March 26, 2021
She’s going back for another long weekend, after she set everybody straight back in December…
This is still her favorite scarf – she’s not so fickle that she would find a new favorite in just a few months!
But she’s changing her color scheme to something softer and more approachable; after her last visit, she doesn’t need to be as assertive as before!
For the first meetings when she arrives, she’s going to be positively quiet, and let everyone else air their opinions, grievances, and silly ideas:
Pale nectar merino cardigan – J.Crew; earrings – PearLustre; silk face mask – Terra Dea; ivory silk shirt – J.Crew; bracelet – Panacea; flax linen skirt – J.Crew; flats – Trotters; bag – Patrizia Pepe
The balance of the long weekend is going to be casual – informal conversations and projects, so she packs an assortment of relaxed clothes that all still echo the colors of her scarf, albeit in a lighter and softer palette…
Hoop earrings – Nordstrom; Crystal-trimmed face mask – Natalie Mills; jasper earrings – Tiberio Gonzales; ginger peach tee – Lands’ End; jasper bracelet – Fierce Lynx Designs; green zip hoodie – L.L.Bean; sun hat – L.L.Bean; shell pink linen shirt – L.L.Bean; scarf – Echo; cross body bag – Matt & Nat; cotton-blend striped wrap – L.L.Bean; olive floral tee – Lands’ End; chino shorts – J.Crew; green chinos – L.L.Bean; beige sneakers – The Flexx; green sandals – Sam Edelman
Her scarf is clearly the stand-out item in the wardrobe, but that’s okay… Something has to be the brightest/darkest/most noticeable thing that you pack, right?
She double-checks her outfit options, to make sure that she won’t be scrambling to get dressed! That would certainly undermine the subtle authority that she has gained over this project…
Do you have “softer” versions of your favorite wardrobe colors? I guess I could make the case that my new favorite pink is a softer version of red, right?
love,
Janice
p.s. Three years ago, we added the essential accessories to a navy, lavender and aqua travel capsule wardrobe!
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
This is lovely. The original color palette was beautiful. This is much more spring and summer. I could see myself wearing these colors. Abandon navy and grey altogether.
I love the softness of the wardrobe with the depth and vibrancy of the scarf – much prettier for spring and summer. The colour of the t-shirt Ginger Peach is not combination that I would put together in culinary terms so how they invented that colour description is curious. My preference would be the Salt-washed Pink tee.
I would like to find an olive that I could wear as, like brown, it is not a natural colour for me. The olive floral tee would is just the sort of green/pink floral tee that I would like to add to my wardrobe. Am I right in thinking that oliive can have a grey or yellow undertone?
Goodness 2021 is turning into an experimental year for me: moving from navy to dark blue-grey, finding a taupe I like, adding brown and olive to my neutrals (possibly just for country walks), and reconsidering floral patterns with yellow (from yesterday).
Thanks for all you do, Janice. Life is an adventure and a transformative process. I often read on lifestyle blogs that ‘the past is another country’ and that we should ‘never go back’. However, evaluating colours and pattern choices that I wore in the past (brown and floral patterns with yellow that I used to wear) or would like to wear but don’t know if they will suit (olive) is a useful process. Changing or adding in new neutrals might help me transform my wardrobe from smart-casual to one that reflects my new life in semi-retirement.
You inspire me to try a little change! Thanks! And if the past is a different country, then retirement, or semiretirement is a different universe.
Hi. Beth
I have a few tops in the washed olive from Lands End. Definitely a grey undertone which works better with cool colors.
Thanks Char, that’s good to know. I’ll have a look on the website.
I also have a pair of olive cotton pants from Lands End that have a cool/grey undertone; they definitely look greyer and a bit lighter than the LL Beans chinos, but not quite as grey/light as the “washed olive” (at least on my screen).
The look back is one of my favourites. So it is a helpful reminder for summer packing… A teal or blue maxi dress from Lands End for summer is also on my list. Two years ago, I bought a purple floral maxi dress from Lands End in the petite length. It fits perfectly and can be dressed up for special occasions or for simply relaxing in a garden.
Another lovely wardrobe. Thank you Janice!
