September 23, 2022
When the days get shorter, I start checking to make certain that I have a nice jacket, as well as the necessary bits and pieces to stay warm!
image – Pan Macmillan
Today’s heroines don’t all have heavy, wooly scarves; sometimes a silk scarf is enough!
Beanie and gloves – Johnstons of Elgin; jacket – J.Crew; scarf – Elizabetta; tote – Sostter; loafers – ARA
And all of your colors don’t have to match perfectly…
Quilted nylon hat – Madewell; gloves – UGG; adobe quilted jacket – L.L.Bean; scarf – Susi Bellamy; (sold out) bag – Rebecca Minkoff; moccasins – Minnetonka Moccasins
Blue skies and golden leaves…
Photo – coyoo/Getty Images
You’re never too old to wear a fun hat and mittens!
Deep olive riding jacket – L.L.Bean; hat – Basin and Range; mittens – Basin and Range; scarf – ImageDiary; bag – Madewell; boots – Lucky Brand
And it’s never wrong to stock up on navy essentials:
navy jacket – Lands’ End; hat and gloves – Madewell; Double Sided Wool Silk Shawl of Amazon Rainforest Journey – Jessie Zhao New York; bag – Longchamp; boots – Easy Spirit
The angle of the sun on autumn afternoons makes everything look better, doesn’t it?
Image – Yue Xing Yidhna Wang/Getty Images
If you love pink, wear pink! You don’t have to match the trees…
Beret – Ganni; coat – J.Crew; scarf – Elizabetta; mittens – Lululemon; bag – Sinbono; loafers – Coach
And remember that something as simple as brown buttons can make everything look intentional:
Brown beret – Sibi; gloves – Saks Fifth Avenue; jacket – J.Crew; brown triangle scarf – Elizabetta; bag – Loeffler Randall; boots – Sarto by Franco Sarto
You would be beautifully dressed to walk around this lake…
I’m still wearing a black Barbour jacket that’s at least 15 years old; it makes sense to treat yourself to something REALLY nice sometimes…
love,
Janice
p.s. Four years ago, our color palette was crawn from an earthenware plaque!
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Janice et al, I have been following the blog in real time for several months, and at the same time I have been reading from the beginning, and am currently up to the end of 2016. I have found the concepts of core neutrals and the 4×4 so helpful. It really resonated when you and others commented on the … hmm … lack of excitement inherent in buying (for me, navy) neutrals. This was totally the reason I never did it, and thought that I was covering this by having one pair of pants in the neutral. And nothing else! I also realised that this … hmm … boredom … was responsible for me having (far) too many accent colours, without these actually being cohesive at all. I don’t have the problem of too many clothes, but have found that as I am newly retired, I have too many left-over work clothes, and too few of the right sort of clothes for my new lifestyle. I have now filled in the neutrals gaps, for only one of the neutrals so far, and in recent weeks have found it is unbelievably easy to get dressed and feel smart. And, because it is a more positive experience to pick out clothes, I make more of an effort, and now have a rule that I won’t wear anything I wouldn’t answer the door in, unless I am painting the roof or swabbing the decks! I also have been having more fun with colour, and although I have noticed colours look differently on me now that my hair is very grey, I am just wearing what I like, that I think looks good. And I think looking at all the amazing wardrobes you put together has helped educate my eye in this regard. So, just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to you … with warmest best wishes, Vicki
Same here. I found this blog several years ago when I was also post-retirement and planning a road trip from Oregon to Alaska and back. Every bit of clothing had to work hard! (Wonderful trip. Eight weeks, 5000 miles, with a husky named Sam for my companion.) Her approach to neutrals and planning make sense, and helped to make the trip a success.
Covid really caused my clothing choices to deteriorate, however. Easy to wander the house in a sleep T all day if you’re never going anywhere — I’d throw on sweats for Sam’s walk — and never seeing anyone. So I came back to the blog to see if it would help me rehabilitate my wardrobe and my approach to getting dressed. (Step 1. Get dressed…)
And like you, I’m dealing with gray hair for the first time. All my sense of what colors work is off. I’d love for her to address that — Covid gray, we call it in my circles….
So thank you for sharing. You’re not alone. And it did me good to realize I’m not alone either.
Lois
Like you I found the Vivienne Files a few years ago. I’ve had so much fun reorganizing my wardrobe. I haven’t really got rid of much but I’m wearing things in a new way. I’m also embracing grey hair and discovering that the shades of colours I wear have become a lot more softer and muted.
