February 17, 2023
It can happen. Floods, fires, landslides, earthquakes, eek!!!
And your wardrobe is gone. Completely.
It recently happened to one of us…
She lives somewhere with weather that’s already warm-ish, so she wants to start with a Spring wardrobe.
It’s a nightmare, and a dream, all at the same time.
She wants to start here:
And the colors that she wants to include are thus:
We discussed how to go about doing this – the Start from Scratch Wardrobe didn’t appeal to her, so I suggested we try to look at the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe for Spring:
I was able to assemble suggestions for this reasonably quickly. The accent of soft green showed up most often at Lands’ End, where it is called “light blue radiance.” What are they thinking?
But with that in mind, I tried to find some of the true basics at Lands’ End, so that our heroine isn’t placing 13 different orders for 13 garments!
White, navy and hot pink tee shirts – Lands’ End; “light blue radiance” tee – Lands’ End; striped tee – Lands’ End; navy cardigan – L.L.Bean; white short sleeve shirt – Lands’ End; navy ribbed sweater – Boden; white denim jacket – M.C.Overalls; white capri pants – Lands’ End; navy pants – L.L.Bean; denim skirt – J.Crew; navy shirtdress – Alex Mill
This seems like a LOT of clothing to buy at 1 time, doesn’t it?
Depending on what you do all day, this might be all of the casual clothes that you need. For example, if you wear a uniform 40+ hours per week, and you only wear casual clothes evening and weekends…
I’m sure you can see the possibilities here, but I’m going to take a pass through 8 really obvious outfits:
This is quite a bit to adjust to, all at once!
But for fun, let’s assume that in a few weeks, our heroine is interested in expanding her wardrobe a bit. A cozy sweater or two, a pair of shorts, and another dress are some possibilities.
When looking for something the same color as her mint green tee shirt, I used the silly color name “light blue radiance” to search Lands’ End; it’s wise to try to think the way the retailers do!
striped tee – Orvis; pink cashmere wrap – J.Crew; navy sweater with hearts – J.Crew; navy shirt – Alex Mill; “light blue radiance” sweater – Lands’ End; white denim skirt – Jen7 by 7 For All Mankind; sleeveless dress – J.Crew; navy shorts – J.Crew
With these 20 garments, you could get dressed every day in a different outfit for the brief, elusive season of Spring.
In Chicago, we only need 1 outfit for Spring, and we wear it ONE AFTERNOON a year…
Let’s look at a few more possibilities for her:
Of course, she’s going to need accessories! Shoes, jewelry, another scarf or 2… The possibilities are exciting…
love,
Janice
p.s. Three years ago, we started with a different scarf to help structure a Spring and Summer wardrobe in the EXACT SAME colors… Of course, there are limits to how many different color palettes there are in the world!
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
This scarf is beautiful – I love the design and its fresh colours! I’m so very sorry that today’s heroine has gone through such upheaval and loss; she absolutely deserves lovely new things that she adores wearing and using.
Perhaps her wardrobe could be revisited during the year as the seasons change and she needs another wave of clothes!
Oh yes, I would love to see how she completes this wardrobe!
Vivienne: These are so my colors! Love this combo. Great for spring.
“In Chicago, we only need 1 outfit for Spring, and we wear it ONE AFTERNOON a year…”
Also in our part of Ontario! We often seem to go from winter coats to no coats in about a week.
Same is true here in southeast Michigan. At least we still have a decent autumn.
Thank you for choosing a Talbot’s scarf! I have quite a few of them. More affordable than the Mets’ !! I also enjoyed your comment about Chicago Spring. Almost that bad here in No. VA.
Is it me or do others see your light green as pale aqua? Love the colors together?
This is a beautiful palette!! I love it!! Hugs to the dear reader who is putting together this wardrobe. I’m sure your work after the natural disaster is far more consuming than just clothing. I hope assembling these items will offer you some sense of peace and order. Xox
Enjoyed reading this story and like the casual clothes you chose, especially the striped shirts. I never think of Orvis when shopping.
What a lovely wardrobe! Beautiful balance of navy crisp white with the accents.
