November 20, 2020
I’m taking today, and possible Monday and Wednesday… Sometimes, there are more important things in life than work and personal style (I know, it’s hard to imagine!).
Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children by Auguste Renoir
My plan for an upcoming post is to revisit the question of how much clothing we all actually need.
If this is a question that intrigues you, I built an Excel worksheet to help you find a number. It takes into consideration the following variables:
- Over what period of time are we planning?
- How many outfits do you wear in an average day?
- How many garments are in your average outfit? and
- How many times within your time period do you want to wear any individual garment?
You can get the worksheet here for a kind $.99 donation to help me pay the service that hosts the downloads (please note that there’s very possibly an ad here – you’re looking for the blue “add to cart” button:
If you’re inclined to such things, I ask that you keep me in your thoughts, or in your prayers, or in your meditations as I rearrange the world in a week!
much love,
Janice
p.s. Three years ago, we pondered the possibilities of wearing “warm” colors for festive holiday dressing.
p.p.s. You can find other tools and documents I’ve created over on my Templates and Color Planners page.
Sending warm thoughts your way!
Lisa in Toronto
While I will definitely miss your posts, you are correct in prioritizing important things in life! I’m sure I have more clothes than completing a spread sheet would indicate I need!!! :) Warm thoughts and prayers being released into the universe.
Janice, I’m so grateful for your blog and all the artwork & clothes & lessons you share with us readers. I have learned much and applied it to my closet. I hope whatever you’re facing right now, you’re able to do so with grace, whit and love. I’ll be praying for you.
Sending warm thoughts, prayers, and peaceful meditative vibes ;). I hope that your world gently bends before you and is easy to work with, as you “rearrange it in a week”. And just incase you’re not back by then… Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for YOU, your talent, and your generosity in sharing that talent with the world.
Best to you and yours.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The World shall bend to your will!
Sending you warm thoughts and gratitude for all the joy and inspiration that you give us.
Appropriately for next week, you are a blessing and many of us are thankful for you and your efforts to bring a spark of joy to our day. Rest up!
Good luck, my dear. Happy Thanksgiving!
Janice, I hope all is well with you. Please take care of yourself, and, of course, your Beloved.
Carla.
Sending warm thoughts and prayers. I hope your Thanksgiving is restful and well.
Sending warm thoughts your way. And, in spirit of the coming week I’ll echo others and say that I, for one, am thankful for your gentle and insightful online presence. So, take good care of yourself, plenty of archived posts for me to revisit meanwhile!
Thank you for all the color and fun you bring into our lives. If you only posted once in a blue moon, I’d still be among your devoted friends and fans.
Added to my prayer list. Hope everything is ok.
Thank you for being a.visitor in our lives. I will keep you in my thoughts.❤
Take care, Janice, and pace yourself if you can. I hope that others can help. I’m sure that your world will be in better shape after your ministrations. You certainly make our world a good place.
I know that I have too many clothes, so this weekend, I shall ponder why I buy duplicates. Such as similar shirts in different colours. or Duplicate tops in the same colour. There are not enough days in the year to wear them all.
Bless you.
I, too will use this time to do some Wardrobe Homework. Good idea. Between cooking (and eating). And review some older posts. I think I remember seeing a common core capsule in navy and grey that I might peruse.
i paid but would not call what I received a spread sheet. I’d love to know what it’s supposed to look like…
Well, it’s a spreadsheet in that you enter the your numbers and the formula at the end gives you a total. You’re right, its’ not a traditional looking spreadsheet, but it serves the purpose it was supposed to. hahaha it’s too simple!
Along with the rest of your fans, wishing you the best. Very important to take time for yourself! Love the Renoir painting, but as a dog trainer my attention went immediately to the girl sitting on the family dog–looks adorable, but kids get bitten that way!
Sending loads of love your way!!
Have a safe (COVID=19 free) and Happy Thanksgiving.
Louise P
Janice,
I always look forward to your insight and humor you offer us each day. Please take care of yourself over the holidays!
Take care!!
Dear Janice,
Whatever your challenges, know that we are all here to give you support , as you constantly support and inspire us ! I wish your woes to be wee ones and that they swiftly go away so that peace and joy in your life can prevail once again !
Thank you for being you !
Humongous cyber hugs — please be well , and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours !
I’m praying for you and your loved ones. Please take as much time as you need. I also send Happy Thanksgiving wishes to you and yours.
Please take care of you, Janice.
I’m back to say that the series of posts on holiday six-packs that you did EIGHT years ago(!) at this time in November are, in my opinion, real classics. Anyone who feels bereft without your posts this week should revisit these lovely holiday travel wardrobes.