Ooh, forgot to say, there has been stiff competition, but up to end of 2016, my ALLTIME FAVOURITE is Starting from Art: The Arrival of the Normandy Train. Such beautiful colours.
So I had to look back, and I can understand how that’s an all time favorite. I have been working to incorporate those colors into my wardrobe. Perfect!
I had to look back, too, so I thought I’d make it easy for anyone else who wants to do so. I found two version:
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2015/11/start-with-art-arrival-of-normandy.html/
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2015/11/start-with-art-part-two-arrival-of.html/
So now I have a request:
Dear Janice,
What happened when the Home Office people turned up? I didn’t find any link…. so please, can you continue the story and tell us what happened next?!
Quilted jackets are very much welcome at the moment. I notice that none have hoods and realised that both the burgundy and green jackets I already have are both hoodless too. Is that typical of this style then?
P.s. What is the colourname for the first set as it seems to be a very specific shade of pink and as such looks like it might have one of those bizarre names that you keep finding.
Do you mean the very pale pink? I would call Baby Pink or Ice Pink. It reminds me of the pink icing on Iced Gems (can you still buy those?). Although the colour of the coat is Frosty Lavender. It’s got a very clear blue undertone. It best suits blondes. It’s the kind of pink that didn’t suit my dark haired baby daughter. I dressed her in these autumnal colours and black from six months old!
Rex, that’s my impression also – that the quilted jackets typically do not have hoods unless they are a certain type of puffy jacket intended for active outdoor wear, which often do have (removable) hoods.
Such beautiful photos! and outfits. I love fall. Happy Friday everyone.
I do love these Autumnal ‘Seasonal Six’ selections. The burgundy and pink are my favourites with the navy as a neutral. The burgundy floral scarf is gorgeous.
I’ve noticed that you are favouring scarves by Elizabetta. Would you be considering them for the next Six Scarves, Twelve Outfits project?
Yes please I think these scarves are lovely. And also I’m responding to the Covid Grey hair. I had pretty much gone grey, after years of high-lights/low-lights, but now have quite long grey hair. I had worn it very short to just pass my ears forever. It went through a rather unpleasant funky length but as the months passed reached an agreeable place. I am continuing to let it grow and have curly grey hair well past my shoulders. Who knew the grey would be curlier and I get complimented daily! All in all a pleasant surprise.
I highlight my grey with purple. I’ve NEVER received so many compliments about my hair!
hugs,
Janice
Nothing like a great quilted coat for the fall. Luckily, where I live, I can justify owning many coats as the temperature always calls for a coat between late September and May.
That burgundy set is just gorgeous – I would wear every piece in a heartbeat. My fall/winter/spring coat and jacket collection is in really good shape but I like the look of the collar-less quilted jacket. I can see it as a cute indoor jacket, an outer layer in fall/spring, and as an under-coat layer in winter.
Thanks for this coat reminder… my daughter just told me today she doesn’t have one anymore. Come to find out she was wearing her sister’s coats last year and we just moved her out of state to college! I loved the look back. I feel like that’s what my wardrobe does throughout the year. Those subtle shifts in color from my regular colors. Thanks!
Oh that burgundy! Love it.
Ooh, I love these! I actually own similar pieces to most of the burgundy grouping, but those shoes are delicious! These seasonal groupings reminded me of my fabulous purple coat and purple suede knee-high boots, and now I’m actually looking forward to winter and the opportunity to build one of these groupings based on purple. It’s going to be a while for me, though, since we just finished a week in the 90s.
These seasonal posts are great. Beautiful photos. Timely reminders, too, as there is now a nip in the air. I need to dig out colder weather gear. And maybe finish knitting the scarf I started last spring. Interesting thoughts from the folks heading into new phases. I learn from everyone here.
Also, I was forgetting, Janice did an awesome post on adapting the Common Core wardrobe. I always loved it but it didn’t fit my retired life anymore. The post was helpful to me, anyway.
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2021/11/how-can-i-find-my-own-personal-basic-wardrobe.html/
Thank you Sandy B :) and thank you Janice, of course! I zoomed forward 5 years to read this article (from my current catchup position of 2016), and this is a really useful and versatile plan. I can see it being helpful in transitioning from pre-retirement to a retirement CW. I found it particularly helpful to think about the purpose of each garment, thus figuring out in what ways could I diverge from “the rules”. Cheers from NZ :)