navy Archives - Page 15 of 41

Winter Travel: Knitting a Stocking by Sir Francis Grant

February 13, 2019

She's thoroughly high-tech... She sells software. In her dreams, this might be her life:

But right now, she doesn't sit by the fire all that often! Still, she was smitten with this image, and thus it became the inspiration for her wardrobe palette:

Yes, five colors in a wardrobe might be difficult. But one of the qualities that our heroine most loves about herself is her ability to make things that everyone believes to be complicated into simple, straightforward projects...

Yes, she loves the poncho over her cardigan - she doesn't live in an area with horrible winter weather... It gives her a lovely layered look that seems complicated, but really isn't all that...

For a woman who ... View the Post

Packing for a Spring Cruise, with some Inspiration from Caillebotte

February 4, 2019

Lots of you go on cruises! And right now, my mail box reflects that; anticipation is running wild in at least a few minds right now...

So how about a spring cruise in Italy and the near islands? The temperatures might reach into the 70s Fahrenheit, and evenings will be in the 60s. Right now, that sounds SO appealing!

I picked this painting to inspire us, although it is from a French artist, and has nothing to do with cruises... but it's lovely, and I find this woman getting dressed feels very... hmmm... romantic and evocative to me.

And yes, I suspect that her skirt is indeed black, but this wardrobe is built around navy, so I'm fudging that a bit. You could certainly use black here, or a wide range of shades of ... View the Post

February 2019 -12 Months, 12 Outfits – based on 6 Hermes Scarves

February 1, 2019

First things first: after much consideration, I'm going to continue to use the Appaloosa des Steppes scarf, even though the design elements in the scarf are indeed from Kyrgyz rugs. I contacted the Kyrgyzstan embassy to ask if they were concerned or offended by this, and never received a response. After I read the Hermes website description of the design, I felt that they were using the images respectfully. I can't swear to this, but unless I get better information, I'm going to carry on. (to catch up on this conversation, check the comments on last month's installment of this series)

But don't ever hesitate to contact me about things like this; I will always take your concerns very seriously, and try to respond ... View the Post

Traveling with a Group – Keeping Your Luggage Small when Your Gang is Large!

January 23, 2019

I heard from her last week - she and TWELVE of her friends are traveling to England and Scotland in September! Twelve... oh my...

They share an interest - somewhat of a hobby, a little bit of an obsession. It doesn't matter if it's growing a particular flower, or baking a specific delicacy, or delving into the history of a certain historic figure. They've all decided that they want to travel together! I admire and respect this in so many ways...

But everybody is going to have to come to an agreement about not packing stacks of luggage. It's a sure way to slow things down appallingly, run the risk of losing things, and over-crowding hotel rooms.

Thus, there has to be an understanding among these women, which (in ... View the Post

How to Dress and Pack when Traveling from Cold Weather to Warm Weather

January 18, 2019

Someone asks me this question almost every week in the Northern Hemisphere winter - how do I dress when I know it's going to be warm when I get off the plane?

I do this often - I spend quite a bit of time in Florida! My system is to layer 3 tops (what I call the Triple Top Secret...), and then peel off layers when I'm on the ground in my warm destination.

My other trick is to leave room in my carry-on bag for my shoes and socks, and I carry my sandals with me - that's a change I make right away! I also make certain that I can fit my cardigan and long-sleeved shirt in my carry-on, so that I can just wear a tee shirt, pants and sandals for the rest of my travel day. So far, this is working well...

I thought that I ... View the Post

Winter Travel: Madame Leon Clapisson by Renoir

January 14, 2019

Oh my... She sings in the opera. Not one of the stars, but she works all the time, and enjoys it immensely!

Even though she's not the primary singer, she's still a bit of a diva; she identifies quite a bit with the woman in the painting:

So when she purchases her clothes, she uses this color scheme - enough neutral colors that she can find what she needs, but with lovely soft accent colors that appeal to her feminine side:

Her opera company is travelling to give a few performances in another city. She will be spending most of her time rehearsing or performing, but she will have a bit of time to sight-see, shop, and dine.

