item that is irreplaceable.
Don't hesitate to include your favorite finds, Janice, no matter the price.
Love, M-T
There is something very invigorating about putting the orange and pink together.
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Throw mauve into the pink and orange mix and you've got yourself a winner! My silk pinkie dress I wear to summer weddings shouldn't work with that cacophony of colour, but it does!