travel capsule wardrobe Archives

Do You Love Deep, Rich Jewel Tones? The Baroque Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

January 21, 2025

Do you love the rich, classic colors of precious gems? A little ruby, a few emeralds, maybe a sapphire or two?

This bracelet is ALL about those beautiful colors!

A pretty classic outfit takes on a new feeling with some velvet loafers, a brooch stolen from the angels, and your new bracelet:

Burgundy and navy are classic cool-weather colors - add some pretty earrings, a lovely scarf and timeless loafers:

This late in the winter (well, in the winter clothing season!), it's hard to find forest green, but it's always worth searching!

Maybe your life suggests that you should have a dress! Or another piece of green clothing? And some amazing jewelry is never a bad ... View the Post

Want a Statement Color Palette? Start With Art – Icarus by Lee Krasner

January 10, 2025 The Reluctant Traveler

We think that you should go on this site visit, because the Superintendent says that you two have never met..."

WHAT kind of chocolate-frosted nonsense is this? She worked with the Superintendent for a half a day, at the end of the LAST site visit, drafting the recommendations for update and next steps. They sat at a table together for hours...

Still, if they say go, she goes. This time, she's going to make just a bit of a bright statement with her travel capsule wardrobe, starting with some accessories for her travel outfit:

Nothing inappropriate - but maybe the Superintendent will remember her this time?

If you've got to do business travel in January in the Northern ... View the Post

When Your Color-Scheme Doesn’t Happen – Start With Art – Abstraction Blue by Georgia O’Keeffe

January 8, 2025

"I've got tickets for the ballet matinee on Saturday!

We can go downtown Friday night, have dinner, go to the ballet on Saturday and then have dinner AGAIN, and then come home after brunch on Sunday..."

She can manage this - it won't take much for clothing... Something for Saturday that's dressy but comfortable, and something Sunday for brunch and the ride home...

And she's dreaming of packing a soft, water-colored, shades of blue and green travel capsule wardrobe!

The ride downtown is easy - a navy "suit" with her "glacial teal" tee shirt, and her stunning scarf...

Her navy skirt is perfect for this kind of adventure - it's soft and comfortable. And she has a lovely pink sweater that will be ... View the Post

Last-Minute Packing? Start With Art – The Annunciation by Jay DeFeo

December 27, 2024

When the phone rang, she knew...

"We need you to come in for the weekend - Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. We need coverage for the full twelve hours each night..."

At least she doesn't need to wear a uniform, but that almost makes it harder, at the very last minute!

Deep breath, remember what's important...

And then figure out what's clean!

She channels one of her favorite paintings, and decides that she's going to just wear neutrals. Keep it simple, low-key, and focus on her support role...

She won't really have to go outside - they've got a spare room for her in the facility. Although she will almost certainly take a few minutes to walk outside, every now and then...

She packs a ... View the Post

Want Something Pretty? Start With a Scarf – The Artiquel Scarf by Artifact.

December 18, 2024

Sometimes, you see something that just makes you happy. If you keep thinking about that thing... six hours later?... you might want to listen to your heart!

That's my feeling about this scarf; the minute I saw this, I knew I wanted to share it with you all here:

What an interesting image - dill? Some sparse hydrangeas? And artichokes? What do you think?

Of course, these colors are difficult to find...

Our heroine knows that she's going to struggle to find the soft accent colors - the green and purple are QUITE elusive. But she also knows that she can wear this scarf with her neutral grey, or she could look for a different green like soft olive. Or use beige as her neutral. There are always ... View the Post

Need a Warm Break? Start with Bracelets – Winter Sky Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

December 13, 2024

They spend Boxing Day cleaning up. And on the 27th, they're in the car early in the morning, heading SOUTH!

She's dreaming of the Winter Sky, but the sunny winter sky where they go every year for a while - just to avoid the worst of the cold and snow...

This year, she's inspired by these:

She has some clothes down there already - no reason to bring them back north! But she has new colors in mind to expand her existing wardrobe of navy, beige, white and bright green:

It's not bitterly cold where they are right now, so she doesn't have to bundle up all that much the first morning... But she loves feeling cozy for the first day of the drive...

