February 3, 2020
Oh, this really feels like preparing for warm weather! That said, with boots and tights, these pants could be worn most of the year…
denim capris – Lands’ End
I like these pants because I feel a LOT more modest in them than I do in shorts. I also feel that I’m appropriate for a wider range of places and activities than I might be in something above my knees; you might feel differently! As with all garments, you have to know what you find most comfortable (both physically and mentally/emotionally) and fully honor your preferences.
The example outfits that follow are gradually changed from last week’s outfits, which in turn evolved from the outfits of the week before that. My goal is to show how gradually adding carefully-chosen garments can give you more and more outfit options over time.
First up is my favorite black and white; I caved and added the floral tee in place of the more expected stripes. I have a hunch that this tee shirt is in my future…
earrings – Gorjana; floral tee shirt – Lands’ End; white cardigan – Lands’ End; cropped pants – L.L.Bean; bag – Mali + Lili; espadrilles – Eileen Fisher
I suspect that anybody who invested in this navy floral tee might want to wear it a lot; so I changed the pants (of course) and the cardigan. If you had the pants and cardigan from last week, you’d have 4 different combinations around this single tee shirt!
earrings – J.Crew; tee shirt – Ted Baker; yellow cardigan – Goodnight Macaroon; olive cropped pants – L.L.Bean; bag – Madewell; espadrilles – Andre Assous
Okay, I admit that I’m still smitten with this tee shirt/cardigan/earrings combination! The change of pants takes this into spring and summer; imagine wearing last week’s outfit to travel, carrying these pants and shoes in your bag, and changing before you leave the airport at your destination…
earrings – Diamonique; tee shirt – Mother; pastel pink heather sweater – Lands’ End; charcoal heather crop pants – Lands’ End; carbon grey bag – Frye; espadrilles – Toni Pons
Instead of last week’s navy paisley tee, I really like this floral tee! (and yes, floral earrings too.) A white cardigan would be great here, and you could of course swap out for a simple white tee shirt and turquoise necklace. So many possibilities…
flower earrings – Giani Bernini; tee shirt – Lands’ End; cardigan – Lands’ End; navy cropped pants – L.L.Bean; bag – Longchamp; sandals – Cole Haan
If you like brown, you want to take a good look at this tee shirt! Do you know how HARD it is to find a pretty floral brown tee shirt?
Brown capris were impossible to find at any decent price, but that’s okay – there’s always something that will work! White pants in warm weather are classic… but peach ones would be pretty here too!
And don’t miss that cool bamboo handbag! I would probably find or make a drawstring bag (or 2, or 3) to line it; the color of the bag would show through the bamboo…
earrings – Kendra Scott; tee shirt – Lands’ End; cardigan – Lands’ End; white cropped pants – Lands’ End; bamboo bag – Vince Camuto; espadrilles – Whistles
This outfit changed very little in overall feeling – it’s just much more summery with cropped pants and espadrilles. I love the mesh in these shoes; they would be so cool (literally and figuratively) in warm weather.
ebony earrings – Sapna Mehta; tee shirt – Harve Benard; red azalea Donegal cardigan – Lands’ End; black cropped pants – L.L.Bean; bag – Talbots; espadrilles – Vince Camuto
While there’s just 1 garment changed here (as is always true, duh…), I think that the shorter pants make the whole wardrobe feel more summery. This might be the kind of thing you pack when you’re going to be spanning climates during 1 trip:
white, black and red tees – Lands’ End; floral tee – Lands’ End; black cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; flannel shirt – Lands’ End; striped Henley – Lands’ End; black metallic hoodie – Michael Kors Collection; cobalt cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; black cropped pants – L.L.Bean; black stretch wool pants – BOSS; velvet skirt – Marks & Spencer; striped sweater dress – Banana Republic
Here’s the overall list, for reference. I’m beginning to work on the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe of Accessories… I can’t believe that we’ve progressed so far!
love,
Janice
p.s. 3 years ago, I used a floral cardigan as the basis of a warm weather wardrobe. This post is really LONG on explaining the way I think; be warned!
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We have a sunny but cold day today perfect for spring planning—enjoy the evolution through the seasons
Sorry to say, but all these clothes remind me of my 600 lb life. Dearest Janice, you are an artist of colours and you have followers being in their fifties, not overweight and interested in clothes not looking like a retired school teacher wearing pearl necklaces and twinsets.
