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Beach Destination in the Off-Season? Start with Art – High Yellow by Ellsworth Kelly

February 14, 2024 It Won't Be Warm Enough to Swim...

It's normally a place that one thinks of visiting in the absolute dead of hot weather... so they're going now!

And while they won't be able to swim, the weather will still be MUCH warmer than what they're used to - sunny days, breezy nights. Sandals and even shorts will be comfortable, so long as the wise woman has a sweater or long-sleeved top close at hand...

Thus, she's going to wear white! Her legs look great in white shorts - at least she believe them to be lovely. And she so longs for the bright, crisp freshness of white, after a long winter of black wool...

Sky. Sun. Green plants. Her accent colors are so obvious!

They will dine out - nothing over the ... View the Post

Preparing for Spring: Start with a Bracelet – Voyage to Santorini by Fierce Lynx Designs

January 29, 2024

It's certainly not Spring yet (in the Northern Hemisphere!), but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't start planning...

Our heroine is going to travel at least once this spring, for long weekends to destinations that might be warm, and that might be cool-ish... That's sort of the charm of spring, isn't it?

So while you could certainly plan a glorious summer travel wardrobe around these color (turquoise and white for DAYS...), you can also enjoy the feel of the colors in clothes that aren't all linen, cut for 30 degrees Celsius...

So our heroine is sensible - a fun striped top, but with sleeves, and a snappy striped sweater...

A dress (that comes in a stack of colors!) that just screams "sunny day," ... View the Post

Need a Wardrobe Plan for Summer? Start with Art – Blue on White, White on Blue by Paolo Quaresima

January 17, 2024

Since the temperature here is a whopping THREE DEGREES Fahrenheit, let's help a heroine who is planning her summer wardrobe!

We're going to try something kind of new - assembling a 4 by 4 Wardrobe by choosing four 4-piece clusters! Each cluster will give her at least 2 outfits, and all of the clusters will be able to work together. This is a good approach if she wants to shop (or closet-shop!) gradually, and if she's finding that clothes in her favorite colors are proving hard to find...

She wants navy, she wants white, and she wants accents of bright blue - maybe this painting is a good starting place:

One thing I've been assured - our heroine doesn't like white leather goods! I can understand that; ... View the Post

Start with a Bracelet – Authentic Lynx Bracelets by Fierce Lynx Designs, and a Travel Capsule Wardrobe in navy, white, rose and green

July 17, 2023

Please note - there is NO WAY that I can include truly seasonal clothes right now, since they're all marked down, and sizes are limited, colors are sold out etc. etc. Retail seasons do NOT correspond to the world...

The only thing she's sure of - she's going to pack these bracelets! Other than that, she's not sure, yet...

Her favorite neutral is navy... Navy goes well with both of these accent colors! The bracelets have grey in them, but she doesn't wear grey...

But white goes with everything, and she loves to wear navy and white together! Maybe she has her color palette?

She's not worried about getting dirty, since they're driving. And she really LOVES her hooded cardigan - if the air conditioning in ... View the Post

Start with Art: Pattern Design from New Ocean of Art by Kōrin Furuya

June 7, 2023

I must remember to re-visit this art when the weather cools, and I can put our heroine in an Oxford grey outfit...

But today, our heroine is sticking with black & white, and 2 vivid accent colors!

I don't know where she's going! Clearly she's only going for a few days, because her bag is what we call a "weekender." And I assume she's going somewhere warm-ish, because she's wearing sandals...

We might be able to learn more about her upcoming adventure if we peek into her bag?

Well, we can conclude that she likes black and white. And that she's going somewhere warm, and relatively casual. She won't be gone for too long...

And there's NO wrong way to put together an outfit from this travel ... View the Post

Start With a Skirt: black & white gingham linen

May 10, 2023

It's easy to look at a garment and think that you know how to wear it - we are, after all, adults. Mostly.

But it's easy to lose sight of possibilities; one of you is quite smitten with this skirt, but wasn't sure that there were enough options to make it worth including in her wardrobe.

Let's think...

This is the skirt - it's easy to see the appeal, if you're among the "black & white" crowd!

