December 3, 2018
Our heroines are getting holiday outfits! It might not be what they most need, but it’s almost December, and in many of our lives, that means parties are coming thick and fast…
When I looked at this first wardrobe, I realized that our heroine didn’t have a black cashmere cardigan! (I know, billions of people make it through life without one, but a wardrobe heroine certainly can make a case for one…)
And yes, I’m going to show you velvet jeans a lot – I am currently wearing a pair, and I’m smitten. They come in eight colors, including emerald green, a stunning bright pink, amethyst, sapphire, and lovely gold. I sized generously but not insanely large, and they fit wonderfully…
This outfit is dressy by virtue of the mix of lovely fabrics, and the “statement” necklace and shoes. You don’t have to be absolutely paved in sequins and beads to be dressed appropriately for most parties – at least you don’t in my world!
Scarf – Hermès Fouets et Badines; silk tee – Equipment; jeans – Lands’ End; necklace – J.Crew; cardigan – Halogen; mules – Madewell
This is what her wardrobe looks like at the end of the year:
And this is her accessory collection!
As always, I’m going to be sure that she has some additional ways in which she can wear her new garments. This serves 2 purposes: 1. she can avoid buying something that’s not going to get used often enough to be worth the price, and 2. she can wear her existing garments in a wider variety of ways. It is always wise to think about what other ways you can wear a new outfit…
I’ve been looking for a good excuse to show you this sweater for a couple of weeks – I love this knit!With a gold skirt, it is a holiday outfit that will NOT blend into a sea of black!
scarf – Hermès The Horsawards; sweater – J.Crew; earrings – Kendra Scott; bag – Tory Burch; pumps – CC Corso Como; lurex skirt – J.Crew
This is such a pretty wardrobe… Her dry-cleaner must love her, or maybe she lives somewhere without constant worries about dirty city things?
And her accessories aren’t bad either, are they?
Her new holiday acquisitions work nicely with the rest of her wardrobe; I can’t imagine her settling for anything that didn’t blend in seamlessly with the rest of her clothes!
I really wanted to include an outfit here that would be festive but still appropriate for something casual – that kind of sledding or skating or caroling excursion with some cocoa afterwards…
scarf – Hermès Les Tresors d’un Artiste; shiny sweater – Uniqlo; brooch – Talbots; wrap – Free People; sneakers – Birkenstock; jeans – Lands’ End
This wardrobe really appeals:
And I really like these accessories!
These additions really can be worn in many more ways than this, but at least having these outfits sketched out in the mind of our heroine can ensure that she’s not buying a bunch of nutty things in a fit of impulsiveness!
I labored over what to offer to this heroine – I thought about more olive green, or pink…
But then I studied the scarf some more, and realized that I was missing that edging in tan/khaki/camel. And camel in cold weather is gorgeous! (no, the colors don’t have to be matched at a microscopic level – that’s one of the beauties of wearing garments in different fabrics and textures)
Scarf – Hèrmes Merveilleuses Lanternes; earrings – Kendra Scott; sweater – Halogen; scarf – Eileen Fisher; loafers – Kelsi Dagger Brooklyn; corduroy pants – Lands’ End
Even though this heroine doesn’t have a lot of beige or camel in her wardrobe, she will still be able to get a lot of use out of her new sweater and pants:
I couldn’t resist a silver skirt! Paired with some cashmere, a sparkly necklace and the cutest little flat shoes, this outfit could go lots of places…
Scarf – Hèrmes Jardin a Sintra; cardigan – Lands’ End; necklace – Nordstrom; short-sleeved cashmere sweater – Lands’ End; skirt – Banana Republic; flats – Jewel Badgley Mischka
This wardrobe all works so well together – I swear you could get dressed in the dark from these clothes:
And I think she has all of the essential accessories here…
It doesn’t surprise our heroine that her new outfit is going to be easily integrated into her existing wardrobe:
For this last, most amazing heroine and her equally amazing wardrobe, I again struggled a little bit. And then I realized that she could certainly use a pair of black pants… Her ability to wear black and brown together is unparalleled!
I looked and looked and scarves for her, and finally decided to see what Hermes could offer. This purchase of a second scarf in the same design isn’t as odd as it might seem; there are some really unusual scarf collectors who will find a “grail” design which they try to buy in EVERY color. I can’t imagine it, but everybody gets to live their own life, eh?
Silk scarf – Hermès Ndop; earrings – & Other Stories; sweater – Halogen; jeans – Lands’ End; mostly green silk scarf – Hermès Ndop; loafers – Etienne Aigner
Her wardrobe includes a range of neutrals – black, brown and grey – but it all works pretty nicely together!
