April 21, 2021
We’ve spent a lot of time together looking at the colors in paintings and other photographs, and building little wardrobes around those colors.
But what if a painting gives you a feeling – an urge – that’s not really related to the colors in the art?
This painting has given one of us the desire to travel…. She hasn’t been alone in over a year, but by the same token, she hasn’t been out around strangers, in crowds, people-watching for over a year.
She wants to go, for a long time, alone!
She’s going in the autumn; she will start in London or Paris, and as the weather cools, she’s going to hop a train and go to the next city to the south! Lyon, Marseilles, Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples… It will depend on the weather!
She plans to go for about 2 months. She will do laundry when appropriate, she will shop if she needs to, but otherwise, she doesn’t want to think about getting dressed…
So it’s all navy and white, with maybe a dash of blue – her favorite sweater is heather blue!
Her plan is to imitate men, and stick with her neutral palette, but with the small accent of wearing brown leather accessories.
A 13-piece travel wardrobe means that she can wear 3 garments on the train, and pack 10. That translates into 4 3-piece outfits, and a bonus dress:
Navy sweater-blazer – J.Crew; earrings – Nordstrom Rack; navy bi-stretch cotton pants – J.Crew; small silk scarf – Treasure & Bond; banker blue striped poplin shirt – J.Crew; shoulder bag – Madewell; loafers – Rockport
She’s not really designating any specific outfit for travel, since she expects to be on the train at least 6 to 8 times in 2 months! (although realistically she knows that most of the time she will wear her boots when she travels, just so she doesn’t have to pack them!)
Pearl earrings – Latelita; merino cardigan – J.Crew; scarf – ImageDiary; tee shirt – J.Crew; jeans – L.L.Bean; belt – Treasure & Bond; boots – Propét
A skirt will be handy – this one isn’t madly dressy, but it IS a skirt! Some navy tights and she will be all set…
Heather blue sweater – J.Crew; orchid necklace – Betsey Johnson; white tee – L.L.Bean; bracelets – Kendra Scott; drawstring waist skirt – Closed; flats – Frye
These aren’t quite athletic shoes, but they’re close!
Sweater – L.L.Bean; earrings – Banana Republic; white shirt – Lands’ End; backpack – Gianni Chiarini; sneakers – Clarks; canvas pants – L.L.Bean
Her options for her 13th garment are endless – she could toss in a hot pink sweater! Or a pale pink blouse… but she sticks to the plan, and chooses a work-horse ponte knit dress (and tosses in leather bracelets, just for the heck of it!).
Dress – Lands’ End; braided bracelet – AllSaints; buckle bracelet – Jeff Wan
Her travel capsule wardrobe looks comfortingly uncomplicated, but versatile:
From this wardrobe, it would be difficult to put together a bad outfit! And she has the options of dress pants, casual pants, and jeans, as well as her skirt and her dress, so whatever she chooses to do, she should be able to dress appropriately for it:
I could do this so easily, so long as I gave myself permission to dash into Uniqlo or Muji for a new tee shirt every now and then!
love,
Janice
p.s. It wasn’t exactly 3 years ago, but I thought that today was the right day to revisit the navy and white capsules that were based on the painting Blue by Kinuko Imai Hoffman…
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I love it and couldn‘t agree more….
What a great idea! What excellent clothes. I love the style and colors. I think she needs one more shirt, maybe in a mid blue like the sweater. An Oxford or a T. Even a fine cotton crew sweater.
Coming off last week’s tonal look, I am so very pleased to have this cool tonal look. I’ve only recently seriously taken stock of my closet and consciously plan my next few purchases and was amazed at how many impulse purchases were navy blue and cool blues. This post and those based on Hoffman’s painting are probably the one of the “Best of Vivienne Files” for me. Thank you.
This is so classy. Love the navy with the brown. thank you!
Thank you so much for this post – I love it!! We are planning a two month trip starting in Dublin and ending in Rome and this is absolutely perfect for me!! We’re hoping the fall of 2022 will work out! I was able to shop my closet and find everything I need! I don’t take skirts or dresses so I just add two tops and I’m set to go! We will be traveling by train throughout Europe and doing carry on so a small, coordinated wardrobe is just what I need! You always put together such wonderful outfits – I so admire your talent and I get to benefit!! Thank you again – it’s brilliant!!