Let's start with the obvious - a white sweater, black & white jewelry, and a very modern pair of two-tone flats:

Similarly, a black sweater, bag and flats are easy choices. Adding pearls and shiny earrings help balance out the lightness and print of the skirt:

Any white blouse could be worn ... View the Post

Start with a Scarf: Safari Square silk scarf by Beatrice von Tresckow

April 17, 2023

This will brighten up your summer!

And how many accent colors could one find here? I'm starting with these 3, but I'm not finished with this scarf...

It's not that long a drive up to the beach house...

But once you're off the main highway, it seems like a different world...

Our heroine is fearless in the face of dirty clothes - she wants to wear white in the summer, and so she shall!

It's a wardrobe that strikes terror in the hearts of those of us who are messy, but she's so happy with this:

She has plenty of outfits to get through a long weekend, although if it gets TOO cold, she might find herself in a pickle...

It was over 80 here yesterday; tomorrow it's supposed to ... View the Post

Adding Accessories to a 20-piece Navy and White Spring Wardrobe

February 20, 2023

Let's revisit the friend who has lost her wardrobe; she wants to start to rebuild with this scarf as her inspiration:

For reference - this was the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe 13 garments that she is wearing for Spring:

And these are the bonus garments that will round out her wardrobe:

But accessories! She still has a pair of sandals, and her sunglasses, as well as the earrings she was wearing when they were away and their house was destroyed...

I don't have a clear plan - I'm going to assemble 10 typical outfits from this wardrobe and make certain that she can wear those outfits with appropriate extras. Most important are certainly shoes and a bag or two, in my thinking...

First up, a spring bag, ... View the Post

Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with a Scarf: Flourish Floral from Talbots

February 17, 2023

It can happen. Floods, fires, landslides, earthquakes, eek!!!

And your wardrobe is gone. Completely.

It recently happened to one of us...

She lives somewhere with weather that's already warm-ish, so she wants to start with a Spring wardrobe.

It's a nightmare, and a dream, all at the same time.

She wants to start here:

And the colors that she wants to include are thus:

We discussed how to go about doing this - the Start from Scratch Wardrobe didn't appeal to her, so I suggested we try to look at the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe for Spring:

I was able to assemble suggestions for this reasonably quickly. The accent of soft green showed up most often at Lands' End, where it is called "light ... View the Post

Start with Art: A Mother’s Love: The Polar Bear Family by Jason Carter

August 22, 2022

She loved his art the first minute she saw it! The clarity, simplicity, beautiful colors - all of it!

And she knew that this painting would be useful in helping her focus her ever-shrinking wardrobe:

She knows that the core of her wardrobe will be black, white and denim - this painting seems just right!

She start her autumn wardrobe planning with A Common Wardrobe. It's not called "common" because the clothes are cheap or run of the mill - it's called common because these are clothes that a LOT of people have in common!

That's a good thing - you can easily find them, they fit in easily when you're not sure what to wear, but best of all, the serve as a neutral background for whatever accents you wish to ... View the Post

Chic Sighting Round 2: White Shorts and Pants

July 27, 2022

On Michigan Avenue, you see all sorts of people - locals, tourists, people in from around the region for a shopping day...

In the parks near my home, it's much more a neighborhood crowd...

Maybe it's because most of us are pretty close to home, but people don't seem to be nearly as worried about wearing white as you might expect:

One of the many joys of wearing white pants or shorts is that ANY top that you have clean will go perfectly!

Of course, living this close to the lake means that we will see a fair number of people dressed in classic sailing colors!

Any top with a white background is a candidate for these kinds of outfits:

If you choose the right top, your can have ... View the Post

Start with Art: Sunlight on the Road, Pontoise by Camille Pissarro

May 25, 2022

Self-Care

The medication changed her body. She's bigger now. But she's also better!

Now she needs a new wardrobe for the next few months; this is her plan:

She lives in a lovely part of the world, with a VERY temperate climate; it rarely gets below 29 degree F in the winter, and seldom above the mid-70s in the summer! Sounds like heaven to me...

Like all wise women, she start with her dark neutral, in basic but not boring pieces that can be worn and worn and worn...

Lovely light blue - a soft color like the sky full of clouds...

Green pants in the shade she envisioned were hard to find, so she just got another pair of grey pants! Why not...

And green... muted and beautiful...

Our ... View the Post