tan Archives - Page 2 of 5

How to Accent a Denim and Khaki Capsule Wardrobe: Start with Art – The Stairs of the Asylum by Van Gogh

March 28, 2017

I'm sure there's a story here, and I'm afraid it might be a sad one:

Even in difficult circumstances, van Gogh captures the exuberant energy of nature, in a very limited palette:

Celebrating Nature is Her Profession Landscape architect - it was the title that she always wanted. So she started out working as a landscaper with a successful female manager, and she went to school in her spare time...

For a long time, she wore a uniform of khaki pants, and a bright green polo shirt with a logo, and a matching bright green jacket when the weather demanded. So when she finally wasn't in a "uniform" position anymore, she didn't feel the need for a wildly extensive wardrobe. She found that her simple ... View the Post

How to Use Both Warm & Cool Accents in a Capsule Wardrobe – Start with Art: Carnival Evening by Henri Rousseau

March 17, 2017

This sets a mood, doesn't it?

I love how much the sky is emphasized... and that glimpse of stars... sigh...

If you've seen the earlier installations of this series (yesterday, and the day before) you can cruise through this quickly. We have our starter Neutral Building Blocks:

The dozen (at least!) possible outfits from these pieces:

And the way those 9 pieces fit in a 4 by 4 Wardrobe template:

What a fun exercise this is! It can be very difficult for me to find seven perfect pieces within an 8-hour work day, so if you're going to try to put together a wardrobe like this at home, please be patient with yourself as you shop. The pieces are out there, but might ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe Around a Statement Tote Bag

February 20, 2017

Someone sent me a link to this beauty... What excellent colors!

This bag includes a bunch of the classic neutral colors - beige, white, shades of rust into dark brown, maybe some black? I'm deliberately NOT including any sort of style guidelines here because I think that this is a case in which a wide variety of personal styles could accommodate this bag.

I'm going to focus pretty much on warm-weather attire here, but imagine for cooler weather - a navy winter coat with camel trousers... a navy wool skirt with an ivory sweater and brown riding boots.... mmm....

This is sort of a styling free for all - I just let my imagination wander toward whatever outfits I would like to wear, or that would be fun for ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe of Accessories 1 at a Time: Shades of Beige and Brown

May 23, 2016

These subtle colors in this capsule wardrobe really appeal to me...Remember, this was our first outfit, to which one MUST add some shoes. Unless you live somewhere that doesn't require shoes?

Tee – Uniqlo; pants – Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L. Bean; top shoes – Tamaris; middle shoes – Seychelles; bottom shoes – Robert Zur

And simple earrings! I particularly like that bottom pair because they're simple, but they aren't...

Tank - Uniqlo; pants – Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L. Bean; top earrings – Uno de 50; middle earrings – Lauren Ralph Lauren; bottom earrings –Alexis Bittar

There weren't hundreds of scarves in this very subtle color scheme, ... View the Post

How to Build a Capsule Wardrobe 1 Piece at a Time: Beige and Brown, for Leisure

May 21, 2016

You wanted to see a leisure capsule wardrobe in warm colors? Here it is....I found that I could stick exclusively to shades of brown, tan, and cream and put together a really nice, workable capsule wardrobe. The accessories (which will be here on Monday!) are going to have a big impact on this very subtle collection.

I started with a simple beige column (although the tee shirt has a bit of a stripe) and found a cardigan that contained all of the shades that I wanted to consider:

Tee – Uniqlo; pants – Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L. Bean

The gold is included here as a very clear hint about accessories:

Tee – Uniqlo; pants – Uniqlo; cardigan – L.L. Bean

With warm weather coming ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Pigs on the Wing by wrq.e.d. Version 2

October 22, 2015

While the first colors that I saw in the scarf were greys and black, there's definitely enough beige and brown here to work with; maybe I see black and grey first because that's my personal capsule wardrobe focus?But this time, this is the color scheme. I like giving myself the full range of the blues and browns as options, I think it works well with the scarf, and makes the blending of different shades of one color possible. While there are a few colors that need to be matched pretty closely, others can blend all over the place and work well - I think brown is one of those!

I didn't mention this, but the border of this scarf reads:

"my song was out of tune, my voice was cracked, but at least no chorus ... View the Post

A Summer Common Capsule Wardrobe, In Warm Tones

August 11, 2015

What fun this was - the same general idea as my personal mostly black Common Capsule Wardrobe for warm weather, but in warm tones!

There aren't quite as many accessories here as there were in my wardrobe - but for anyone who is going to wear this wardrobe, you certainly already own LOTS of pieces that will work beautifully here.

So very many different ways to put this together:

And just for reference, the template for Your Common Wardrobe.

What accent colors would you put with this? Peach is the first and most obvious, to me. What else? I'd like to revisit these pieces with some accent colors, if you're interested.

love, Janice ... View the Post

Building a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti by Tamara de Lempicka

July 8, 2015 Yesterday, after I worked on Camposanto, I was thinking about the inherent utility of a wardrobe that had a khaki and white core, and how virtually any accent color would work well with those 2 neutrals. And of course, I'm thinking about tossing black into the mix... So in the comments, someone mentions this MOST elegant and compelling painting!

White would also work beautifully here:

In the interest of showing how versatile a simple, solid core of clothing can be, I kept yesterday's Core in camel, or tan, or whatever you wish to name this color.

When looking for the black Core, I tried to find pieces that had some swish to them. Tamara has always looked like ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Hermes Maroon Shawl

February 24, 2015 Someone sent me a photograph of this delectable item - a shawl, no longer available, from Hermes - and asked if it would be possible to build a little something beautiful around it. Ooooh, yes, this is DEFINITELY possible...

First up, a color scheme, as always. Using camel as the neutral, there's a whole range of maroon, dark red, bright red, and hints of yellow here - lots of possibilities!

My imagination called this transition season dressing - either spring or fall. Maybe for business, or for pleasure. One dress, for a splashy night out, and otherwise dressy but not fussy separates for business or elegant sightseeing. (Note that the accessories are either angular, or have a ... View the Post

Four Pack Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Camel and Burgundy

December 18, 2014 Many of us are preparing for holiday trips of varying lengths, so today I felt like putting together something that just oozed luxury and subtlety. These rich, beautiful colors, fabrics and textures make a quietly elegant statement, without gaudy logos or overdone ornamentation.

love, Janice ... View the Post

Start With Art: A Shelf of Books -> a Summer Wardrobe

November 7, 2014 You really, seriously, can get inspiration anywhere, if you keep your eyes and your aesthetic heart open to what's out there. This absolutely wonderful picture was sent to me - what a delightful mix of softly faded colors.

It wasn't at all hard to come up with a color scheme. Many of you ask about how I build color wheels - I use the graphing gizmo in PowerPoint. I use PowerPoint for all of my vignettes, because it does everything I need. Just insert a graph into a slide, and then change the colors and sizes of the various wedges to suit your preferences. You have a new, beautiful mnemonic for your wardrobe colors, AND you have a new skill to put on your ... View the Post

Start With Nature: Bird’s Eggs photograph from Kevin Fleming Photography

November 3, 2014

Someone sent me this gorgeous photograph... I've flipped it sideways so that I could put up a bigger image...

This was my chosen color scheme:

It's hard to introduce "egg-like" elements into a wardrobe, but I did stick with rounded earrings, and I aimed for a sort of softness and subtlety that would honor the gorgeousness of the photograph.

I introduced the most subtle greenish color to blend with the warm beige, tan and brown already here. It's an amazingly effective combination, I think.

To me, these combinations are warm, gentle, and comfortable.

love, Janice ... View the Post