My heart goes out to the reader that has experienced this loss. Whatever disaster struck, I am so sorry you had to deal with that. The only small positive is that you have the unique opportunity to begin your wardrobe from the ground up. No orphan garments, ghosts of past shopping sprees, etc to trip up your dressing now. I hope that Janice will revisit your wardrobe in the other seasons and maybe you would offer up your thoughts to share once all is assembled…via Janice, of course. I’m very interested in learning from other TVF readers experiences. Best wishes to your recovery from your disaster.
I agree with everything you stated. Well said.
Also glad to find out that “light blue radiance” is actually a mint green. I have been on the fence about purchasing a long sleeved tee from Lands End in this shade because I wasn’t sure if it was actually the green it appeared to be or blue.
I can’t say it any better than the others who have already expressed their support and best wishes for you.
Co-signed! Wishing you the best!
X2 these kind thoughts and virtual hugs. Kudos to TVF community!!
Cheers and blessings all!
Would love to see accessories for this!
I think I somewhat prefer to throwback capsule because of all the prints and the perfect floral graphic T (!!!), but this selection drawn from the Weekly Wardrobe is a very practical way to start over and makes sure you have your basics covered.
I find the optic dark navy and white very high contrast…which is fine, but feels a bit harsher in some way than the softer colors of the scarf. I would probably take that lighter blue color from the scarf and add/substitute some pieces in chambray to lower the contrast level somewhat. (I don’t wear white bottom pieces so that’s where I would start with it – switching in chambray/lighter denim for white pants and skirt.)
I would love to see some of the lighter pink from the initial color palette coming into play. Having two shades of pink to blend together into outfits would be a nice option. I guess it depends on where the heroine comes down on the optic/high contrast versus muted/blended continuum. The scarf is somewhere in the middle.
Seeing how it’s styled on the Talbots site was instructive for me. I liked it MUCH better with the seafoam green sweater than with the optic seafoam green/dark navy striped T. Those harsh stripes seem to overpower the scarf. It’s interesting because the scarf has that outlined-in-dark-color design (I don’t know what to call it but it’s like a watercolor where everything is outlined in black), which feels like it should lean toward the more optic end of things, but the thinness of the outlining and the overall low contrast of the floral print really gives it a softer appearance. I LOVE the striped top + floral scarf combination, but I have put items together that don’t work quite right to my eye because the floral print can’t hold its own against the stark stripes, so I’m sensitive to that particular issue.
I agree with others that I’d like to see this wardrobe accessorized. That would be a nice way to get everyone thinking about what are the practical basics we need and how do we prioritize past those basics.
My heart goes out to this reader/heroine!
I’m so sorry that one of us is having to go through such loss.
As the days, weeks, months come along, may you find peace and lightness in the load you carry from this experience. May you be able to gather those you love in your arms and smile. May you find shopping for new things not such a burden but a discovery of what’s new and able to join you now in this next chapter of life.
Thanks for doing this. I wrote to you three years ago after my house burned down (California wildfires) suggesting this idea as a topic. I don’t know if I’m your inspiration, but this is an issue lots of people will face as the climate turns on us. I will add one piece of advice from my experience: don’t buy something just because you need it now, now, now. Having a plan will help prevent some of those impulsive purchases that turn out not to be so good as time goes on. One other thing: I think “eek” is too mild a word to describe the loss of your entire wardrobe. A primal scream from depths of the gut would better express it.
Link for shirt dress not working (goes to shirt, not dress).
Thanks Danielle – I can NEVER see if links work incorrectly!
hugs,
Janice
The WTW is a great place to start building a wardrobe from scratch. I would also create a Common Core. There are lots of options to choose from. You can make good decisions about WHY you like something. Choosing the colours and styles that suit, favourite fabrics and textures, plain or patterned, and the little details that bring joy when you wear it.
It would be good to see how this develops over her 12 months.
For the reader who lost her entire wardrobe: I am do sorry. I do hope this process with Janice has brought you peace, and some joy from the lovely new items as well. I know recovery is a long process. My parents’ home, which I grew up in, burned down in a forest fire 22 yrs ago and I STILL occasionally miss certain things.
As for this wardrobe, great idea to start with WTW, and I love the color palette. The navy Blackthorn scarf from 3 yrs ago would be a perfect addition to this wardrobe, as would many of the selections and accessories in that one.