October 28, 2020
Star-Gazing for a Living!
There’s an opening at the observatory complex, and it’s her turn to spend a month working on her research…
The complex is a combination of labs, residential and dining areas, meeting rooms, and of course the telescope. There are laundry facilities, so she doesn’t need to pack clothes for 30 days. Her wardrobe is built around the navy of the night sky, and this is her chosen accent inspiration:
She ses the colors this way:
She starts with the core of her cool-weather wardrobe – her “Common Wardrobe” of timeless, versatile pieces:
Navy long-sleeved tee – J.Crew; white long-sleeved tee – J.Crew; navy cotton turtleneck – J.Crew; white cotton turtleneck – J.Crew; navy cardigan – J.Crew; striped tee – J.Crew; white oxford shirt – L.L.Bean; denim shirt – L.L.Bean; navy corduroy pants – L.L.Bean; navy pants – L.L.Bean; grey knit jeans – L.L.Bean; navy twist pleat skirt – Uniqlo
She hesitates…. for a good LONG while. But then she remembers that she’s going to be up there with a bunch of scientists, who won’t particularly notice or care what she wears! And so she grabs her amazing plaid pants, and more amazing floral shirt, and adds them to the packing pile:
Neon berry cashmere sweater – J.Crew; striped oxford shirt – L.L.Bean; plaid pants – J.Crew; floral shirt – J.Crew
Then she remembers that it’s probably going to get cold up there some nights, and she will be dashing back and forth between the lab and the telescope in the middle of the night! Some cozy things make sense…
Hooded sweatshirt – Lands’ End; print fleece top – Old Navy; sweatpants – Lands’ End; flannel tunic – L.L.Bean; cardigan – You by Tokarska
Her neatly arranged pile of clothes now includes this:
She’s careful to be certain that she has outfits for meetings with other scientists, for cold nights in the telescope building, and for days in the lab doing her calculations and corresponding with other researchers around the world:
Don’t tell anyone, but her dream is to discover something and have it named for HER!!!
Imagine: “The Vivienne Nebula” forever in the skies…
love,
Janice
p.s. Six years ago, our wardrobe inspiration was GRASS growing in a park near my home in Chicago…
p.p.s. Our friend Anne built a “Start with Art” Garde-Robe du Mois that is SO well done – and most of it was thrifted! And she shares a great story….
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I couldn’t believe it when I saw these colors this morning. Yesterday I picked out my 21 items for November – black, hot pink, and purple… what a surprise ! Not a red item in the bunch, despite red being 25% of my wardrobe. I think this exercise will work out perfectly for me. Each month switching off accent colors. Brilliant! This reminds me of a blanket I made for my son incorporating the Horsehead Nebula (he’s majoring in astrophysics) Just perfect! A very pleasant way to start the day. Thank you!
I immediately thought that this post would appeal to you when I saw it! Purple rules!
Beth T – I immediately thought of –you– when I saw the color lineup!
I think your different nebula-based posts are some of my all-time favourites. This one is particularly pretty.
And thank you for the link to my post!
Anne / Mama Squirrel
Lovely wardrobe, Mama Squirrel, and I enjoyed the story. What a terrific ending! A September Gale is a compelling picture I was not familiar with before.
I loved your post as well. The picture is great. We wear similar colours. I’m intrigued by the teal zippered poncho wrap – not something I’ve seen in the UK.
The poncho was designed by a Quebec company called Rose Purna. I found a bit online about them, but all the mentions were a few years old, so I’m not sure if they’re still in business.
Janice,
This 21 garments idea is doable, though for laundry purposes, and thus not as much wear and tear on the tops , I would wear the button ups as a top layering piece and add a few more top pieces, especially in an additional accent color, but then that totals more than 21 . I rewear bottoms for 2 wears before laundering and toppers wait for a wash even longer than that, unless I spill something on them, of course !
