I spent this past weekend storing away my winter clothes and setting up my spring and summer wardrobe.
I'm really trying to simplify things this year. My goal has never been a minimal wardrobe yet I seem to be fluttering in that direction. I still like to stick to a colour story, it helps to narrow down shoe and bag choices as well as outerwear, and it does lend itself to the idea of a minimal wardrobe.
Still, my spring and summer closet includes three bag choices and nine pairs of shoes so I guess I'm not much of a minimalist quite yet (even if the wardrobe I'm looking at is rather calming somehow, the colour palette simple and the frocks and outfits set out and ready to wear).
The stripey straw bag I purchased from Tory Burch seems to have set the tone. It's perfect for summer as it's a real toss-in bag and super casual. I love the blues and greens on the straw background and this is the colour story that has stuck, with the exception of a bit of salmon pink thrown in along the way.
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Casual linen frocks.
As for getting outfits organized this summer: I just don't want to have to think about it. Simple dresses, Liberty print bathing suits, even denim and white tee shirts seem right somehow. |
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| Liberty print bathing suit with a matching button front shirt. |
I keep dreaming of swimming in lakes and paddling canoes.
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White Liberty print one piece, Brora Liberty print bikini, JCrew one shoulder swimsuit.
Liberty belt from JCrew and a Brora cover up in a neutral shade. |
Prepare yourself for DaniBP in jeans and tee shirts. You might want to take my temperature when I tell you this but I've been wearing them all the time.
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Yup, jeans. I own two pairs and they are both Goldsign Jenny which have a great fit.
The sneakers are from Brora. |
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I bought a package of white tee shirts from Everlane.
They are quite basic but very soft and were a great price. |
You might remember
my post on the Kiel James Patrick shirts.I'll definitely be wearing them all summer with my two skirts (one navy, the other in a neutral oatmeal shade) but I've found a good transition for the skirts for spring.
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| Navy skirt. |
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| Oatmeal pleated skirt. |
I found a couple of older JCrew cashmere twinsets on the
JCA Exchange.![]() |
Cashmere twinset with my navy summer skirt.
I wore this yesterday. |
One is sort of a neutral beige and the other a dark brown. I've been wearing them this week with the skirts and they really solve that transition-to-spring outfit problem, they are warm enough yet they are not winter clothes! I recommend looking at the JCA exchange, these twinsets were purchased for about $30 each and the quality is super, they are older JCrew pieces (they were in fact made in Hong Kong, that puts them at about 12 years old if I remember correctly).
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| Dark brown cashmere twinset with the oatmeal summer skirt. |
As soon as the temperatures rise I'll be rotating through those Kiel James Patrick shirts, pairing them with my skirts, super simple. They are a soft, sturdy yet light oxford cotton and have the long sleeves I prefer for summer sun protection.
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| Three shirts: blue, white and pink. |
Somehow this salmon pink is really appealing to me this year, I don't have much of it but I think it breaks up the colour palette a bit.
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Salmon pink chinos from JCrew 2011.
White linen blazer from JCrew 2012. |
One of my favourite summer pieces is my white linen blazer. It is fully lined in cotton and can be worn with almost anything.
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| Shades of salmon pink: chinos, shirt and Hermes scarf. |
My Hermes scarf in a pale pink is getting loads of use these days. I never have learned how to tie it properly but it seems to always look good regardless of tying skill.
I've been wearing it with another key transition-to-spring piece: my navy Brooks Brothers cotton trench (which has a brilliant zip-out lining in wool flannel and bemberg, the trench itself has a full bemberg lining).
This trench is great over jeans and a white tee shirt with sneakers or over my skirts and sweater sets with heels. I just add the scarf and the whole thing is easy and feels pulled together. Everything DOES look good covered with a trench coat,
my good friend WMM agrees!When the weather gets really warm I'm planning on wearing my range of blue shirtdresses, I have three of them in various shades of blue.
They'll be easy to wear around with a pair of navy blue espadrilles and either the stripey straw tote bag or a smaller navy and pink bag I bought from Kiel James Patrick.
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| Three blue shirtdresses with navy espadrille sandals and a summery bag from KJP. |
I needed to buy some sandals this year and the ones I ordered from Brora are really beautiful and so comfortable. The added benefit is that they set off my older frocks. The navy silk frock with the brass buttons, above, is six years old but I think these new sandals give it a fresh start.
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| Of course the platinum espadrilles look terrific with linen, both white and neutral. |
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These fancy pom pom espadrilles from Brora set off an old JCrew silk patterned dress I bought on ebay for $20.
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As you know I love a good handbag but summer really calls for some casual options. I've been using my dark brown Louis Vuitton (I like pairing it with the navy cotton trench coat) but for the warmer weather I'll be storing it away.
I decided to buy a smaller bag to use on days when the big straw bag overwhelmed me. This bag, below, from Kiel James Patrick is fun and whimsical and was very well priced for something so original and made in the USA.
I've included the link though they seem to be sold out at the moment, if you're interested in the Cape Codder I would check back in on KJP later in May, they're probably making some up right now!
My other bag option for the summer probably won't see much use in the really warm weather, unless of course I have to wear my black suit or dress to some event.
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| Black Smythson bag and Brora spring dress coat. |
You might remember my Brora spring dress coat which I wrote about
here.I plan to keep it in my wardrobe all through the summer, I think it will be a smart thing to wear out to chilly theatres even when the weather is stinking hot!
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Brora dress coat with a black silk patterned Brora frock.
Plain black silk sleeveless frock by Kate Spade (2012). |
I've tried to do a sort of "count" of the items that comprise this wardrobe and colour story. In the past I've taken on a sort of hoarding mentality at the start of a season, reasoning that if I were planning to wear blue linen shirtdresses I should try to collect several in that category.
As a semi-reformed hoarder I think two or three is enough in any sort of category, it's simpler and saves time, space and money.
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The frock options of a semi-reformed hoarder.
Three in light colours, three in blues, two in patterned silk and one in linen-silk. |
The shoes might seem excessive but summer is a time for options, my winter shoe wardrobe is definitely smaller (though maybe not including the boots).
As you can see I have three pairs of espadrilles, three pairs of Chie Mihara pumps, one pair of dressy black Kate Spade pumps (for the black skirt suit, a year-round wardrobe staple, and for the black dress-Brora coat category) one pair of navy Brora sneakers and a pair of dark navy heeled Brooks Brothers loafers.
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| Spring and summer shoe wardrobe: nine pairs. |
The bags wait: the KJP Cape Codder stored in the excellent cardboard box it arrived in, Smythson Antonia wrapped in her own blue frock and the optimistic-looking Tory Burch stripey straw bag.
Now we just need warm weather and sunshine!
xoxDani
