Tuesday 8 July 2014

Creating from scratch - Spring/Summer wardrobe

I'm a great fan of Janice from The Vivienne Files, who has provided me with a lot of inspiration for my own blog. Through her good influence, my wardrobe has gradually evolved from a rainbow of colours and a myriad of pieces that didn't go with each other to a more coordinated though still colourful collection of clothes.

Her latest series "Starting from Scratch" is based on the idea of creating a new wardrobe from scratch, the first step being to identify a flattering colour scheme. She advises us to choose our best neutrals, with a couple of accent colours.

These were my two favourite colour schemes out of the six Janice selected and I had great difficulty choosing between them!



Then I had a flash of inspiration: why did I have to choose just one of them? I need at least two separate wardrobes to cover me for the four seasons, so why didn't I select one colour scheme for Spring and Summer and another one for Autumn and Winter?  These were the colour schemes that Janice suggested, but I have already made some changes, apart from having two schemes instead of one: I like to break the rules!

My Spring and Summer neutrals will be navy, grey and white but I will use a brighter pink and purple than Janice did for the accent colours.  Without further ado, this is my version of a Spring and Summer basic wardrobe:


I've started with trousers including a pair of jeans, though jeans are generally too hot for Spanish summers and my preference in summer is for loose linen trousers.  However I packed jeans for my recent trip to London, and the grey pair shown would be fine for cooler Spring days over here in Spain.

The tops that I've shown all cover the shoulders as - sadly - I think that strappy tops are no longer a good look on me! Maybe I should start using weights?  I generally avoid baggy tops, which aren't flattering for petite women, but usually buy light cotton tops that don't cling. Two lightweight open cardigans are perfect for spring days and summer nights, with a couple of floaty scarves.  I love necklaces, but as I've shown scarves in this set I have added a silver watch and a bracelet instead. Finally, a pair of navy ballet pumps, navy cross-body bag and grey loafers to complete the basic wardrobe.

With four tops and three bottoms, clearly you have at least twelve different outfits here (did I tell you that I passed my O level Maths?) Using the two cardigans this increases to thirty six options, though you can ring the changes with the accessories to give you even more possible looks.

I already own many similar items, so this isn't my excuse for a spending spree, but when I need to replace anything I will try and stick to this template.  How about you? If you're looking for further inspiration, I suggest that you click on the link above and see which of the colour palettes is your favourite.

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