So what is our glamorous Gothic researcher up to?

Let’s enjoy her favorite painting for a moment; it’s easy to just skip right past the paintings to get to the wardrobes, and that’s a pity. I take AGES to choose these paintings, and they all have something to offer us each time we look again…

At the end of May, our heroine had a 24-piece capsule wardrobe that definitely leans toward the dressy! But she also has a pair of jeans, so she’s not entirely a princess… If I had the joy of a trip for weeks and weeks, to all kinds of different weather conditions, I would try to pack something along these lines:

Her accessories at the end of May are pretty nice…

Although this particular heroine marches to her own Gothic string ensemble (no mere drummer for her!), she is trying to work within the suggestions of a wardrobe template. Therefore, this month she wanted to find two “second layers” to add to her wardrobe.

She found TREMENDOUS cardigans, and then chose a two-piece linen dress…

Her new earrings are really cool, by the way!

Earrings – Angel Barocco; red lace cardigan – Seasalt Cornwall; embellished black cotton cardigan – J.Crew; skirt – Eileen Fisher; scarf – Echo; black linen tank top – Eileen Fisher; sandals – LifeStride

Her wardrobe template is perfect. We expect nothing less from this woman!

When you look at her clothing in a more relaxed layout, you can easily see how versatile her wardrobe is:

And her accessories are the stuff of my dreams! But she doesn’t have a necklace – HOW CAN THIS BE?

Next month, for sure!

It’s not really tough to imagine how this heroine can wear her new clothes!

I have to admit to being very tempted to cut my wardrobe back to black dresses and black “columns” with second layers in prints or colors. Maybe in my next life, eh?

This wardrobe could be replicated in navy and white with… pink and yellow accents? Grey and white with purple and turquoise accents? Lots of ways to make this general idea work with any colors…

love,
Janice

If you would like to look back at earlier installments of this heroine’s wardrobe build, you can find the posts here:  Christmas Eve Preview, January, February, March, April, May

p.s. Just for fun – let’s look back more than TEN YEARS to the very first time we met today’s heroine. She’s ageless….

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The post June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder appeared first on The Vivienne Files.

Our bird-data expert is back, and she has travel plans…

Remember, she takes her wardrobe inspiration from this handsome guy:

At the end of May, our heroine had a pretty lovely 24-piece wardrobe:

And her accessories were pretty nifty too! I have to share with you that I’ve started loving these narrow silk scarves; enough time has passed since we HAD TO WEAR THEM in the office, with our white shirts, dark suits and sensible pumps…

Later in June, our heroine will be leaving for six weeks on a college campus in VERY rural New England. The campus is going to be completely cleared of anybody except essential support staff (cafeteria workers are ESSENTIAL…) and a band of avian researchers. 

Rumor has it that some relatively rare birds can be found in the area, after students have left. Rumor will be investigated and either confirmed or put to rest! Science is grand…

And our heroine? She will be in an office, trying to determine what level of “sightings” is necessary to confirm that the birds are indeed what they’re believe to be, and then to estimate the population thereof. Just having a bunch of people saying “yeah, I saw it too!” doesn’t hurt, but it isn’t science.

So she picked up a handful of new clothes to give her wardrobe a relaxed, summery feel:

Brown linen shirt – Banana Republic; “good hands” necklace – Missoma; red print top – Banana Republic Factory; white linen skirt – Eileen Fisher; bag – Mint Velvet; striped tee – J.Crew; sandals – Beek

Her travel capsule wardrobe isn’t set. She knows she will take a couple of warm sweaters, but not ALL of her sweaters. All the tee shirts? Heck yes! Maybe a second dress is in her future, or even a pair of shorts.

