all clothes – L.L.Bean
First, because I’m starting to really feel like beige isn’t working well, the 2 beige pieces are going to take a back seat. And of course white linen pants aren’t going to go too far into the fall…
all clothes – L.L.Bean
Here’s where grey takes the place of beige, and a pair of jeans will replace the white linen pants.
all clothes – L.L.Bean
Second step: the sleeveless black dress, and the two white tops, and due for a vacation…
all clothes – L.L.Bean
The easiest possible swaps – a sleeveless dress replaced by a long-sleeved dress, and a white long-sleeved shirt will take the place of the tee shirt. And instead of a casual white top, a casual grey top…
all clothes – L.L.Bean
Solid black garments can easily be worn 12 months… but for the sake of illustration we’ll give a vacation to the cotton tank top, the cotton cardigan/button front top, and the black capris.
all clothes – L.L.Bean
I can’t say enough positive about this striped top… And a grey cashmere cardigan- but zip-front instead of the more expected buttoned. Grey knit pants put us in a very good position for cooler weather.
all clothes – L.L.Bean
The beige pieces do look uncomfortable in this ensemble, but since all wardrobes are a work in process, and are always in transition, this is not an unusual thing to see in a well-planned closet.
all clothes – L.L.Bean
I do enjoy watching your wardrobe choices, you make it look so simple! I have the 'problem' of having a navy and a black wardrobe with duplicating pieces. I like both colours, any thoughts?
Last year I had three parallel capsules – navy/black/grey – and since I primarily wore solid tops, most of the accent pieces worked with all of my core colors.
I think navy and black can look lovely together, as long as the navy is blue enough to not be mistaken for black.
I agree AK. It's a bit tricky with navy, though, because they're all so different. I've got quite a bit of dark blue, cobalt blue and navy in my wardrobe.
Yes! My fall wardrobe seems to be shaping up to be black and gray–so this works for me! Will you show these combinations with accessories?
I keep my sleeveless black (and gray) dresses) in my wardrobe at least until Thanksgiving. I just add a light sweater and go foward in the autumn.
I understand the beige issue. My coloring is easily washed out with some neutrals particularly if they have no "pink" in them. Very brights next to my face have the same effect. I really like how your process defines the transition issue. In the Northeast we usually deal with this by October, since it is only 53 degrees here today I am thinking I need to ramp up my closet re-do! Thanks Janice.
While beige is NOT a good choice for me, I believe this injection of grey will do the trick. But here in E. TX, we swelter through most of September, so the short sleeved shirts will stick around for a bit longer. Thanks for new inspiration.
Wow, wow, wow! I just did a similar swap of grey for white and am also hopeful about phasing beige out. I must actually be getting the hang of transitioning thanks to your wonderful blog posts.
Beige is not a bad choice for me although I have stepped away from adding warmer colors like rust and brown. Those were my go-to colors when my hair was darker. But I like the combination of beige and grey- not unlike the camel/grey combination that I spoke of yesterday. I found a beige/grey striped 3/4 sleeve tee that looks superb with my beige (or maybe sand?) ankle jeans. And my plain, long sleeve grey tee with those jeans perks right up with the addition of a darker grey/beige printed scarf from Madewell. So as I transition, I can follow your lead, but phasing out black instead. I could not have done this a year ago. Following your blog has been an education and has saved me bundles. Not to mention, it is just plain fun.
I recently got the Hermes Early America in grey/beige (gold), so that's my "neutral" inspiration for autumn ;)
This is so helpful! I'm having similiar feelings about beige. (A friend of mine never wears khaki in the summer; "Makes me feel like a camp counselor," she says.) I enjoyed seeing in this post how this — or any color — could be phased out of a wardrobe. I also would like to your thoughts about accessorizing this capsule wardrobe. Thanks so much for sharing your creativity with us!
Is it possible to specify which LLBean pieces you chose? It's hard to locate them in the catalog. I traveled to NZ with your summer capsule(with pieces I already owned). Magic!
I would just like to say how much I love your use of LLBean clothing for examples! I used to shop almost exclusively at JJill until a friend told me about LLBean. I find their clothing to be more durable and longer lasting and a more flattering cut than JJill–not to mention that the clothes are half the price and you get free shipping! Also, if you live overseas (which I did for four years), JJill can be very difficult to work with for shipping. LLBean make long lasting clothing for reasonable prices and is accessable to almost everyone. Great choice!