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Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Wardrobe based on 2 suits: Was Chanel right?

December 23, 2011   One of my favorite Chanel quotes is "One shouldn't spend all one's time dressing. All one needs are two or three suits, as long as they and everything to go with them, are perfect."   So I thought about how this quote applies to the wardrobes that I build - let's try on Chanel's advice!   First, two suits: one black, one taupe. Now, to me, a suit is a jacket, pants, a skirt AND a dress. (sometimes, nothing looks better than a dress and jacket). Yes, I'm taking the definitions very loosely...  

Next, you need the things that go with the 2 suits.  One twinset that matches a suit, and another twinset in an accent color.  One turtleneck that matches one of the suits, and a ... View the Post

A retail rebellion

I work in retail, and I'm quite grateful to have any job at all, right now.  But many of my fellow workers are being mistreated, and you can change that.

The day after Thanksgiving is, in the US, a big shopping day - one of the biggest of the year.  In a bizarre effort to increase the amount of shopping done on that day, retailers are opening their stores earlier and earlier each year.  Now, the final straw, Target stores are opening AT MIDNIGHT on Thanksgiving evening!

If you're an employee, do the math.  "I have to be in the store at 11 p.m., so I have to leave for work at 10:30 p.m... I'm going to work at least 9 hours, so I'll have to sleep before I go to work, so I realistically need to be in bed by... 2:00 ... View the Post

Extravagance = Economy: Rowenta Steamer

Back in the dark ages of my retail career, I worked for a very lovely women's store which had an absolute LAW about how things were done: no clothing hits the floor without being steamed first.  Given that the clothing was often shipped in boxes via FedEx, almost everything had at least a few major creases in it, and looked about a thousand times better after being steamed.

Fast forward to my real life, in which it seemed that we were frequently taking garments to the cleaners just because they were sort of rumpled - not necessarily because they were soiled and needed to be cleaned...

I did a bit of math (I'm a number geek; you may not have realized that), and I figured that over about 40 garments or so, we could PAY for one of ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe Starting with Art: Alfred Sisley

jacket – J. Crew, Cardigan – H&M, Tee – Topshop, Shirt – Topshop, skirt – Debenhams,  Blue pants – Acne, Jeans – Nordstrom, Scarf – Bajira              

 

Sweater – Champ, Trench – Farhri by Nicole Farhi, Coat – Diane von Furstenberg, dress – DAKS, jeans – Dorothy Perkins, Skirt – Hugo Boss, Sweater – John Lewis, Jacket – Old Navy  

     

 

Dress – Lela Rose, Cardigan – Paul Smith, Butterfly top – Dorothy Perkins, Striped top – Dorothy Perkins, Floral blouse – Rebecca Taylor, pants – A.P.C.,  green tee shirt - Madewell,  Striped top – Gryphon NY  

 

Glass ring – Forzieri, agate drop earrings ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe for a week in northern California

  Important note - read the comments below!  A very generous comment from a reader who lives in Napa gives us  some essential information about what to expect for weather this time of year.  Thanks for sharing!

Cardigan – United Bamboo, beige tee shirt – weekday.com, brown tee - Vince, dress – Givenchy, tee shirt trio - Swell, olive twill pants – Donna Karan, brown cords - Vince, scarf - Hermes  

Light olive cardigan – Jigsaw, olive sweater – Cruciani, silk tunic - SuperTrash,  skirt - Marni, khakis – Weekend by Maxmara, sweater – Joseph,  jacket - Barbour  

Brown stud earrings – Topshop, gold ball earrings – Nordstrom, stripes scarf – Kelly Wearstler, brown cross-body bag – ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Down on His Luck, by Frederick McCubbin

Jacket – Oscar de la Renta , Cardigan – Michael Kors, Blouse – L’Agence, Tee shirt – T by Alexander Wang  

Jeans – Acne, Skirt – Bottega Veneta, Cords – Current/Elliott, Scarf - Hermès   

Vanilla blouse – Vanessa Bruno, coat – Tibi, Dress – Diane von Furstenberg, coat – Alexander Wang  

Sweater – J. Crew, Pants– Burberry Prorsum, Skirt – Maje, Jacket – Michael Kors    

Dress – Maxmara , Sweater – Vanessa Bruno, Tee shirt – Zoe Tees, Short-sleeved blouse – Alberta Ferretti  

Sleeveless top – Steffen Schraut , Blouse – Gucci, Velvet pants - Gucci, Sweater – Calvin ... View the Post

Coup de Coeur

 

  Vivienne taught me years ago that it is essential to only buy things you really love - for which you experience that elusive "coup de coeur". This is a phrase I particularly love, because while it is generally understood to mean love at first sight, it has a more... physical?  feeling about it. After all, a coup de pied means a kick, and a coup d'etat means overthrowing the government, so to me, a coup de coeur is like a kick in the heart, or your heart being overturned. What we're looking for here is a really deeply felt, visceral reaction.

And this is something that I've struggled with for a long time. I've always been very influenced by other people's opinions about the right things to own and wear, and so ... View the Post

Easy as…. biscuits?

 

I firmly believe that at least once every late spring/early summer, dinner should consist of nothing but strawberry shortcake!  It's not nutritionally balanced, but it's not the worst thing you could have for a meal, and everybody needs to take some time out once a year and truly savor strawberries.  As William Allan Butler reminds us "doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did."

   

    If you really want to look like a cooking genius with very little effort, make homemade biscuits to use as shortcakes.  Biscuits are truly one of the easiest foods in the world, if you have the essential tool (show above): a pastry blender (or cutter).  Sure, you could ... View the Post

A coat that I admired…

 

  Getting off of the train on my way to visit relatives, I started chatting with a woman wearing the above jacket.  Her outfit was very simple, black pants and a classic handbag, and the jacket made her look - simple and elegant.  I've not had another rain jacket in my shopping plan, but this sighting of sleek chicness has me thinking...

love, Janice ... View the Post