But for now, she’s going to start with all of this and prune it down to what will fit in her two suitcases. Probably almost everything, she suspects! If you’re going to live in a dorm for six weeks, bring things to make you feel at home…

She will bring her Longchamp bag for sure – that’s how she hauls her laptop! But she almost certainly won’t pack either pair of boots – maybe a pair of rubber boots instead? And she can bring both jewelry and scarves, because she doesn’t have to sit in total silence for hours and hours…

Her 28-piece template looks quite a bit like clothes that could get most of us through most of our lives.

How did we become accustomed to owning SO MUCH CLOTHING? I know that when I was in high school, college and grad school, I had about this much clothing.

When – and how – did this all change?

And how can be move back in this direction?

And what’s always most interesting for me – how is our heroine going to wear her new purchases???

I’m often tempted to set aside two dozen garments, and see how long I can manage just getting dressed from that assortment. I suspect that it’s longer than I believe…

love,
Janice

If you want to track back to all of the past posts about this wardrobe, you can find them here: Christmas Eve Preview, January, February, March, April, May

p.s. Five years ago, I was working my way through the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe of 52 garments; #13 is a summer dress…

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Let’s see how our “professional listener” is doing! For what it’s worth, I was picturing this woman as a psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor or such…

Her inspiration art:

She REALLY doesn’t care if any of her clients or co-workers remember what she wears; she’s much more concerned in helping people… But she does want to look nice, and she likes to think that her choice of colors gives her a warm and calm image.

And she has russet hair and aqua eyes…

At the end of May, her wardrobe looked like this:

And these are her accessories, so far:

Our heroine is trying quite hard to stick to her wardrobe template. Last month, she bought both pants AND a dress, which left her with “template openings” for three tops and a second layer.

She can do that!

The cardigan felt like something the woman in the painting might wear, if she were among us now. And then, after some searching, she found a simple trio of tops, in three colors and three different but classic styles.

The scarf? Will be wonderful for helping mix shades of brown, in cooler weather. But she decided to buy it now and make certain that she has it in hand. Sometimes, we have to plan well ahead!

Cotton cardigan – J.Crew; scarf – The Met Store; ivory tee – Lands’ End; handbag – J.Crew; cowl-neck top – J.Crew; teal camp shirt – Coldwater Creek; sandals – J.Crew

Her “first half” template is complete, and looks just about perfect…

When the clothes are strewn about in a more relaxed image, you can easily see lots of ways to wear all of these clothes. A plan is a beautiful thing, if you stick to it!

Every month, her accessories look more and more like her…

How will she wear her new things? Let’s see!

I think matching one’s wardrobe accent to one’s eyes is a wonderful idea. I was in a store yesterday when a young man was trying on clothes with his wife and his sister advising him. They kept steering him to the blues that matched his eyes…

love,
Janice

Want to look back to see how our heroine got to this point? The earlier posts can all be found here:  Christmas Eve Preview, January, February, March, April, May

p.s. Ten years ago I must have been hunkered down with my mother, because The Vivienne Files look pretty skimpy. So let’s just go back five years, and think about being prepared for anything by having a “Stress Dressing” plan…

The post June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Spirit of Autumn by Albert Pinkham Ryder appeared first on The Vivienne Files.

I believe that Summer has arrived! 

watch, it will snow tomorrow…

Although this painting is of clouds later in the year, I could certainly pretend that the beautiful green landscape is mid-summer. Those are greens vivid enough for Ireland!

At the end of May, our heroine had this wardrobe, shown in two images – one for clothes and one for accessories.

It’s well worth looking at these images for a minute, because there is a world full of people who have this much clothing OR LESS. Well-chosen, a small wardrobe can be enough. I know nobody who deliberately tries to keep their wardrobe small, but there could be good reasons…

I could manage with a small number of clothes, so long as I had lots of accessories!

This month, our heroine deliberately looked for light and bright colors. These long days make it easy!

