December 24, 2021
Finally! I have looked at more scarves than one might even realize EXISTED in the world… and I have made my choices!
This year, our scarves are rectangles. After spending years looking at square scarves, this is going to be an interesting change. I know that I’ve heard from many of you that you prefer rectangles, and find them easier to wear; I hope that these appeal to you!
Also, these are NOT silk scarves – many are silk and wool, or silk and modal. I have scarves in both of these blends, and I find them both very wearable. Don’t let the wool dissuade you from considering a scarf for warm weather; it’s not big, hairy, bushy, tweedy overwhelming wool…
Here we go:
This year, we are going to wear black with warm accents! And I’m eager to juxtapose beautiful brown leather with black garments…
Sampler modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
This wardrobe is going to focus on beige, ivory, and pretty pastels. There will probably be some more intense green and rose also… I think that blended shades of beige and tan look lovely together!
Chrysanthemum modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
This grey-based palette could tempt me to chuck all of my black clothes and start over! The 3 pastel accents of similar intensity keep drawing me back to look at this scarf again and again!
Ruskin’s Meadow modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
I’m a big John Ruskin fan (he was weird, but he understood Gothic architecture better than anyone!), so I really wanted to include this scarf. Depending on what’s available, I may have to be open-minded about accent colors for this wardrobe. Being open-minded when choosing clothing is essential when you’re constrained by what’s available to purchase in the world!
I’m also pretty seriously smitten with hydrangeas; our neighborhood has lots of them, in the full range of colors. As accents for navy, these are going to be lovely…
There’s just a touch of brown in this scarf, but that’s enough! I think these colors are perfect with brown; I remember wearing brown and turquoise about 55 years ago…
One thing that I decided to do this year – I’m going to start us out with a literal handful of basic garments for each scarf. Every year, when I evaluate the wardrobes, we find that there are dead plain, solid, neutral garments that never make it into the wardrobes when we build “outfit by outfit.” So this year I might take a slightly different approach…
So each scarf is starting out with a tee shirt, a cardigan, a sweater, and 2 pairs of pants. Those 5 garments, with your scarf, starts you out with at least a half-dozen outfits. Really basic outfits, but you’d at least be dressed!
Black was SO easy:
Tree of Life wool & silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; black tee shirt – Lands’ End; cashmere cardigan- Lands’ End; cashmere v-neck sweater – Nordstrom Signature; black pants – L.L.Bean; jeans – J.Crew
Beige wasn’t as simple, so I availed of beautiful ivory too!
Sampler modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; ivory tee shirt – Lands’ End; ivory cashmere cardigan- Lands’ End; tan heather cashmere v-neck sweater – Nordstrom Signature; tan knit pants – L.L.Bean; khaki twill pants – L.L.Bean
Grey is so lovely… it suits the weather right now!
Chrysanthemum modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; charcoal heather tee – Lands’ End; cotton cardigan – L.L.Bean; dark grey cashmere v-neck sweater – Nordstrom Signature; alloy grey pants – L.L.Bean; corduroy pants – L.L.Bean
An olive tee shirt was NOT anywhere I could find it! Well, there was 1, but it cost about $200, so I opted for white. I want to avoid making this wardrobe too dark…
Ruskin’s Meadow modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; white tee shirt – L.L.Bean; v-neck sweater – Treasure & Bond; olive cardigan – Jenni Kayne; thyme pants – L.L.Bean; olive canvas jeans – L.L.Bean
Navy was pretty straightforward. For a change of pace, I chose cotton sweaters for this wardrobe…
Hydrangea modal/silk scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; navy tee – Lands’ End; navy cotton cardigan – L.L.Bean; navy cotton v-neck sweater – L.L.Bean; navy pants – L.L.Bean; navy knit cords – L.L.Bean
The brown tee shirts that I saw were either too light to really MATCH the rest of the garments, or they were orangish… Brown is truly difficult to find – we’ve been through this before!
Ginko silk/modal scarf – PJ Studio Accessories; white tee shirt – L.L.Bean; brown cardigan – Jenni Kayne; v-neck sweater – American Eagle Outfitters; brown knit pants – L.L.Bean; knit cords – L.L.Bean
Have a wonderful holiday; thank you for being my friend, and for reading my work through the year!
love,
Janice
p.s. Three years ago, I shared with you some of the lovely holiday decorations that I saw in Paris. They don’t grow old…
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Well you’ve spoilt me, Janice. The Sampler, Chrysanthemum and Hydrangea scarves cover many of the colours in my wardrobe. I’m looking forward to seeing how they all pan out (with accessories) next year. These will be my favourites.
