For an introduction to the 6 Scarves 2021 project, see this post.
For a description of my method, see this post.
In April, Janice noticed that her capsules had too low a ratio of tops to bottoms, so she added 3 short-sleeved Ts, a necklace, and a lightweight scarf to each wardrobe.
The Sally wardrobes are being built in a way that hopefully will keep the top-to-bottom ratio in a reasonable place, so I am continuing to add little clusters that full outfits can be made from. And in Minnesota, April is too soon to be routinely wearing short-sleeved Ts, though with an appropriate second layer, they can start to work toward the end of the month.
April is such a transitional month here, you could see anything from puffer coats and tall boots trudging through the snow to cropped pants and ballet flats strolling down the sidewalk (and sometimes from one to the other and back again). My sartorial season of winter/spring gives way to spring on April 16, but the weather doesn't always choose to align to my calendar. This year, April has been gentle with us, with no snow to speak of and high temperatures approaching 70 popping up now and again.
There will be a fair amount of variety in wardrobe additions this month, befitting the fluctuating weather. But the one common denominator is that skirts will once again be joining all the capsules.
As usual, let's start with a review of our color palette. So far this capsule has a good selection of wine items, and black, grey, bright pink, light pink/blush, and white garments have also joined the wardrobe.
Is the point at which I completely lost my mind? Three grey/black print skirts? Neither Gina's Sally nor I need this many similar skirts, but there you have it. (None of the other wardrobe palettes include both grey and black so they are all coming to this capsule.) In retrospect, I probably should not have purchased the maxi skirt; I was really looking for a plain grey one, but when this one turned up at Goodwill, I bought it anyway (so at least it wasn't an expensive redundancy). A plethora of grey/black skirts are well-accompanied by a black long-sleeved T and grey sweater vest. For our bits of color this month, a dusky rose cardigan that I will NEVER be able to find a coordinating top for and a busy/fun bird print blouse.
Grey striped maxi skirt - thrifted, Goodwill - ? - $4.49 - 3/2019
Grey polka dot skirt - Elle/Kohls - XL - $22.39 - 8/2014
Black long-sleeved seamed T - ana/JCP - 2X - $11.24 - 9/2017
Black/grey striped skirt - thrifted, Loft/Goodwill - XL - $5.99 - 7/2015
Dusky rose cardigan - CJ Banks - 2X - $14.40 - 1/2021
Grey sweater vest - Karen Scott/Macy's - $19.99 - 12/2019
Burgundy/mint/wine bird blouse - Loft - XXL - $25.00 - 2/2017
In April, all wardrobes are getting this trio of metallic beaded stretch bracelets that really sealed the deal for me in wearing bracelets. And it looks like this is Infinity Scarf Month for the Gina wardrobe at least. I'm happy to see a couple more necklaces enter the wardrobe; as things warm up, a necklace will be a nice change from all the scarves. Aren't those drop earrings cute with the hematite bead, seed pearl, and grey glass bead? These were made for me by a friend. OK, three grey/black skirts and now three pairs of boots. Luckily Gina's Sally got a pair of burgundy flats in January or she'd be in trouble footwear-wise.
Burgundy pompom infinity scarf - Payless - $6.79 - 11/2015
Black/pink/grey floral scarf - Loft - $5.39 - 5/2020
Ivory/tan/grey owls scarf - thrifted, ThredUp - $4.80 - 12/2019
Faux pearl/rose gold 3-strand necklace - Kohls - $13.26 - 12/2020
Dark grey big ball necklace - Macy's - $30.00 - 12/2013
Silver, rose gold, gold stretch bracelets - Amazon - $28.00 - 8/2020
Dark grey/seed pearl drop earrings - gift
Grey suede ankle boots - Seychelles/Zappos - $140.00 - 10/2014
Maroon ankle boots - Dolce Vita/Nordstrom - $93.76 - 11/2014
Tall grey boots - Lifestride/Zappos - $99.99 - 10/2014
Now to put our print and polka dot skirts through their paces. Of course print mixing will be the theme of these outfits. First the polka dot skirt that I treat almost as a solid because it's so easy to wear with printed tops. Wearing a long solid sweater vest is a nice way to reduce the impact of the print mix. I think either black or grey tights would work well to repeat color from the skirt. Pick a necklace or scarf depending on the weather.
Our next outfit is an answer to the questions "What do you wear with that orphan accent color cardigan that you can't match to anything else?" and "Why are base pieces in your core neutrals so important?" I used accessories to repeat the pink idea from the cardigan elsewhere in the outfit: rose gold bracelets and Sally's choice of a faux pearl necklace with rose gold chain or a black and grey scarf with pink flowers.
Outfit #5 is quite lacking in color for my taste, but I do like experimenting with multiple neutrals. I wasn't sure whether this scarf would work or not; it has a good amount of grey in it but it's mostly ivory and tan. I don't love this outfit, but it's OK. I do think that adding the gold bracelets to connect to the tan colors of the scarf helps bring it together just a bit. But I struggle with looking washed out in all neutrals so I would probably ditch the neutral scarf in this outfit and throw on a more colorful one.
This polka dot skirt from 2014 is one of the oldest garments in my wardrobe, and I find it surprisingly versatile. Here are three ways I've worn it with pink in the past. Last January I combined it with blush pink and burgundy-wine for a subtly colorful look.
In this February outfit, I bundled it up with all the grey layers and threw on a pink and burgundy floral scarf for a touch of color and as a beacon of hope that spring will eventually arrive.
And in this November outfit from back in 2017, I wore it with a warm pullover sweater, a voluminous scarf, and black Mary Janes. It's no accident that these are all tights outfits; it's a bit short for my taste to wear with bare legs, so I use it as a cold-weather skirt. The ponte knit fabric layers very well with tights and leggings. (It also stretches wonderfully to accommodate changes in my lower body's size, hence its survival from 2014 to now.)
While these three similar skirts may be overkill for a capsule wardrobe, I am confident that Gina's Sally will make good use of them. I'm looking forward to seeing the whole capsule to date and how these pieces will integrate into it.
For the seasonal wardrobe matrix, recall that in each season, for each color category, I can mark what has been added each month:
x = solid piece
T = tonal piece (i.e., tonally works with this color though it is a different color)
O = ombré piece
P = print piece (not ombré)
Do you have any redundancies in your closet? Any orphans? How do you make use of these garments?
In my next post, we will look at the April additions for our second wardrobe: #2 Navy & Beige, Darcy.
I link up with:
Shelbee at Shelbee on the Edge (2nd Monday; 3rd Thursday)
Mica at Away from the Blue (Mondays)
Debbie at My Random Musings (Mondays)
Leelo at Beauty by Miss L (Mondays)
Roxanne at Glass of Glam (Mondays)
Laura at I Do deClaire (Tuesdays)
Emma at Style Splash (Tuesdays)
Jess at Elegantly Dressed & Stylish (Tuesdays)
Gail at Is This Mutton? (Wednesdays)
Shelly at The Queen in Between (Wednesdays)
Jodie at Jodie's Touch of Style (Thursdays)
Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom (Thursdays)
Ada at Elegance and Mommyhood (Thursdays)
Jacqui at Mummabstylish (Thursdays)
Suzy at The Grey Brunette (Fridays)
Nancy at Nancy's Fashion Style (Fridays)
Michelle at My Bijou Life (Fridays)
Erika at A Little Bit of Everything (Fridays)
Rena at Fine Whatever (Saturdays)