October 5, 2022
What do you do if your planned color scheme needs to be edited in some way?
EDIT. Move on!
You’ll notice that Ruskin’s Meadow color scheme has received a necessary update…
scarf – PJ Studio Accessories
Mauve was the request; mauve is the addition! It’s interesting to see how 3 tops and a pair of earrings bring a very different look to this wardrobe:
Mauve quarter zip – L.L.Bean; rose quartz earrings – Monica Vinader; washed orchid corduroy shirt – L.L.Bean; pink orchid turtleneck – J.Crew; cashmere gloves – Portolano; sneakers – Sorel
It’s all much brighter now, which means that our heroine has new options for getting dressed:
Her accessories are still mostly green, but she’s now got those lovely pink earrings…
How might this heroine wear her new mauve tops?
Now on to what might be my favorite scarf, and is growing to be my favorite wardrobe!
I wore this scarf last week; it’s lovely…
I would wear all of this, and arm wrestle someone for the privilege! I am growing to love these varying shades of brown, with black…
Heather acorn cashmere sweater – J.Crew; floral earrings – Simone Rocha; black cotton turtleneck – Lands’ End; saddle quarter-zip pullover – L.L.Bean; gloves – 1861 Glove Manufactory; boots – Blondo
This wardrobe just makes me happy…
And I really love the accessories, too…
I see this heroine as always looking warmly elegant and slightly off the beaten track; the juxtaposition of brown and black gives me that feeling!
Two more wardrobes on Friday!
Maybe next month is the month that I give every wardrobe a pair of jeans (do they have to be blue?) and a pair of gym shoes… What else might we add in?
love,
Janice
p.s. Five years ago, I reviewed what I packed for a trip to Paris…
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I’m with you about some of the browns. Have you noticed how lovely, rich and enticing leather handbags and shoes are in that one sweet spot that is warm and medium brown. If it’s so dark brown it’s almost black, why bother? And, while a lighter tan is nice, it’s not as elegant as a true warm brown. (Add too much red to brown and you’ve got oxblood. Yuk.)
As usual, you’re putting together capsules that stand up through seasons, events and dare I say decades? ❤️
I also love the blending of the warm browns/cognacs with black. I don’t wear much brown but your wardrobe finds are beautiful. Even the colour names are enticing: heather acorn, saddle….
The light pink and rose additions to the first scarf is also wonderful.
For the next wave of additions, I vote that coloured denim would work fine. I’d love to see coats and sleepwear (including robes/housecoats) included.
It’s hard to compute that year’s end is speeding toward us!
Wendy, I agree about end of year speeding towards us. My son in Air Force isn’t going to make it home this year, and his girlfriend is joining him for Christmas, so I’ve already been shopping for gifts knowing I’m going to ship everything. YIKES! I was following the Tree of Life Scarf, but couldn’t make myself buy the browns. then I splurged and bought a lovely chocolate brown sherpa coat. OMG. Now I am looking at the browns with a new eye. I”ve had a bit of tan/camel for a few years now – it’s incredibly versatile with most of my wardrobe – and now I find myself wondering if I can “pull off” other shades of brown. Also, after embracing the gray over the summer, seems the students REALLY liked my purple hair and I’ve had requests, so will be doing that this weekend (just an at-home color). I’ve found hair color makes a lot of difference in what colors I wear. But that’s me. Thank you Janice!
A) love the addition of the mauve in the first wardrobe. Instantly elevated it to one of my favorites.
B) “arm wrestle someone for the privilege” is one of the best phrases I’d never heard. Made me smile— and I totally agree.
Love the edition of mauve! Definitely add denim in whatever shade you deem best. Maybe our heroines need a puffer vest for cooler weather?
Love love love how the browns and blacks are playing together. I vote tennis shoes, puffer vests and jeans. I think most of us wear these items regularly. Since I live in a warmer climate I find the thin puffer vests to be a great wardrobe item. I often need only that little extra not a whole coat. Plus they are great for travel to colder climes under a jacket. Again those thin ones can really squash down and fit into your backpack.
Building with Tree of Life! I am waiting for the end of year critique. What was missed? What completes the foundation of each wardrobe, making sure we hit the “common wardrobe” basics. (I did substitute lighter layers during some months.)
The joy of building alongside you all is the rich color coordination that Janice created… in my closet! I have these beautiful choices now!
I am a bit concerned with separation anxiety. All 2022 scarf visions will come to an end. You veterans have learned to deal with this… I have loved other annual posts, but this one became mine.
For now I can only say thank you so much for the guidance and confidence you all have given me. And the fun ;)
I love the addition of mauve! It’s beautiful and such a fun addition. :) Of course I would say I’d love to see the jeans be blue but that’s because I love blue jeans. If other colors work for some folks you could do other colors too. (I have a hard time wearing other colors of jeans… jeans are just blue to me! But fortunately one of my neutrals is navy so I just say it coordinates that way.) And I would probably kiss someone I didn’t like (another Janice-ism I believe) for that brown wardrobe… at least the brown pieces! :)
Addition of mauve is perfection! I think colored denim is fine for any wardrobe. I would add true outerwear coats now that cooler weather is finally showing up, at least here I. The northeast. As to other addition, My mom always said you can never have too many shoes, coats or handbags—LOL! So in addition to sneakers and outerwear, maybe another type of bag apropos for our stylish heroines’ adventures.
