6 Scarves 2021: Jan-Apr Recap, #4 Olive & Beige, Kiwi

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

For a description of my method, see this post.

We are back to this challenging color palette that has a mix of cooler and warmer colors. Let's take stock of our situation, four months into this capsule!

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?

First, the garments:

On completeness: Certainly another pair of pants would not be remiss here. We have yet to introduce any coral-colored garments, and though we are doing well with ivory tops/toppers, true beige has also not made it into the wardrobe yet.

On coherence: This is our most eclectic capsule yet, with such a variety of colors in cool and warm, bright and muted. Right now, the bright red cocoon cardigan stands out the most to me. If I remove that cardigan from view, then the azure blue top and sweater pop out.

Now for the accessories:

On completeness: We are well set for solid (or solid-ish) neutral scarves, but colorful solid scarves are definitely lacking.

On coherence: It's not as blatant to me with the accessories as the garments, but I do get that same sense that there is a LOT going on here.

So the challenge as always is: Can we make outfits from this heterogeneous set of items? Do the most recent additions work with the existing wardrobe? Let's get started.

First, let's put some April items together with our trusty olive pants. In Outfit #1, the watermelon pink top and ivory lace jacket look luscious with the olive. What do you think of the orange floral scarf with this outfit? Pink and orange can be a difficult color combination, but I am happy with it here; clearly it helps that the scarf already includes both of these accent colors.

OK, Outfit #2 is definitely a stretch for me. I would not normally even consider wearing these two greens together, but the constraints of working with a capsule are pushing me to experiment. With the jacket and scarf, the amount of apple green showing will be minimized. I don't hate it! But I'm not sure I'd actually wear it either.

I was momentarily confused looking at Outfit #3 until I realized, Oh yes, the leather earrings were new in April, I just forgot to actually include them in any of the April outfits! So they get their debut here, joining some of our cold weather items (inspiration scarf, the olive "suit" and olive boots from January, and the black T from March). My thought was that the earrings would echo the lighter colors from the scarf.

Now for outfits with the black asymmetric knit skirt. In Outfit #4, April's addition of a pair of flats meant to be worn without tights/socks lets us bring the skirt + tropical bird top combo into warmer weather.

Outfit #5, with April jewelry added to existing garments, is an interesting case. This shirt + sweater combo is far from obvious to me, but I could see it working, depending on how the layering goes. This might be one of those outfits that is just to fiddly for me to handle; when pieces need to be arranged just so, it drives me a bit crazy. I know many people feel that way about scarves, which to me are very much "arrange once in the morning and wear all day" pieces. But I am easily irked by the process of layering of woven shirts under pullover cardigans and then maintaining the correct relationship between the garments over the course of the day. The stiffer the shirt, the more annoying it is. This top is fairly soft and somewhat drapey, so it might be OK. I definitely prefer a silky blouse with fibers that don't catch on the sweater (or whatever the issue is) for this situation, though.

In Outfit #6, our black skirt + red cocoon cardigan combination gets a lift from April's addition of a simple white t-shirt. This cardigan could be worn with the cream lace-front T from January, I suppose, but doesn't white just seem so much more right with the intense red? It seems to me that a lot of white Ts are functionally in that versatile (and for some of us, easier to wear) "soft white" category. The classic, "every woman must have" crisp white shirt is not really a great look for me (in terms of its tailored stiffness or its bright quality), but a white T often works very well. While so many people seek out the unicorn opaque, bright, optic white T, I can do just fine with a typical white T as long as it's not too sheer. (I mean, wearing a cami under a t-shirt just isn't a thing I'm going to do. I know some people swear by the cami as an undergarment to wear daily, and more power to them. For me, that's too...you guessed it...fiddly for every day wear.)

Haha, just after discussing this cream lace front T, here is shows up in Outfit #7! Isn't the cream much better with this more muted red than it would be with the bright one? This is my first attempt to put the light red cardigan with the black skirt, and I'm not 100% sold on the combination stylistically; I think a more traditional skirt would be my preference. But I do like how this April scarf brings the colors together.

April's pink skirt is worn with olive pieces in the next two outfits, and I am a big fan of the combination! In Outfit #8, the stone utility vest ties in with the cream stripes in the sweater, and you know how I love a striped top + floral scarf mix. This scarf is somewhat odd in that the background color is a cool undertone, extremely pale pink-ish color that reads somewhere between stone and pink, so I like it with the vest.

As I'm also very drawn to the "neutral twin set + accent color bottom" combination, Outfit #9 is a winner for me. This is the kind of outfit that helps me keep my sanity when the weather is still saying winter but my heart wants spring. (And for the record, layering a T under a pullover sweater is pretty easy for me, and I find a t-shirt perhaps the easiest top to tuck into a skirt and keep tucked. With this sweater, some kind of layering piece is required due to it having a rather open weave.)

April's bold floral skirt is an easy pairing with black and/or white. In Outfit #10, I went with the white T to bring a bit of lightness to the outfit as befits the tail end of winter. (And yep, the black moto vest and bad-ass ankle boots mini-bundle is still going strong!)

I love how easy it is to make a "summer" skirt work in cold weather with the addition of warm tights/leggings and tall boots. Sure, this skirt is made from a light cotton fabric, but I never count on the skirt to keep me warm in winter! There exists no such skirt. Once you've accepted that it's all about the hosiery and footwear, you are then free to add any kind of skirt you want to cover your toasty layers. Some people complain about their skirts sticking to their tights, but I haven't run into that, even with an unlined cotton skirt like this one. Perhaps my tights/leggings have a smoother surface? I do own a couple pairs of sweater tights, but I sweater tights would not look right to me with a skirt like this, so I haven't tested the unlined cotton + sweater tights combo for stickiness.

Outfit #12 demonstrates that one way to wear a dress is...just as a dress...all by itself. One and done and all that jazz.

In Outfit #13, I love how the ivory sweater lightens up this botanical print skirt. This print is one of those chameleons that changes its appearance based on what you pair with it. With black, it looks quite dark, but with ivory, all the lighter parts of the print jump out. Here I'm keeping the entire look much lighter compared to how I've styled the skirt so far in this capsule. I have a pair of sweater tights in a color just a bit lighter than the boots that I think would work very well, but a person could choose to go with black instead.

And finally, let's bring the circus tent striped skirt into somewhat warmer weather. Outfit #14 is bright and exuberant and cheers me up just to see it. Of course, if the weather is even halfway favorable to it, I want to wear this rainbow striped scarf with the skirt. As soon as I saw the scarf on ThredUp, I thought of this skirt and just had to buy it, even if I never wore it with anything else. (NB: I do wear it with other things.)

I have two outfit photos from last summer with this watermelon pink skirt, with the same top in two different colorways. (I bought the navy one first, then when the white one was on major sale, I grabbed it, too. The print has both flowers and birds--irresistible!)

Are there any must-haves for your wardrobe? A pair of jeans and a "soft white" t-shirt are mine.

In my next post, we will look at the Jan-April recap for our fifth wardrobe: #5 Brown & Black, Nelly.

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)