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Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Packing for a Long Trip – with only Skirts!

July 23, 2021

I've been asked for wardrobes including only skirts for a while now... So when a question was sent to me about packing for a three month visit to Poland, using only skirts, I figured it was time to address this!

A long trip can be daunting - about 20 years ago, I traveled for work for six weeks, on a trip that included six countries, and temperatures from shirt-sleeve warm to light snow!

This is what I packed:

My clothes were mostly from Eileen Fisher, and by the time I got back to Chicago I was SO SICK of every stitch of them!

But I was traveling alone, with a gigantic laptop, and so this was how I carried all of my clothes:

I was lucky - as soon as I got to a new city, I sent at least 1 outfit of ... View the Post

Perfect 10 Packing? Start with Art: Untitled (Acrylic #1) by Ed Clark

January 29, 2021

I've been thinking a lot about 10 garments in a Travel Capsule Wardrobe, like in the ones that I'm positing for the heroines who are managing wardrobes in 2 homes...

And I thought that maybe it was worth revisiting the Perfect 10 template that is one of my personal favorites!

Calm is still in short supply, so let's look at more calming art, eh?

Such lovely colors, and such a relaxed and stable feeling to this...

So let's imagine a heroine who has to make a 3 or 4 day trip - fairly often - but never with any sort of advanced notice. A morning phone call could mean "out the door and on the road" by lunch-time...

Thus, she keeps some things ready for this adventure, starting with a travel outfit ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe – Start with Art: White Peacock & Blue Delphinium by Jessie Arms Botke

September 21, 2020

I found this painting last week when my arms were killing me - I thought I'd find some whimsical painting that had lots of ARMS in it...

But this artist's middle name came up in my search!

What good luck is that? I'm Wearing White ALL Weekend...

The possible color combinations are many - I could easily have looked at that intense green at the top, or the deep brown of the branch...

But this particular heroine is being rebelliously dressy, so this is her palette:

They're all driving in from all around the region for the 100th anniversary of the Aviary. Her great-grandparents founded it, and it's still going strong!

There won't be any big festivities - just a special weekend for visitors, and a ... View the Post

Start with Art: Expanding on a Wardrobe based on Ophelia Among the Flowers by Odilon Redon

September 14, 2020 Well, THIS is Interesting.... She went to Cambridge, met with the lead actors, sat with them through a read-through of the entirety of Hamlet. It was great fun - she loved the people and the setting and their whole approach.

She thought it was finished when she got back in her car and left Cambridge...

Remember, this is the painting that she's using as her inspiration:

When she packed for her initial visit, it wasn't too tough; wear 1 3-piece outfit, pack 2 more 3-piece outfits that go with each other, as well as what you wear while traveling. In theory, you could have as many as 36 outfits...

WELL... The director has an ill family member, and now must quarantine. And now our heroine has been invited ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – Voyage to Amsterdam by Fierce Lynx Designs

August 28, 2020

I think that I might be posting on my old "Monday, Wednesday, Friday" schedule for a bit; it's all going to depend on my energy levels!

But let's talk about pretty things, eh? One of you requested a wardrobe based on this most wonderful bracelet...

I would LOVE to be able to capture that soft, misty blue in garments, but it's not exactly common! So we're going to enjoy the cheer and beauty of what we CAN find, right?

Yes, We Will Take the Ferry... And drive the rest of the way to Amsterdam. He has so much stuff to move out of his dorm room that we will want our car as well as his...

It feels like they JUST moved him INTO the dorm... but things change, especially this year!

It's not going to take ... View the Post

Start with Art: Revisiting Arlequin et Femme au Collier by Picasso

August 13, 2020 I Need to do WHAT??? Yes, she's missed 6 months in the office (although she has worked EVERY DAY...) and now she has to sit for a re-certification...

It takes 3 days. Away from home. In a hotel.

After being locked up with her entire family for half a year, she's really excited! The whole test thing isn't fun, but being able to eat room service and lounge around alone in the evenings has a certain appeal...

