A Common Wardrobe Variation, in Navy & Coral

Navy and pink were well-received, and almost immediately I received requests that would use coral rather than pink.  This is a particularly nice color combination that I often forget about!

 all clothes - L.L.Bean

 Square scarf - Nina Ricci, square scarf - Antagoniste Paris, bracelet - Kenneth Jay Lane, earrings - Kara Ross, navy & coral rope and enamel necklace - Orly Genger, watch - Olivia Burton, bag - Debenhams, sunglasses - Guess, embroidered scarf - J. Crew, navy penny loafers - Bass, coral flats - Sam Edelman, coral heart socks - Dorothy Perkins, coral socks - Mango

The Navy & Pink Common Wardrobe - with Navy & Pink accessories!

Okay, this is the most obvious way to accessorize the navy and pink wardrobe!  But with so many beautiful accessories available in these colors, why resist?

 Striped scarf - Missoni, square scarf - Dareen Hakim, bracelet - Luv Aj, Pink quartz earrings - Fantasy Jewelry Box, pink necklace - J. Crew,pink watch - Radley, tote bag - Jack Wills, silk bracelet - Brooks Brothers, Hermes Passementerie scarf - vintage, navy penny loafers - Bass, pink flats - Sperry Top-Sider, pink socks - Bank, pink argyle socks - Chrissy's

all clothes - L.L.Bean

A Common Wardrobe: A variation of the standard, in navy and pink

Sometime back, someone asked me if it would be possible to put together a common wardrobe that would include neither black nor white.  Of course!  Pretty much anything is possible with clothing - my first idea was to work with simple navy and pink garments, while keeping a bit of grey and khaki.  While you couldn't wear every last possible sort of accessory with these colors, you would still have a great many options...

all clothes - L.L.Bean

Shall I build some variations with accessories?  Let me know; this could be a lot of fun!

Project 333 Failure of the week, and the best advice I didn't take

Christian Boltanski and his installation "No Man's Land" - learn more here.

Every  wardrobe advice writer in the world will remind you that you should try on ALL of your clothes on a regular basis.  It seems obvious - your body changes, the clothes can change, and the way your body feels in the clothes (an elusive concept, but you know what I mean) can change more than anything.  But I, in a moment of reckless confidence, decided that I could just roll with last summer's clothes -it was only a few months ago - without trying things on.

AND... my striped tee shirt is terrible. It just feels short and tight and awkward - I will never wear it...

Okay, so this isn't a tragic problem. I donated the offending tee shirt, and I found a wonderful replacement at Eileen Fisher which I'm going to love wearing.

But what if I'd realized my error when I was out of town?  When I was getting dressed for a meeting? or a date? or something important?  Scurrying around trying on multiple outfits is not elegant, and it gets your day off to a frazzled start that doesn't bode well for your serenity through the rest of the day.

So just try things on, okay?  Every few months or so.  Just to be sure.  Best case: you get to try on clothes that fit you perfectly, and that you love.  Worst case: you realize that something needs to be donated, and you start planning for a replacement.

Chic sighting: Mixing bright colors, with metallic shoes

Yesterday was the first truly spring-like day here in Chicago.  This was the kind of outfits that I saw often on the street - bright colors, floral sleeveless tops, and metallic flats.  Bright and springy, but still very appropriate for most offices!

orange and pink tank - Topshop, orange cardigan - Mango, Pink chinos- Levi's Made & Crafted, gold flats - Rocket Dog, yellow and green tank - Madewell, green cardigan - Paul Smith, yellow capris - Erika Cavallini

blue tank - Uniqlo, blue cardigan - Dorothy Perkins, hot pink capris - Miu Miu, green tank - Uniqlo, mint cardigan - Dorothy Perkins, lavender capris - Mother Denim, silver flats - Louise et Cie

Red, black, white, and two Hermes scarves; another travel six-pack

I received a great question; someone had two very carefully chosen Hermes scarves, and wanted some ideas about how to travel with them.  The scarves shared a common color theme of black, white and red, and lent themselves to both silver and gold accessories.  

And for what it's worth, if you click on the links to where these various items, I don't get a penny from anything you do.  Til now, I've never accepted a free ANYTHING in exchange for featuring items on my blog.  If Brooks Brothers wants to hook me up with a retainer, though, I'd be willing to consider it.

Red & white striped tee shirt – Edith A.Miller, Gold hoop earrings – Brooks Brothers, Gold watch – Brooks Brothers, Black pants -Crea, Black velvet loafers –Jon Josef, Black swing coat – John Lewis, Black crossbodybag – Dareen Hakim, Red tote bag – Steven Alan

Black & white necklace – Georg Jensen, Earrings - Kohl's,  Grey dress – Tavan & Mitto, Slingbacks– Stuart Weitzman,  White silk shirt – Reiss, Black skirt – James Perce, Red cardigan – J. Crew, Grey trousers – Eileen Fisher, Bracelet – Fornash, Striped tee shirt – Edith A. Miller, Red flats – Sole Society

Packing for a warm-weather vacation, in red & navy

This was an interesting question - how do you pack if you want to carry on your bag, and you're on one of those airlines with a really LOW, and really STRICT, weight limit? (At least the destination was a warm weather vacation spot...)

My first advice was to get the lightest bag possible - nylon, with no structure at all.  You should consider lining it with dry cleaning bags, or packing your clothes in plastic bags, because these bags are not waterproof.  Beyond that, a very few items of clothing, in silk, linen or cotton.  No jeans -they weight too much!  

The other aspect of this request that really piqued my interested was the desire to wear navy, red and white - a color combination that can begin to look very "American Presidential Candidate" in a hurry!  But avoiding anything that might look like a navy suit, and wearing nothing with stars on them (nor red and white stripes) seems to have worked well.  Seersucker is lightweight and cool, sandals for sightseeing, and a sundress for sweltering days wrap up this tiny travel capsule. 

tee shirt - Ralph Lauren, red earrings - inSync, watch - Brooks Brothers, scarf - Brooks Brothers, navy cardigan - Tory Burch, red linen pants - House of Fraser, moccasins - Gucci, cross-body bag - O.S.P.,

nylon bag - Liebeskind

striped scarf - Brooks Brothers, navy skirt - Chinti & Parker, white pleat-front tee, navy & white seersucker Capri pants - J.Crew, red sunglasses - Kate Spade,  navy silk top - Joie, striped top - Raxevsky, chambray dress - Marc by Marc Jacobs, navy sandals - A.P.C., white sandals - Aerosoles