At least you’ve made it easier on yourself by choosing one neutral for each wardrobe. Though, I think that duck egg with gold in the Ruskin scarf might be a tricky combination.
I don’t know if you are looking for ideas for blogs next year? It’s just that I remember that you were pondering about creating a Common Accessories Wardrobe and a Weekly Timeless Wardrobe based on Jewellery. I would also like done more Starting with Nature posts – birds and butterflies, in particular.
Thank you for inspiring, sustaining and encouraging us during another strange year. I hope that you have a lovely Christmas with your Mum and Belovedst, and a well-earned rest.
To all my fellow TVF readers, I’m looking forward to reading your comments and sharing our views on the new set of scarves and wardrobes.
Merry Christmas everyone and here’s hoping for a Happy and Healthy 2022.
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Some very nice scarves and great colour combinations. The hydrangea scarf is the closest match to my wardrobe colours of navy/white/black neutrals with olive and soft green accents.
Merry Christmas <3
Also I think it’s a brilliant idea to start with the neutral basics. Looking forward to seeing where the wardrobes go through the year.
Although Ruskins Meadow and the Hydrangeas most reflect what I have in my closet, I am very drawn to the Tree of Life. It will be so interesting to see how that one progresses during the year. I prefer rectangle scarves, so thank you! I find them much easier to style and deal with than the square. I have a number of wool blend scarves and you are right on the money saying they are very wearable. I love mine. Have a very Merry Christmas and thank you for another year!!! This blog and the comments were my oasis in a world of crazy.
PS I was looking for an olive tshirt a couple of weeks ago. Finally ended up with a washed olive heather (or something like that) I think from Land’s End? It’s not really olive, but it works for my purposes…..
I’ve ordered the Ginkgo scarf. I’ve been wearing turquoise & brown all along, but then I’m a redhead/strawberry blonde. The brown in the scarf will look great with the cognac in my wardrobe–I do wear dark brown too, but all dark brown feels too dark for my coloring, & I like to mix brown & cognac. And this scarf will look great with my usual turquoise & amber & citrine jewelry!
And I’ll be wearing the Ginkgo scarf with smokey quartz too–this scarf goes with most/ all of my wardrobe & jewelry!
Beige, grey and olive are all off to a great start. I’m also almost certain that dark browns like the last one may be too dark for me. I’ll keep an eye on it anyway. As always, I’m unsure about some of the accents, but I’m more interested in the outcomes.
Merry Christmas to all and sundry, I’ve got a crib service and midnight mass today and am also looking forward to seeing extended family again.
This series is marvellous and I’m fascinated to watch each arrive build each year. I found you blog a couple of
years ago but have dug back into o the archives and have read through most of your work.
Thank you for highlighting rectangular scarves for this go-around! Your selections are lovely – I’m especially drawn to the Tree of Life scarf even though none of those colours are in my closet (other than a bare smattering of black items – I’m a navy gal). I worked for a woman who wore only dresses to the office – she was a lawyer – and she had a sharp black dress with one touch of brown on it. It was SO sharp! She had many beautiful dresses but that one was my favourite. Ever since, I’ve been interested in black and brown pairings.
Merry Christmas to Janice and her Belovedest and to all of the VIvienne Filers! ????
I always look forward to these selections; I’ve been following for a few years now!
So far I’m on team hydrangea… looking forward to this. Merry Christmas and all the best for 2022.
I’m looking forward to these wardrobes! Thanks, Janice, and have a wonderful holiday!
Great idea to begin with the 5 basic pieces. It helps us zero in on which wardrobe best represents our comfort zone as a jumping off place. All the scarves are gorgeous. I love the Tree of Life scarf, but I’m also drawn to the hint of chartreuse in Ruskin’s Meadow. It will be fun building these up! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and HEALTHY new year ???
Merry Christmas Janice!
Oh boy…this is going to be fun! I have items in my closet that every one of those scarves would accent!
Score another for team hydrangea. I cannot wait to see what goes with it this year as the months go by.
I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Waiting for life to be back to normal.
Merry Christmas! I am doing this THIS year :) I need to start with easy so I bought Tree of Life. I will shop my closet and hang identifier tags on my selected wardrobe items. (Maybe I will find similar scarves to follow the other selections, too. These are all inspiring choices)
So excited! There are different ways to travel, I consider this a journey holding hands with you all and Janice.