She packs some warm-ish things, and some ... View the Post

Festive? Start with Art – The Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

December 11, 2024

I'm leaving for Paris this afternoon - and so is today's heroine!

Remember this most elegant woman - of the upswept and braided white hair, the immaculate red manicure, the lush jewel-toned accents in her black and white wardrobe?

We first met her when she was a university guest lecturer;...

In January 2018, she took a group of students to the Cloisters;

In August 2019, she was in Paris to help with reconstructing Notre Dame;

In December 2019, she was off to Venice;

She assembled a "work from home" wardrobe in May 2020;

which she accessorized in May 2020;

and we visited her in November of 2021, when she went to Dublin;

Oh my! I knew I loved this woman, but I never ... View the Post

Packing For the Holidays by Starting With Art – Canyon Country by Georgia O’Keeffe

November 29, 2024

Not your usual "holiday colors," but how many of us really want to wear a ton of red and green? (I know at least one of you is absolutely delighted to wear red and green...)

When you look critically at the painting to isolate the colors, it looks more promising!

Okay, we're going to take that really yellowish patch and focus on the camel edge! If we revisited this wardrobe for warmer weather, we might go full-tilt into a bunch of yellow...

A key to this wardrobe looking festive is the accessories - but isn't that often the case, that you achieve the desired effect by adding just one or two little touches?

Our heroine is packing "outfit by outfit," and then we'll re-evaluate what she has, and see ... View the Post

Feeling Festive? Start with Bracelets – Festive Lynx Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs

November 27, 2024

It's getting to be that time of year...

She LOVES a Party... Which is a good thing because she goes to quite a few! This year, she's keying all of her party outfits around her new bracelets...

She's including navy in her plan because she can include jeans and navy pants that she already has! But she collects evening bags and is a sucker for a beautiful dangly, sparkly earring...

Her travel outfit is pretty restrained - as much as she likes to dress for a party, she also doesn't want to be terribly gaudy and inappropriate in transit!

Packing is such a joy - this is what she's taking with her:

She collects everything together the night before she leaves and is just a bit giddy at the thought ... View the Post

Needing Some Brightness? Start With a Scarf – The Nina Knaudt & Rianna Kounou scarf by Echo

November 25, 2024

Our heroine has a couple of weekend holiday trips this year, and since the people that she will see don't overlap (that's handy!), she's decided to really refine a small wardrobe and take it for all of her trips...

AND!!! She's really being brought down by the darkness that comes so early in the Northern Hemisphere this time of year. Therefore, she's decided that she's going to work with bright colors to accent her chosen neutral of navy...

This scarf would be delightful in the heat of summer, but she's going to make it work in November and December!

She's chosen her accent colors from the many that she found in the scarf. Orange might be tough to find in November (oddly enough - isn't it a fall color?), ... View the Post

A Navy & Grey Lover? Start Packing with The Common Wardrobe

November 22, 2024

It's snowing like the end of the world here in Chicago - I'm very happy! Of course, it will last an hour, and then melt... sigh...

More heroines than you might expect are committed to wearing navy, grey, and accent colors that vary with the seasons. I hear from you often, and I can entirely agree that your choice is an elegant and pretty foolproof way to dress...

For you, I've chosen to include denim blue in your palette, just to give you options! My idea of what The Common Wardrobe would look like for you is delightfully uncomplicated and versatile:

One could certainly pack this, some jewelry, a handful of scarves, and a couple of pairs of shoes, and be fine...

But our heroine's going to be seasonal for ... View the Post

Foolproof Packing in Warm Colors? Start With The Common Wardrobe

November 20, 2024

Let's suppose that you really like what I'm packing for Paris, but you wear coffee brown, cream, toffee... (oh my that sounds tasty!)

Let's start with the "old school" Common Wardrobe, and see what I can do. For those of you who weren't here when I first realized the existence of The Common Wardrobe, you can look here to find out what it's all about. I truly was in a big room full of creative people, and virtually every person was wearing at least one piece...

This is where I started:

This is how I picture replicating the above wardrobe, only with warmer colors, and with long-sleeved tee shirts, since it is getting close to winter! (in the Northern Hemisphere, of course! I don't forget my friends in the ... View the Post