With the warmer weather either fully arrived or on its way (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere), this scarf and color palette starts feeling even more right to me. There's just something about navy and white and bright accent colors that feels like summer.
Even in Minnesota, May is the month where true spring arrives and cold weather items can be stored away until late fall. I did my closet change out last weekend, which doesn't involve too much work. I have a good-sized walk-in closet, two (smallish) dressers, and a nice long shelf for storing folded sweaters so I don't have to pack anything away. All I needed to do (with my husband's help) was move the summer tops and vests from the top rail of the closet (that is too high to reach without a stepstool) down to the bottom and move the winter tops and vests up in their place.
With warm weather in mind, I removed the winter sweaters and vests from the capsule temporarily so we can focus on items that could get some wear over the coming months. (Jeans and long-sleeved cardigans may not be right for your climate, of course, but these are still in play for me...though sparingly.) The most obvious consequence is that we have way knocked down our supply of tops! We have only four short-sleeved tops plus one lightweight long-sleeved button up shirt that can be worn alone with the sleeves rolled up or as a jacket over another top. I don't know about you, but 4-5 tops is definitely not enough to carry me through my laundry cycle. I'd also like to see a couple more bottoms because we are heavy on the jeans and all-season pants that might not work when it's truly warm.
Janice brought in a dress, lightweight pants, and a lightweight cardigan for each of her capsules this month. Between these items and the wardrobe holes identified above, I added 7 garments to our capsule for May.
First, the dress...I own 5 dresses and none of them are a useful solid, nor do any of them work with the colors of this capsule! But that's OK, I just substituted a matching top + skirt combination instead. This elbow-length button up shirt and pencil skirt in navy with silver hardware will make a pretty good substitute for the shirtdress Janice selected for her navy-based wardrobe...and it has the advantage of adding more mix-and-match possibilities to the capsule than a dress. For lightweight pants, these navy and white vertically striped ankle pants are perfect for this color palette and season. For the lightweight sweater, I chose a linen-blend cardigan (rather than a pullover) in a bright pink color that works with the peplum T already in the capsule. I rounded out the additions with some short-sleeved tops to substitute in for winter ones I removed: a white pleated top, a white T with a red heart print, and a medium pink T.
White pleated top - Loft - 2X - $14.99 - 5/2020
White/red heart T - Croft & Barrow/Kohls - 3X - $5.00 - 5/2020
Navy short-sleeved button up shirt - thrifted, CJ Banks - 3X - $5.59 - 2/2020
Navy/white striped ankle pants - thrifted, Dalia - 22W - $3.74 - 9/2018
Light dusky pink T - Croft & Barrow/Kohls - 3X - $5.00 - 5/2020
Navy pencil skirt - Walmart - 20W - $10.50 - 2/2018
Bright pink drapey cardigan - thrifted, Catherines - 2X - $4.49 - 9/2018
Our accessories are mostly unaffected by the change of season. The one heavy scarf has been removed, as have the ankle boots and suede loafers. We are moving into summer with a nice selection already in place!
But for me, variety in accessories is critical in a capsule wardrobe where your number of garments is limited, so I added a full complement of them again for May. With the season of layered necklaces upon us, I chose three silver-tone necklaces in various lengths that can be mixed-and-matched. For earrings, a pair of silver studs with a heart motif and DIY seed bead hoops with a small White Rabbit charm that matches the one on the DIY paperclip chain. Of course I added another DIY bracelet set, this time with several skinny paper bead bracelets and a small red glass bracelet. The dark blue flats with white and red stripes will work very well with the neutrals and red accents, but to coordinate with the pink-based and/or dressier items, a pair of pretty much nude-to-me low wedges in light grey is a versatile option. Because the pink accent is mostly missing from our scarf options thus far, I picked this lightweight one with blended stripes across multiple shades of pink that reminds me of the Cheshire Cat from the Disney animated film.
Silver chain link necklace - gift (Dillard's)
Silver daisy pendant - CJ Banks - $6.52 - 6/2020
Pink Cheshire striped scarf - thrifted, ThredUp - $5.99 - 5/2020
Silver heart studs - CJ Banks - ?
Red seed bead/silver White Rabbit hoops - made by me - summer 2021
Silver paperclip chain with carabiner - made by me - summer 2021
Blue/red striped flats - Chinese Laundry - $14.00 - 11/2013
Red/Navy small paper bead + glass bracelet set - made by me - winter 2022
Light grey wedges - BCBGeneration - $70.00 - 12/2014
With four new tops, let's build four new outfits from the May additions...two using the navy skirt and two using the striped pants. First, to show that we can get a nice (if not super fancy) dress outfit this month, let's put the navy shirt and pencil skirt together with some low-key accessories...the light grey wedges, a silver chain link necklace, and two paper bead bracelets from the stack. This isn't an exciting outfit per se, but there are times even in my life when something simple and understated is on point.
Outfit #2 gives this skirt a much more casual, fun vibe with the addition of a print T, striped flats, and high impact jewelry. (It did not feel natural to leave off the necklace, but I know that it can get too hot to want to wear metal around the neck, so here's one without that.) This pencil skirt that has a bit of stretch in the material (which is not obvious when looking at it) is definitely comfortable enough for general wear, and it's easy to dress for work or play.
Moving to our striped pants, Outfit #3 takes a neutral base of white top + navy/white pants with silver and grey accessories and adds a vibrant pop of summery color with the bright pink cardigan.
Finally, in Outfit #4, the button up shirt is used as a lightweight jacket over the pink T and striped pants. The pink scarf can be worn in many different ways, depending on the weather and your preferences.
I love the versatility of these striped pants, so I am sharing four OOTD based on them. I wore this one in early October but it would also be perfect for a spring day with the watermelon pink blazer and navy/salmon floral scarf. I like the structured pointy-toed flats with this work look.
This June outfit is a simple neutral base with a cheerful emerald green short-sleeved cardigan. The classic button up cardigan works well in a simple outfit with a round-neck top. I like to finish an outfit with metallic flats and a statement necklace!
September technically brings the beginning of fall, but usually feels like a never-ending summer, even in St Paul. This outfit took the orange and blue-grey colors from the cheetah blouse for the accessories and short-sleeved open weave cardigan. The trim silhouette of these ankle pants make them easy to pair with a topper piece like a cardigan, vest, or kimono. And while this is technically a print mix, the stripes are so narrow that they pretty much function like a solid.
Early October can also feel like summer in the Midwest, so it's good to have some late summer transition season outfit ideas in mind. In this outfit, the striped ankle pants, white short-sleeved T, and 3/4 sleeve floral shirt worn as a jacket are all straight out of my summer wardrobe. As a nod to fall, I added flats and a lacy infinity scarf (worn loose so it's not too warm) in an autumnal maroon/burgundy color.
Now for my favorite part...introducing a new rabbit mascot to the menagerie! This month's addition is May the Mini Lop! Isn't she a cute compact bundle of bun? She has a very interesting coloration pattern, too: black on the sides, ears, and part of the face, but orange on the top! This is due to a gene (E/e) that controls whether the rabbit's basic color (here, black) extends the full length of the hair shaft or not. With two recessive ee genes, the black only goes so far on the hairs; after that point, the orange pigment shows. So you get a "black" rabbit that looks mostly orange/red!
I like the new colors and pattern that May's complex coat brings to our collection of rabbits! She's also the first lop-eared rabbit and the first loafing rabbit to join the crew.
Do you have a preference between dresses and skirts? Or do you like both equally...or dislike both equally?
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