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Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch: Personalizing the Basics, based on Lightning over Colorado by Joe Randall

December 28, 2016  

When we left this wardrobe yesterday, we had nine pieces of clothing - a small assortment, but sufficient for two dozen outfits. And the wardrobe has a nice coherent look that's beginning to take shape:

Time to bring some more color into this wardrobe! The photograph from which we're working gives us options for a wide range of shades of purple, from the lightest pastel to the deepest violet blue. The differences between these 2 colors means that you will have outfits that "feel" two very different ways.And a bit more gold metal jewelry, as suggested by the clouds in the upper left corner of the photograph. The grey stones still anchor this necklace well within a grey-based wardrobe. (I hope!) Botkier has ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch: Introducing Accent Colors and Accessories, based on Lightning over Colorado by Joe Randall

December 27, 2016  

 

When we left this wardrobe, it was very neutral, and very simple - but this is the way to start a really functional wardrobe! If you get these building blocks in place early, your later additions will be effortless to wear, and you'll have lots of options...

Cardigan – Pure Cashmere; tee shirt – L.L.Bean; shirt– J.Crew; pants – L.L.Bean; Jeans – L.L.Bean; loafers - Donald J. Pliner

 

One of the joys of working with this photograph is the wide range of accent colors available. All sorts of pink, lavender, lilac and deep purple colors can be taken from this image. It's so beautiful...And in observance of the strong warm coloring in the top left color of the photo, I'm going to see if we ... View the Post

Build a Travel Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Paysage by Pablo Picasso

December 20, 2016  

  New Year's is MY Holiday... After the madness that was Christmas, our heroine decided that she's going to go away for a long weekend for New Year's Eve and Day... So she sends her core 4 garments to be cleaned (of course she washes her own jeans!) and starts making plans.

Because it's the new year, she's feeling the desire for a pretty spring flower pink, and lovely sky blues...

Dress – Lands’ End; tote – Louise et Cie; earrings – Stephen Dweck; scarf – Roberto Cavalli; bracelet – 1928; gloves – UR; boots – Sarto; coat – Ermanno Scervino  

So she switches up just SIX things that she packed for her last trip (and decides to wear her amazing leafy-trimmed coat) and gets ready to set ... View the Post

The French 5-Piece Wardrobe Starts with Art: Little Harbor in Normandy by Georges Braque (Version 2)

November 21, 2016  

Oh, this just gets better and better!Remember, we started with this painting:

Today, I've used the top part of the painting, and used silver in place of the gold from Friday's post...

I found new pieces for our Wardrobe Building Blocks, emphasizing grey. This is another small collection of pieces that work without limits - you could, again, literally get dressed in the dark...

Same four pieces - sweater, earrings, tote and scarf - but in silver rather than gold. Equally timeless, but a very different feel...

The only change I made here was the earrings - the others were set in gold... These earrings have a geometric feel to them, and a gorgeous fluidity that I really ... View the Post

The French 5-Piece Wardrobe Starts with Art: In Vaudeville: Dancer with Chorus by Charles Demuth

November 15, 2016  

Yesterday, the accents we used in the so-called French 5-Piece wardrobe were all colors in the same range of intensity and saturation - they were somewhat soft, and very clear.This painting takes us in a couple of rather different directions!

The accent colors suggested by this painting range from a really elegant neutral taupe to quite a vivid yellow/gold, as well as all shades of warm rose pink.

 

The base pieces for this wardrobe might rely more than usual on black, as suggested by the tuxedo on the central dancer:

 

I love taupe, and it's terribly difficult to find. But this cardigan is EXACTLY what I was hoping to find - fluid, soft, with ... View the Post

The French 5-Piece Wardrobe – Start with Art: Sure Violet by Helen Frankethaler

November 14, 2016  

Of course, we all know that the French don't really just buy 5 pieces of clothes a year - that's sort of silly. But there is some truth to the idea that they buy five major accent pieces twice a year. So let's think about taking a really simple, basic capsule wardrobe and seeing what we can do with adding 5 new pieces (and some accessories, of course!)

