Vivienne Files II

This is part II of me adjusting one of Janice's capsule wardrobes. Go to her blog to see more of it, she's really good at what she does.

The next four items in her 4x4 capsule wardrobe are Expansion Four, which is basically a repetition of the first Core Four, except in another color. I chose golden brown as my second neutral. (I absolutely love this golden sandy beige, or camel, or caramel. Such a delicious color.)

I chose a pair of jeans, another simple A-line skirt, a button-down shirt and a sleeveless t-shirt.

The amount of outfits grows exponentially with this. I can have all the 5 top options with both jeans and skirt, that is 10 more outfits, and then I can use the t and shirt with the four bottoms, and get 8 more outfits, and then I can mix the tops - brown t with white cardi, white t with brown shirt, brown shirt with the cardigan, with all four bottoms. 12 more outfits. That makes 36 outfits from 8 pieces of clothing.

A button down is a very versatile piece of clothing. It, too, can be used as a light jacket, and worn in dozens of different ways, made into a skirt, etc.

Now, accessories. This is a spring-time wardrobe, and "they" say the shoes one needs for spring/summer are:

- slip-in sandals
- strappy sandals
- all ground sandals
- canvas shoes or sneakers
- walking shoes, oxfords, loafers, something like that
- ballerinas
- booties
- colorful pumps

Now, for this wardrobe, let's reduce the number of shoes to four pairs. Sandals, ballerinas that will pass as finer shoes (so that you don't need strappy sandals or pumps), then two pairs of the sort of shoes you most often wear/need. Like sneakers and loafers, or rubber boots and espadrilles, etc.

Janice classifies shoes as "leather" in her "accessorize by 4s". There are 2x4 spots for leather accessories in her grid. She usually fills these spots with shoes and bags, but I'd like to put in at least one belt.

Another thing Janice loves is earrings :-D I find it amusing that her style is otherwise rather "manly" - she loves loafers and laced shoes, unisex flats, and rather unisex tops as well. There aren't many "girly" things in her wardrobes. But then comes the earrings. She loves earrings. In reality, earrings aren't that important. Suze Orman said in Oprah Show that a woman needs only one pair of earrings - diamond studs that can be used with everything. They are simple enough to be worn in an office and flashy enough to be worn at parties. 

In the first part of this "amuse l'esprit" I accessorized one of the outfits with a pair of earrings, a necklace, a belt, and ankle booties, so I think I'll honor Vivienne Files and accessorize one outfit with sneakers, earrings, scarf and bag :-D

I chose canvas messenger bag, amber studs, and this absolute amazing Vera scarf with a white horse on green bottom and some pink roses.