June 27, 2022
They Never Know What to Expect…
Some years their more… eccentric aunt can’t make it up to the lake for a weekend with them. They understand; she travels a lot and is often busy with work…
So when they got a call asking if there was room for her this coming weekend, they were all pretty excited to see her, for all kinds of reasons!
Her current car is a convertible. Electric. Very sleek… And she looked quite elegant…
sweater blazer – J.Crew; sunflower earrings – I’mmany London; bone silk shirt – Eileen Fisher; bracelets – Fierce Lynx Designs; ecru chinos – Boden; corn print scarf – Pineda Covalin UK; purple socks – Chrissy’s Socks; tassel loafers – Tamaris; tote bag – L.L.Bean
They weren’t expecting purple socks, but they weren’t exactly surprised…
It was the next morning, when she turned up for breakfast wearing a swim-dress, a matching hoodie, and water shoes, that they were gobsmacked…
1-piece swimsuit – Lands’ End; hat – Nataliya Nova; amethyst earrings – Giani Bernini; hoodie – Lands’ End; turquoise earrings – Charlotte’s Web; small scarf – Lanvin; yellow tee shirt – H&M; blouson swim top – Lands’ End; purple hoodie – Coldwater Creek; turquoise swim shorts – Lands’ End; bone sandals – Eileen Fisher; water shoes – Lands’ End; ivory shorts – Treasure & Bond
“Yea, I was stuck in the Maldives for a few days on a business trip, and so I learned to paddleboard while I was waiting for the office staff to finish the presentation…”
SHE PADDLEBOARDS…
And why not, eh?
What are the odds that they can get her into an inner-tube, to be pulled around the lake behind the family’s little motor boat?
love,
Janice
p.s. Eight years ago, we paused to review our “Wardrobe From Scratch” wardrobes – 24 outfits with 9 garments. A pretty good return on investment, I’d say!
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This makes me want to rush out and get a ticket to Mauritius, our family resort island of choice. What a lovely wardrobe that captures island charm and the joy of watching the sunset while sipping rum cocktails on the beach. I can feel the sand beneath my feet, hear the lapping of the water and smell the air. Thank you Janice.
This is a keeper! Love the colors and your story about the woman who wears them. And of course, she’s up for being pulled around on an inner tube and being slung and dunked a few times! This woman will go anywhere and try anything.
It’s one of my favorite things to do at the lake! Heading there later this week and will have much fun playing games, swimming, water balloon battles, grilling and wine/cocktails. I wear bathing suit and sunblock long sleeved shirts plus a big hat and mineral based sunscreen. Not as fashionable but very protected. When we are back at the house and showered (that mineral sunscreen is hard to remove), I don a pair of shorts and tee or a long dress. Have to look nice for dinner and board games!
I love this story and the wardrobe. What I could aspire to be when I grow up :)
I love those colours and adore this heroine! Her sense of adventure and her forthright attitude are so admirable.
Of COURSE she’ll go on that inner tube and she’ll do it with panache.
Love this weekend by the water wardrobe. Not my colors but it is so easy to use it as a template for packing or organizing a closet for play at home.
The texture of the purple tunic adds interest, esp. for someone like me that rarely adds patterned pieces to her closet.
What pretty colours! A treat for the eyes. Thanks Janice.
Love this wardrobe and colours but…would highly suggest removing the JCrew sweater blazer I own two and they don’t see the light of day from the middle of June until the middle of September. Too darned heavy even for a flight. There must be something lighter? The knee socks under long pants…again unless they are compression and she MUST wear them they are so darn hot. Otherwise it’s so pretty! Although even in my dotage I wouldn’t wear a swim dress but there are women who would forsake the joys of swimming if they had to wear a regular swim suit so thank you for showing one that is cute( and NOT black) My great aunt, was in her eighties, wearing a two piece (not a bikini but waist high) and swimming .5km across the lake and back. My mom and her sisters skinny dipped daily well into their seventies and referred to themselves as the Biblical Babes….due to their Rubenesque figures!!
The sweater blazer and socks are the exact two pieces that surprised me in this wardrobe, given how very warm they would be. If she’s driving, she’s doesn’t even have the cold airplane issue to deal with. (I have NEVER experienced an airplane as too cool, only as too warm, but I know other people do so that might make a bit more sense with these items.) But wouldn’t a pair of purple flats (maybe even a print pair) be a fun alternative?
This is timely! I am headed to the lake this morning, although I am tent camping with 8 teenagers (four of mine and they are each bringing a friend) so my wardrobe is not this chic (or white). Although I did pack a whatever’s clean 13 so it’s pretty interchangeable! I’m using navy as my base with chambray, teal/turquoise and a few pops of pink. I have to say that I LOVE the corn scarf in this colorway. Thanks for a beautiful wardrobe!
Janice,
I see Beth T colors gob smacked all over this post ! Love it ! And — I have decided to be that “ eccentric aunt “ or grandmother or whatever ! I want to smile or even laugh whenever I get dressed and just feel joyful and very alive !
Go fo it Shrebee. A friend and I were discussing putting coloured highlights in our hair – lilac for me.
I wanted to chime back in about the swim dress. My newly purchased one is the dress shown, but in a solid navy. I’m a 40 something, UK size 12 & find that for my very pear shape, it helps even out the contrast between a small bust and overly generous hip…which makes me feel comfortable and pretty. My other LE picks were a swim skirt with a tank style top and a one piece. All help to disguise the size of my lower half, but the dress does it best. It was a nice surprise to see swim wear in the dress style that was a colour other than black. Yes, some women like black & look wonderful in it, but for those who do not, it is a happy day to find any other colour in a modest cut.
How does the swim dress actually do in the water? I’ve wondered if the skirt just floats up and around or otherwise gets in the way? Is it best just for wading? Thanks.
Mary Y,
Yes, it does float up ! I have one and that is what I dislike about it when trying to actually swim. It does cover my pear shaped bottom part, however, when not in the water, so I’ll keep it . Boyfriend pant bottoms and a separate top work better for actually swimming .
That’s what I wear for “real” swimming – I’ve found that I feel quite fetching in my boy-shorts!
love,
Janice
This could so easily have been a post Start with the Corn Cob scarf. The bracelet is gorgeous though my perfect colourway is purple, turquoise and blue. My white would be ivory but I doubt that I will ever have the courage to wear white trousers. They wouldn’t suit my height or shape – I’d look like an unseasonal snowman!
I didn’t realise that swim dresses were back in fashion. Mind you I last wore any kind of bathing costume in the early 1980’s. A swim dress reminds me of the kind of outfit that a Victorian heroine would wear as she descended from a bathing machine into the sea. Are ‘Captain Webb’ style all-in-one bathing costumes coming back in for men?
Shrebee, thank you for the in water info. I haven’t been in water with mine yet, but it’s great on land. Though we’d planned for pool time over the past weekend, it didn’t work out. I wonder if a tiny weight added to the hem would keep it from floating?
The purple hoodie was very appealing to me. Unfortunately, it has received very poor reviews. Just a warning to others.
Hi Janice and Everyone! Oooh the bracelet had me at hello. I think I can put together something in these colors.
I am not at all surprised at the purple sox with the white outfit. Perhaps they are lightweight trouser sox-? And yes, I can see this auntie going inner-tubing, or water skiing for that matter.
Janice!! I’ll have you know that my daughter and her fiance’ have moved to Chicago! They are in the neighborhood that borders Logan Square and Bucktown.