6 Scarves 2021: Jan-Feb Recap, #2 Navy & Beige, Darcy

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

For a description of my method, see this post.

First, a quick glance at our winter matrix, which shows us how much navy and bright teal have come into the wardrobe so far.

x = solid piece

T = tonal piece (i.e., tonally works with this color though it is a different color)

O = ombré piece

P = print piece (not ombré)

To reinforce that fact, here are the garments in the Darcy wardrobe so far. That range of navy colors makes me very happy to look at.

For scarves, we have a lot of blue and aqua options here; it'll be interesting to see how this branches out into other colors over time. (Oh the blue tiger always makes me smile!) Darcy's Sally won the jackpot on shoes with four pairs so far, but I really don't consider this excessive in the slightest.

Comparing to our palette, navy is of course very well-represented here, and we have a solid start on the aqua/teal colors also. A couple white/ivory tops are an excellent way to begin filling in the white pie wedge. But beige, yellow, and coral are pretty much non-existent, though this makes sense to me as those colors tend to show up in my closet for warmer weather clothes, not the height of winter.

And as is our normal practice, we need to look at a bunch of new outfits now that the January and February additions have been merged into one wardrobe. We'll start by pairing the bright navy pants from January with the ivory sweater, and what can be easier than that? I brought in some brighter blue with the aqua striped scarf and seafoam earrings. The second outfit has a similar navy-and-white base against which the solid aqua scarf pops.

Now let's try January's aquamarine pencil skirt with the two tops from February. The white T is a good choice for wearing underneath a print mix including white, such as this geometric / blue tiger print mix in Outfit #3. In Outfit #4, I like seeing how a range of light blue-greens (aquamarine, aqua and mint green, seafoam) works its way up from the skirt to the ears. Then the cognac boots, which are kind of the stand out piece here, bookend some of the colors in my hair right now. (My naturally-blonde hair is very reactive to the sun and lightens up a lot when I spend time outdoors. During the pandemic, with me going out a grand total of only 6 times in over a year--and that just to drive to my office or the doctor--some of the light brown and reddish-orange colors in my hair have become more prominent.)

Now for February's print skirts, starting with the subtle navy/white micro-stripe that almost looks textured rather than a print at any distance. Like the black skirt with white polka dots in the #1 Black & Grey, Gina wardrobe, I find this skirt is nearly as versatile as a solid skirt while being a bit more interesting. I really like Outfit #5 with this multi-colored scarf bringing in a bit of coral and yellow. (I can tell I'm ready for some colors that are not shades of blue/navy!)

Outfit #6 has some pleasing interactions among the pieces that I didn't realize until I saw them all together in this image: the navy T connects to the loafers, the cerulean blue tassels in the loafers connects to the background of the scarf, the teal circles connect to the teal vest, and the round bunny face earrings connect to the circles on the scarf. These are the kind of touches no one might notice, but I enjoy them myself, and I have to wonder whether they can, on some level, give rise to an overall sense of coherence and harmony even if people can't put their finger on the source.

Outfit #6 also has a sense of harmony as the ivory sweater connects to the subtle skirt stripes and the flowers/butterflies in the scarf and the gold bracelet connects to the other flowers/butterflies in the scarf (as well as my hair).

We'll finish up with three outfits based on the bold multi-colored geometric print skirt from February that just happen to show three different levels of print mix. First, the most blatant mix that puts two geometric prints together pretty successfully, I think. Seeing the skirt with the brown boots, I'm realizing for the first time how some of the darker orange areas of the skirt look brown. I like the idea of brown tights/leggings here to reinforce that connection.

Then a more moderate level of print mix pairing the skirt with a tie-dye scarf that includes several colors from the scarf (white, shades of blue/navy, and orange). The navy T and dark blue marl sweater recede as background, and the cognac boots tie in with the orange colors elsewhere. (It's tempting to wear the cognac boots with this skirt every single time, I like that combination so much.)

And last, the most subtle type of mix, which I like to do quite a bit and that I think is about as fool-proof as adding a solid: an obvious print + a monochromatic ombré in one of the colors from the print. The fact that the T, vest, and ombré scarf are all shades of navy/blue makes this very low-key yet still interesting to look at.

This wardrobe continues to be a delight for me, but nothing is as delightful as adding a new rabbit to our menagerie! Meet Renee, the red broken Mini rex. (We have seen this softest-fur breed before when we met Sophia the blue Mini Rex in January.) Like Polly the black broken Polish we recently saw in the Gina group, Renee has the gene that causes her red fur to be broken up with large areas of white, and she has that "butterfly" mark over her nose, too. Compared to the other broken pattern rabbits we have met in this project, Renee has more intact areas of red fur on her back. There are various modifying genes that impact exactly how the broken pattern looks for a particular bunny. Renee's pattern with an expanse of red on the back is called a "blanket" or "mantle" pattern...which is perfect for February in Minnesota!

Here is Darcy's rabbit group so far. The D'Argent breed is definitely the larger of the two, coming in at 8-11 pounds, while the mini rex is around 4 pounds. Like the skirts, one of the bunnies is a more blatant print and one is a more subtle print...perfect for print mixing! Plus, there is congruence in their position: both are in loaf mode. ("Would you like some buns today?" "Yes, two loafs, please.")

Do you wear prints? Do you have a preference for bold vs. subtle prints?

In my next post, we will look at the January-February recap and another "print" bunny for our third wardrobe: #3 Navy & Grey, Lily.

I am linking up with:

Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom;

Ada at Elegance and Mommyhood.