Cotton striped top – Alex Mill; white cotton cardigan – Vineyard Vines; bracelet stack – Ink&Alloy; green cotton sweater – Alex Mill; tote bag – L.L.Bean; sandals – Söfft; white linen pants – Caslon

Knowing that our heroine filled in her wardrobe template from top to bottom as she added garments, it’s easy to read the evolution of her purchases from stocking up on neutrals to accenting with bright colors:

It would be interesting to see how long someone could live happily with 28 garments. I suspect it could be a long time, once one was reconciled to the limit. It could certainly free up money and brain-space for other projects!

But I might want more accessories. Gym shoes of some ilk, for a start! And more scarves….

All that said, our heroine has no problems integrating her new purchases into her existing wardrobe. It’s particularly gratifying to see that she can use her new clothes in cool weather as well as warm. That’s the kind of versatility that makes it easier to have fewer things…

This wardrobe could easily swap out the navy for a different neutral; with those floral accent colors, I could see brown, or camel, or beige….

love,
Janice

If you want to look back at all of the blog posts about this specific wardrobe, you can find them here: Christmas Eve Preview, January, February, March, April, May

p.s. Ten years ago, I was packing for a long weekend at a very rural college graduation…

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The post June 2026 – Building a Wardrobe Starting With Ruffled Autumn Clouds by Emile Nolde appeared first on The Vivienne Files.

One last look at a bunch of matching garments – unless more things turn up in the next month of clothing “releases.”

I remember when pretty much EVERY clothing company released new garments once a month. A few still do – I know that Alex Mill, J.Crew and Eileen Fisher stick to that schedule. Some companies have new releases on their site every day. Literally. Seems excessive…

Anyway!!!! Let’s say you’re a heroine with a good core wardrobe in navy, camel, beige and white. You’re longing for an accent color that’s not obvious. For warm weather, you’ve considered pink, Kelly green, and true red. All of them feel too bright for you, and you think you’re just eschew an accent this year.

Then you see Sundried Tomato!

Tee shirt – Eileen Fisher; tank top – Eileen Fisher; pants- Eileen Fisher; skirt – Eileen Fisher

There are actually quite a few more garments available in this color, but you keep thinking about HOW MUCH you could wear these four pieces…

This is what her palette looks like with the addition of this accent:

It’s a big investment – pretty much all you’ll buy for summer. Will you regret your choice?

I have to jump in here to share that I bought FOUR pieces of Eileen Fisher Petunia a couple of months ago. It matches the highlights in my hair! I bought a tee shirt, a linen shirt, a sweater and a linen dress. Yes, I can’t buy any more clothing until late this year. Yes, I’ve already worn everything repeatedly. Yes, it’s linen, and should last the rest of my life…

Linen should last you forever. Archeologists find linen garments in tombs and other sites that are over 1,000 years old. Yes, if you bury something it doesn’t get worn very often, but still – linen is much more durable than one might expect.

And these four garments are really versatile!

An obvious place to start – a summer “dress”:

tank top – Eileen Fisher, headband – Machete; earrings – Mint & Lily; necklace – The Met Store; crossbody bag – Mandrn; skirt – Eileen Fisher; sandals – Sam Edelman

Then one of those weirdly “cool in the morning, swelter by the time you go home from work” days. The Sundried Tomato layers perfectly:

Carnelian earrings – The Met Store; William Morris scarf – The Met Store; navy cardigan – L.L.Bean; Tee shirt – Eileen Fisher; tote bag – Longchamp; shoes – TOMS; pants- Eileen Fisher

Her next inspiration comes from a hot day, spent in freezing air conditioning:

garnet earrings – Little Sky Stone; tank top – Eileen Fisher; white cardigan – J.Crew; bracelet stack – Mint & Lily; white linen pants – Caslon; gold sandals – Beek

Our heroine realizes that she will easily be able to wear her pants well into autumn. They’re dark, they’re a legitimate “autumn color” and unless someone comes up and feels your leg (in which case you respond appropriately!), they won’t necessarily know you’re wearing linen. There’s no rule about only wearing linen in June, July and August, you know…