Do not go for accessories next year, go for 50+ ladies who still have a career and and a work life balance, a tennis racket or a mountain bike, enjoying good food and smart clothing.
Refer us to people like Alison of Lynx design…
All the best and please apologize me frankly speaking,
Anne
While I might not wear any of these particular outfits, the thing I love about this series is the categories of building blocks for a cohesive wardrobe. You can choose any item you like that fits in that category. All of use have different lifestyles, budgets, body types, color preferences, and personal preferences. I’m not expecting Janice to be my personal shopper. She just provides a nice framework for me to use to evaluate my wardrobe choices. :)
Cropped pants are not to my taste either. They do my short, rounded body no favour, chopping my stubby legs visually into an unattractive proportion. While cropped pants will never have a place in my wardrobe, I can envisage a stretch twill pencil skirt in their place, performing the same function for me. A personal tweak to Janis’ adaptable plan.
EXACTLY. I’m not telling you what to wear, I’m suggesting possibilities. You know what suits you best, and you can adjust anything that I show to suit your preferences and morphology. There’s no way I could show clothing that would suit every woman in the world, so you’ve got to bring your own feelings to the party and create your own variation!
hugs,
Janice
Also, petite ladies who fit all the other criteria Anne raises. Petite does NOT mean 13 and cute, but apparently the buyers don’t know that!
Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn all wore twinsets and pearls – I cannot think of more stylish women than them!
Hi Janice, please dont change what you are doing to accommodate disgruntle. I dont want to see tennis skirts, bike shorts and clunky athletic shoes and wouldn’t be caught dead in any of those. You are supplying “smart choices” in every post and anyone can surf pinterest for athletic wardrobe ideas. Please keep doing what you are doing and please understand how much value you provide in your posts. Thank you
I think its hard to find the right shape and fit for capri/cropped pants, just as it also hard to find this for long shorts. I play golf and really like a slim, knee length short, very hard to find. The wider legs often have wider hips and i don’t find it a pretty look.
Pull on pants have the lovely benefit of no bulging at the waist with a close fit t-shirt or seater worn over top but often they are baggy and ill fitting and make you look frumpy. (Or dumpy as my stylish daughter says) You have to look hard, try them on and see if the fit is to your liking giving you a nice slim line. One thing that can help is deciding how wide you want the bottom of the leg opening to be. I wish the on-line descriptions for fit would include this more often, sometimes they do for jeans. This is very difficult with on-line shopping. Once you find the right one, then as Janice suggests, buy multiples !
I also like slim knee-length shorts and have bought multiples of Columbia’s. They are very casual, but I find them flattering and comfortable.
In the 1970’s, I recall how shops had trousers arranged by the width of the bottom. So you could buy anything from skinny jeans to trousers with bottoms over two feet wide!
Thanks, Janice, for all the work and thought you put into your posts.
While I may be in the minority, I really don’t like capris. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone wear them where they didn’t look matronly and frankly, dumpy.
I am tall, and even for me, they break up the leg so much and make me feel frumpy.
Good for you, for realizing that you really don’t like something and don’t ever want to wear it! Many of us takes years (and YEARS) to figure that out, and in the meantime we wear what we’re told to. Self-knowledge is key to so many things, isn’t it?
hugs,
Janice
Capris hit me at the wrong place too, but I wear cropped jeans 3 seasons out of the year. I like the hem to hit an inch or two ABOVE the ankle (the slimmest part of the leg) so it is most flattering. Boyfriend, skinny, straight or kick flares all look cute with sandals or sneakers.
Add me to the list of Capri haters. I’m also tall and suffered some serious bullying for my ill fitting hand me down pants. It sticks with you.
I appreciate these guides, since they give me ideas that I’m able to adapt to my style. My alternative warm weather pants are linen pants. I’m able to look professional and still be comfortable.
That’s a very kind and graceful way of putting it – thank you!
The denim capris at the top of the post look as wide as they are long. To be fair, I went to the Lands’ End web page to see if they look better on. They look much trimmer on the model, but they got a two star overall review. The reviewers were critical of the fit and mentioned the photo was not an accurate representation. It would be interesting to poll women on wide leg crops. We have gotten used to our skinny jeans and pencil skirts. I’m a no, never.