She's quite dressy...

She realizes that packing only dresses and cardigans ... View the Post

Can You Dress the Way You Decorate? A Tote Bag Travel Wardrobe based on William Morris fabric

June 8, 2018

It's a good question... Maybe you're not inspired by a painting, or a scarf, but you're really happy with the way that you've decorated your home. Could that be the basis upon which you build your wardrobe?

Heck yes! It's particularly easy if you have your key colors chosen, and if you have a few keywords that you use to describe your "home style."

For example: maybe this is the wallpaper in your bedroom? Or curtains in your dining area?

For many of us, summer is for traveling to graduations, and weddings, and anniversary parties etc. etc. Usually these trips are only for a long weekend, so there's no need to pack everything you own; you should be able to manage with just a tote bag...

You can ... View the Post

Wear a Uniform and Simplify your Summer Wardrobe – Using Navy as Your Neutral

May 25, 2018

I wanted to share one final experiment into uniforms for warm weather. You don't necessarily have to dress like this every day (although you're sort of losing the whole "ease of a uniform" idea if you don't wear it... uniformly...). Still, if you have these pieces in your closet, you're never going to really be stuck finding something to wear... Unless you're going to something really outside of your normal activities, your "uniform" capsule should be perfectly chosen to help you get dressed in a flash for the activities that take up most of your time.

So let's visit some navy! What's nicer than a bit of navy for warm weather?

(a note about matching navy garments... when I was in Ireland last month, I saw LOTS of men ... View the Post

How to Pack Just Enough Accessories

March 26, 2018 So, while Friday's travel capsule wardrobe looked pretty good, it's really not complete! Without at least shoes (and maybe a bag) you're not probably going very far... (and yes, some people don't ever wear shoes; there are ALWAYS exceptions...)

Let's do some planning, before we add accessories to that wardrobe - first, by remembering and building on our color palette.

It's worth considering if these colors will give you sufficient guidance for your choice of accessories. I like to - at a minimum - add a metal color, so that I don't just willy-nilly toss all of my jewelry into my bag! You might want to also be certain that you've got a dark neutral that's going to work for things like shoes ... View the Post

I Want to Pack ALL of my Clothes!

March 23, 2018

All of my clothes are lovely - why can't I take EVERYTHING with me on vacation?Well... of course this isn't going to work, but it's a legitimate question that I think about every time I'm going out of town - if I take everything that I own that I really love, I'm just going to end up moving away. (don't tempt me - I LOVE to move...)But let's be adults about this for a few minutes; choices are hard, but must be made. Let's walk through an example to see 1 way to make these decisions rational, if not any easier!

Start with the spring into summer wardrobe:

The first thing you want to do is get EVERYTHING out in front of you, or at least on a list. Visibility is really key to see where redundancies ... View the Post

Lovet Green! A Great French 5-Piece Wardrobe, with navy and white

March 9, 2018 I haven't a clue what a lovet is... any ideas? But when I saw this color I knew that we had to look at it a bit - it really calls out to me...

So if you're starting out with this lovely, and very versatile, classic wardrobe for spring... (which we saw last Friday...)

Without adding any accents at all, you're already pretty well-equipped for most of the occasions that you might encounter during the spring (or on a lovely spring break vacation!).

But adding on the green accents gives you some lovely possibilities.... And this is the kind of accent color that would be equally beautiful and useful in the autumn - always a ... View the Post

A French 5-Piece Wardrobe in Ultra Violet

March 2, 2018

I can't explain it, but I'm really fascinated by (bordering on obsessed with) navy and ultra violet together... I don't own a STITCH of navy clothing - I haven't since the late 80s - and I'm not about to start buying it now! But I just find it beautiful and... gratifying... in a way that I can't explain.

How about another 90% Eileen Fisher dream wardrobe, this time in navy? I could NOT find a good photo of a skirt in her navy - which she calls midnight - so I grabbed one from Lands' End. Remember that different fabrics don't have to be "dye-lot" matched to be worn together. They should look like they're from the same family, but not necessarily like they're identical twins!

As should always be the case with a ... View the Post