Cotton sweater – J.Crew; freshwater pearl earrings – J.Jill; tourmaline bracelet – Karma and Luck; backpack – Longchamp; sneakers – Puma; pants- Eileen Fisher

A warm autumn day when you need to look like an adult? Two pieces that equal a dress give you a perfect option:

Tee shirt – Eileen Fisher; earrings – Ana Luisa; necklace – Ink+Alloy; belt – Nordstrom; woven bag – Madewell; slingbacks – Calvin Klein; skirt – Eileen Fisher

This color is so versatile that it could easily be worn into the winter. Yes, you’ll have to keep an eye on needing to launder your cardigan, buy you would do that anyway, right?

Yes, this scarf is a men’s scarf. Why, I could never possible explain. Sometime when you’re in Chicago, we’ll have a cocktail or two, and I will theorize…

tank top – Eileen Fisher; earrings – Janus Edinburgh; cardigan – BP.; chinos – Lands’ End; scarf – Elizabetta; boots – Blondo

Of course most people aren’t spending this much on wardrobe additions, but you can find matching garments in LOTS of places. The next time you’re tempted by the pretty tee shirt color, don’t discount the possibilities of the pants, or the skirt, or the tank top…

love,
Janice

p.s. Ten years ago, I started with a beautiful Ted Baker scarf, and assembled a travel capsule wardrobe in grey with pretty pastels…

The post An Investment in an Accent Color – I Love It But Will I Wear It? appeared first on The Vivienne Files.

If you’re going to indulge in florals, go big or go home! (I don’t believe this, but the phrase “go big or go home” is an ongoing joke chez moi…)

Shirt – Lands’ End; skort – Lands’ End; pants – Lands’ End

I was very inclined to include the sleeveless top that matches these pieces, until I found that it’s a DIFFERENT FABRIC. While I’ve chosen 100% linen garments, the sleeveless top is a linen blend. Would that wear the same way? Would it take on the same softness? Would it last as long?

Oh these retailers… but it’s always worth looking for ALL of the matching items that might be available. 

If you already have a stash of white clothes for hot weather, incorporating these garments into your wardrobe will be simple:

Shirt – Lands’ End; earrings – Nadri; tank top – Lands’ End; skort – Lands’ End; bracelet – FREQNC atelier; tote bag – Lands’ End; boating sandals – Jack Rogers

And if you like green, you’re in luck – I think one could use a lot of shades of green with this print:

Earrings – Machete; Shirt – Lands’ End; valley green halter top – Lands’ End; handbag – Talbots; sandals – Arezzo; pants – Lands’ End

Sometimes you need something over your shoulders and the back of your neck…

Shirt – Lands’ End; earrings – Unaloe; bracelet – Unaloe; handbag – The Sak; dress – Eileen Fisher; sandals – Nine West

I love this shade of pink… and the raffia accessories make this feel VERY summery, even on a cool evening!

sweatshirt – Lands’ End; raffia headband – Talbots; earrings – Anthropologie; skort – Lands’ End; tote bag – Haven Well Within; gold espadrilles – Talbots

If your red dress looks good with this print, then a tee shirt in the same color is only logical!

Grenadine tee shirt – Eileen Fisher; earrings – Banana Republic Factory; bracelet – Kendra Scott; bag – Madewell; pants – Lands’ End; flats – Rothys

For those who have peridot or emerald as their birthstone, this print is a nice background for green jewelry:

Shirt – Lands’ End; peridot earrings – Macys; tee shirt – Coldwater Creek; bracelet – Macy’s; skort – Lands’ End; sandals – Bearpaw

I’d like to find just ONE MORE two-piece dress for us to share; right now I’m mostly finding cropped tops on everything. It’s maddening – manufacturers have figured out the smallest possible amount of fabric they need to use to cover our torsos…

Nevertheless, I persist!

love,
Janice

p.s. Okay, it’s not exactly ten years ago, but I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to share a wardrobe that has LOTS of purple. I saw my future in this one!

