And at the last minute, time for the new April items for our navy & white based capsule wardrobe!
Here are our 21 garments from the first 3 months of the year, as recently mixed-and-matched in great detail for the color formulas & outfit counts post.
When I saw how Janice developed her wardrobes in April, I decided to do two sets of additions to the capsule this month. Both sets are based on Janice's additions, but one is based on neutrals (a more conventional/standard approach) and one is based on accent colors (a more Sally approach)...whereas Janice's additions are a mix of neutrals and accent colors.
Janice added dressy items this month: a skirt with either two sweaters or a sweater and a cashmere T. For my additions, I selected a less dressy skirt, a pullover sweater, and a t-shirt + cardigan.
For the neutral set, I chose a white skirt (which is what I wear in lieu of white pants or white jeans) and top pieces in dark blue/navy that have a softness about them due to a marl knit texture or the print. I think these tops/toppers will complement the dark navy items already in the capsule and provide a nice stepping stone in value (lightness/darkness) between the those dark pieces and the white.
Navy/white polka dot T - Croft & Barrow/Kohls - 3X - $5.00 - 5/2020
Dark blue marl pullover sweater - Karen Scott/Macy's - 3X - $9.56 - 7/2020
Navy marl 3/4 sleeve cardigan - Coldwater Creek - 2X - $14.97 - 7/2020
White textured skirt - thrifted, Talbots - 20W - $16.99 - 3/2019
The colorful additions this month center on this exuberantly colorful knit skirt with a navy background (you know how I love a navy background print, especially florals!). For the sweater I picked this dark red cable knit that brings out the deepest red in the skirt. For the T + cardigan combo, I couldn't resist the opportunity to bring a bright pink into the capsule because it's such a spring/summer color. Because the knit skirt is slim-fitting, the higher-volume peplum top works well with it. A lightweight long-sleeved white cardigan reinforces the white neutral in the capsule.
Bright pink peplum top - Lands End - 1X - $16.99 - 5/2018
Dark red pullover sweater - St Johns Bay/JCP - 3X - $9.99 - 12/2019
White waffle cardigan - thrifted, CJ Banks - 3X - $5.24 - 10/2018
Navy/pink/teal/red floral knit skirt - Liz Claiborne/JCP - XXLT - $7.69 - 2/2017
Our accessories collection is looking good so far, but since I consider this to be where the magic happens, I always like to bolster our options here!
As in March, I am adding a full complement of accessories...which means a scarf, necklace, earrings, bracelets, and shoes. This just makes more sense to me than adding them piecemeal. I am not dividing the accessories into "neutral" and "colorful" because most of the additions are colorful! I chose a set of items to work with each of the garment sets, but not necessarily to wear all at the same time. With spring settling in for good, I thought this was a great time to bring fun jewelry and cute ballet flats into the capsules. (Yep, that means combining sweaters with skirts + bare legs + ballet flats. I mean, I guess you could wear nude hosiery, but seriously, who would?) I am also happy to see that 4 of the 10 accessories are DIY projects.
White gauzy scarf - thrifted (ThredUp) - $1.50 - 12/2019
Wild ball necklace - Macy's - $36.50 - 7/2014
Red leather leaf earrings - Amazon - <$1
Navy/white striped ballet flats - Payless - $16.99 - 6/2015
Bright Pink/Navy paper bead + glass bracelet set - made by me - winter 2022
Red/white/blue fish scarf - Target - $12.00 - 12/2013
Red/Navy paper bead + glass bracelet set - made by me - winter 2022
Long white faux pearl + pink tassel necklace - made by me - summer 2021
Bright pink seed bead/gold hoops - made by me - summer 2021
Bright pink ballet flats - Payless - $13.00 - 5/2015
The outfits build themselves this month, but it's always good to get a visual sense of how the pieces come together. Starting with our neutral garments, Outfit #1's simple neutral sweater + skirt combination is made more interesting through a mixture of textures and the addition of print shoes and a colorful bracelet stack. The sleeves on this lightweight cotton sweater could easily by rolled or pushed up to 3/4 length to show off the bracelets. I can see the scarf worn either long or braided into a necklace.
Outfit #2 combines the skirt with the light navy T + cardigan combo and is accessorized with a top-and-tail bright pink earrings and ballet flats duo and a wildly cheerful statement necklace.
Outfit #3 has a lot of color and a lot of prints going on, but I think the simple, classic silhouettes and the tightly defined color scheme keep it from looking too over-the-top.
Finally, in Outfit #4, all the various bright pink shades, ranging from medium to very bright pinks and from cooler to warmer pinks, come out to play. While I think the undertones are reasonably important when combining pink garments, I am less concerned about that element when it comes to accessories, perhaps because the colors generally appear in relatively small doses. In this case, the skirt's print contains quite a few different pinks that wash into each other, which gives each of the pink accessories a partner color to tie back to. I think this makes the various pink shades blend together more harmoniously.
Today I am featuring three spring/summer OOTD featuring the navy marl cardigan. In this May outfit, the cardigan was the darker piece against a light print-mixed base layer. I liked it with the striped top, but I think it was a bit heavy-looking against the very light floral print skirt. Up close, the skirt clearly has some medium value colors in it, but at a distance, it gives the overall impression of being quite pale. I automatically wore the outfit with a variant of "nude to me" shoes that also coordinate closely with the skirt background, but perhaps a pair of navy flats would have helped balance the darker cardigan.
This outfit was a kind of fun if eclectic, almost random-seeming mix-up of colors, styles, and prints that I wore as a WFH Friday outfit last June. I was definitely testing the notion that leopard print is a neutral since the shoes don't really relate to anything else in the outfit (though the tan tones are not a bad match to my hair color!). The leopard flats have an overall medium value level, which I think worked pretty well with the navy cardigan.
Finally, this July outfit uses the color mixing formula that Bridgette Raes calls "road map" styling. I started with the floral print top and used it to guide the other color selections. Choosing one neutral (navy cardigan) and one accent color (coral skirt) is an easy way to do this. The aqua in the print is repeated in the turquoise bead necklace. That felt matchy-matchy enough that I went with a "nude to me" shoe instead of a color from the top.
Last but never ever least, it's time to introduce our new rabbit mascot to the Rea menagerie! Meet Rhonda the tricolor Rhinelander who sports a complex coat coloration that resembles both the dots (spots) and marl pattern of items in this month's garment additions. The breed was developed in Germany in the very early 1900s, but wasn't established in the US until the 1970s. It had arrived in the US once before, in the 1920s, but quickly disappeared (likely absorbed or displaced by another popular rabbit breed). Today there are fewer than 2,000 Rhinelander rabbits in the world, making it a rare but gorgeous breed.
Rhonda certainly fits beautifully into this menagerie with her reddish-orange and white fur colors. (The black/orange coloring actually reminds me quite a bit of the leopard print flats I was wearing in the June OOTD above!)
What do you think of the sweater + skirt + bare legs combo in spring/fall transition weather?
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You always put so much thought and beautiful colour into your capsules! :) I haven't started layering knits with bare legs yet but I am looking forward to the days when it's just the right temps with that - I love a cosy knit and shorts, usually with ankle boots too!
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I only have bare legs in high summer and even then they are covered up by a maxi skirt or dress.
I'm always SO excited for bare leg season. It's just easier and my pale legs don't bother me so I don't worry about tanners and such.
I love the print mixing with outfit #3 with the skirt and shoes!! XOOX Jodie
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