Start a Capsule Wardrobe With Archives - Page 35 of 129

Start with a Scarf: Sunflowers by PJ Studio Accessories

March 4, 2022

Those of you looking for a bright yellow and blue sunflower scarf to wear as a visible sign of your support of Ukraine - get thee to Etsy.com and search - they have TONS of them. But make sure that you're looking at vendors based in your home country - specify in the filters where you want your items to be located!

Love, Janice A Small Gesture...

She would be a lot more comfortable staying home to watch the news, but she really needs to go on this little trip...

So she grabs her Sunflower scarf to get her started with her packing. It doesn't really look like what one expects from a sunflower - nothing big and bright gold.

But it's the thought that counts...

She's been pretty ... View the Post

March 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

March 2, 2022

It's pretending to be spring here in Chicago! Not quite tee shirt weather, but close...

I looked at the 10-piece wardrobes that we had on hand at the end of February, and concluded that what was most needed right now are tops - specifically, a cardigan and 2 tee shirts...

I think I will be adding neutral tee shirts to all of these wardrobes... and maybe a fun accent tee shirt. And I know that we've seen this cardigan before, but it's a tough one to resist!

This wardrobe now has a lot more options...

If you're a fan of the Queen of England, take a close look at this scarf; it's a tribute to her 70th anniversary. (no political observations, please!)

Some of this heroine's new ... View the Post

February 2022 Start with a Bracelet: The Tranquil Lynx Bracelets

February 23, 2022

She's been frazzled for a long time...

So when she saw a special offer to stay at her VERY favorite ocean-front hotel for a long weekend, she was tempted... Oh so tempted...

Grey and white sands, water in every shade imaginable, and hints of blush and orange in the sunrise...

yes, there are some pink quartz beads here!

She has, frankly, no idea what the weather will be, and furthermore, she doesn't much care! She doesn't really want to walk in the sand, or (heaven forbid) frolic in the surf. It IS still only February...

But her best understanding of the forecast is that the weather will be quite warm enough to sit out on the deck with a book, sunglasses on, knees exposed to the light! Not that ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Louis C. Tiffany Peonies Neckerchief

February 4, 2022

After I showed you this neckerchief last Monday, the 31st, more than a few of you asked me to expand upon it's lovely colors...

I have just the heroine for this color palette! Mature Plant Salvage Nobody really understands what her landscaping company does, until they really need her help!

Like the University that added a number of classroom/research buildings to their campus ALL AT ONCE, and now have a bare eyesore of land, interspersed with lovely structures...

"It will be beautiful in 100 years, when everything grows up around it and softens the edges..."

Well, that's NOT what she sees! She sees places to put trees that she saved from a condo development site on the north side. Corners of ... View the Post

February 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

February 2, 2022

Back to our favorite scarves!

I'm changing up the order of these scarves each month, just to get a fresh look at things...

When we left this heroine back at the first of the year, she had a tidy 7-piece capsule wardrobe that would be great for a short trip, or for having to go into the office once a week:

So what does a heroine need in February? For me, a bit of an accent color would be handy, and something to wear during that 2-day "faux spring" that we always see, when the weather is up above 15, and the sidewalks are dry!

While I might still want a sweater, my ankles want me to wear cropped pants!

And I am always a firm believer that most of us can get a lot of wear from a good, comfortable pair ... View the Post

21 Garments for 21 Days – Starting with 2 Scarves!

January 28, 2022

I don't know where the specific number - 21 - came from; if someone can point me in the right direction, I will be thrilled to credit the inventer!

But I also want to pause for a moment to consider the real intent behind all of the various "# Garments for # Days" wardrobes that are in circulation.

To me, the whole point of these is to provide a clear structure in which - for a specific period of time - you can test-drive what it feels like to have a clearly delimited, reasonably small wardrobe.