I am in my fifties and still work part-time as a Librarian but, unlike the stereotype, I have never ever worn twin sets and pearls. I am very interested in fashion and how I can look ‘in the moment’ but with an air of eing effortlessly stylish. I know what clothes (colour and fit) suit my five foot height and pear-shaped figure and if I’m not sure my daughter and husband will help me decide. Over the past two years, I have lost a lot of weight and have gone down three sizes in clothes. Finding the Vivienne Files last autumn has helped me to develop my new appearance, rejuvenate my style to suit my age, lifestyle and level.of comfort? as well as providing principles to reorganise my wardrobe. In particular, Janice’s suggestions have opened my eyes and given me the confidence to try new colour combinations that I’ve not thought of based on my jewellery, scarves, art and nature. I have a wide variety of clothes in my wardrobe for all occasions. For any of the suggested outfits, I can swap a casual cardigan for a jacket, trousers for a skirt and a t-shirt for a blouse or shirt. In relation to this post, I was in my twenties when I last wore shorts or cropped trousers BUT I look great in wide fit trousers and proper culottes, which look like a divided skirt. I usually wear these in the autumn/winter and in summer, I wear loose fitting wide leg linen trousers. The ideas in this post makes me think that I could extend the seasonality of my culottes and wear them with sandals or summer shoes. So many thanks Janice.
By the way, accessories are so important in finishing an outfit. It’s all I the detail and Janice you have the knack of tying an outfit together with carefully chosen accessories which pick up tiny details in an outfit. I have learnt a lot. Even though I have a lot of costume jewellery, I can see where my gaps might be.
I’m with you 100% on this one. I love cropped pants three seasons of the year! Ladies “of a certain age” don’t need to be showing off their thighs, nor do ladies whose thighs might be a little larger than optimal … since I am both (!) crops are just with the designer ordered. I prefer them longer, too. Good post.
I also love the floral cardigan post. I have several in my wardrobe which jazz up a plain separates and can be a smart-casual option to a jacket. A floral cardigan with a smart dress is just the thing for a summer occasion.
About ten years ago I had a pair of brown pants that were “full length” but you could adjust them by rolling them up to two shorter lengths with the help of some “tabs” that snapped on the side. I really enjoyed wearing those pants, they were so versatile (maybe they were Columbia, not sure). Easy to look presentable in so many situations, they fit my more casual lifestyle. I was sad when those pants finally wore out, unable to mend them! I remembered them when you wrote about the difficulties of finding an affordable pair of brown cropped pants.
Thanks for all your wonderful posts! I haven’t commented for quite a while but I continue reading all the time. I thought of you when I was packing for a short trip to help my aging parents. My siblings are amazed at I can pack in a carry on. That is thanks to you and your wonderful blog!
Thanks for the comment – I’m so glad that I was helpful! And yes, I just had lunch with a friend, and we lamented the lack of great brown clothing in the world. It’s one of her favorites, and she always struggles…
hugs,
Janice
When it’s really hot, I wear a skirt, and when it’s only warm, white jeans. All of your ideas would look smashing with white jeans.
Do I want to get a pair of white jeans? If you wear them, that pretty much convinces me…
Off to order a pair now…
hugs,
Janice
I appreciate all of the combinations, but would not be caught dead in capris, crops, or any “pants” that are not full length. If you want to wear pants, make the commitment and wear pants! Don’t go part way. I have yet to see any woman who looks good in this style. It looks like the wearer is standing in a hole. I saw a photo of a soon-to-be-famous women’s basketball coach wearing cropped pants AND a jacket with sleeves that were “too short.” I know they are supposed to be 3/4 sleeves, but this ensemble make the outfit look ridiculous and “borrowed.” Or, as if she had experienced a sudden growth spurt. I just don’t like this style and have no use for it. And I feel the same way about ripped jeans. So I need to look the other way quite a bit these days. Thanks for doing this for us, Janet, you are still the most talented person I know on the planet when it comes to planning a wardrobe.
So sorry, I know your name is Janice, I was thinking of my dear friend Janet and assigned you the wrong name above. Please forgive!
No worries – I’ve been called Janet about a billion times in the last 60 years….
hugs,
Janice