Monday, May 28, 2012

Day 42: Wardrobe Series Day 4, Play To Your Strengths

Play to your strength. That seems obvious, of course. But I hear a lot of gals say things like "oh, I love it, but it's navy. I have SO much navy. So much more than anything else. I should branch out." Well, yes, you should, but that doesn't mean to leave that item that you love behind. When you're fond of a color or style, you'll tend to accumulate more of that, and that means that while you might not have a lot of pieces in your wardrobe overall, what you do have ... will match.



My strengths:

red and black.

turbans


bakelite.


Rolling over the clothing item again - Day 42 uses the same skirt from Day 41, but while the palettes are similar, the outfits are disparate. Of course, this project about wardrobe isn't really done in the way that you or I would normally - the day to day "rollover" is for the point of illustration. I find that I have "groups" of items that I tend to mix like this with, so too-similar colors don't get worn back to back. I have the black, red, and tan group. The navy, pink and white group. The brown and chartreuse group. And of course, there's cross over between those groups, too. Navy and Red. Brown and pink. Black and chartreuse. Etc. I feel like I should draw a real-life clothes mixing chart, but I feel like it would look as confusing as Lil' Abner's family tree.

So, what are YOUR strengths? What do you find you tend to lean toward in collection. Is there anything you have a hard time pairing up with the rest of your wardrobe?

Cardigan: Goodwill many, many moon ago.
Sweater: Expo Antique Show
Wool Scarf: Estate lot
Bakelite: Various
Skirt: Spiegel, purchased at Goodwill
Shoes: ReMix

12 comments:

  1. I tend to go for navy blue and yellow or red (or both!) a lot lately. I love the way it looks together and on me! My other favorites tend to be pink and black (which I don't actually have a lot of) and then I kind mix and match colors according to my mood. I can't do lime green (at least not against my face) because it makes me look ill, so I don't have much of that. Brown is also sparse in my wardrobe. I have a favorite outfit for winter which is a burgundy,white, yellow, and green patterned top from Heyday Vintage and the lovely 1930s knit bolero I purchased from you ages ago, paired with high waisted pants and perhaps some bakelite... and maybe a head scarf/turban or snood. I have been obsessed with hair scarfs lately... I have a baby blue knit pencil skirt (part of a set that I think became separated somewhere down the line before I purchased it...) that I have NO idea what to wear with. I've tried several different tops and such, and nothing seems to look right. Suggestions?

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    1. I find knit skirts to be difficult as well - typically, I pair knits with knits. I happen to love black with baby blue, so perhaps start simply - a white blouse, with black cardigan over, or a black pullover type sweater with baby blue scarf as an accent - OR a scarf with multiple colors to tie it - like black, white, baby blue and pink. That will open up the ensemble to other accessories, too! Also, I really love burgundy or eggplant with lighter blues, and the color combination is very late-30s in it's inspiration. Maybe try the light blue, burgundy, and butterscotch as an accent.

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    2. Thanks Julie! I do have a black short sleeved sweater that I think I purchased from you that would look lovely with it.... And I *might* have a scarf in baby blue as well. And I do have that 1930s burgundy knit bolero I purchased from you way back when too! Awesome! I think I have a new outfit to wear for today! Thank you for your help and advice! I knew you would have the answer.... I'll play around with it and see what I come up with.

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  2. I have a lot of brown and pink and also red, white, blue. Once I finally realized that, I started to buy accessories that went with these palettes and I actually wear them! I have entirely too many accessories that just sit around and look pretty.

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    1. So do I! But you've inspired me - the next Wardrobe post will be about using those accessories, and trying something new! All because you reminded me that that is a common (and shared!) problem.

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  3. Your faux-bangs look super-amazing! And I'm loving the pics from the new camera.

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  4. I adore blue and black, and own almost no brown. I also love purple, but have a heck of a time finding purple accessories. One of my wardrobe problems is that since I've started redoing my wardrobe, I have the pieces that have called out to me to be purchased, but I don't have many wardrobe staples... I need someone spectacularly fashionable to help me figure it out, obviously.

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    1. I own a fair amount of purple myself, and while I certainly keep my eyes peeled for purple in terms of jewelry and other accessories, I agree that it is very difficult. I love black with purple, of course, as well as chartreuse. One thing you can do, that I mentioned to another commenter, is find a scarf that incorporates purple, as well as other colors. One you've added that multi-hued scarf to your favorite purple dress or sweater, you've opened the ensemble up for new possibilities in terms of coordination.

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  5. great post and great thing to think about- for me I need colour and generally lots of it. So I think strong colour is my srength- and combos of red, yellow, green and blue/black is usually not far from my choices everyday...then add bakelite and a good belt. I like the idea of having a signature look without being slavish to it.

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  6. This outfit is fantastic! Lovely blog and lovely etsy shop! I've been stalking your shop for months now :) Your clothing is fantastic!

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  7. I love this post (as I do everything you share with us), as I try to dress to my strengths a lot of the time, too. Some pieces that I know are my friends include cropped cardigans, fitted 40s-early 60s dresses, high waisted vintage/repro jeans, and pencil/a-line skirts. On the colour front, I love pretty much every one, but find that red, pink, teal, turquoise, grey, navy, and brown all work great with my skin and hair colouring, so I often reach for them first.

    ♥ Jessica

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