What this concept is echoing, as I stated in Monday’s post, is the concept of the rolling capsule on a monthly basis, along with rolling seasonal accent colors , so that I can please my mood, the season, and the weather ! Great idea , Janice, and great timing with the varying temps right now ! Autumn and Spring have always seemed like tricky seasons in the past to figure out what to include in my closet ! This idea, or one with a few more pieces floats my boat !
Anne’s shopping plan and story were cleverly done also ! And much money saved — yaaaa !
Janice,
On Tuesday I’ll be voting —— for the Vivienne Nebula ! A much better option than the two that we have been given !
Did you know that ALL of our heroines are named Vivienne? (well, at least in my heart..)
hugs,
Janice
Janice,
Upon more pondering, I think the 21 pieces for me is a good “ stay at home” number of garments, but if it was to include” leaving the home” pieces, I would have to up the total number, and add some more toppers as well as some tops . This is a wonderful exercise in how much we really do need and use ! That number shall vary for each one of us !
I am tempted by the You cardigan. I visited Wolf and Badger to find out about.it. It seems a reasonable price for such a lovely item. When planning my 28 day getaway, I’ve found that I’m short on sweaters to layer over blouses.Plaid pants could add interest to my all black/grey collection of bottoms. Your blog always makes me think of new possibilities.
New possibilities are the BEST! And I love to support the small designers at Wolf and Badger – encouraging new businesses and finding uncommon items is a double-win!
hugs,
Janice
It is a fantastic colour – very cheerful. Then I realised that my thick knit polo neck tunic jumper is the same colour. I’ve been wearing it all day. It’s a bit special because my daughter bought it for me.
Apparently, she saw it in a shop and it had “your name written all over it”. ?
I get that all the time! “It just looked like you!”
I could almost pull that entire capsule out of my closet! I moved from black to navy and grey last year and I’m finding pink is a better accent than my usual red. It’s all just a bit softer.
Lovely story, thank you.
So I set out to construct my November 21 piece capsule. It went fairly well. First, I removed and put away all the tops that don’t fit. I am slowly shrinking and while some of my new tops are just a tad small, many more are way too big. Same with bottoms. Toppers are still fine. Stood back and looked. Four long sleeved navy Ts, four short sleeved navy Ts and five pair of jeans. With my top layers of two flannel shirts and a cardigan I still only have 16 items. I was a bit concerned. Had another cup of coffee and thought about it. Reminded myself that this is just for November. I live in a mild climate and can do laundry any time I need to. Since this is all I have been wearing for the past few weeks anyway, it is already field tested. I added two light Ts to layer for warmth and quit.
Very eye opening, and freeing to look in my closet and see so few things. And not panic.
Fiona talks in her book about managing her wardrobe as her weight shifts – she has the same experience, and accepts it with the same wisdom. I think it might be a universal experience!
hugs,
Janice
Hear hear to that! My current wardrobe, probably somewhere between 21 and 33, are the things that fit me right now and it is great for all of my current pandemic needs.
Having lost 35 pounds over the past few years, it is the shrinking feeling that keeps encouraging me, even when it got tough. Saying goodbye to those things that were too big (including a few favourite pieces) but encouraged by other items waiting in the wings. The Covid lockdown, less exercise and too much cake frustrated my efforts but my class has restarted and I’m going in the right direction again. Best of luck Sandy!
Love the colors in this post. The 21 pice monthly wardrobe is an interesting concept. I have been doing this the past seven years during December for the holidays ever since I saw a post on Pinterest. The woman was wearing a black sweater and pants with a red scarf and red bag. She looked professional and appropriate with a nod to the holidays, nothing garish. Sometimes I would use a plaid scarf or bag and I bought red suede booties that I wear almost everyday in December. It made dressing so easy for that month. Now that I’m retired I continue the December wardrobe sometimes subbing jeans or navy. I’ve done it a little for Oct/Nov but could make a greater effort. I’m a winter who has gone silver during Covid and I think this system would work out well for other months. I have several pieces in purple and violet, including a purse, that I could do for a month. I’ll have to try this out. I do know that December dressing is very easy for me now. I just wear two pieces of red, pants or shoes or scarf or purse or cardigan.