This is me. Period. :) When are we leaving?
Janice,
This grouping is restful and yet has a vibe that is not boring, due to subtle prints throughout as well as style and textural differences . Any of the combinations would easily work here ! I could be very happy with this module for several days, but then depending upon my mood, I would need to introduce a pop of a toned down warm color, perhaps as a burgundy vest . As stated above, the addition of another shirt, close to the blue sweater color , or burgundy, or blush , would work well in this group .
I love the train icons !
I’m going to check out that navy cardigan blazer. This looks like a perfect travel wardrobe. And that itinerary is the stuff of dreams!
Lisa, it’s on sale!!?
I have 2 of them – black and pink – and they are among the very best garments I own. There’s a reason I keep showing them here; when I think of travel, I think of pulling out my black cardigan blazer, a striped tee shirt, and black ponte knit pants…
Sigh…
hugs,
Janice
The 13-piece travel capsules have always been some of my favorites, and this is no exception. They are so practical; coincidentally, I started traveling a lot at the same time I discovered this blog, so was able–and will again, soon, I hope!–rely on the guidance offered. Navy is such a great neutral, and yay for boots that look as though they could go off-road!
That being said, that plum suit our heroine is wearing is such a yummy shade–one of my faves for sweaters and shirts–maybe you could do something with that? I find it’s a color that goes well with black, navy, denim, khaki, and brown bottoms.
Hi Janice and Everyone! I love this low maintenance classy wardrobe…and I would love to see one based on the colors in the painting. I see that wonderful plum, plus moss green, powder blue, a subdued red, and maybe sage? Or beige? And low maintenance accessories!
I considered doing one based on the colors when I first saw this painting – I think I’m going to have to wait until fall clothes are in stores to find some of these colors!
Help me remember!
hugs,
Janice
Wow! So beautiful and I might trade the dress for 2 more tops, especially if I’m not travelling in the summer. I’m another vote for a wardrobe based on the beautiful colors in the painting. It does say fall and winter to me so I will look forward to seeing it then. Thanks Janice. p.s. I’ve been avoiding that sweater/blazer due to Covid weight gain but I’m not sure how much longer I can wait.
It’s a very forgiving structure – mine is somewhat oversized (as are a lot of my clothes!) and would accommodate weight gain or loss on my part…
hugs,
Janice
I’ve been avoiding the sweater because of no buttons and 3/4 sleeves. It’s so tempting though. I have the longer J Crew version and the weight is wonderful. Doesn’t anyone else want to button up when it’s cold? And have a long sleeve? Maybe I will buy it eventually.
3/4 sleeves? On me, the sleeves are the perfect length; I DO have silly short arms!
hugs,
Janice
Love this post. On my screen the suit looks more purple, but I love the navy basics. I would like to see some red accents like in the picture.
Thanks for introducing me to Jacqueline Osborn. What a wonderful witty women artist. Love the unexpected colour palettes.
I love this wardrobe! Navy is my dark neutral of choice. This post brings to mind the movie French Kiss, in which Meg Ryan’s character spends half the movie reinventing her travel outfit because her luggage was stolen. Dreaming of travel and a well packed carry-on. Thanks for feeding my armchair travel fantasys.
Oh my gosh, I loved her style (hair and clothes) in that movie! So classic that it would still look great today, all these years later.
So beautiful and thanks for mentioning that you own the blazers. I think this is a great wardrobe and would love to do this type of travel….. someday when I can retire.
great wardrobe. If I travel I think of laundry and I don’t have darks and lights mixed so that I can throw everything in the same machine. Of course it would not matter if you intended to handwash. But if you ever go to Salzburg Austria go to their laundromat and clothes come out amazing. By the train station. Anyway, I tend to have tans for neutrals plus pastels.
Now you are a genius Janice, to look at a painting of a lady in a stunning purple suit and thought that I could go for that idea, despite having never worn a suit in my life.
….and then you base the wardrobe around her STYLE rather than the colours. How clever of you? That’s my thinking when a wardrobe is not in my colours.
