For an introduction to the 6 Scarves 2021 project, see this post.
For a description of my method, see this post.
After the personally-abhorrent black and gold combination for her first wardrobe, Janice added some very Sally-compatible items to her Navy & Beige capsule: white and navy tanks and a navy/white paisley skirt (and some navy sandals, which I will ignore). While I'm a color-loving girl at heart, navy and white is one of my favorite combinations. I'm eager to see what will enter the Darcy wardrobe this month.
As you will recall, this is our inspiration scarf, our color palette, and the gorgeous bunny that rules over them all.
In the Jan-May recap, I had identified a general need for short-sleeved tops and summer-appropriate vests or cardigans in the capsules. For this particular wardrobe, I had noted a lack of beige garments (not very surprising) and a relative dearth of print garments (very surprising indeed).
How do our June additions stack up? Extremely well, actually! Let's review our first grouping of new items. Well, here's a white T, a very useful item and a similar choice to Janice's knit tank. This beige short-sleeved cardigan checks both the "beige" and "lightweight cardigan or vest" boxes. The golden-tan and cream scarf coordinates nicely with these light neutral pieces and repeats my hair color. And this skirt...this skirt, people. For a whopping $3.74 I was able to secure that rare unicorn, a print garment containing both navy and black! What? I know! I know!! Do I seem a little excited? Well I'm a lot excited because look at what we have here: a beige skirt with (awesomely vertical) stripes in the useful neutrals of black, navy, and beige (plus that extra mustard which is an acceptable stand-in for a gold neutral). For this capsule, of course we are all like, black, ho-hum, big deal, not in our palette. But in my real life, an item that contains both black and navy, thus automatically coordinating with either neutral, is a prize.
White Henley T - Croft & Barrow/Kohls - 2X - $9.99 - 5/2018
Beige short-sleeved open weave cardigan - thrifted, Target/Goodwill - XXL - $3.74 - 2/2018
Tan-gold/cream ombré scarf - thrifted, ThredUp - $3.59 - 5/2020
Beige/black/navy striped skirt - thrifted, Target/Goodwill - 22W - $3.74 - 10/2018
Continuing to our second grouping of items, we can check some more things off our list. The addition of navy and chambray blue tops brings us up to 3 short-sleeved tops: done. The crop pants in a fun navy-based citrus print along with the striped skirt above give us our additional prints (and are reasonable stand-ins for Janice's navy/white paisley skirt). And as a bonus, a lightweight chambray blazer takes our lightweight topper count to two. Everything I'd identified last month as useful has been introduced in June.
Navy crochet knit top - Croft & Barrow/Kohls - 1X - $24.99 - 9/2017
Chambray blue peplum top - Sonoma/Kohls - 2X - $17.49 - 6/2017
Dark chambray blazer - thrifted, Kohls/ThredUp - 2X - $15.99 - 12/2019
Navy citrus crops - CJ Banks - 24W - $10.00 - 9/2020
For our accessories, I wanted to see ballet flats or a similar warm-weather shoe added to each capsule. For this wardrobe, I had scarves and/or necklaces that are NOT aqua/teal in mind. We had a good start there with the tan-gold/cream scarf in the beige core above. How did we do otherwise?
For ballet flats, we are getting this gold pair that I'm not actually all that happy with, but that will do the job for now (more on that below). We are also introducing some more neutral accessories to the mix, which is nice, sticking with a gold and white theme. So for ballet flats and scarves/necklaces that aren't aqua/teal, we are set.
Tan/denim striped scarf - thrifted, Eileen Fisher/ThredUp - $1.50 - 12/2019
Gold leather leaf earrings - Amazon - ?
Single strand pearls - Charter Club/Macy's - $19.50 - 12/2013
Gold ballet flats - Amazon - $16.99 - 2/2020
Gold shelled pea necklace - Target - $13.25 - 9/2014
So about these gold flats: I find that Amazon's inexpensive shoes are pretty hit and miss, and this one is more a miss than I'd like. My main issue with them is that they look cheap...which they ARE, but still. It's annoying because I bought them to replace a pair of Nordstrom's house brand BP pointy-toed flats that looked terrific--just the right shade of light gold and not too shiny--but that started to come apart at the seam on the back of one of the heels way too soon considering they cost $50. (I now use the BP ones as a pair of knock-about flats for situations like rainy day outings.) I knew I should have held out for a better replacement pair, but gold flats are such a go-to for me that I got antsy, then desperate, and then purchased-and-kept something that didn't meet my standards just to cross it off my list. Lesson learned? I hope so.