I love the idea of the 21 piece wardrobe! I usually do a holiday wardrobe of black, grey, red, and green. It got cold here in Missouri early this year, so a few weeks ago, I brought out my holiday wardrobe. Since we’re staying home most of the time, I don’t need much. I gathered 4 pairs of pants, 6 long-sleeved tees, 4 sweaters, and 2 plaid flannel shirts. I know this is only 16 pieces, but it makes me happy to see so few clothes in the closet. I have 4 short-sleeved tees available if I want them, but I’m pretty happy with what I have now.
Thanks, Janice, for all of your clever ideas and beautiful posts!
P.S. My husband seems to get by nicely with 2 pairs of pants and 4 shirts. Now that is minimalism!
My husband gets new clothes when I buy them. He gets by with far fewer clothes than me. I do think that if we still lived in the 18th century, men wore elaborately decorated coats and waistcoats, outshining the ladies.
I’m all about the navy and white, so I loved this one. I really like the addition of the grey and pink plaid (!!) pants to add a bit of variety…although I could not personally imagine not having at least one pair of blue jeans in this wardrobe!
That Liberty print shirt has been calling my name for a while (florals on a navy background are a weakness of mine), and it’s down to a great price now ($44.50). But I kept thinking until realized that while I adore everything about it, the overall color scheme is too bright/clear for my soft colors, and I wouldn’t want to replace any of the shirts I have in my closet now with this one.
I have come to realise that, no matter how much my magpie brain is attracted to certain colours and patterns, they have to be the right tone. Anything to bright and clear or too deep and warm are a no-no. I have to look for soft and cool. Also any pattern that has yellow in it, even if the rest of the colours, are mine is also put back. Knowing our preferences but, more importantly, what colours and tones suit us is half the battle. The other half is the challenge to find the right colours in garments that fit our height and shape!
I saw this at 6am and ??? – my favourite colours – sigh. Then hubby suggested an early morning walk round the lake in the sunshine (raining this afternoon). Quickest I’ve got dressed – dark wash denim jeans, fuschia long sleeve tee and my deep fuschia thick knit polo neck jumper. Perfect!
When we came back, having seen a visiting greylag goose, I sat down with my breakfast to read the full post. Great story and clothes. However, got diverted by looking up the photographers website. Do you know that it took the photographers nearly 66 hours of camera exposure and then 300 hours in the studio to develop this image?
Orion has always been my favourite constellation – ever since I was a child. My Dad said that Orion was the Guardian of the Sky. I then got side-tracked again into learning more about the stars and possible planets that are being ‘born’ in it. Fascinating.
I then had to WAH so now at 8.40pm, I’m enjoying reading the comments and conversation. I’ll now look at everything again before adding mine.
Beth T, my first thought on seeing the inspiration image was it reminded me of you :)
Beth T,
Before seeing who had written the above post, as I read the outfit description for the early morning walk around the lake I thought” that sounds like something Beth T would wear” ! Sure enough , a great visual of the jeans and fushia cozy upper garments worn by Beth !
It has been an atmosphere full of moisture in eastern US today — not rain exactly, but incredibly wet foggy air ! It was great for putting in some Spring bulbs before the cold air hits this weekend !
Thanks ladies! ? Spring bulbs are a hopeful sign that next year might be better for us all!
How fun that this capsule includes patterned garments on all of the top layers and the bottom as well. The plaid slacks are a wonderful addition – I would wear them first with the denim shirt. I cannot see myself creating capsule wardrobes to dress from (I’d use half of the 21 pieces to assemble outfits to wear to Mass on the 4 Sundays of the month). But I enthusiastically enjoy the exercise of creating a travel capsule. – nancyo
I’ve always had three groups of clothes – ‘best clothes’ for church, parties and special occasions. Then I have every day ‘wearing out/work’ clothes and finally ‘home’ clothes.