I wear dark blues as a neutral to wear with accents such as lilac and mid to light blues as an accent. I didn’t have enough blues, I felt, to create a blended wardrobe. Now I have added blue-teal, prussian blue and grey-blues to my wardrobe in recent years,
if I can create a blended purple and grey wardrobe, then I can surely do the same with all the blues. I will experiment with this idea to see if I can create a 12 month blue blended wardrobe. The scarves in varying shades of blue bring it together.
I love the dark brown and plum colours of the bags and shoes. It makes a change from black and softens the whole look which is what I’m wanting to where now.
Perhaps she could do with some more jewellery to vary the changes throughout the month. Dark blues, silver. How about a blue faced watch?
Please do revisit this painting in the autumn/winter with a purple or plum coloured ‘suit’ centre stage. I for one have more than one ‘capsule’ in my wardrobe. Purple, plum, and berry colours are my neutrals in the autumn and winter.
So very classy. Bravo!
I just love this! And I always particularly appreciate when you include shoes (styles/colors), because I am always lost when it comes to what shoes look good with my wardrobe choices. I love navy, but have a hard time finding navy shoes in my budget, and I never thought to look at brown. I’m so glad you included brown shoes and leather accessories for this wardrobe, so I could see how chic it looks and to visualize the added richness and interest to the look.
I have a lot of navy clothing in my wardrobe, and I don’t always love wearing navy shoes. I gravitate to taupe, or burgundy, or cognac shoe with navy. – nancyo
This is truly lovey! I love the richness of navy and brown together. I want to be this traveler so badly! I think I would bring a navy peacoat too, for cold autumn nights and unpredictable daytime temps in Europe. Thank you for sparking my imagination!
I’d consider a peacoat, or a trenchcoat… imagine the perfect BROWN trenchcoat with this wardrobe…
hugs,
Janice
When you revisit this in the autumn, I’d love you to find the perfect BROWN coat that isn’t camel, beige, khaki or tan (all come under the brown spectrum on online stores).
Ahhh. My dream right now. This story and wardrobe are perfect. I’m also voting for a revisit of this one in the fall.
Oh, to travel again! I travel strictly with carryon , and I go easily two months with one carryon. The navy emphasis here is perfect for me. One of my favorite colors! I get by with less than 13 items, though. The Swiss Army Knife of wardrobes is for me. So, using your Blue theme:
Jean
Black Spanx trouser (great for doing Yoga, too)
Blue skirt
Blue silk tank
Light blue button down shirt (solid or pattern)
Blue striped top
White tee
Graphic tee
1-2 scarves for panache
2 pair footwear, max (depending upon season).
For warmer weather, I’ll bring one rugged sandal (Chacos), one bootie or loafer. Lightweight rain jacket
Colder weather, I’ll bring one sneaker, one waterproof boot. Warm, waterproof coat.
Wow that is the Swiss Army Knife of wardrobes! I stick to 13 pieces thanks to Janice but don’t always need everything. As long as I can get it in a carryon I’m happy.
Great list!
I love navy and white with dark brown leather. I could wear this wardrobe and be quite happy for a while.
wow, that is some packing discipline! I usually pack a 4×4, and even then sneak in an extra piece or two. And with my troublesome feet, I need more than 2 prs of shoes. But I can fit it into a carry-on, so it works for me. – nancyo
I am ordering several if these items to fill in the “holes” in my travel capsule. I’m a navy wearer to start and have a few of these things, but to complete the capsule and be able to pack in 20 minutes-my style, definitely. Too many shoes for me, but my danskos can work except for dressy, and flats don’t take up much room. This is just sooo beautiful and complete. I have learned a lot just by looking at this again, and yet again to check that shirt or those pants. I agree that this is my all time favorite as far as versatility, cost and panache go! Let’s book a ticket and pack up.
PS I’m substituting last week’s Uniqlo midi drape dress for this LE one.
I am re-reading older posts while I stir the pants I am dying navy (they were cream and tan linen) because I have realized my main neutral is navy with brown leather accents!!! :) Perfect timing and as I swooned as I looked at the beautiful clothes I was convinced of my choice!