Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
April 18, 2014
I'm always intrigued by how many outfits you can pull together from a well-chosen capsule wardrobe, so after I built yesterday's ensemble, I started pulling together outfits, just out of curiosity...Remember, these were the 24 garments with which I started:
There are almost certainly more possibilities here; I threw in the towel after I passed twelve dozen...
love, Janice ... View the Post
April 17, 2014 Another visit to this concept, keeping the beige linen (I'm SO lazy...) and using navy as our other neutral. I'm going to try to explain the steps for choosing these items in more detail, so that you can recreate what I do in your own closet.
Also, I want to address the question of having multiple pairs of dark neutral pants. Often, we're told that "you shouldn't own three pair of navy pants", but I heartily disagree, because of the wide variety of navy pants that you might own. In this particular example, I've included very narrow navy capris in a cotton fabric, a wide-legged trouser (full-length), and a silk-like palazzo pant. My feeling is that these three pants give three very different outfits when ... View the Post
April 15, 2014 Now that it's snowed in Chicago, it feels strange to post the very warm-weather outfits that I saw over the weekend. But spring WILL arrive - it always has... This dress was amazingly attractive; while I don't in any way need more clothes, this would really tempt me!
The girl wearing these pants looked fabulous. I think her legs were 4 feet long...
The tunic in the 2nd outfit was WAAAAY cuter in person than the photograph really conveys, and it looked tremendously comfortable too.
love, Janice ... View the Post
April 14, 2014 We've only had a few days of warm weather (and it might snow tonight!), but I saw a ton of striped tops over this weekend, styled in all sorts of different ways...
love, Janice ... View the Post
March 28, 2014
Everybody's eager to start packing for warm weather destinations, and I'm often asked for specific color combinations - especially those with navy. One of my most loyal readers asked me for navy, white and coral a while back, and I'm delighted to be able to finally fill her request.
The travel outfit is, as always, very uncomplicated. Long pants, shoes with closed toes and heels, a cardigan, and a scarf are all essentials that I include.
If you're only going away for a long weekend, a six-pack will do. Working with your three colors, you can choose six garments, a scarf and some accessories...
And you have all of these options to ... View the Post
Ahhh, by the time you're reading this post, I'm in Paris celebrating our 10th anniversary with my most Belovedest. I frankly wasn't convinced that marriage was right for me (yes, I had tried it before, and I was not very good at it....). This, however, has been the most uniformly delightful 10 years of my life, and pretty much more than any woman could hope to deserve. This ensemble seemed perfect to revive for today, because I was married in a soft violet outfit (wisteria, to quote Eileen Fisher on the color). This would be delightful for a second honeymoon...The original post can be found on A Femme d'un Certain Age, where various combinations are shown.
Navy cotton cardigan ... View the Post
This was the A Femme d'un Certain Age on April 16th 2012, so the garments probably are no longer available. (but I'm pretty sure you can still customize a Longchamp tote on their website) This is a big year for green and navy - I saw it everywhere in department stores in Chicago - so this look could be easily replicated if you fall in love.
sunglasses – Paul Smith, navy and green clutch – Marc by Marc Jacobs, navy striped top – Closed, navy stone hoop earrings & navy flower earrings – Kate Spade, white short-sleeved button-front top – Kookai, wrap dress - DVF, navy silk tee Studio Nicholson, navy cardigan – John Smedley, navy capris – Weekend by Maxmara, flowered silk ... View the Post
February 19, 2014
What a gorgeous painting! And the colors are so perfect for warm weather... (of which I dream right now, as I watch the white-out snow storm outside my window...)
A few of you have expressed a concern about wearing light colors below the waist, and so for this wardrobe I'm going to avoid that. Also, I've been asked to include a maxi skirt in capsule wardrobes, so today I've found one!
A dark core of four - useful for most of the year, and an essential base upon which we're going to build this plan. Navy is so perfect for warm weather; if you're concerned about the colors matching, plan to buy all four items at once, and maybe from the same place.
Yes, this is the second grouping of four green garments ... View the Post
February 13, 2014 I've been thinking a lot about how to plan a wardrobe that gives you options for a wide variety of accent colors. There are other way to go about this, and I'm going to figure them out, but my very first thought was the following. Here's what your summer wardrobe will look like, after we've worked out way through the steps.
Assuming that you're going to be carrying over a few garments from your cold weather wardrobe, I've pulled together this core of four in grey. I'm also including neutral footwear - canvas sneakers, and a simple pair of suede loafers.
As much as I know that the point of this is to introduce lots of accents, I think it's pretty important that we ... View the Post
February 8, 2014 Ooh, it's nice to dream of summer clothes and warmer destinations! Some of you are headed out with family for vacations that suggest shorts, capris, and flowing summer skirts and dresses, and the colors navy and pink are ALWAYS requested! So here's a plan that starts with a long weekend, and then adds key garments if your trip is longer than that. Always, for travel, I will recommend long pants, real shoes with toes and heels, and a cardigan - I always find airplanes are cold... This outfit has the added benefit of giving you two core garments in navy around which you can work throughout your vacation.
A couple of pretty skirts, a pair of shorts, a dress (that will ... View the Post
February 7, 2014 Many people ask me about what to do with their interview suit after they've interviewed... so I'm going to show a week of work attire that uses your suit as separates. Just as the daily crossword puzzles become more difficult during the week, these outfits become progressive more casual... Two notes: (1) I'm working with a palette of navy, grey, beige, pink and white. (2) I'm going to show the same shoes repeatedly, just to emphasize the utility of a few pair of good shoes, rather than my usual unique shoes for each outfit. Monday is our dressiest option - use your suit jacket over a contrasting dress, or use your skirt as a base for a tweed jacket and silk ... View the Post
February 1, 2014 One of the best questions I've ever received... One of my friends really loves this plate, and wondered if it would be a good basis upon which to choose clothes. Heck, if you can use a painting, you can surely use a beautiful piece of pottery... Look for beautiful shades of blue and green, with beautiful soft white (or brown) neutrals...
love, Janice
... View the Post
