6 Scarves 2021: Jan-Apr Recap, #3 Navy & Grey, Lily

For an introduction to the 6 Scarves 2021 project, see this post.

For a description of my method, see this post.

Time for our one-third-of-the-year check-in with the Lily wardrobe. (If I'd done this after March, I could have used the less cumbersome phrase "quarterly check-in." I missed my chance there. "Trimester" isn't right; that's 3 months. "Quadmester" is...barely a word even in education and doesn't mean 4 months despite the word's original Latin meaning. Triannual is the kind of time word I hate because it can mean either 3 times per year OR every 3 years; seriously, how does that work at all as a word?) Anyway, here is the color palette we are working with all year long.

Our questions are these:

-Regarding completeness: What other colors or garments are missing or under-represented?

-Regarding coherence: Are there any items that look like they belong to a different person's wardrobe because it's hard to imagine the same person wearing those colors/contrast levels?

Let's start with our garments.

On completeness: Well, this is getting to be routine. I need a special keyboard short cut that types "This wardrobe has only one pair of pants. Surely a Sally will need more than this eventually!" However, this next observation isn't routine at all! ALL the palette colors have shown up in the wardrobe's garments. True, blue and navy continue to be dominant, but we've got at least one garment in purple, pink, white, and grey.

On coherence: Right now those three items in the lower right of the image--purple skirt, orchid sweater, floral skirt--stand apart a bit as their own mini-cluster, but not because they don't gel well with the other colors. For prints, the black and white large-scale plaid moto vest is higher contrast than the others.

Now for our accessories.

On completeness: I love seeing the three solid scarves to start off this collection; I think my ideal wardrobe would have a solid scarf in every palette color! With the orchid sweater and purple skirt, I would like to see scarves that combine those two colors and/or either color with navy/dark blue.

On coherence: Again, yellow gold stands out in not-a-good-way from the coolness of the palette. The silky swirl print scarf (the very last one before you hit the bracelets) is a bit of a stretch to our color palette, especially with the black in it...but I do like it a lot with our purple and orchid items.

Of course we want to build some outfits from our complete January-April wardrobe...starting with one that doesn't include any April items. But I think Outfit #1 is kind of perfect as a not-very-feminine business casual monochromatic outfit. (I don't know quite the right word here. I certainly don't mean masculine and I think I don't mean androgynous either. It's not quite menswear-influenced. It's just a bit more...neutral in some way...than it is feminine, I think. A button up shirt, a pair of pants, a pullover sweater, a pair of Oxfords...those are not particularly feminine-coded categories.) I will admit that this one doesn't feel as specifically Sally as many of the outfits do (no skirt? no scarf? no print mix?), but I would readily wear it, and there are times it would be just the right thing.

In Outfit #2, I find the periwinkle tunic + blue cardigan intriguing. They are certainly not the same color, but they relate strongly to each other...like color cousins even if not siblings and certainly not identical twins. I think the white/grey necklace would stand out well against the blue shirt.

Now for our somewhat late-comer navy corduroy skirt. Adding a denim jacket in April gives us this option to try. I would definitely wear burgundy tights to emphasize that color against the neutral garments and tie in more strongly with the maroon of the scarf.

Outfit #4 puts many of our winter additions together for a monochromatic yet subtly interesting ensemble. Having a wardrobe that encompasses a range of dark blue, navy, and denim pieces makes it easy to build this kind of quietly blended outfit in which textural variation becomes a bit more noticeable.

In Outfit #5, the high-impact plaid vest takes center stage with a strong cameo performance by the blue scarf. April's metallic bracelets should show well whether you scrunch your sleeves up a bit or wear the bracelets over the end of the cuff.

Outfit #6 has spring vibes with the pink top, fish earrings, and floral scarf, but acquiesces to the reality that tights (navy, here) and layers are often needed until the end of April.

When the grey T entered the wardrobe in April, my first thought was "Oh good, that will work so well with the fleece blazer and tall grey boots!" It's interesting, I don't think this plaid skirt actually contains grey but it convincingly gives the impression of grey. And I can so rarely bypass the opportunity to print mix--the blue polka dot scarf had to be tried.

Outfit #8 brings April's orchid sweater together with the floral skirt in what may be the wardrobe's most obvious color/print pairing of all. This outfit could readily be accessorized with navy, but I thought trying silver and grey would be an interesting, less-expected option. I don't usually think to add a bit of an otherwise-non-present neutral as an "accent" color, but there's no reason that it wouldn't work.

The purple skirt has been the most challenging item in this capsule for me to style, but fortunately, if you have a denim shirt in your wardrobe, just about any orphaned skirt can find a home. In Outfit #9 I did what I could to emphasize the purple with the leather earrings and the little bits of purple in the scarf, but it really isn't necessary. I mean, ultimately, isn't a denim shirt and a solid colored skirt just a colored t-shirt and a pair of jeans flipped upside down?

Let's see some outfits I've worn this winter with the navy plaid skirt. First, this indigo knit wrap top works very well with a skirt; the whole "created to be worn untucked without looking huge or long or sloppy" thing is a really handy feature for all kinds of pants/skirts, but especially ones with a bit more volume. I liked how this scarf picked up the aqua from the skirt and gave a jolt of brightness to the look, plus print mix for the win.

And of course I wore it with the navy fleece blazer! Isn't this blazer a strange and wonderful garment? I mean, it's a fleece jacket, people, with all the warmth and comfort such a term implies, but it also looks quite a bit more polished than the typical version. And I am a sucker for a tipped blazer. Does the schoolboy blazer and plaid skirt combo give a sense of Catholic school uniform? Maybe, but since I did not wear uniforms in my public school, I don't have any burn-out on that look nor any lingering negative associations.

Finally, another print mix outfit featuring a bold scarf (with a DIY button + elastic tie scarf ring). Here I used grey instead of blue for the top, which is actually a fairly long tunic rather than a typical t-shirt length. To deal with the length and volume, I twisted it up on one side to create a diagonal hem, which was a definite improvement. I don't use this kind of styling trick often, but it's a good one to have ready for situations where volume/proportion in your outfit is off but you don't want to have to find a different garment to substitute in. (As you may have noticed, I don't rigorously apply principles of proportion in my outfits, but some things are just too wrong-looking even for me!)

Do you ever wear a neutral as an accent color or pop of color?

In my next post, we will look at the Jan-April recap for our fourth wardrobe: #4 Olive & Beige, Kiwi.

I link up with:

Shelbee at Shelbee on the Edge (2nd Monday; 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 (Thursdays)

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)