For an introduction to the 6 Scarves 2021 project, see this post.
For a description of my method, see this post.
I let the time get away from me, and now we are halfway through December while I still have this last Oct/Nov capsule to wrap up! Fortunately, this is always an easy wardrobe to work with, and I am looking forward to seeing how these fall additions play out. As always, we start with a review of our inspiration scarf, color palette, and rabbit mascot.
Our October garments do not conform to the traditional autumn color scheme, but that's OK! While dressing in the colors associated with a season is fun, it's perfectly possible to look appropriate for the season in any colors you choose. In St Paul, the weather in early October is generally still rather summer-like, and I am generally not overly eager to shift to a fall look yet anyway. These items in pink, white, and aloe vera green should work well for the transition season. As for the pink T and cardigan...in a perfect world, I would love these items to make a twin set, but my purchase of these garments was piecemeal rather than planned so they are very different pinks that do not really coordinate well to my eye. But I have somewhat "collector" instincts that mean it behooves me to determine whether seeking out a twin set in place of the mismatched T and cardigan will actually make a difference or not. In this case, the white T will do just fine under the cardigan!
White/pink/green floral shirt - Lands End - 2X - $17.98 - 9/2020
Pale dusty pink cardigan - Lane Bryant - 22/24 - $11.99 - 6/2020
Light dusky pink T - Croft & Barrow/Kohls - 3X - $5.00 - 5/2020
White V neck T - EVRI/Kohls - 3X - $5.00 - 5/2020
Aloe vera textured pullover sweater - CJ Banks - 3X - $15.45 - 9/2020
White/pink/green floral-chevron skirt - thrifted, Lularoe/ThredUp - 3X - $12.60 - 7/2020
The "pink with hints of green and white" color theme continues in October's new accessories. There are a lot of mix-and-match possibilities here...including a variety of DIY bead bracelets. For shoes, we have the striped ballet flats for the first half of October (end of summer to fall transition) and grey ankle boots for the second half (when fall starts).
Pink Cheshire Cat striped scarf - thrifted, ThredUp - $5.99 - 5/2020
Faux pearl/light gold necklace - Loft - $5.39 - 5/2020
Pink drops necklace - Outfit Additions - $26.00 - 11/2013
Bright pink seed bead bracelets - made by me - summer 2020
Green tiger-eye/cream bracelet - made by me - summer 2021
Light pink seed bead bracelets - made by me - summer 2020
Light olive chrysoprase bead bracelets - made by me - summer 2021
Punch pink/clear & pure green/clear seed bead endless strands - Fire Mountain Gems - $0.38 each - 7/2021
Pink crystal Eidelweiss earrings - from my mom
Grey ankle boots - Seychelles/Zappos - $140.00 - 10/2014
November's color scheme looks a bit more autumnal with the addition of the "fall foliage" print blouse at upper right, even though the soft indigo, aloe vera, and light navy would feel right at home in any season. While October's additions came from a variety of brands, November's items are from CJ Banks and Coldwater Creek, two companies that I have found to offer a lot of "soft" colors in a good range of sizes.
Soft indigo pants - CJ Banks - 24W - $13.72 - 12/2020
Navy fall foliage blouse - CJ Banks - 3X - $15.89 - 12/2020
Aloe vera cardigan - CJ Banks - 2X - $15.55 - 7/2020
Navy/olive/pink floral shirt - Coldwater Creek - 22W - $42.00 - 6/2020
Soft indigo crossover top - CJ Banks - 2X - $16.08 - 6/2020
November is the month that scarves start going into heavy rotation for me until the end of the cold weather in April/May, so it's fitting that the Sophia wardrobe is getting six scarves! There is a lot of cool grey/silver in November's accessories.
Dark pastel blue paisley pashmina - thrifted, ThredUp - $9.56 - 8/2020
Grey/white striped scarf - thrifted, ThredUp - $3.59 - 5/2020
Navy owl scarf - Nordstrom (?) - $20.00 - 12/2013
Navy/aqua/olive/gold scarf - thrifted, ThredUp - $3.59 - 5/2020
Silver various circles necklace - Fire Mountain Gems - $8.54 - 7/2021
Silver shaky coin necklace set - Elizabeth & James/Kohls - $11.22 - 11/2020
Silver chain - gift from my mom
Navy/olive apple/aqua plaid scarf - thrifted, ThredUp - $4.20 - 5/2020
White/blue/navy/olive tie-dye scarf - thrifted, ThredUp - $4.80 - 12/2019
Light grey wedges - BCBGeneration - $70.00 - 12/2014
Olive long bead earrings - CJ Banks - ?
Dark blue/grey pearl/silver hoops - made by me - summer 2021
Aloe and aloe-mint bead bracelets - made by me - summer 2021
Dark blue/green/pink/yellow/blue 4mm solid seed bead bracelets - made by me - summer 2021
And to round out the wardrobe with some loungewear, we have some cold weather comfies with a grey/animal theme entering the capsule in November. The rabbit slipper-socks are not only adorable; they are a surprisingly practical choice because they have dots on the bottom that add traction when walking around the house but have the softness and suppleness of socks when curled up watching Netflix or taking a nap (I tested this out for the first time this season over last weekend). I like my slippers that have more structure and a firm sole, but until it gets cold cold, the slipper-socks are more versatile for pure lounging.
Grey animals top - LC Lauren Conrad/Kohls - 2X - 7/2018
Light grey hoodie - JCP - 2X - gift
Dark grey hoodie - JCP - 2X - gift
White tennis shoes - KSwiss - around 2000 (worn for playing tennis)
Grey rabbit sweatpants - Kohls - ?
White/pink rabbit slipper socks - Kohls - ?