First up, let's start with a really lovely work of art:

Today we're just looking at accent colors, and this painting is perfect for that! If we wanted to build a summer wardrobe around this, could you imagine using off-white silk and linen as the neutral, and then these four colors? Mmmm....

 

This is the core wardrobe that I'm suggesting - I ... View the Post

Expanding a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Night Study of Flowers by Maurice Prendergast

November 4, 2016

When you're looking for color and style ideas for updating a capsule wardrobe, always remember that the world is FULL of beautiful paintings:

Even though I'm pretty certain that I'm going to struggle to find green garments of this soft, subtle tone, I have to include it in the color palette! But when you encounter real road-blocks in find things that are perfect in your wardrobe, you just have to be patient, or learn to sew/knit. Worse hobbies exist!

 

A reminder that these are the capsule wardrobe "essentials" around which we're building:

tee – L.L.Bean; turtleneck – L.L.Bean; shirt – L.L.Bean; tee – L.L.Bean; cardigan – Lands’ End; chambray shirt – Topshop; pants – L.L.Bean; pants – ... View the Post

Tote Bag Travel in Orange, Rose and Sand

October 24, 2017     Not what you normally think of as autumn colors, but why not:    

   

    She Had Hoped that Nobody Noticed.... That she was working from home on the day of the holiday party...

    "You're going to be here later, aren't you?"

"No, I didn't plan to..."

"You can have one of the Executive Committee hotel rooms...."

"Well, ***sigh*** I'm not going to wear a dress..."

   

Later, the Chairman told her that she looked like "a spring flower in the midst of all of these black dresses..." 

   

She's not sure how she feels about that, frankly.

love, Janice ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Finishing Up

Frankly, at this point in proceedings, you could easily stop building your capsule wardrobe, and be just fine!

But it's always reasonable to stop and evaluate where you are with your wardrobe - are there things that you still need? Items that might make OTHER items more versatile, or get them used more frequently? Are you sure you're ready for whatever events might come up in the future?

The answers to these questions will be different for each of us, but they are worth asking...

The biggest lack of balance that I can see is that I'm "navy-heavy" here. This often happens - it's normal that either you simply like one of your neutrals more than the other, or that it's much more readily available, or that you want to have a solid core ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Four

October 13, 2016

 

This capsule wardrobe is starting to look pretty coherent! (Step 1 is here, Step 2 is here, and Step 3 is here)

 

After one has lived with the above wardrobe for a while, it might be time to buy an entire outfit, all at one time! Or it would also make sense to buy 3 pieces that aren't necessarily intended to worn together, but all of which are useful and integrated additions to the existing wardrobe.

Sticking with the idea that our heroine lead a pretty casual life, I thought that a pair of shorts would be handy for her. Another really pretty cabled sweater in one of her accent colors is an obvious choice, and a simple white shirt is never a bad idea...

Almost any color scheme that I use for a ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Three

At this point in our starting from scratch capsule wardrobe series, you're in a pretty good position for travel; it wouldn't be impossible to be away for a week with this collection. Toss in a white shirt and white tee shirt, and you would only need to do minimal laundry!

Our next step is to start filling in shirts and sweaters, so it's time to take a quick look at what we currently have. This would be an obvious place to pull in a beige shirt, sweater, or blouse if that holds any appeal. But I'm thinking that my imaginary protagonist is more interested in pretty accent colors, so I've chosen these:

Sweater – Lands’ End; necklace – Karine Sultan; shirt – L.L.Bean  

Yes, the necklace is in a very similar vein to her ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe: Starting From Scratch – Stage Two

Yesterday we left this capsule wardrobe with five (very carefully chosen) garments, and eight possible ways to wear them. It's about time for some accessories!

This is the stage at which your personality and preference can really begin to show. For this imaginary wardrobe builder, I've decided that she has two really strong "themes" that she likes: Cables (like those on sweaters, or in twisted and rope-like jewelry textures), and Flowers. These preferences will be more and more apparent as we move forward, but it's good to starting establishing these personal style signatures as soon as possible.

Watch – Skagen; bracelet – Vanessa Mooney; scarf – Gucci; earrings – Nordstrom; bag – Louise et Cie  

Everything is very simple, ... View the Post