Many many hugs!
“There are different ways to travel, I consider this a journey holding hands with you all and Janice.”
What a lovely thought!!!! Thank you for sharing it.
Oh, this is brilliant! First, the scarves are great, and I’m not a scarf person. Then, the selection of the six most common neutrals, and only one per set. The three accent colors seem to play well together. This is more how I Try to manage. If I try to work with two neutrals, it goes downhill quickly. But if I use only one, then I am overrun by it. I can see it’s going to be a very instructive year. The black with warm colors palette is very tempting. It really makes it difficult to stick to trying to break the black habit, lol. And starting with a small group of basics, right out of the gate is perfect. Foundations.
Happy Holidays to Everyone!
You nailed it for most of us by pointing out how instructive this year’s approach to the scarves will be. I’ve learned so much at TVF and I also enjoy the insights of all of you TVF readers
These scarves are fantastic! I even own the Tree of Life although I don’t wear much black. It is so beautiful! And I may splurge on the Hydrangeas. Beginning with basics is truly a great idea. As always it will be great fun to see the wardrobes evolve.
Happy Holidays to All!
I’m looking forward to another fun series, although there’s not really a winter wardrobe. Perhaps the hydrangea accents will turn out more saturated than they appear on the color wheel? But I love the idea of starting with a small core of neutrals. And, of course, I also appreciate all the hard work you put into these, Janice. Thank you!
For you brown lovers, Banana Republic and Banana Republic Factory both have a lots of brown (and beige) pieces right now. If you’re able to wear them, the men’s section can be great resource for sweaters and basic tee shirts. Talbots’ January collection also has a brown shade called “sienna.” And J Crew currently has a brown sweater labeled “fudge.”
Also, I’d like to share that the all cotton “teddie sweater”from J Crew Factory just returned for the season. These are really the weight of long sleeve tee shirts, but they are wonderful! Very soft and the construction & fit looks like a nice sweater so they can be easily dressed up. I’ve successfully worn mine with a skirt and sparkly jewelry to a wedding before. Unfortunately, this first batch of colors are mostly pastel this year, but if that’s your pallet I can’t recommend them enough. (There also so wool-blend versions on the site from fall, but I have not tried those.)
Janice, I love the Tree of Life and the Hydrangeas scarves. I’m trying to break the black habit but this scarf and the combination with warm colors makes this very difficult!! The hydrangeas scarf has my navy base but I’m afraid the other colors are just too cool for me!! I’m thinking the Tree of Life it just may be!! Janice…have a very blessed Christmas Eve and day!! Thank you for this year and I really look forward to 2022!!
Torn between Tree of Life and Ruskin Meadow. Having been a classical musician in the past I have a significant amount of black in my wardrobe (concert black attire). But my skin has olive tones, my hair is a med to light sable brown, and my “blue” eyes change intensity depending on what I wear ranging from a light grey/green to a steel blue. Thus, both scarves could work for me but the Ruskin Meadow would definitely draw out my eyes the most. Decisions…. Looking forward to seeing how the wardrobes develop! Merry Christmas!
The Hydrangea scarf is gorgeous and my favourite with the Chrysanthemum a very close second. The others are lovely as well and I’m really looking forward to another year of this series. Xxx
Thank you for all your hard work this year and I wish you and yours a peaceful, healthy holiday season.
Janice, Lands End Forest Moss long sleeved tee shirt.
What a perfect gift! Thank you for these inspiring colors. Full disclosure – I have never purchased one of the scarves, and I don’t always agree with your coordinating colors. But I can’t tell you how much I enjoy looking at the scarves, reading your posts, and considering your selections.
While the ginkgo is my favorite for its brilliant color and pattern, I am most inspired by Ruskin’s Meadow, which fits my personal color scheme and my love of botanical prints. The olive is great, and I would do mostly greens and blues with this, maybe with a charcoal gray as an alternate neutral, and skip the gold completely except for jewelry.
I am so excited to see these wardrobes grow throughout the year!
Thank you for all that you do, and Happy Holidays!
The Start with a Scarf is definitely a fan favorite and it looks like the coming year is also going to be a winner! Can’t pick a favorite yet but look forward to seeing how these wardrobes play out.
Merry Christmas everyone – hope it’s fun and fashionable!
Thank you for starting the New Year with these delights. Joe Fresh, a Canadian brand, has some beautiful long sleeved t-shirts made of organic cotton in wonderful colours. There is an olive green that is a very good neutral. They cost $14 Cdn. An unbelievably good price in my estimation. The quality is superb. I bought it in about five colours. It so comfortable.
