Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
The ever brilliant Juhli asked what would happen if someone with a good base wardrobe (like the sunset and sky wardrobe from here) wanted to expand their wardrobe. She pondered the wisdom of using one of the "eights" like the one in blue that I did here as a basis for acquisitions.Juhli is one really brilliant person... see the results!
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Way back when, Vivienne assured me that she was not always going to have a wardrobe of black, white and red garments - she fully intended, as her hair turned gray, and her skin tones softened, to transition to gray, rose, and cream.
This is how I envision than transition...
Her original wardrobe, as we pictured it here, is this:
The first thing I could picture would be a feeling of discomfort with bright red. Not every day, but just a sense that these garments were moving to the back of the closet... so they move out and a beautiful rose pink takes its place.
The strongly contrasted black and white pieces would next make way for more muted items...
Black garments worn ... View the Post
Jacket – Stella McCartney, Dress – Max Mara, Pants – Stella McCartney, Skirt – Stella McCartney
Tee shirts – T by Alexander Wang
Tux blazer – Topshop, charcoal cardigan – Dorothy Perkins, white blouse – Topshop, black pleated skirt – Dorothy Perkins, gray wool skirt – Monsoon, jeans - Levis
Peach blouse – Equipment, peach tee – Dorothy Perkins, petrol blue sweater – American Vintage, petrol tee shirt – American vintage, yellow sweater – N. Peal, yellow tee – Dorothy Perkins, red knot-front top – Dorothy Perkins, red sweater – Stella McCartney
Scarves – Hermès, gray pumps – Banana Republic, silver link bracelet – Michael Kors, silver hoop earrings – Michael Kors, ... View the Post
Jacket – Elizabeth and James, Cardigan – Miu Miu, Gray silk tee – Decolette, Blue tee – Kain Label,
Skirt – Donna Karan, Gray Pants – Chloe, Gray corduroy jeans - Gucci, Scarf – Hermès
Rose blouse - Carven, Pink satin trench – Nina Ricci, Blue mohair coat – Diane von Furstenberg, dress – Roland Mouret, Skirt – see by Chloe, Plaid pants – A.L.C., Blue sweater – Rag & Bone, Peacoat – Maison Martin Margiela
Lavender cardigan – Lucien Pellat-Finet, Striped tee – Saint James, Light blue top – Dolce & Gabbana, Dress – Coldwater Creek, pants – Chloe, Navy pants – Paul & Joe, Gray sweater – ... View the Post
Cardigan – Kain Alva, Blue linen shirt – Aubin and Wills, Orange tan – Topshop, White tee shirt – Vanessa Bruno, Orange Linen pants – J. Crew, White linen pants – Marc Jacobs, Silk skirt – Bruce II, silk scarf - Hermes
The wardrobes just keep getting harder! The request for this wardrobe was: "I am a short, graying brunette in her early 60’s woman who lives in the South (think 4 seasons with an emphasis on hot & humid but occasional snow/ice). I think Katherine Hepburn with more colors would be my inspiration. Casual, few skirts/dressy itesm, but chic. I love the colors of the sunset and sky plus silver/pewter jewelry with black, charcoal or dark jeans as the ... View the Post
One of my dear friends asked how I would accessorize the French Chic wardrobe. While this is far from definitive, I think it's an interesting start.
I learn more and more every day as I build these vignettes for our shared pleasure: you should be ABSOLUTELY FANATICALLY DEMANDING when you purchase anything. There is a world of merchandise out there, and the perfect item exists, if you have the patience and the focus to find it. Settle for NOTHING LESS THAN PERFECTION. You deserve it. And if you fully intend to own many of your accessories for the rest of your life, you can easily justify buying the very best item being made today - support geniuses and craftspersons, and beautify the ... View the Post
So as lovely as the garments above are, this is certainly not going to be enough clothing to even get you through a week. Most of us would want at least five separate tops and bottoms (or a dress) to get through the week. Even if you wear black pants repeated each week, it's nice to have more than one pair.
Thus, I decided to take it upon myself to determine what additional garments Vivienne would want in order to consider this a complete wardrobe. Realistically, I think most of us would do this exercise twice - once for cooler weather, and once for the sweltering misery that passes for summer on much of our planet. But for starters, let's just round out this core wardrobe with a few of the ... View the Post
One of the things about the book French Chic (Susan Sommers) which intrigued me was the list of garments which included "The seven essentials no well-dressed Frenchwoman would be without". That list included:
A black straight skirt a V-neck or cardigan sweater a suit a pair of jeans a silk shirt a couple of white tee-shirts an Hermes scarf
The idea of a list of essential clothing fascinates me; in a world that tries to compel me to over-consume, that finite-ness of a list like this, in which I could have some discipline and some structure, seems heaven-sent. Knowing that I was going to buy a fixed number of garments would give me the freedom to determine how much I wanted to spend, in what areas I ... View the Post