I don’t wear olive, but that combination with the olive pants, floral tee and pink shirt is so pretty. I will change the olive to grey for myself (if I could buy new stuff).
Thanks for all your beautiful and useful ideas
Janice,
I LUV this collection ! That olive floral tee is calling my name ! I have decided to make olive both a Spring and Autumn neutral in my wardrobe . So I’ll also want to pick up the pink color in the tee too . I have not been buying clothes during 2020, as I have been just making use of at home clothes, but it is time to re-emerge into the world again — we have had both of our vaccinations .
Beth T
Thinking about your green, olive question reminded me of a sweater I had years ago. It was a combination weave of a mid toned grey-green and a dark taupe. It had some fall flower appliqués on it. It looked much better than it sounds. It was great, in fact. I think the color was called loden, but I’m not sure.
Thanks Sandy, your jumper sounds perfect – just the kind of colours I’m.looking for. I love textured jumpers. Loden is a colour often found in menswear. Kettlewell Colours have a colour in the Summer and Soft charts called Eucalypytus which is a grey-green. It’s quite a lovely shade. Some shades of khaki green are more grey than green. I could try and match my green eyes.
Hello VF friends. The pretty olive floral tee shirt comes in crew neck too. NOW I agave a problem?.
Have, not agave.
Interestingly crew neck tops are a problem for me and I have never worked out why. They just look awful. Give me a boat neck, scoop neck or v and if looks so much better. Weird!!
Thank you for revisiting Echo’s Tiger in the Grass. I had not thought of Jasper, but it’s a great idea. American West (QVC link) has Jasper bead necklaces that might go with the scarf. I will have to get out my Jasper and compare it to the scarf today. Thank you Janice for this post Excellent!
I particularly enjoy these little wardrobes where we see garments featured in more casual and more dressed up outfits. It really helps to envision how a cohesive colour pallette allows one to have quite a variety of dressed up/down outfits with relatively few garments. Also, though not at all “my” colours, I adore this scarf and am enjoying the varied colourways you’re drawing from it.
I loved this scarf so much that I bought it in both colors—this one and the blue & yellow colors. Great for spring.
Me: runs off to look at the blue & yellow version of the scarf. WOW! I love it an can see that one fitting into my wardrobe. Janice is kind of a genius at showing us how to take a few nice clothing items and change the mood with accessories. It certainly makes for easier packing, but really requires discipline. In Paris, 2019, I saw all these beautifully draped print summer dresses worn with sneakers and denim jackets. I’m still looking for a dress of decent fabric, the right colors and a print of the right size. What’s with these giant jungle prints?? They feel out of place in certain parts of the US or in cities and if you’re 5’5” and shorter, those big prints kind of own you! A dress with the right print can be casual or dressed up.
Hi Janice & Everyone! I like this color combo very much – could definitely see it as a summer choice for the 21 Day Wardrobe Challenge.
Speaking of which….I can tell when I have chosen a really good color combination for the month (black/white/red/ caramel brown/olive or emerald green) when the phrase ‘What Shall I Wear Today’ ends in an exclamation point and not a question mark.
I love the lookback. It just happens to be my spring/summer palette so now I can make an accessory plan. Just an FYI, I received the hair accessories from Anthro and they look to be good quality. It took me quite a bit of time to choose as I was trying to stay focused with my colors a la VF. I went 3 for 3 so no returns!
Such a soothing palette.
Janice, I love the color grouping you added today. These are more my colors. I wouldn’t wear the orange tee nor the pink button up. They are simply bad colors for me. I also stay away from olive green. I am a Spring so warm colors look best on me. My mother is a Autumn so she forced me to wear a great deal of this green growing up so I don’t buy it now.
This is so lovely! Olive green is one of my favourite colours to wear and I never thought of wearing it with orange but will take another look at my wardrobe.
Your website has really brought me joy over the last bonkers year. Since I’m working from home I’ve taken the opportunity to overhaul my wardrobe using your principles and get rid of items I have accumulated over the years in colours that don’t really suit me (I’m looking at you, navy) because they were items I thought I needed. A very satisfying endeavour! Thank you for all the inspiration <3