Merry Christmas and a great New Year. Thanks for all you do.
Janice, you have outdone yourself with these scarves! I love that they are rectangles because that’s all I can figure out how to wear. My absolute favorite one is the Hydrangea, with Chrysanthemum as the runner up. I have all the accent colors but need to work on a navy core wardrobe, so this will be very helpful to me. I can’t wait to see how these wardrobes progress throughout 2022. Wishing you, Belovedest, and your Mom a very happy holiday season!
Best wishes to you Janice, and to all, this quiet (again!) holiday season.
The scarf selections are so exciting! I, too, prefer rectangles, but besides that, the nature-based designs and color combos are so delicious–how to pick a favorite will be a quandary. Also, starting with the neutral sets of clothing seems very wise and in keeping with the common wardrobe/ whatever’s clean 13/4 by 4 approach.
Soapbox speech: I’ve spent time reading Ruskin, enjoyably, with his insights and sometimes absurdly long, rolling sentences. Yes, about gothic architecture. And he had *such* an influence on William Morris and Arts and Crafts in general. Plus, oddly enough, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Speaking of which, the Morris show at the Art Institute is wonderful, maybe especially for those of us who won’t be going back to the UK for what looks like a long while. The designs, colors, stitch work, and focus on May Morris–all good reminders for why the work is so perennial, and why experiencing things of this sort in real life beats online/in print. (Though, of course the latter are valuable in their own right for learning about art and nearly everything else.)
Good job! This year’s scarves have a gentleness to them. The fabric choice is softer, nothing shiny, no sharp graphics, even the subject matter is more gentle. I think over the years your choices have “softened”. For example, last years Mountain scarf. Love these!
All of these scarves are SO beautiful, it was difficult to select my favorites to follow this year. Last year, I purchased the Mountain View scarf and was very pleased with how my wardrobe came together. This year, I am looking forward to following the development of the wardrobe based on the Sampler scarf.
Well done, Janice! Can’t wait to see how these wardrobes evolve. I am excited by the Ginko scarf having started over last year getting ready to return to the office. I’ve scrapped black and embraced whites and camels as my neutrals. I discovered chartreuse really works well with my coloring (!) and I love the turquoise. So that is the one I will be most intrigued with.
Of note, Universal Standard has released some fantastic colors of tee shirts that may work brilliantly for these – and they really are size inclusive. I own several of these shirts. Good sale prices this month, too.
Oh my … I would be happy with any one of these scarves. Hard to pick just one. The colors of each appeal to me. Now I know what I’ll be busy with in the days ahead!!
Love your blog — many thanks!
Playing along with Chrysanthemum this year instead of watching from the sidelines. Looking forward to it!
Oh mi goodness. I actually OWN the Hydrangea scarf….got it early last year. I have been toying with the idea of doing another wardrobe sew-along next year and even pulled that scarf out as a possibility.
Guess it’s Meant To Be…
Merry Christmas Janice! Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a happy and healthy 2022!
Gorgeous scarves and some very interesting color palettes this year! None of these are as spot-on for me as the Mountain View last year, but I will be watching all of them with curiosity. If the olive Ruskin color palette had pink instead of gold, that would be the one I’m most interested in. The Tree of Life scarf is probably my favorite design of the set.
Starting the capsules with these basic neutral pieces is a brilliant idea and reflects a better start-from-scratch OR start-from-your-wardrobe capsule-building strategy than outfit by outfit (though the outfit by outfit was certainly fun!).
Best holiday wishes to Janice and everyone here!
:( the hydrangea scarf is not available(sold out already?)
Thank you for all your hard work this year. I love the Vivienne Files and look forward to every post. The scarves are wonderful. I recently purchased a Fleurs d’ Orleans with green border and would be very interested in seeing you base a travel wardrobe around it if you ever have time. Merry Christmas Janice.
Dear Vicki,
I came within INCHES of using Fleurs d’Orleans – I thought that the navy blue border was black! I caught the error at the very last minute… I will look for the green border scarf – I don’t remember seeing it, but I have looked at hundreds (thousands?) of scarves in the last weeks…
Merry Christmas!
Janice
I thought it was black too, so thank you for letting us know it’s navy! I love it.
ooops! i meant the chrysanthemum scarf is not available. :(
Teri, try the PJ Studio Accessories site. I found it there, on sale. Btw, the Lynx bracelet in Janice’s previous post looks like it will go well with these colors. Good luck with the scarf.