And I think her accessories are amazing – varied, but all invoking the “feel” or the colors of the scarf:
The new sweater and jeans bring a different feel to things, and offer her options that she really didn’t have up until now:
Imagine that you were starting COMPLETELY from scratch – absolutely no clothes or jewelry except for core sentimental jewelry. Which would you choose?
I’m shocking myself – I think I’d go blue and grey… I think…
love,
Janice
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I can’t decide. Love both the navy/burgundy and the grey/blue wardrobe. I am swedish with a medium blonde hair and eyes in shades of bluegrey. I am clearing out the black clothes I once purchased and navy is my new neutral, with both a little grey, a little burgundy and some pink.
I love the final wardrobe… although I’d change the black and white for brown and a warmer white or cream. If I were to start from scratch I think I’d use browns and creams, with olive, gold and a blush pink. I still have a lot of blues, orange and dove grey in my wardrobe along with the other colours so I will need to keep my plan in mind when clothes wear out.
If I had to choose one of these wardrobes, I’d go with the grey and blue. In real life if I were starting from scratch, I’d choose navy and grey neutrals plus cool purples and greens.
I am naturally drawn to the navy and grey wardrobes, but if I had to choose just one, it would be the navy. Two things Janice: Firstly, did you get your velvet jeans one size bigger for a relaxed fit or are they made a little larger? Secondly, the camel ‘all the clothes’ and ‘all the accessories’ slides are missing.
After years of allegiance to a black-white-grey(-denim, because I can’t seem to think of blue jeans as a color) wardrobe, I broke the mold recently and bought, not only camel, but olive green, and love them. I think your palette experiments are what gave me the push—thanks!
Each month I look forward to the 12 Months, 12 Outfits post. There is something for everyone! I hope you continue the tradition in 2019. I have already decided to purchase a Hermes scarf and build a wardrobe around it in the new year. As with this year, I am sure that I will be able to pull some items from my closet but look forward to inspiration for new purchases. Thank you and happiest of holidays.
Yay! The monthly wardrobes are my FAVORITE posts. You ended the year well!! I still think my favorite is the red, white and blue. It is closest to my colors. I have been studying the 13 month wardrobes as a game plan for the next year. I am a homeschool mom but am adding a day of work to my part time job at our church. I need comfortable but “smart” looking outfits to go back and forth.
Thank you for giving me the tools to tackle this challenge. Teach a woman to fish! ?
I can’t wait for the next year!!!! Both in terms of my wardrobe and your next sets of 12 month wardrobes!!!!
Thank you, Janice!!!
I don’t buy all the colors but I confess to two H Jardin a Sintra (neither the grey you featured) and I am deeply tempted by the Tresors d’un Artiste in that beautiful burgundy. If I were starting over, I’d plummet into that navy/burgundy/red wardrobe for fall/winter. I loooove this year-long series! Can’t wait to see your H scarf picks for 2019!
Thank you for including more casual holiday outfits! Not all of us live a fancy lifestyle, but we still like to look festive during the holidays. :)
I especially love the pink wardrobe and the grey one, too!
I’ve been curious on how you wear the Hermes scarves. (the ones displayed as a square in your your clothes layouts). For example, how would you wear both the lovely Hermes scarf AND the statement necklace in your first wardrobe above?
You can wear a lighter-weight silk scarf (like the Hermes scarves) wrapped around your neck and tucked into a sweater – sort of like a surrogate blouse or shirt, and then wear the larger woolier scarf over the sweater as normal. I once got in a real wardrobe travel pinch and wore one of my scarves under a cardigan as a kind of blouse-like garment. I couldn’t take off my cardigan because my back was entirely bare, but it worked really well otherwise!
hugs,
Janice
That is awesome idea, Janice!
Sorry! That should be 12 month!
I find myself wanting to build a mini holiday capsule around that (fabulous!) newly introduced Hermès scarf in the last wardrobe. Lovely deep reds and blue-greens with gold accents. All the wardrobes are lovely for the right person. Thank you so much for sharing your gifts with us!
All year I couldn’t decide which I like best. But the additions of the Ndop scarf in colors and the black jeans put the last one over the top for me–because most similar now in color and style to what I have.
I’ve spent the last two years honing my wardrobe according to principles learned here–small wardrobe, whatever’s clean and color themes–and now have a fall/winter palette of neutrals of black/brown/cream/gray leavened with soft autumn or brighter tones including wheat (soft golds), berry reds, greens, teals and indigo. (In spring/summer everything lightens up–lighter jeans, brighter colors, navy instead of black.) I love color but in general want a neutral base. Love those velvet jeans!
I’m so happy with with my current status quo I don’t think I’d start over, ’cause I already did that. Now I can evolve and replace in a coherent manner.
