What should I include in my wardrobe?

I have collected a few lists here and there of items suggested for every woman’s wardrobe. While these suggestions are fine, I must add that every woman is different, and therefore should have what they feel is appropriate for their lifestyle hanging in their closet.

However, if you want some suggestions I have a few here from different sources.

First up is a list from Audrey Hepburn's closet. These are the garments and items she had in her wardrobe. I happen to love Audrey, and her look was so classy and also timeless. Many of her suggestions here could apply to the modern woman.

Must haves:

The little black dress

A sleeveless sheath dress-not too much above the kneees with the length.

A white shirt-100% cotton or pure silk-no epaulets, embroidery, gold buttons, or fancy décor of any kind.

A nice suit-jacket and skirt of boucle or tweed, well fitted and nipped at the waist

Capri pants for summer and spring, and for fall and winter lean fitted trousers, length to the instep.

A dark turtleneck, black or navy blue

One “what the hell” item to show you mean business such as (and keep in mind this was a different time) a mink pullover (you could do faux fur!) designer sunglasses, and a scarf to pull around your head, all put together with a lean pair of trousers.

One Killer dress-Like the gown seen in the movie Sabrina

Well fitting jeans

A polo shirt

A good pair of flats

A pair of Kitten heels, worn bare legged or with sheer stockings.

AUDREY’S ACCESSORIES:

The perfect Hermes scarf

Dark sunglasses

As little jewelry as possible, but make sure it is the very best you can afford!

A small dog –(lol!) in Audrey’s case it was a Yorkie.

As you can see, many of the items on Audrey’s list are true classics, which will work no matter what year it is. Audrey’s style was that of “less is more”.  I agree with this point of view. Too much accessorizing is very unflattering. You want to look like a princess, not a 5 year old at a princess party.

A more recent wardrobe list I have found is from the Harper’s Bazaar Great style book. As you will note, there are many more items listed than in Audrey’s closet. Here is the list:

4 sweaters-2 for work, 2 casual

7 tees-short and long sleeved, tank and turtle

4 coats and jackets-1 dress coat, 1 sport, 1 trench and 1 day to night

I love Audrey's Orange coat! and it works for the fall 2012 season!

4 trousers/pants and 4 skirts-2 office/evening and 2 casual

2 tops for every pant and skirt (a total of 16 tops) 1 dressy and 1 casual for every pant and skirt.

5 dresses-2 day, 1 cocktail, 1 formal, and one “killer” dress (that makes you feel amazing!)

4 pairs of jeans-1 skinny, 1 relaxed, 1 ankle length for flats and 1 longer length for wearing with heels.

Lets not forget the shoes and accessories. I would include, casual heels, dressy heels, flats, sandals for summer, and boots for fall. I would apply the “less is more” to the accessories and make sure to not over-do it. 

Less really is more! look how beautiful she is!

Try to pick from the “modern list” but apply Audrey’s principles in choosing well-made, timeless items that will last. You will pay a little more sometimes, but it will be worth it because they will last you many seasons (such as the white shirt)

Feel free to add more to your wardrobe than this, especially if you have a large walk-in closet! LOL!!

all closets pictured are from http://www.katiebrealty.com/

http://www.katiebrealty.com/

http://www.katiebrealty.com/

Until next post!

Amy

Pin It Now!

Company's coming...

This week my family and I are going to be pretty busy. We have company coming to stay with us for a week, and we will be out and about quite a bit.

We have all sorts of day trips planned, and I will be taking plenty of pictures along the way.

My design and sewing projects will be put on the back burner for the next week as well. Hopefully today I will have time to set the sleeves into my faux fur jacket, which is coming together nicely. I am not sure when I will be shooting pics of all of my coats yet, as it is still much too warm to be standing on location some place in a wool coat.  This is why pictures of the outfits I have made and posted so far, are all “studio style”. To be honest, this indoor style is NOT my favorite. I am much more of an outdoor location type photographer.  I also have a few summery dresses in the works, which I will be posting pictures of as soon as they are finished. These dresses will be able to be photographed on location. First up on the summer dress agenda will be the dress I made for Ciarra. I just need to put in the zipper and hem it, and it will be done. So far she looks fabulous in the dress.

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. We are coming into the last few weeks of the season, and then on to the season that warms my heart…autumn. I look forward to the chilly evenings, and pleasant mornings. It’s the time of making soups and stews, as well as making s’mores with the family, as we sit around the fire pit under the stars. Every fall equinox we have a “fall feast” and make a fabulous dinner, which usually includes butternut squash, and home made applesauce! YUM. I can’t wait for Halloween as well. It is so fun to see everyone dressed up and having a great time. You can get wild and crazy with the fashion on that night! It’s such a blast.

Fall also means it is back to school for me. This means everything will be run on a time schedule around my house, in order to fit everything in. It gets really busy around here that is for sure. Thank goodness for crock-pots! LOL

Until next post…which will probably be from the road!

Have a fabulous day!

John checking out the pumpkins and huge butternut squash at Ioka farm in MA

I look forward to visits to the local pumpkin patches this fall

The fall color coming in! upstate NY

Pin It Now!

Our Anniversary celebration wine tasting

As I stated in an earlier post, my husband John and I planned to celebrate our 17^th wedding anniversary at a local winery. Here are a few of the pictures we took on our special day…

Getting ready to head out to the winery
Dress from Victoria's Secret, Dooney and Bourke bag, sandals by Michael Shannon.

Amy+John

The drive to the winery is a pleasant one through the lush Virginia countryside. There are many farm stands and antique stores along the way, and plenty of green fields, and trees.

Our first stop was the New Kent Winery. The entire building where they house the wine vats and barrels is made of recycled wood from all over the country, and some from South America. The same people who own the fast food chain Hardee’s own the winery. The land that surrounds the winery is a planned community; there is also a championship golf course.

New Kent Winery

Front garden at New Kent

view to back of property

deck at New Kent

tasting the wine

looking out to some of the vines

wine vats

antique wine scale!

barrel club 

some wedding supplies being stored in the cold storage area

Just Me

John and I on the front porch at New kent. The brick wall is made from Civil War bricks.

Vines at New Kent

While we thought the land and grounds of the New Kent winery were charming, we were not big fans of the wine. That’s ok, because the next stop on our anniversary date was the Saude’ Creek Winery, where it was great.

When you arrive at Saude’ Creek, it is sort of surprising to see the winery building at a top of a steep hill. There are not too many hills like this, in Southern Virginia. Unfortunately we forgot to take a picture of the front of the building! We were too busy looking around ;-)

When you enter the main building you can’t help but notice the amazing view across the treetops all the way to the Pamunkey River. I can’t wait to visit in the fall when all the leaves change color, what a beautiful sight that will be.

View from back deck over vineyard. Pamunkey river in the distance.

The wines at Saude’ Creek are in a word…yummy. I am glad they are so close to our house! I plan on going and stocking up for the holidays.

We had so much fun and met some great people! We sat on the deck and drank sangria, and being that it was a very warm day, sweat quite a bit! LOL! That’s ok…it was worth it! We had a blast.

From left to right:
John, Amy Nikki and Brian

If you are ever in the Richmond or Tidewater area of Virginia, I highly recommend a trip to the Saude’ Creek winery. You will not be disappointed.

Pin It Now!