Ruskin does it for me as I already have an olive green basic capsule but sadly the v-neck Treasure and Bond sweater is not available in Olive Green.
I am already very excited for these scarves! I think they will inspire beautiful and yet practical wardrobes. My favorite so far is the Ginko.
Also, I’m grateful you didn’t give up on brown!
So excited about the black-based scarf. My colours exactly!
I was torn between the chrysanthemum and hydrangea scarves.
I have purchased the chrysanthemum as as it contains shades I gravitate towards.
These fortunately suit my cool, muted/soft and light colouring and my multi- toned grey curly hair.
I love reading your posts Janice and look forward to having one of the actual scarves to participate along.
Many thanks for your commitment to creating inspiring articles for us all to enjoy.
Thank you for bringing some creative life to 2021, Janice!
I think the Chrysanthemum would suit my coloring best, but alas it is not available. I know what you mean by the difficulty with browns. I am looking for a cool brown belt to use with a burgundy/tan ruana. I want it to have a bit of elastic in the back so my arms don’t feel pinned down. Everything is too yellow, has yellow-toned metal, or the metal looks like it came from a coin vending machine.
I am just going to keep clicking through your links to the stores and then search for my elusive brown belt.
I agree with April (12/24, 7:47 am) that there isn’t a color way for true Winter coloring. I’ll play along by shopping my closet and using stronger accent colors with navy basics. I really like the idea of starting with the basic neutral garments! Janice, would you consider a mid year basics refresh, adding short sleeve and sleeveless tops and shorts or a skirt?
I am so thrilled that this year’s scarves each center around one neutral. I don’t wear scarves, but the whole rectangular, non-silk scarf concept is tempting. Navy is my neutral, but some of the other color ways I am excited to see evolve. I love the idea of black with brown accents and the beige with ivory wardrobe is already beautiful. For some reason, I always fall for the olive wardrobes, even though that is not a color I wear. Janice has given us a great Christmas gift in sharing her expertise! Merry Second Day of Christmas to all!
Hello Janice,
first a late Merry Christmas and a few relaxing days between the years.
This year I will try to streamline my wardrobe along your lines. Mine is very eclectic, too many colours to choose from.
The tan and the black one both spoke to me, so I have reserved one side of my wardrobe for the 5 black basics and the other side for the five tan/ivory ones.
And the best – I srtarted shopping in my own wardrobe, which is a must this year as money is not so plenty.
Thank you for all the wonderful times you havbe given me with the vivienne files. Stay safe and stay healthy.
Tina
Lovely scarves you chose, Janice! I very much like the idea of starting with the basics. That first set with the black is my favorite, although the hydrangea scarf is so divine!
May you and your loved ones enjoy the rest of this year and Christmas season! Thank you for lovely and thoughtful posts. ❤️❤️
I love these color palettes and am already drooling with anticipation for the accessories on the gingko scarf – I love those colors but can’t wear them near my face.
I also like your approach of starting out with a basic wardrobe, for me this makes things a lot more approachable whether I shop my wardrobe, your links or scheme about a sew along.
Thank you for all your hard work compiling various wardrobes.
Happy New Year!
While I don’t personally wear black or brown very much, I feel like I ought to point out how glorious tortoiseshell jewelry would be with this wardrobe.
Personally the chrysanthemum and hydrangea scarves are a closer fit for me. But I love this series & always learn so much from it.
Hope that Janice & everyone else has a lovely New Year.
Dena
I see what you did there – what a lovely tip of the hat to the fabulous Betty White ;) Looking forward to the 2022 Scarves – I refer people to your blog at least once a week, and this is only one of the reasons why.
I have a fabulous turquoise/khaki/brown print top found at a resale shop. I usually only wore it with khaki pants, but when those needed to be retired, I contemplated brown pants. Would they be a practical purchase? Would I get enough wear out of them with other pieces? I popped over here, typed “brown” into the search bar, went down the rabbit hole of lovely wardrobes using brown, and bought the pants which opened up many opportunities for mixing up my wardrobe.
Hi Janice, Happy New Year! Always enjoy your work. I clicked on the link and ordered The Tree of Life scarf which I like very much from Wolf & Badger in the only color available which looked black on the website as it does here and it arrived with a dark navy background. Just thought you should know. Stay well!
I always enjoy following this series. You have selected some lovely color palettes and I am glad you decided to give dark brown as a neutral another go this year.