So, sort of ironically after acknowledging my color-loving quality, it's time to make a bunch of neutral outfits! Fortunately navy is a pretty good color for me, and chambray blue is even better, so there's a chance of making this work. And I have to admit that as I look down this page at these outfits, they have a restful quality to them. Not so much that it'll make me change my color-wearing ways, but enough to feel like wearing these outfits would make a nice change of pace.
Let's start with the striped skirt and gold flats combo. Outfit #1 brings in the navy top, which is an obvious and pleasing pairing with the skirt, and accessorizes with gold and beige. I like that the darker tan-gold color in the scarf picks up the golden-mustard stripe in the skirt.
Outfit #2 features a favorite sort-of twin set of mine: this chambray blue peplum knit top with the embroidery/lace detailing on front with a chambray blazer. I just find a top and topper set in matching colors with different fabrics/textures deeply satisfying, and here the mash-up of the relaxed style top and somewhat preppy blazer just multiplies that feeling. As usual, chambray proves itself a very versatile option, going perfectly with the skirt while not matching. I like dressing up this boho top with a traditional string of (real) white pearls.
Let's turn our attention to the navy citrus crops now. I really like this scarf + pants print mix. The colors coordinate beautifully, and the stark difference in scale between the broad stripes and the ditsy fruit print makes for a great pairing, I think. Any of the three new tops would work in this outfit, but it's so nice to have the plain clean fresh look of a white T to rely on in summer.
Outfit #4 is the kind of thing I wear to work at the height of summer when our old building's inadequate air-conditioning system can't keep up with the heat so it reaches 80+ F in my office. If it's warm enough, I might even dump the necklace and wear the gold leather statement earrings instead. This is a good style of top for skipping the necklace/scarf because it has a crochet yoke with gathers beneath it, hence some built-in embellishment. I know some women shrink away from wearing prints on their bottom half, but I love the look (and that obviously isn't because I have such slender thighs and hips). Dark pants with a brighter print top is a very common pairing, but when you switch it around, it's less expected and more interesting, I think...without being any hotter!
Let's review a few ways I have worn this striped skirt in the summer. In this June outfit, the components are very similar to Outfit #1 above, just in an even simpler version.
Here is a July version with black and a rabbit/stripe print mix. I am wearing a black short-sleeved T and open weave shrug combination that lets the rabbit scarf and feather pendant stand out. These beige captoe flats are basically perfect with this skirt.
Finally, in this August outfit I went with navy and white neutrals to complement the skirt and added a big statement necklace to jazz it up.
All three of these outfits kept to a neutral color palette, which is how I always wear this skirt. But wouldn't it be interesting to try it with some color? Maybe I need to put the skirt through Jodie's "color recipe" steps! I've done a lot with "neutral in the print" and the chambray in Outfit #2 checks a box for "neutral not in the print."
But I haven't tried the skirt with accent colors. I think that's partly because of that pesky mustard stripe that is a semi-neutral, semi-accent sort of color that seems like it will surely clash with another accent color. But I won't know unless I try it! And if I bring out the mustard with my mustard flats (accepting that the mustard is there and repeating it in the outfit) and add an accent color that works well with mustard, perhaps that will get my mind past this stumbling block.
And now for our June rabbit, the lovely Ann the French Angora! Oh bunny, aren't you feeling hot in all that fur? Luckily French Angoras molt naturally (some Angoras do not). Because Angoras are bred for their wool, the breed standards put a lot of emphasis on the fur. Unlike the super-soft Mini Rex, which has no long guard hairs at all, the French Angora has an abundance of long, stiff guard hairs that are "what give handspun yarn the classic 'halo' sought by spinners and fiber artists" (National Angora Rabbit Breeders). I wasn't familiar with the term "halo," which refers to the fact that spun French Angora yarn strands have a halo of fur surrounding them, so that the yarn is extra fluffy.
Weighing in at about 8-11 pounds, Ann adds some nice size to the menagerie as well as a rich fawn/cream color. This bunny capsule now has another long-haired rabbit to accompany Lia the Lionhead (in the center of the image).
Do you have any clothes that you haven't quite figured out how to wear with accent colors? Do you have any strategies for adding color?
In my next capsule post, we will look at the June 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)
Claire at Claire Justine (Mondays, Weds, Fridays)
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)
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)