Though in the mad and busy world we lived in pre-Covid, the lines were blurred on the everyday and home clothes. Now I’m separating them out again into ‘comfy WAH’ and ‘going out to the shops/day in the office’ clothes. The ‘best clothes’ hang forlorn waiting for a time when we can meet in groups for special occasions.
It is a bit of a cheat but I could have 21 items for each capsule – 63 items in all! And I exclude outerwear too.
The only challenge is the space I have to put them all in ?
Beth T,
I came to this same conclusion during Covid over the division of my wardrobe levels of formality or lack thereof . I only include actual garments in the count, not accessories, outer wear, nightwear, etc.. Semi -crummy for at home ( pilled tops and a tiny spot here and there and jeans that have some wear for cleaning, gardening, and cooking ) , slightly nicer and newer and better condition garments for out- of-the-house ( nicer jeans and khakis and better condition tops and cardigans or jackets) . The church clothes , travel clothes combined with dressier clothes comprise a third capsule . In numbers —21-27 for at home, as that is where I am spending most of my garment wearing time, and then below 20 pieces for each of the other two categories, but then, I have more in those second categories packed away in Rubbermaid bins in the garage, based upon seasonal colors , as that is how I formerly spent my life’s time . The third category is hanging unused right now, but I keep rotating out those pieces , in hopes that the world’s conditions shall change so that we can be out and about again . However, it looks like that is on delay once again , darn !
I am shocked at my change of thought with seeing how little I can actually feel satisfied with in numbers of garments , instead of continuing to randomly add ! It feels like a win , as I have hoped to be heading in this direction since we moved and I lost my very large prior walk in closet!
Janice’s formats have been very influential in this endeavor !
OK, that might be doable – 63 garments. We have been able to go to church since June 1, so I’m definitely using all three types of clothing. – nancyo
We can go to church in the UK since July but singing is banned! Apparently singing carries a greater risk of spraying droplets which is the main way that Covid is spread….
I have yet to complete my wardrobe switchover. So these would be my colours for November – dark lavender, orchid, fuschia and purple with grey and navy. It is a good reason to wear my new purple DM-style boots and dig out my fuschia velvet jacket. Purple jeans would be added to the mix as well.
I can wear burgundy and plum and deep purple in December as they will look great with navy velvet, silver or charcoal grey that I tend to wear too.
I’ll still wear teal and jade for country walks whatever the month.
My only other accents are light to mid-blue, cameo pink and coral pink. I think I shall move light blue and coral pink after Christmas heralding Spring and blue skies again.
Mid-blue tops work here as they are a sub for the denim shirt. I have discovered this week that a mid-blue top goes with a favourite blue and grey patterned chunky cardigan that I’ve had for nearly 30 years! It’s too bulky for work but just right for WAH. I might try it with open neck shirts too.
Cameo pink (one jumper) is a soft brownish pink so might be OK for country walks but could be transferred to after Christmas as well.
Lastly, I’d swap out the skirt and substitute with a pair of dark velvet jeans and sparkly jumper. Just in case they throw a party when they spot the elusive Vivienne Nebulla.
Hi Janice! Love the colors and the story. Everyone should have an ‘amazing’ pair of pants and a ‘more amazing’ shirt. Personally, I think the flannel shirt wins ‘most amazing’ for me because I like the deep jewel tones.
I think I am going to try the 21 pc wardrobe challenge for November. It is definitely time to switch the clothes over to cold-weather wear. I am thinking brown for the common core with cream/beige substitutes for white and camel as the substitute for grey. I have a periwinkle shirt I would substitute for the denim shirt, so that can work.
It is debatable if the purple/fuschia would work with this color scheme, so it’s just a reason to wear all my orange hues ☺
Hi Linda
Plum tones work well with brown, beige and cream. Deep purple with beige and cream.
Beth T
Oh, this is going to be on my favorites list. Thanks Janice.