Another "Triple Top Secret" - Grey, Red, and Denim

Someone wanted to know specifically if a denim shirt and a grey sweatshirt would be terribly boring as a base for a group of tops...

denim shirt - Lucien Pellat Finet, print tee shirt - Uniqlo, grey hooded sweater - Uniqlo, red sweater - Uniqlo, floral tee shirt - Uniqlo

The "Triple Top" Secret also works at home...

So the idea of carefully choosing a "cluster" of shirts and sweaters, to give yourself some layering options, also works well if you have to dress warmly but a bit nicely...

all clothes - L.L.Bean 

When you have to have a few options for holiday or party attire, this is also an approach to consider.

teal beaded cardigan - Eastex, black velvet jacket - Yohji Yamamoto, teal beaded sweater - Eastex, teal tee shirt - New Look,  black velvet top - Dorothy Perkins

Casual Packing: The "Triple Top" Secret

 Here are a couple of examples of how my Triple Top Secret selection of tops can work for a really casual trip (or just a day to day wardrobe).  First, I started with a cool flowered shirt, got really gutsy and tossed in a striped tee shirt, and worked from there.  Yes, I would wear the stripes and the flowers together...

Red sweatshirt - Aerie,  navy sweater - Uniqlo, floral shirt - Uniqlo,  striped tee shirt - Alexander Wang, white henley tee - Uniqlo

 I realized after working with this idea for a while that there are, in fact, two "triples" inherent in this idea:

Yes, the button-front shirt is critical!  A shirt that can both be worn as a jacket or 2nd layer, but also layered under a sweater or sweatshirt, is key.

Here's an example of how this can work with some bright, warm colors, to get you through the icky weather ahead:

orange fleece - L.L.Bean, plaid shirt -Uniqlo, cream tee shirt - L.L.Bean, yellow sweater - Uniqlo, brown tee shirt - L.L.Bean

If you find that you've developed a passion for a printed or plaid shirt, this is a great way to make sure that you wear it frequently...

Packing: The "Triple Top" Secret

I found, after a few days of travelling, that the shirts and sweaters that I had packed gave me a lot more options than I had anticipated!  A reminder: these are what I had in my bag:

cardigan - Line, denim shirt - Dorothy Perkins, black tee shirt - Uniqlo, textured sweater - Wallis, black long-sleeved tee shirt - Uniqlo

Of course, I could wear any of these except the cardigan on their own.  But as the weather, and my location, shifted, I began to experiment with different ways to layer these 5 garments.  I discovered that, ultimately, I had a DOZEN options.  In the coldest weather, I was able to layer three tops together for maximum warmth, and thus the Triple Top Secret was born!

 But I quickly realized that, if I had chosen JUST a little bit more carefully, I could have had even more options!  Buttons on the cardigan would make a world of difference, and a sweater under which I could layer tee shirts would open up even more possibilities. Here's an example: These 5 garments, along with a pair of jeans and a pair of khaki or tan pants, would provide you dozens of choices to help you accommodate changing weather.

Cardigan - Novica, Denim shirt - Dorothy Perkins, cream tee shirt - L.L.Bean, teal sweater - Uniqlo, sage green long-sleeved tee shirt - L.L.Bean

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Tomorrow, I'm going to look at a couple of very casual options in this vein...

Packing for Changing Weather

My recent adventures took me from decidedly summery weather to something more in keeping with gloves and scarves.  As usual, I was limited to just a carry-on bag... But I was really delighted with what I took with me.

Nobody around you is going to be fooled into believing that you have a vast and limitless wardrobe at your disposal, and you're going to need to be able to do some laundry occasionally with this little ensemble. I found, however, that I was covered (or uncovered, as the case may be) for everything that I encountered.

AND!!!  I deciphered the reason that all of this worked so well, and next week I'm going to explain the secret, and show some other examples.

A grey tee shirt and black pants from Eddie Bauer, my old argyle cardigan, pearls, walking shoes, Tumi briefcase and carry-on.

I only packed two pair of shoes, and contrary to normal advice, I smashed them down flat and tucked them into the inner side pockets of my bag.  These Thierry Rabotin shoes are painfully expensive, but they can be resoled,so I keep them for years and years.  And they're soft enough that the horrid smashing doesn't hurt them.  Not shown here - pajamas, lingerie, and tights...

An old Eileen Fisher cardigan and sweater, denim shirt, a couple of black tee shirts,  beige and black scarf, Thierry Rabotin ballet flats and cross-strapped flats,  Eileen Fisher slouch pants, my old black Muji dress, a grey cashmere turtleneck from before the beginnings of recorded history,  black, grey, ruby scarf, skirted leggings

It's been a really bad year for autumn foliage...

Or so I was told, by everybody I met in New England...

But they have VERY high standards!

Regular blog posting will resume tomorrow - I'm so happy to be home...

The real "power" shopping

Brooches for Winter

I fully intended to hold back this post until it was a bit closer to winter, and the winter holidays, but since all of these brooches are available right now, on ebay, I thought I'd go ahead and give you some eye candy...

Even the "non-brooch" people among us have to admit that these are pretty -especially when aggregated thematically...  And the vintage brooches are often beautiful quality for a modest price!

Project 333: Earrings

Earrings are far from an essential part of any wardrobe, but I wear them every day; I find that I really hate the look of the holes in my ears without earrings.  But most of the time I prefer to wear only small stud earrings, or very modest hoops - I'm not terribly keen on large earrings on me...

These are the core of my day-to-day wardrobe:

Pearl studs, metal studs, a pair of dressy studs, an accent stud (well, okay, grey pearls), and a small pair of hoops

Pearls, or another lustrous stone in a neutral tone, are a good starter:

Majorica,  Nordstrom, Pandora, Givenchy,  Lagos,  Pandora, Alexis Bittar

A metallic stud is always nice:

Melinda Maria, Marco Bicego,  John Hardy, Adami & Martucci,  Lagos, Nordstrom, Lagos

It's generally handy to have a somewhat dressy earring for those occasions:

Nadri, Nordstrom, Melinda Maria, Nordstrom,  Nadri, Nordstrom, Melinda Maria

And a small earring in an accent color is fun:

Nadri, Argento Vivo, Anne Klein, Kendra Scott, Marco Bicego, Michael Kors, Kendra Scott

 If you're a hoop earring type of person, the options are many:

Simon Sebbag, Alexis Bittar,  Nadri,  Adami & Martucci,  Adami & Martucci,  Simon Sebbag