She starts with her favorite "travel inspiration" painting:

She knows that she could just wear sweatpants the entire time, but she actually feels more awake and more businesslike if she dresses a bit nicer than that. And she doesn't want to have to do much thinking about what she will wear! This is her ... View the Post

Strategically Expanding a Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – Blue Major Elle by Marijah Bac Cam

July 22, 2020

Well THAT went well... Yesterday, our heroine was caught off guard when she realized that she needed to pack and leave for the weekend in 5 minutes!

She managed, using this painting as her color inspiration; she felt that the swirling and diffusion in this painting accurately represented the state of her brain:

The photographer and crew from the famous food magazine LOVED her sister-in-law's B&B. They loved it SO MUCH that they're going to come back in a few days, and film a half-hour video about them for their You Tube channel.

Panic ensues. And our heroine and her partner and enlisted to come stay at the B&B for... well, for the foreseeable future!

They're both leaving everything that they packed ... View the Post

Start with Art: Blue Major Elle by Marijah Bac Cam

July 20, 2020

She's been confused for a few weeks; nothing medical, or really an issue, but the inside of her head often feels like this:

Although it feels like chaos, at least it has a nice tidy color palette, which could easily be all neutrals!

Are You Ready to Go? "What???? Go where???" She just got off of a conference call with the rest of her department, when her sweetheart came by their guest bedroom to check on her...

"You forgot? We're going to my sister's B&B for the weekend." They're going to be photographing for a magazine spread all day Saturday, and they were invited to help, and to eat all of the food...

"We need to leave in about 5 minutes if we're going to beat the traffic...."

Dear oh dear... ... View the Post

How to Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet – July 2020

July 17, 2020

This bracelet just screams sun and sea...

 

They keep inviting her to come up to their house for the weekend - there's enough room for her to have a bedroom/bathroom all to herself...

She's welcome to eat at a distance, too. Basically, they want to give her a safe break!

Sigh.... she can rent a car and drive up, rather than take the shuttle bus. Maybe this will work?

She thinks about what to pack - not much, for sure!

Her summer palette is bright, cheerful, and quintessentially summery:

She knows that it gets cool up there in the evenings, and she's going to need a sweater when she gets on the ferry...

She doesn't really plan to swim; she just wants to walk on the rocky beaches. ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a “Two Mood” Travel Capsule Wardrobe

July 10, 2020

Yesterday, our heroine was getting ready to head to the lake, with a packet of relatives, for the rest of the summer!

For her packing inspiration, she started with this painting:

She has her clothes all ready to go!

 

 

 

But she doesn't have... well... shoes? earrings? a bag or two?

Let's do this!

She really likes her square earrings because they're called Lily Pad earrings! Although she's never seen a square lily pad...

She knows that she needs rubber flip flops - her feet will be wet fairly often! And sunglasses - you ALWAYS need sunglasses...

Next, she grabs her sunhat, and her Keds. Even if the Keds get wet, they'll be fine within a day... And even though ... View the Post

Expanding a Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Shopping with the Countess de Martel!

July 3, 2020

Okay, she's no longer living; for our purposes, our heroine is a fictional character who looks a lot like her...

When we left our heroine, stocking her pantry in Paris with the essentials, she was traveling with this wardrobe:

 

She has just learned that she's going to have to stay in Paris for at LEAST 2 weeks longer than she expected! (let's not get into the details of why - it's fiction, and a fantasy!)

She certainly could stay with just the 8 garments she has - a little bit of well-timed laundry would be really all she would need to manage. But since she's going to be staying there regularly in the future, she decides that she will very carefully buy more clothes...

Even though she can't ... View the Post

How to Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Bracelet – June 2020

July 2, 2020

Yes, it's July, but we never got around to the beautiful June bracelet!

In all fairness, our beautiful jewelry designer is having to deal with getting stones and beads delivered, which isn't uncomplicated under our current circumstances. We can easily forgive things, these days...

The Moon Will be Full... And that's all she really needs to be motivated to go to the cabin for the weekend!

She's going to be dressed and in the car anyway because she has a doctor's appointment. Some things do NOT wait for the lockdown to end...

Nobody else much wants to come with her - even at the cabin, they have to be careful about not socializing closely with the other people who live around the lake. THAT means that ... View the Post