I love live this 12 month series and can’t wait for 2019. I’m still smitten by the grey-blue and gradually culling my wardrobe to that pallet. I would keep my nice navy items and it still would be a “whatever’s clean”wardrobe as that blue, I’ve found, and other shades of French bkue are great with navy. I still get compliments every time I wear light grey neat my face. I’m gradually adding more and more of it. It seems more available in fall- winter than in summer so I will have to search. All of these wardrobes are beautiful and would be gorgeous in the right lady. Janice Collins Coyle, Washington DC
These are beautiful, Janice! Thank you for this series. I especially love the navy and red wardrobe and the gray and light blue wardrobe. It’s wonderful how many light blue items are available right now. For a while I could find oodles of turqoise/aqua, but not much light blue! I need to get it while I can, I guess.
After much consideration, I choose the brown/black/forest green capsule. I find the silhouette to be the most tailored, which I prefer. Having both brown and black shoes would be very versatile and that green is gorgeous!
Hèrmes Merveilleuses Lanternes is the wardrobe I’d pick even though the “everything” slides for both clothes and accessories aren’t included in this post.
Works for Northern and Southern lifestyles and different than everyone else you’ll see.
At last! Somebody else noticed the missing pages – I was beginning to think it was my eyes playing tricks on me as Janice is usually quick to respond to comments, but didn’t on this occasion.
I was taking a dancing lesson with Belovedest and didn’t check comments the rest of the evening! I’m so happy that you caught this – I don’t know WHAT I was doing…
hugs,
Janice
I would so love to have a pink wardrobe, but I fear it will be hard to find a smoky shade that doesn’t wash me out since my hair has become increasingly white and silver. For now, I have it as an accent color in my tops (including a jacket) to coordinate with my cool brown and warm gray, but someday I would like so much more. I supplement the pink with cool and warm burgundy, either seems to work well at the moment as well as some mauve in medium tones.
The blue gray is also very lovely, but I doubt I will ever be able to wear such a cool color palette even when my hair is completely white. I think my mother could wear this very well, though sadly, she doesn’t think her lifestyle warrants much investment in clothing.
So for now, the last wardrobe in a new shade of the Hermes Ndop is still the one that most closely aligns with my preferred color palette.
I feel like there is something here for everyone, you choose so well. Thank you! Each new post is such a treat :-).
I love wearing velvet jeans in the winter. I have some in a wonderful hot pink, and some in black, that I have worn for several years, often with a simple sweater or a silky blouse. This year I bought some burgundy velvet slacks and I can’t wait to wear them! I’m taking a weekend trip this month and am thinking of packing all neutral tops (possibly all black) and all colored/statement pants!
As for the wardrobes, the navy finished really strong – I love that dark red. And the gray is quite appealing, too, although I’m pretty sure I’d crave a little more color and variety! The brown is striking, but I’d have to swap colors too much. Thanks for doing this – so much fun!! – nancyo
The colors of Tresors d’un Artiste appeal to me. I especially like the variety of colors in the wardrobe, with a little green and gray with the navy and burgundy. But… the blue and gray Jardin a Sintra is a close second for me. Why not some of both!
The blue/gray wardrobe was my favorite throughout the year, but now I think the pink/camel is my favorite. It’s so pretty!
I cannot say I have a favorite. I like the blues in the gray/blue ensemble, but gray just feels old to me:(. I like the crispness of navy, but the red is too dark for my coloring I gravitate to blues in general with my white hair and pale complexion with light gray eyes. Whenever I can find a grayed blue, it is magical on me.
Janice, regarding the velvet jeans, I re-read my earlier e-mail and it sounded as if I was implying that you needed to buy larger jeans – not so. Just needed clarification on your comment regarding the generous sizing – many thanks.
I thought hard about starting from scratch but couldn’t better your grey and blue wardrobe. I stopped having my hair dyed brown three years ago, so now have cool grey – but kept my green eyes :). With your help, my wardrobe has changed to suit and I’m happy with it. My only variation is to include navy/denim and black for pants because I’m pear-shaped (couldn’t change that bit) and so prefer really dark bottoms. Soft grey, light blue and sage green are working well as accents. But all these wardrobes have been interesting to watch develop. You always get me thinking!
It’s Tresors d’un Artiste for me, still. And those velvet jeans have been in my shopping cart for weeks (the blue). I think you may have just pushed me over the edge — especially since there’s a 50% off coupon so they are very affordable!
The blue and silver was my favourite this year but I was really drawn to the pinks and beige shades.
The biggest of my accent colour mini capsules is blush pink and I use ivory thru white as my pale neutrals. I wear them with my grey, navy and black core wardrobe a lot.
I don’t wear much blue beyond navy, periwinkle & aqua but that made me want to try those shades again.
Still not sure which one is my favourite overall but I would love a wardrobe based on the scarf that was added to the last wardrobe!