As always, let's put these wardrobe additions through their paces by creating some outfits, starting with October's print skirt. In Outfit #1, geared toward the tail end of summer (though would also work for the start of spring) with the striped ballet flats, pairs the floral skirt with the white T + pink cardigan combo I discussed earlier. A plethora of pink accessories complete the look.
Outfit #2 takes the skirt into tights + boots season with a double floral print mix, the impact of which is lessened considerably by the addition of the aloe vera pullover sweater over the top. With only the collar and maybe some of the cuffs of the floral shirt sticking out from the sweater, this is a low-key way to ease yourself into print mixing. I would wear the necklace below the neckline of the sweater so that the bright pink pops against the soft green. (A necklace extender is your friend for making adjustments like this.)
Outfit #3 is the "it didn't kill you to wear the floral shirt under a sweater, so how about wearing it as a shirt-jacket?" maximal print mix option. This one straddles the line between "a lot" and "too much," and I'm not entirely sure where I will land with it.
Next we'll put the soft indigo pants into rotation. Outfit #4 is a good example of a combination that has a lot of color in it without looking overwhelming because the colors are subtle, leaning toward the semi-neutral/colored neutral category. I like the idea of an all-silver layered necklace here to shine against the dark blouse. The various shades of olive/sage/aloe vera green add some depth while coordinating easily.
In Outfit #5, I have tried the "Storied Indigo" pants with a top that was officially labeled "Navy" but that was lighter in value and leaned toward the color that I call soft indigo...one of these blues that look a bit like faded denim. These colors don't match, but I think they work well enough together, especially with a scarf that contains multiple shades of blue as well. These scarves look so similar, don't they? I didn't realize that when I ordered them (both in the same online order) from ThredUp. I know it seems silly to keep both, but thrifted for under $5 apiece (and with a $1.99 restock fee for returns), they offer the slight difference in the shade of green...a mid-tone green in the first one and a lighter green in the second. So actually they are totally different, right?! OK, maybe not.
Outfit #6 is a really fun look to me with the floral + stripe print mix (once again low-key due to the pullover sweater obscuring most of the shirt) and the repeat of the pink flowers in the Edelweiss earrings. (As the name suggests--"noble white"--Edelweiss flowers are typically white, but I like these made from pink crystal.)
Outfit #7 is an example of the popular white top + neutral pants + accent color cardigan outfit formula. We could argue whether the soft indigo is a neutral and whether the aloe vera is an accent color, of course, but I treat both of them as semi-neutrals that can fall into either the neutral or accent category depending on how I wear them. And this time I'm presenting two scarf options that are actually different from each other! ;)
And yes, we've got to try out a couple of loungewear outfits, too...if for no other reason than to marvel at these boho rabbit sweatpants one more time! And heck yes I have added a scarf to each outfit. It's funny that sometimes people think that scarves are "too fancy" to wear in casual, let alone very casual, situations, but I'm not sure that there's any outfit too casual for a scarf. For cold weather, it's just such a practical choice, and it can add a lot to the look of an outfit. (For proof of concept, Janice at The Vivienne Files shared a marvelous photo from The Sartorialist of a man in a hoodie and silk scarf who looked completely marvelous.)
For today's "how I wore it" section, I am focusing on the floral skirt from October and the fall foliage blouse from November.
Starting with the skirt...I have mostly worn this in warm weather, though I believe it could be versatile across the year. For me, the hardest part about wearing it in cold weather is figuring out the tights situation because it is extremely light in value...though I do think the light grey tights + boots combo could work. You can see in this May outfit how much a dark color overpowers the skirt. Next time I would wear a white cardigan instead! I do like the striped T + floral skirt combination, of course.
I liked this very simple August outfit that gives you a sense of how the skirt looks worn with an aloe vera top. Again, the stripe + floral print mix is right up my alley.
In this April outfit, you can see how the skirt looks with a light top and accessories. And yep, another outfit, another stripes + floral combination. I liked this particular striped T + ombré scarf pairing so much that I added it to my "pleasing pairings" spreadsheet.
Now for some more seasonally-appropriate outfits featuring the fall foliage blouse. This October outfit is ye olde print blouse + jeans formula livened up with a layered necklace. It's quite a dark outfit but the DIY aqua mélange seed bead necklace brings some lightness and color near my face.
In this November outfit, the same two base garments transition to a bit cooler weather with a utility vest and flowing scarf. The scarf has a bit more of a late winter-to-summer vibe, color-wise, but I like the pop of green/aqua against the dark background.
Finally, this December outfit is a version of Outfit #4 above with the foliage blouse, soft indigo pants, and olive topper...in this case, a warm wool sweater vest (a hoodie style). This layered necklace is very simple, consisting of silver chains and a string of pearls...which were part of the Layered Necklace Essentials that put together for my Fall/Winter Daily Dozen.
Now for the lagomorphic part of the post: our new rabbits! First up is October's addition, Lotte the Holland Lop! Lotte is giving us a good look at her compact, muscular body shape; thick legs and big feet; and the distinctive "crown" of fur at the back of the head.
For November, Gretchen the broken Rex joins the menagerie! No matter what a Rex rabbit does, her incredibly soft fur is always on glorious display. We have seen Mini Rex rabbits in our capsules already...such as Sophia the Mini Rex, who is the primary mascot for the current wardrobe. The Rex shares the special soft Rex fur with the Mini Rex, but is a much larger rabbit (8-9 pounds vs 3-5) with a different body shape (meaty vs compact). The Rex fur, which is extra soft and plush due to a lack of guard hairs, was first developed in the Rex in the early 20th century in France. It was another 60 years before was the Mini Rex breed was developed.
Do you wear the same colors year-round? Do you change your colors based on the season?
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