Developing Your Wardrobe Palette {part 3}

by Ashe on May 14, 2009

I want to say a big heart felt ♥ THANK YOU ♥ to those who have left such lovely & wonderful comments on the previous two posts in this series.  I was a bit nervous in posting them, but to hear others stories, inspirations, and interest really helped erase that unease.

Today, I’m hoping to get kinda personal.  So snuggle up bebe, and I’ll show you inside my closet.

Here I want to look at a few pieces in my wardrobe to dissect the wardrobe palette I’ve got & what I need to do to attain the one I want.

I wanted to pull two wonderful, but not often worn shoes from my wardrobe, as two examples of where attraction can go right or not so right (and that’s okay!).

durango boots, irregular choice, irregular choice bow wedge

The first pair is my beloved Durango boots, that I bought on a road trip to Moab, Utah. I love absolutely everything about them: the way the leather is wearing and creasing, the folds, the perfect stitching, and unusual color combination. However, with the exception of one shirt (that happens to be the same color as the mint blue in the boot), I feel I don’t have much to wear them with. This is how a) buying a neutral I won’t wear goes awry, and b) where buying the pastel version of the colors on my palette is useless.

Because I rarely wear the shirt, either. It looks awkward with black.
It’s my hope that, with the inclusion of more colors and neutrals in to my wardrobe, that I can make these work– with jeans and casual tees & vibrant purple accents.

Alongside them, my Irregular Choice wedges. To be fair, I think I don’t wear these as often as I’d like because I worry about ruining the suede and cotton materials on it, along with the bow.

However, I like these because of the way they blend in with my defined palette: a nice, bold pink, traditional navy, and an off-white. They are rich in texture and pattern, without being overwhelming. They’re also a fun pair of shoes to wear with grey, or dark purple, along with their base colors.

They’re a great example of how an “impractical” shoe can be quite the opposite!

montage

Recent/Old Additions to Ye Wardrobe: Tolani Scarf; Target Shirt/Old Navy Dress/Macy’s Shirt; Collection of Fifi’s Wigs; Corso Como Wedge; Chapter Ring; Wet Seal Jacket

I wanted to show off some recent (and a few older) acquisitions, and highlight how where I thought they do and don’t work within the palette:

The Tolani Scarf: This was a lovely win from Alicia at Instant Vintage. Not only was I surprised by the quality, but I feel that the colors complement my palette perfectly. Bold violets, turquoises, and pinks, with a hint of mustard grey, and a grey-green shade. I love that it incorporates them all!
♥ The polka dot shirt, I find, is on the borderline of difficult. It works well with my professional wardrobe, but is a bit limited in my daily wearings. The blue falls in to the cornflower blue range, making it difficult for me to match comfortably with other colors. I love the graffiti-esque top because it combines so many colors and in a bold way. It’s very easy for me to mix and match with blue, black, and pink, or accent with chartreuse.
Wigs! Without intending to, I find myself always buying hairpieces within the palette range. Luckily– there are a few times I wanted to stray outside that palette, and find I would have been with pretty hair pieces that didn’t get worn. Ones that are true to the palette find themselves more easily incorporated.
♥ I picked up the Wet Seal coat in 2 colors– khaki and purple. I wanted to expand in to more colors so that I was moving away from black, but allowing myself versatility.  I’m excited for the opportunities & ideas I have for these (though I think I will change the purple buttons to match the coat).
Chapter Ring! With bold accessories, like the wigs, I find that it’s best to make them as easy as possible to wear. Had I chosen a neon green ring, I would not only have the conflict of a piece that was loud & bold, but also was limited within my wardrobe. Picking a color that coordinates with the most means the most wear, while toning it down.

Overall, I’m really pleased with the direction that my wardrobe is starting to move in. While I don’t feel that I have the versatility and range that I want, I see more opportunities and options developing. In the next post, I want to break down basics– to fill in the gaps of what I need in my wardrobe in regards to basics and “practical” wants.

ashesignature

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Alicia May 14, 2009 at 12:38 pm

I’m so happy the scarf fits in well with your wardrobe palette!

I love what you’re doing here; the concept is simple enough, but I don’t think I would have considered making decisions for my clothes based on how they fit in to my particular palette. When I think of how much stuff I have that goes unworn because it just doesn’t fit in…

This excercise is definitely a good one. Thank you for keeping with it. I hope it becomes a regular thing. =)

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Katy May 14, 2009 at 2:01 pm

I’m loving the direction your wardrobe is heading too. =P

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Janie May 14, 2009 at 6:54 pm

I’m liking this series, I find it really interesting and helpful.

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cassiopeia May 15, 2009 at 9:18 am

great post… i lve the scarf and those boots!!!

xxxc

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Ashe Mischief May 17, 2009 at 11:15 am

@Alicia – Alicia, you have no idea how well it fits! I’m so in love with that scarf, and my coworkers are always threatening to steal it from me :D It really is a simple concept, but I think a lot of us (myself included!) tend to overlook it. It’s making me a lot more conscious of what I want to buy, because I have to plan more for those pieces outside of the color palette. I’ll definitely try to keep incorporating this info in to later posts!

@Katy – Thank you, Katie! I have to admit, the ease it’s providing in shopping & planning purchases is easier… heck, even my coworkers are starting to notice a change– I get far more compliments on my outfits now!

@Janie – Thank you, Janie! It’s been useful for me to write, and I’m glad to know that others are finding use from it as well!

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dreamsequins May 17, 2009 at 3:05 pm

OMG I am in love with those wedges. They are special! And the scarf is amazing, too. Love this series. Like I said before, I need to do this with my wardrobe. I’m so lazy, though. :) I’m falling in love with the idea of wearing colorful prints via scarves. I was recently given a scarf to “sample” and it’s just so amazing that I’m thinking about getting Frenchie and using scarves to accent my mostly neutral wardrobe.

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Tamia May 18, 2009 at 9:50 pm

You’ve done such a great job with this series. I’m inspired to go through all the items I’ve hoarded away over the years and work on creating a more cohesive color story.
Then again, I am pretty lazy…

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