Well, I didn’t have time to comment on part 1, so I will include that with today for part 2. Of the 4 shown, I still like the bold yellow in ginko, but until the mauve was added to the Ruskin’s meadow- I was drawn to it. Loved the fair isle sweater in part 1 & rather like the brown items today. Yes to jeans being added and they ought to be what colour works best in the wardrobe. Rather than the puffer, a simple jumper vest would get my vote as it has the ability to dress down with jeans or up with a crepe blouse and skirt. I found myself reaching for my two 100% British wool fair isle ones last winter whenever I had the chance. Will be interesting to see what gets added next month.
I like the direction the Ruskin wardrobe is evolving. If I mentally substitute burgundy/wine (coordinates so well with mauve) for the gold (that I hate), this is looking like the wardrobe I would most likely actually wear of the 6!
The Tree of Life capsule looks really good and has some nice variety among the browns, but the few green items look a little sad and lonely. More green, please!
I like the sneakers and jeans proposed additions. For jeans, I think adding a classic blue jean, the ultimate neutral in our time and place, would add a lot of variety to these wardrobes, but if that’s just too “not in the palette” for people’s taste, at least add a colorful jean. A pair of jeans in a core neutral feels duplicative of the many, many core neutral pants that already exist in these wardrobes and doesn’t seem to change up what our heroines can do with their capsules.
And you know I will always advocate for some print garments to tie the colors in the wardrobe together! The print scarves are, in most cases, excellent bridge pieces, but even I don’t wear a print scarf everyday. And there is something so satisfying about a versatile print button up shirt that can be layered many different ways, for example.
Yes to your burgundy swapped in for the mustard! I was mentally subbing in grey for the olive green, and trying to think what I’d want in place of the mustard that likewise doesn’t suit me. Now I’ve got it! Thanks, Sally.
Oh thank you for including the mauve in the Ruskin scarf. I would wear it with the dark blue teal. So if you are considering jeans, choose dark denim, or dark blue teal cords or thick cotton trousers. Dark blue teal is sometimes called Ocean Blue. Several people have suggested a warm coat. I would second that. I was reading an article about coats today. There was everything from puffer coats to shearling to smart single or double-breasted wool coats. Coloured coats were popular too.
The Tree of Life has grown on me because I imagine my daughter wearing those colours.
Yes to the addition of mauve! It really does add a lot of possibilities to the collection.
I do like the understated elegance of the “Tree of Life” wardrobe, but too many of the browns and all of the beiges are not good with my skin tone. Love the scarf, can’t wear the colours.
I agree with Sally that print tops or second layers are helpful. Scarves as well, though some of these beauties are a bit pricey.
“Maybe next month is the month that I give every wardrobe a pair of jeans (do they have to be blue?) and a pair of gym shoes… What else might we add in?” Um…necklaces? We haven’t had any yet this year… ;-) Looking forward to seeing part three Friday!
I mean…not to shoot the moon here…
I think it would be delightful if each got a Wool& dress (or similar) to see what new combinations arise!
Ok so yes to classic jeans – try to keep to blue Denim but depending on wardrobe it could vary from light chambray blue to deep navy.
A pair of casual runners/sneakers is also handy
and THEN
I would like to see a smart jacket to elevate the jeans. Most of these wardrobes are casual and it’s super useful to have a smart jacket for so many things.
Plus I love a smart jacket with Jeans.
So pretty! For next time, I would love to see “active wear” added… sweatpants/leggings, tennis shoes (supportive for morning walks), moisture-wicking shirt, hoodie, rain jacket, and a baseball cap. I have been so pleased with how my closet is coming together for my “real clothes” and would love for my morning walk clothes in my drawers to have the same color coordination. Another idea would be frames for prescription glasses. Thank you for bringing elegance and effortlessness to my closet.
I’ve had all sorts of prescription glasses over the past 50 years – brown to match my hair, grey or silver as a good neutral or blue/pink/purple to blend with my clothes, even my teal clothes. I haven’t yet got a pair of green glasses to match my eyes. The size of frame has varied too from very large to small rectangles. I now wear varifocals so they can’t be too small. I’m currently wearing rose pink rectangular-ish metal frames. My craziest and favourite were purple with a floral pattern on the arm and blue around the inside of the rim. At the end of the day, it’s what you feel comfortable wearing and blow everyone else’s opinion!
I’m absolutely in love with the black & brown grouping!! These browns are my best colors in neutrals and I’m diffinately a neutrals wearer!!! Thank you so much for this!!!