It started - in a big way - with Project 333. 33 items total (with a handful of caveats) for 3 months. Lots of people who have tried this have come to realize that they don't need to have a huge wardrobe, and that a ... View the Post

January 2022 Start with a Bracelet: The Awakened Lynx Bracelets

January 21, 2022

Heirloom Fruits She's been trying for years to bring older species of citrus fruit trees back into production. They're beautiful, taste wonderful, and she loves them... Her work as a horticulturist gives her the perfect opportunity to introduce growers to them...

She worked at this for years as a sort of side theme to her normal work. Just when she thought it wasn't worth the effort, it became apparent that these trees are MUCH better suited to droughts and super-hot weather spells.

And now, she's being recognized, at the annual National Horticulturists Convention!

Now that she's FINALLY getting to pack and make a trip, she realizes that she has been dressing with accents of lime and orange (as ... View the Post

A Travel Capsule Wardrobe in 3 Moods; Start with Art: Composition by Mainie Jellett

January 14, 2022

Curtain Call Her latest major work - a 3-movement symphony - is debuting this weekend, at the gala opening of THAT orchestra...

For years, these have been her colors, and her inspiration for clothing:

Mood #1 - Nervous, to the point of feeling "green around the gills" She's taking the train, and then will have a handful of interviews; it's not every day that a work by a woman composer is the finale of the Grand Gala!

note: this green turtleneck comes in 9 other colors...

Mood #3: Peachy-keen, after the concert! Once it's all over, she will be just fine! Since she gone to the trouble of making the trip, she's going to stay at least the entire next day, and possible into a 2nd day...

Her regular ... View the Post

January 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

January 5, 2022

Let's GO!!!

First up is black...

Last week we started with 5 essential garments (well, essential for most of us!):

As soon as I saw this "rust red" - I know that this was where I wanted to start! To me, this color is very close to the color of warmly brown leather... maybe brown earrings would have made sense here but I didn't see any that impressed me, so I opted for these timeless black ones!

These 6 additions to the original 5 garments give you something that can legitimately be called a wardrobe! It's not huge, but for a long weekend, this would serve you well:

You've now got at least a few outfits...

Next is our soft, warmly-colored wardrobe:

Since I couldn't find 5 beige ... View the Post

Start with Art: Lucinda by Sofia Bonati

December 31, 2021 An Expert in Medieval Flower Illustrations...

You know, those flowers that appear in the ornamented capital letters at the beginning of a manuscript chapter?

Or in the dividers between sections of a breviary, or other sacred document?

She knows why that particular flower was chosen, and what it means!

It's a niche bit of study, and she is the acknowledged master of it!

From the time she chose her thesis topic (a few years ago, to be honest!), she realized that her wardrobe made a great deal of sense if it was the black of print, the ivory of old paper, and the shades of rose and lavender that are the colors of most of the flowers. If they were colored, of course!

So when she travels to ... View the Post

The 2022 Scarves!

December 24, 2021

Finally! I have looked at more scarves than one might even realize EXISTED in the world... and I have made my choices!

This year, our scarves are rectangles. After spending years looking at square scarves, this is going to be an interesting change. I know that I've heard from many of you that you prefer rectangles, and find them easier to wear; I hope that these appeal to you!

Also, these are NOT silk scarves - many are silk and wool, or silk and modal. I have scarves in both of these blends, and I find them both very wearable. Don't let the wool dissuade you from considering a scarf for warm weather; it's not big, hairy, bushy, tweedy overwhelming wool...

Here we go:

This year, we are going to wear ... View the Post

December 2021 Start with a Bracelet: The Resourceful Lynx Bracelets

December 22, 2021

THESE are so lovely:

And these bracelets have given our heroine the perfect inspiration for her upcoming travel:

Probably Gone for Months... They tell her. She's going to visit at least a dozen cities, and depending on who wants to meet with her, she could stay for almost a week in each city! Oh my...

And she really won't have time, nor inclination, to think about getting dressed! Further, she's hopeful that the publicity photographs from this tour will reflect an image of her as consistent, serious, but not grumpy...

So she built herself a uniform! A navy column, five sweaters, and she's ready to go!

The tank tops, tee shirts, and turtlenecks will all pack into 1 packing "sleeve." They go ... View the Post