Updating my personal spreadsheet for my wardrobe this morning, I was once again considering how many clothes I need. Thinking I’d pop here for some inspiration imagine my surprise to find you had read my mind ?
Sending positive vibes for you while you rearrange and hope all goes well.
I always like to find out more about the paintings you feature. According to Wikipedia, Madame George Charpentier was a society hostess. She is wearing a Worth gown which will be beautifully made and very expensive. A fun idea is to look at Worth gowns – stunning in their detail.
Her children look like two little girls but the one next to her is her three year old son Paul who is wearing the identical dress of his elder sister Georgette. Paul’s hair is kept long like his sister. Boys wearing girls clothes until about the age of eight or even older when they were then ‘breached’ and put into short trousers was common in Europe. It is a baffling idea that I have not found a satisfactory answer to the question – Why?
Maybe the boys were “breeched” or put into breeches or pants?
Dear Janice,
You are in my prayers.
Just take care of yourself and the time you need.
Janice, I am so grateful for what you do and how you do it. You bring Art I haven’t seen, and translate it into color and style and inspiration to make it my own. And your tone is just lovely in these hyper aggressive times — gentle and kind and feminine and lovely. Thank you for all this. I hope your week “off” brings you joy, health, and happiness.
Janice, I’m sending you big hugs and lots of positive energy for whatever you’re facing. Hope you and your entire family are well. See you here when you return!
Blessings, Janice. And safety.
Wonderful idea for a spreadsheet !! Thank you.
Enjoy a well earned break Janice and meanwhile, I’m going to dive into your archives and see what I can find to help me with planning my stay at home Christmas outfit.
Janice,
I am adding that I am looking forward to your post on the number of items suggested for a wardrobe. While I downloaded your spreadsheet, it raised questions, so I look forward to your future posts with the answers ! I would like to do a month’s worth or two of garments review as that is how I am rotating the pieces in my closet these days.
I bought the Excel worksheet, but could not enter any of my own figures. Was I supposed to be able to do that ! Or is it just an informative idea for me to do my own calculations ? There are no more downloads left .
Many blessings and warm thoughts to you, Janice. I like the idea of rearranging the world in a week!
Kay
Prayers Janice, and hoping you are able to rest in the middle of your situation. Thank you for being you!
Thanksgiving, a good time for realizing how fortunate we are to have friends/family, even if we can’t be with them this year. I am also thankful for some blogging friends, like you, who help keep me grounded and provide enjoyable and thought provoking reading. Peace be with you.
I will add your intentions to my prayer list in my studio, including prayers for a peace-filled Thanksgiving. – nancyo
Sending you gratitude and wishing you peace!
It’s always good to take a day or two – I hope it’s for something enjoyable.
Janice, I hope everything works out well for you. I enjoy your heroines and skill at putting beautiful things together. I would find posts exploring how much clothing we actually need very helpful. I know I like variety and change. It is hard to pick out 21 items and wear just those for a month even though many outfits are possible and, these days, I am not going anywhere. I challenged myself to do this for November, and am sick of my picks for the month and can’t wait for December to get here when I will pull out all things holiday to wear for the month. C
Sending you the warmest wishes from Australia.
The old conundrum –
How many items I own versus
Which items do I actually wear.
I’m going to photograph the items I actually wear between now and the end of January – I need a visual memory. I’ll also note the outfits.
This is such a useful exercise….
What a wonderful idea! I’m going to steal it…
I’ve done this with my laundry- I do my clothes on a delicate wash separate from the rest of the laundry. I hang to dry in the shower. I take a cell phone photo.
It gives me a rough idea of how many tops and bottom pieces as well as colours and individual items that I am really using day to day. I realized I don’t reach for pattern tops anymore. I ditched them.
For cardigans and jackets in current use I hang them to air on a rail outside the closet. That helps me “see” the evidence of what I am really wearing versus what I had planned to use in my seasonal capsules. It really helps.
I spotted that I was avoiding red. 2 reasons emerged. 1 I had misplaced my red lipstick and I like it when wearing red. 2 was the fact I felt exhausted. Red requires me to feel a bit more energetic to carry it off. I found the lipstick & my thyroid dose is adjusted up. I’m wearing my red shawl and lipstick as I type.
Snapshots helped me spot it and figure it out. I think you’ll both have fun seeing what your snapshots tell you even if it’s a daily snapshot of your outfit each day.
Hello Janice and Everyone: The painting you chose reminds me of the Two Sisters one my friend’s family had growing up. There is something soothing about this painting for the season…just spending time with family, in whatever way you can.
Janice,
Know you’re in my prayers and thoughts.
Asking for strength, clear thinking and hope for whatever it is you are facing. God bless.
Hope the time off will bring you some peace and strength to deal with the current challenges.
Happy Thanksgiving!