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The post Lots of Bright Summer Print – I Love It But Will I Wear It? appeared first on The Vivienne Files.

I was looking for two-piece dresses – or tops and skirt that match. Two-piece dresses is such an odd term, isn’t it?

And I bumped into this:

Blazer – Boden; Pants – Boden

I often hear that “I don’t want to buy a patterned suit” because there’s a concern about being able to wear the two pieces frequently enough to make it worth the while.

I have ideas!

This is a relatively easy suit with which to work, because the print is classic; if it were floral, paisley, or a novelty print of tiny chickens, it might be more difficult…

I’m imagining a heroine with green eyes, for what it’s worth. The accent color could be pink, yellow, purple, or even red. Red might be too “flag-like” for some of us…

Small scarf – Jessie Zhao New York; crushed malachite earrings – Kate Koel; navy rollneck sweater – L.L.Bean; Blazer – Boden; tote – Tory Burch; loafers – Birdies; pants – Boden

The striped tote and multi-toned shoes were irresistible…

Blazer – Boden; enamel earrings – The Met Store; enamel pendant – The Met Store; ivory tee shirt – Lands’ End; navy chinos – Lands’ End; tote bag – Lands’ End; sneaker loafers – Cole Haan

I felt like the striped vest worked fine because the stripes are the same color, but an entirely different size. And of course the navy cardigan tones down the vest a lot:

Tiny pearl earrings – A Weathered Penny; pearl necklace – A Weathered Penny; navy cotton cardigan – Lands’ End; vest – Lands’ End; Pants – Boden; handbag – Hobo; sandals – Gentle Souls

If our heroine has a history of loving green and navy, she very well could already have a handbag like this. Realistically, anybody who wears navy will already own quite a few things that would be easy to wear with this suit – a tee shirt, silk blouse, cotton shirt…

Earrings – Katie Loxton; necklace – Anthropologie; Blazer – Boden; linen shirt – Boden; Pants – Boden; bag – Anne Klein; loafers – Easy Spirit

Never dismiss the potential of accent socks! If you’re going to wear socks, they may as well carry their weight some days:

Birthstone huggie earrings – Little Sky Stone; bow brooch – Ettika; Blazer – Boden; green cotton sweater – Alex Mill; socks – Polo Ralph Lauren; shoes – Sperry; linen pants – Alex Mill

These pieces are plenty substantial enough to be worn into the cooler weather. Cashmere and silk feel dressy, green shoes make you look more approachable!

Green tourmaline earrings – Heather Hawkins Jewelry; navy cashmere vest – J.Crew; skinny scarf – Talbots; silk shirt – Everlane; Pants – Boden; bracelet – Ink+Alloy; loafers – Birdies

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but on a LOT of clothing websites, when you search for something, one of your options will mention “matching sets.”

Most of them are shorts and cropped tops… I’m still on the hunt for more dresses to consider. We may as well take advantage of whatever the “fashion” wizards give us, eh?

love,
Janice

p.s. Ten years ago, our colors were black, brown, aqua, orange and white, and the artist was Natalia S. Gontcharova. A heroine who liked some variety in her wardrobe…

The post I Love It – But Will I Wear It? Navy Striped Blazer & Pants appeared first on The Vivienne Files.

May 20, 2026

Yes, this shirt sort of feels like a pajama top… but tucked into the skirt, maybe with a belt…

Shirt – Madewell; skirt – Madewell

I followed the same images that I showed on Wednesday, so a few outfits will look similar, and you may recognize some accessories too!

This is NOT done because I’m inherently bone-deep lazy (although I could make a case for that!), but because I really want everybody to grow accustomed to wearing things frequently. But better, buy less, wear the heck out of it!

