November 28, 2022
It has only been a few days – I’m sure you remember the wardrobe that we looked at last Wednesday!
I left that heroine with almost no accessories…
Green sweater – J.Crew; earrings – Milou Jewelry; shirt – Alex Mill; loafers – Talbots; socks – Talbots; pants – Alex Mill
My favorite approach to adding accessories to a wardrobe is to choose a range of outfits, and then accessorize each outfit with what they need. After the 2nd outfit, I find that I can start re-using shoes, at least!
Cardigan – J.Crew; shirt – Alex Mill; pants – Alex Mill; earrings – Milou Jewelry; bag – Honey & Toast; loafers – Talbots
If you can find a lovely pair of shoes in your accent color, consider grabbing them! Some of us don’t feel comfortable with accent shoes, but other people look amazing in them:
Sweater – J.Crew; turtleneck – J.Crew Factory; pants – Alex Mill; earrings – Arms of Eve; scarf – Jessie Zhao New York; loafers – G.H.Bass
A seasonal brooch and a dressy bag will make it possible to wear an otherwise “not really dressy” outfit to all kinds of events:
Cardigan – J.Crew; turtleneck – J.Crew Factory; pants – Alex Mill; brooch- Talbots; velvet bag – J.Crew; boots – Bella Vita
Accent socks! And a scarf with doesn’t really go with anything except your yellow accent sweater:
Sweater – J.Crew; citrine earrings – Quintessence Jewelry; shirt – Alex Mill; pants – Alex Mill; narrow scarf – Versace; socks – Urban Outfitter
Sometimes, all you need is the right scarf, and a touch of a bracelet…
Sweater – J.Crew; skirt – J.Crew; scarf – Fetolia; bracelet – Harbour UK Bracelets; boots – Bella Vita
Why not sneakers? Why not sneakers that sparkle?
Tee shirt – Orvis; gold hoop earrings – Bony Levy; pants – Alex Mill; oversized scarf – Madewell; sneakers – Tretorn
I don’t know if I would wear BOTH frog earrings and a frog brooch at the same time, but if green was my favorite accent color, I would certainly OWN them both…
Cardigan- COS; earrings – Fable England; turtleneck – J.Crew Factory; pants – Alex Mill; frog brooch – Fable England; loafers – Talbots
Why yes, you can wear a plaid scarf over a plaid flannel shirt – especially if you’re wearing a sweater and only a wee bit of the shirt is visible…
Sweater – J.Crew; flannel shirt – L.L.Bean; pants – Alex Mill; earrings – Dower & Hall; scarf – Talbots; loafers – Talbots
When your favorite plaid is available, grab it!
Sweater – J.Crew; malachite earrings – Talbots; turtleneck – J.Crew Factory; jeans – L.L.Bean; plaid bag – Talbots; sneakers – Cariuma
A sweater with a lot of pattern interest doesn’t really require much more for accessories – some festive earrings, and a neutral bag and shoes!
Sweater – J.Crew; pearl earrings – Valerie Chic; skirt – J.Crew; crossbody bag – Hobo; slingbacks – Pelle Moda
This is her accessory wardrobe – I could have a LOT of fun with these pieces…
Accessories are more fun than clothes, to me…
love,
Janice
p.s. Six years ago, I was packing for Paris… Sigh…
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Love the green scarf from Fetolia. Talbots always has an amazing selection of plaids at this time of year, as well as brooches. It’s always a bit of eye candy for me to peruse their catalogs. I also like the outfit with the skirt and sweater. If I were more cosmopolitan I could see that going out to a special lunch with “the girls”. Thank you!
Whenever I am able to match 2 different but similar patterns like the plaids you show, i am especially proud of myself and feel both pulled-together and creative. My usual default has been solids and colorblind style but I’m trying to branch out!
Also just be wary of wearing too many frog items because then everyone will think you love frogs and you will ends up with dozens of frog accessories for your wardrobe home and life. Good problems?
Such lovely items! My absolute faves are the sparkly sneakers. I may just have to splurge…
Seeing the accessories all together, 3 holes jumped out at me imediately: no necklaces, no tote bag, and no useful low booties. These are items I use constantly so I noticed their lack right away. Yes, I often a small, simple necklace at the same time as wearing a scarf, because if I get hot and bothered by the scarf I can remove it and still look like I’m wearing a completed outfit.
Anyway, what you have brought together here is beautiful and fun. Oh, and I am a big fan of accent color shoes – ask me about my vibrant purple, suede, knee-high boots!
Laurie, yes, you nailed it on the missing pieces. I was thinking a large navy purse (tote bag is perfect), low heeled walkable boots (ideally that have been weatherproofed), and at least two necklaces – one short, one long pendant (with a solid colored pullover sweater, I like how a long pendant breaks up the swath of color).
Lovely.
Now, THERE is another line to remember from Janice: “Accessories are more fun than clothes, to me.” What could be a better formula for a chic, useful wardrobe?
I LOVE the way you showed a sparkly brooch & holiday handbag as outfit boosters toward the dressy side. It’s so much more understated, yet polished AND economical, to add a holiday brooch or necklace to a top you can wear throughout the winter months.
Also noted: How you used a very simple accent handbag, skirt and shoes to make an otherwise smart casual pullover into something dressier. That’s genius.
Love the Cariuma sneakers! I own two pairs. Cream and kelly green- not at all afraid of accent shoes!
Finally, wouldn’t it be nice if retailers gave us real navy and not something barely distinguishable from black? 🤔🤨
Totally agree about real navy and not blavy. Although it does extend some of my wearable wardrobe since I can’t tell if it’s navy or black, I wear it interchangeably. :)
Lovely!!!
Thank you, Janice, for adding beauty to our lives!
Camille
I love the green loafers! :) This is great, thanks!
Please check out the fabric content when considering a purchase. I was surprised to see that the Fair Isle sweater was only 30% lamb’s wool and 70% polyamide. Ninety dollars seems like a lot of money for a polyester garment!
In my experience, garments with that much polyester don’t last but a season or two at most. That’s not something one could really build a wardrobe around :-( .
But the outfit sure is pretty!
It been a long time since I lusted after shoes, but those navy suede boots do something for me! I’m trying to convince myself I could wear them somewhere. Anywhere. So impractical for my life these days (the sparkle sneakers would be better, if they came in wide). But maybe it’s the season to be impractical???
I’m really loving the green & yellow. Since we’re talking accessories, how many scarves would be a good number to have? I’ve been adding to my collection slowly since the ones I want tend to be pretty expensive for my budget. Ladies, I would love to know if anyone has a formula for calculating the number of scarves. I love the one Janice used for pieces of clothing, but would love if there was one for a certain accessory item. Thanks for your thoughts.
I look forward to your emails every day. Thanks
Wow, a really stand-out set of accessories! The jungle scarf, frog brooch, and (surprisingly to me) plaid handbag are my favorites here. Though classic penny loafers aren’t my style, I was very happy to see the green shoes in this collection. I am on Team Accent Shoe.
I ordered that seasonal brooch immediately!
reporting back that the brooch was lovely and I wore it nearly every day from the day I received it until New Years Eve!
Love the sparkly sneaker outfit :)