For an introduction to the 6 Scarves 2021 project, see this post.
For a description of my method, see this post.
Today we have some cheerfully bright items to add to this capsule with a summery color palette and a drowsy mascot.
Here are the garments in the wardrobe after 6 months. For warm weather, we have:
-7 skirts: all warm weather appropriate
-4 pants: 1 cropped, 1 ankle, 2 full length
-5 short-sleeved tops: 1 white, 1 navy, 1 chambray blue, 2 prints
-1 3/4 sleeve top: print
-3 sleeveless tops: dark coral, light yellow, aqua
-1 3/4 sleeve cardigan: light yellow
-1 utility vest: navy
-1 light-to-medium weight long-sleeved cardigan: aqua
-1 lightweight blazer: chambray
-1 short-sleeved cardigan: beige
Instead of the dresses to dress up or down that Janice added to her capsules in July, we are once again adding comfortable, casual items to these wardrobes. First, a trio of summery bottom pieces: skimmers (i.e., just below the knees shorts), a knit skort, and knit exercise capris. Even though these turquoise capris were marketed for exercise, I have found them just fine for wearing casually to run errands and whatnot.
Seafoam mint skimmers - CJ Banks - 24W - $7.21 - 12/2020
Turquoise knit exercise capris - Walmart - ?
White/navy/coral floral skort - thrifted, CJ Banks - 18 - $6.99 - 12/2018
Allow to me do a short public service announcement on the importance of wearing appropriate clothing for warm weather activity! I'm always quick to bring up the value of technical fabrics, etc., but last weekend I forgot my own good advice and walked for 90 minutes (in my apartment) while wearing a pair of denim crop pants because I thought, Eh, these will be cool enough. And though I did not overheat, I did sweat, and a few days later I'm still feeling where those stupid thick cotton seams chafed my skin. Don't make this mistake! Also, be sure that you know which of your clothes are up to getting hot and sweaty in. This knit skort is great for lounging, wandering around a mall, etc., but on their first summer outdoor walk a few years ago, I discovered that the "shorts" part of the skort are off somehow, like they are a little too loose (which on my legs I wasn't sure was even possible); while walking, the fabric would move up and no longer offer protection to my sweaty thighs.
With that reminder out of the way, let's continue to our second grouping of items, three colorful Ts and a short-sleeved cardigan also made from a t-shirt knit. Notice the range of blue-green colors, from seafoam mint to teal/dark aqua represented in our July additions. We are going to be in good shape to create some color-blended outfits.
Medium aqua peplum top - Lands End - 1X - $16.99 - 5/2018
Medium coral T - Croft & Barrow/Kohls - 3X - $5.00 - 5/2020
Teal/dark aqua fans T - EVRI/Kohls - 3X - $5.00 - 8/2019
Aquamarine short-sleeved t-shirt cardigan - thrifted, Lane Bryant - 22/24 - $5.24 - 10/2018
Our accessories are looking really great for the first 6 months:
We have some fun additions this month! Two thrifted scarves with "zoological" prints of koi and cartoon owls, two gold statement necklaces, a bold mint flower necklace, seafoam green studs, another pair of my recent super-easy-to-make beaded hoop earrings, white seed bead bracelets, chambray flats, and hiking shoes. We are adding casual clothing this month, but that doesn't mean that our resulting outfits can't be accessorized. Sometimes all it takes is one accessory to take an outfit from "Netflix couch marathon" to "I am wearing an actual outfit for this grocery run/kid pickup/Zoom meeting" status.
Light mint koi scarf - thrifted, Gap - $6.15 - 8/2020
Light sky blue owls scarf - thrifted - $2.40 - 12/2019
Gold/clear ruffled collar necklace - Target - $10.00 - 12/2014
Aqua melánge/silver/flower rabbit hoops - made by me - summer 2021
Seafoam circular stud earrings - Loft - 2020
Mint floral necklace - Target - $13.25 - 9/2014
Gold fish charm necklace - Ann Taylor - $34.75 - 7/2014
White seed bead bracelets - made by me - summer 2020
Chambray flats - Payless - $16.99 - 6/2015
Navy/aqua hiking shoes - The North Face/REI - 2019?
I had to show a close-up of the beaded earrings so you can see how sweet the little rabbits-with-flowers-in-their-hare charms are. They were added to the wire hoop earring pieces very easily with jump rings. I used leftover beads from making the aqua melánge multi-strand seed bead necklace added to this wardrobe in May (in the fourth row of the accessories photo above). I guess that means we have an aqua melánge necklace and earring set in this capsule, but of course you wouldn't ever have to wear them together if you didn't want to. (I personally tend to steer clear of wearing matching earrings and necklace sets together because I like a more eclectic, less classic feel to my accessorizing.)
Let's put some outfits together with these additions, starting with the coral T. It's a clear winner with the floral print skort and a few simple accessories. The seafoam green in the earrings is not otherwise present in the outfit, but I thought it was a nice (very small) pop of a second color near the face.
Outfit #2 brings together coral and a couple different shades of blue-green in a colorblocked outfit. I think the scarf and earrings do a great job of integrating the various colors into an outfit that looks intentional and cohesive.
Let's continue with the seafoam skimmers, pairing them with an aqua peplum top. What do you think of this color combination, with the skimmers leaning more green and the top leaning more blue? This is definitely not a dead-obvious color combination to me, but I think it works. To strengthen that blending of colors, I would probably choose the cartoon owl scarf that has several blue-green colors in it, but on a day I was feeling bolder, the fish charm necklace would be really cute (and it also has a couple blue/green colors in it, just in very small amounts). I'm happy to see how well the chambray flats work with all these outfits; they are a great neutral shoe option that I rarely see people take advantage of...I mean, they are basically "jeans for the feet" right?
For our last outfit, I wanted to tackle the knit exercise capris/hiking shoes combination that doesn't readily lend itself to the creation of a look that isn't "look, I'm exercising." While sneakers are having a fashion moment, these aren't the fashion sneakers you'll see on a Buzzfeed roundup of celebrity street style...not even the "ugly Dad sneakers" version. So...well, it's a thought.
Let's review a few ways I have worn this short-sleeved cardigan. This July outfit continues the coral + blue-green theme of the Darcy capsule with a floral print T, navy capris, and coral/orange accessories. The necklace and shoes give this look the "top 'n tails" styling that Liz at Closet Play has talked about.
Here is an early September outfit with the same style capris in black, a sweet floral blouse, pearls, and tan captoe flats. I no longer have this blouse in my wardrobe, but if I were going to do this now, I would definitely go for an edgier necklace (or several)!
Finally, in this late September outfit, I blended the cardigan to the mint lace-front T to pair with a large scale floral print skirt. This necklace with beads of various shapes in shades of coral/red, gold, and aqua repeats many of the colors in the skirt. I kept my shoes low-key in nude-to-me light grey.
Here is the newest rabbit to join the Darcy menagerie, Callie the Californian! And for once, the breed name is not geographically misleading. Callie is the result of breeding white New Zealand rabbits, Standard Chinchillas, and Himalayans to create a large white rabbit with "points" on the ears, nose, and feet. Callie's points are not as dark and pronounced as on many Californians, but you can definitely see where the darker fur comes in. Welcome, Callie!
I consider coral + aqua a classic summer color combination. Do you have any favorite color combos for summer?
In my next capsule post, we will look at the July additions for our third wardrobe: #3 Navy & Grey, Lily.
I link up with:
Shelbee at Shelbee on the Edge (Mondays; 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 (3rd Thursday)
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)