First up – a white cardigan. Always so useful in warm weather. And pink pearl jewelry… big deep sigh of smittenness…

Shirt – Madewell; earrings – Ninemoo; cotton cardigan – Vineyard Vines; skirt – Madewell; bracelet – Angel Barocco; bag – Brunna.Co; sandals – Söfft

Roll the sleeves just a bit, and pile on the gold! If one was inclined to try to make it through a season or two without buying clothes (and seriously, almost all of us could manage that!), buying a family of accessories would be a smart alternative. A gold bag and flats hold a lot of appeal to me right now…

Shirt – Madewell; earrings – The Met Store; necklace – Astor & Orion; skirt – Madewell; bag – Olga Berg; ballet flats – Jeffrey Campbell

In the truly hot weather, linen pants are workhorses. Yes, they wrinkle, the first 20 times you wear them, and then they get soft and drapey and don’t wrinkle as much! And they last for years and years…

Earrings – Open Edit; Shirt – Madewell; sleeveless top – L.L.Bean; white linen pants – Caslon; bracelets – brook & york; tote bag – Kurt Geiger; sandals – NineWest

Why yes, if you can find matching socks, why wouldn’t you grab them?

Shirt – Madewell; carved opal earrings – Kamaria; white shorts – Lands’ End; hoodie – Eileen Fisher; socks – Hue; bracelet – Kamaria; sneakers – OluKai

Just because it’s a skirt doesn’t mean it has to be dressy. And for what it’s worth, Paris was absolutely packed with baseball caps when I was there in December. We saw a store quite close to our hotel that sold NOTHING but baseball caps in a range of fabrics. Not just for the people from the US anymore…

Tee shirt – Madewell, cap – L.L.Bean; threader earrings – Ettika; backpack – High Sierra; skirt – Madewell; driving loafers – Rothy’s

I’m not certain that this sweater is a perfect match for the skirt, but I AM certain that it’s close enough for clothes! Some dressy accessories, and you could wear this to all but the more formal events:

iced orchid sweater – L.L.Bean; earrings – The Met Store; necklace – The Met Store; bag – Lilly Pulitzer; skirt – Madewell; mules – Talbots

(L.L.Bean has a lot of clothes in this iced orchid color right now…)

I could easily picture someone going away for a long weekend to celebrate a wedding (their own?) or an anniversary, or just a romance, and taking all of these things. 

And maybe the romance is with yourself. Dress up! You deserve to love yourself, right?

love,
Janice

p.s. Ten years ago, we started with a beige tee shirt, beige pants, and a beige striped cardigan…

The post I Love It, But Will I Wear It? A Matching Shirt and Skirt appeared first on The Vivienne Files.

So pretty! And a top that will cover bra straps, for those of us who founded our “lingerie under wraps” opinions decades ago:

Smocked top – J.Crew; skirt – J.Crew

I’ve been thinking of a system by which one could evaluate a two-piece set… Can it be worn with a light neutral? A dark neutral? Is there an accent color that will look good?

For example, this two-piece dress is just right with a light neutral (in this case white) cardigan:

Smocked top – J.Crew; earrings – By Adina Eden; skirt – J.Crew; cotton cardigan – J.Crew; bracelets – Tiny Rituals; clutch bag – J.Crew; sandals – Bella Vita

The dress also looks good with an accent cardigan in orchid pink. (going to a wedding, anyone?)

Smocked top – J.Crew; earrings – The Met Store; brooch – The Met Store; cashmere cardigan – Alex Mill; skirt – J.Crew; bag – Olga Berg; sandals – Comfortview

The top is just the right touch with a simple linen set in light blue:

Earrings – Anthropologie; Smocked top – J.Crew; French blue linen shirt – J.Crew; French blue linen pants – J.Crew; bracelets – brook & york; tote bag – Kurt Geiger; ballet flats – Jeffrey Campbell

And this top can be really casual, with wild lilac shorts and a hoodie:

Smocked top – J.Crew; carved opal earrings – Kamaria; wild lilac shorts – Lands’ End; hoodie – Eileen Fisher; socks – Stems; bracelet – Kamaria; sneakers – OluKai

The skirt could be worn with a plain white tee shirt or tank top, or with something just slightly more dressy. And don’t miss the tie-dyed scrunchies!

