Georgia O'Keeffe - The Red Maple at Lake George Archives

November 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Second Painting, by Georgia O’Keeffe

November 4, 2024

I think I'm going to do a post each day this week, and finish the six paintings for the month of November. It seems to me that any kind of distraction might come in handy right now...

Ah, this most exuberant of heroines! Not just anybody could pull off a wardrobe in only three colors, when one of them is RED. But it's possible. There are lots of women, and lots of wardrobes...

This wardrobe feels pretty complete to me - when you remember that you can only wear one outfit at a time (at least in theory!), own this much clothing feels pretty complete...

In all fairness, if this was my wardrobe, I'd need a few more summer dresses! But still, I don't think I'd ever really struggle to get dressed...

I ... View the Post

October 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 1

October 2, 2024

Let's check in with what the "Start With Art" heroines have been buying!

This month, we're starting with this heroine and this painting. The more I look at this painting, the more I appreciate it - especially the essential touches of black in a painting that is mostly warm colors. Sometimes, you just want to have some black in your closet...

First up - let's look at her wardrobe as of the end of September. I've divided these into two images, so that we can actually SEE the garments:

Hmm... no dresses, no skirts. That's this heroine's preference, and I can support this! I have a couple of friends who may have legs, but I've never seen them, so I'm only assuming this is true...

And now her accessories - ... View the Post

September 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 2

September 6, 2024

Sorry about that unexpected day off on Wednesday; I've discovered that grief and fibromyalgia is a potent, and quite miserable, combination!

Let's get to more fun things - planning wardrobes, especially with fall coming! Here in Chicago, we're supposed to have at least a few cool days this week, which is quite early for us; I generally don't expect to wear fall clothes until October, these days...

How seasonal is this next painting?

When I sorted this wardrobe by color, I separated the charcoal grey from the lighter greys - that gives us the numeric illusion that this wardrobe is dominated by red! In fact, it's still pretty close - there's a LOT of red in this wardrobe. But that's what the heroine intended, ... View the Post

August 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 1

August 2, 2024

I'm back... I may need to take more time off, but right now, I find work - and thinking of all of you - to be rather comforting!

Let's start with my favorite? Well, my favorite right this moment...

This heroine has been, frankly, sort of fast and loose about her wardrobe. Oh, she's been disciplined enough with her color palette, and she's found some amazing things to include... But she's discovered that she's ill-equipped for a serious event that strongly suggests a sober dress or skirt outfit.

Here's what she has so far:

She so loved her print dress from last month that she thought she'd start this month's shopping with the same dress, but in black! (this is always a good idea) The addition of a ... View the Post

July 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 2

July 3, 2024

Let's drop in on our other three heroines... First up, my second-favorite wardrobe, maybe....

Ah, there was a day when I would have worn the daylights out of this wardrobe:

And the accessories... sigh...

For no good reason that she can identify, this heroine found herself (1) wanting some grey, calm, almost inconspicuous clothing, and (2) wanted to grab some of the good winter things now that it's JULY and they're starting to arrive in stores...

seriously, if there's something for which you particularly hanker for the winter, start looking soon...

L.L.Bean is where she found herself, and this is what she chose:

How can you resist a scarf that reminds you of your favorite painting?

Her new ... View the Post

June 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 1

June 3, 2024

Time to visit our six heroines and see what intelligent, well-considered wardrobe additions they make this month!

knowing full well that these wardrobes could be expanded in ways that defy logic...

This painting doesn't grow old:

At the end of May, our heroine had 24 garments in this capsule wardrobe - LOTS of red:

And her accessories were just right for her - I will always believe that you can tell much more about a woman from her accessories rather than just her clothes!

Our heroine only has one dress - the classic grey one - and she feels like she wants something for summer. It wasn't a big leap to decide that a two-piece camp shirt and skirt was perfect:

Filling in her clothing purchases ... View the Post

Part 1 – Do You Need Accents? Or Neutrals? 6 Paintings, 12 Months April 2024

April 3, 2024

Back again with one of my favorite posts of each month! Our heroines diverge this month on what they want/need in their wardrobes, which is to be expected. Many of us can share the same core of classic garments, but we're still going to assemble our very personal wardrobes in a specific order...

Our first heroine feels like she needs to add some navy and white to her wardrobe. As we enter April, with 16 garments, only 37.5% of her clothes are her accent color - that might not be a troubling ration for many of us. But she's ready for more neutrals!

Let's pause for just a second to enjoy her favorite painting:

This is her wardrobe at the end of March; yes, there's certainly quite a lot of bright blue ... View the Post

Dressy Weekend? Start with a Scarf – The Raven Garden of Happiness by June Hunter

March 22, 2024

It's a dressy weekend - the weather will probably be warm... but there is always a chance of a cool snap!

But how to be dressy without bringing everything you own? Well, a tight color palette and planning ahead is always the way to go.

And how about starting with black and pretty accents?

Before you go down this path, you want to be ABSOLUTELY certain that wearing black isn't a problem. This wardrobe is actually designed for someone who's a prominent figure in a wedding, at which the bridesmaids will be wearing black dresses; I think she's okay with this!

She's wearing a very "normal" travel outfit - closed-toe shoes, and a cardigan for the inevitable freezing air conditioning... but she's rocking ... View the Post

March 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 2

March 4, 2024

First three paintings can be found here...

Let's visit our other 3 heroines, and their paintings! It's funny how much I love these paintings when I come back to them after almost a month...

At the end of February, our heroine had a cheerful and very practical 12-piece travel capsule wardrobe:

I fully expected to be adding white to this wardrobe at this point, but then I stumbled onto some lovely light grey, and decided it was wise to grab it! Gray in the summer can be really difficult to find, so avail yourself of it when it's around.

Her wardrobe now looks more like she wants to include a range of shades of grey - up until now, she's been pretty dedicated to charcoal... And the red is ... View the Post

February 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Part 2

February 5, 2024

Three more heroines, working on three VERY different wardrobes! It's worth considering - these people wear relatively similar styles of garments - classic jeans and pants, traditional tee shirts, shirts and sweaters. But because of their choices of color, their wardrobes end up looking so different that the similar styles aren't a "thing."

Timeless, but individual. A reasonable goal...

The most notable thing (to me!) about this wardrobe is the presence of both bright and muted pastel accent colors. Therefore, this heroine could dress in uninterrupted shades of beige, or shades of beige with a pastel accent, OR beige with a bright accent. That covers a pretty wide range of moods and occasions!

Coming into ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Red Maple at Lake George by Georgia O’Keeffe

July 11, 2022

The Best Laid Plans... She was planning to spend the autumn photographing leaves, and hiking, and enjoying the brisk air...

But instead, she's going to be touring with a political candidate whom she supports. It's a long story!

She doesn't want to pack much; she frankly doesn't want to think about clothing at all once she closes her suitcase. She's going to have quite enough on her mind!

So she's thinking that she will have room to pack 10 garments in her medium suitcase... Maybe a "Whatever's Clean 13" Wardrobe is what she needs, eh?

Realistically, she might be able to stop at home from time to time, but she wants to be as self-sufficient as possible when they're driving from small town to ... View the Post