Scrunchies – Blissy; earrings – Anthropologie; necklace – Anthropologie; sleeveless top – Lands’ End; water sneakers – Lands’ End; skirt – J.Crew

The skirt can dress up quite a bit too – some floral jewelry, a sparkly bag and a dressy but relaxed top:

Sweater – Treasure & Bond; silver rose earrings – Unaloe; rose bracelet – Unaloe; bag – Urban Expressions; skirt – J.Crew; silver flats – Naturalizer

What I’m trying to solidify is a way to look at a two-piece set and figure out if it’s sensible for your wardrobe. There are lots of matching tops and shorts, or tops and pants, around this year…

More to come!

love,
Janice

p.s. Ten years ago, I shared a favorite painting with you, and then built a long weekend wardrobe in beige, blue and pink.

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The post A Two-Piece Dress in Pastel Floral – Some Ideas appeared first on The Vivienne Files.

We first visited this painting, and this heroine, back in February. I think my plan is to look at this painting four times over a year, and see what happens…

If you used a painting like this for your wardrobe, there are at least eight colors here to inspire you. Enough to have abundant neutrals, and a couple of snappy accent colors too…

This is the current color wheel – I need to update it! There yellow to be included, and gold, and a true grey, and a great shade of putty taupe… 

Our heroine’s first travel wardrobe, back in February, was muted, warm and versatile:

Our heroine is anticipating warm but not scorching hot weather for her next trip. And, inspired by her jewelry from February, she’s plunging further into her fondness for sunflowers…

Earrings – Hye Jane Jewelry; straw cotton rollneck sweater – L.L.Bean; linen shirt – J.Crew; scarf – Ferragamo; espadrilles – Lands’ End; tote bag – Betsy & Floss; linen pants – J.Crew

She knows that she’s going to want a casual outfit for evenings, and a tote bag for hauling around something to read when she’s relaxing in the park after meetings:

Sunflower earrings – Lily Charmed; brick waffle top – L.L.Bean; tank top – L.L.Bean; watch – Olivia Burton; tote bag – Ornamentally Yours; shorts – L.L.Bean; sneakers – Vionic

And she’s been assured that some executives are flying in for the last day of the meetings, so she is going to dress like the serious professional that she is!

Sweater jacket – Alex Mill; narrow scarf – Echo; pearl & onyx earrings – Macy’s; tee shirt – Lands’ End; handbag – J.Crew; skirt – J.Crew; shoes – LifeStride

To finish up her packing and give her a wider range of outfit possibilities, our heroine includes a stack of tee shirts, a pair of pants, and some brown accessories. It doesn’t look like much, but when mixed in with the clothes she’s chosen so far, these things offer flexibility and some always-welcome brown!

Cacao brown tee – J.Crew; ivory tee – Lands’ End; pale sunbeam yellow tee – Lands’ End; cacao brown pants – J.Crew; bracelets – Saachi; rattan bag – J.Crew; sandals – Franco Sarto

Her entire travel capsule wardrobe, when assembled in one place, has an interesting coherence. And yes, this heroine is sort of “handbag mad.” Everybody’s got something – you should see the scarves that go into a suitcase of mine!

Now, our heroine has no real worries about how to get dressed each morning of her trip. She has quite enough things to think about; some of her co-workers are… high-maintenance, I think we can say!

It’s been on our heroine’s mind – maybe she will use travel capsule wardrobes as a vehicle for cleaning out her closet!

Anything that doesn’t get packed for these four trips (another post is coming up in August, and the last in November) doesn’t stay in her wardrobe. At least her work wardrobe…

love,
Janice

p.s. Ten years ago, I was asked to build a capsule wardrobe for casual wear, based on black, grey and denim-ish blue. One could wear all of these things today, which is how it should be!

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