Saturday 23 February 2019

Sondheim moment in wardrobe

Well. After six decades blundering bewildered through the pathless landscape of sartorial options, I have (yes, I have) 
finally   nailed   it.

Green, blue and dark red all gathered under the sovereignty of grey.



































I don't normally look that happy in all honesty. I am usually just thinking. 




I think I now have the clothes I need to take me to my grave in peace and (hope) I have banished the prevalence of WTF moments associated with sartorial choice. 

No more tyranny of colours too bright for my soul. No more struggling to wear Colour Me Beautiful Jewel Autumn and wondering why I hate it. No more bad aqua. No more orange overwhelm. No more dreary dirt brown (No, no — I'm sure it looks great on you — really).  No more wondering however other people manage to achieve a capsule wardrobe. No more antagonism between minimalism and trying to look nice. A Sondheim moment.

O, the peace.

And — what's more — are these not the very colours the wise and gifted and all-round blessed Jonathan Roberts chose for his designs for my book covers back in the day when he graced the design department of Lion Hudson?





21 comments:

greta said...

it's lovely to settle into a calm routine of clothing choices. like you, grey is my base colour. then soft blues and purples( all with a bit of that grey 'dust' base) are added in. it makes time spent standing in front of the wardrobe much shorter! it also makes any future shopping much simpler because you already know what colours you are looking for. our local thrift shops have clothing sorted by colour rather than size. this saves me a lot of time as i only look through the sections that have 'my' colours. simplicity is both time saving and stress reducing!

Pen Wilcock said...

Yes! It's taken me forever to get here, because I was always thrown by looking at the wrong set of colours, wondering why nothing went with all my favourites.

Rebecca said...

WELL, then! I've narrowed it even further to black and gray. And as few pieces as possible. (It's not a competition though... Just such a nice place to be.)

Suzan said...

I love that the book covers reflect your colours. They are soothing choices. Years ago I settled into simple skirts and t shirts. They suit my climate and are easy care. I do have some good outfits but everyday the choice is simple.

Pen Wilcock said...

Hi Rebecca — I was just looking at the glorious collection of blue glass bottles on your blog. So beautiful. Do you have everything you wear in black and grey? Might you ever wear an ivory silk scarf or some turquoise earrings or carry a yellow bag or something? Or is It all grey and black?

Hi Suzan — I like skirts and I think they suit me better than trousers, but I find trousers feel so uncomplicated I often wear them. And my legs aren't good; trousers take away the challenge of which tights to wear, or leggings or whatever. I think the combination of a skirt and shirt is very elegant and chic. What do you wear on your feet? I like heels but in reality can only manage black lace-ups in the winter and slides in the summer.

Jody Lee Collins said...

Penelope I've just found your blog via my purchase of your first book the Hawk and the Dove. How delightful to find a mention of one of my favorite songs from Into the Woods.... Connected to a conversation about sweaters :)

Pen Wilcock said...

:0)

Hello, Jody — nice to meet you. This is a friendly place, and we have some good conversations — I"m glad you've found your way here. I hope you enjoy the stories in The Hawk & the Dove. Just now my mental energies are absorbed in writing a book, so my posts are a bit banal at present, but I hope I do occasionally say something interesting — and someone else will even if I don't, so it's always worth reading the comments!

Suzan said...

Pen I have super wide feet. So I do have difficulty finding shoes to fit and I do so hate many of them. They look ugly. I generally wear a small heel if I can. But my shoes are mainly quite flat.As for skirts I have made a recent commitment to make a new skirt every fortnight. Many of my favourite skirts are very faded. I find trousers and jeans very hot and uncomfortable.

At lunch time my girls asked me to meet them for lunch. We meet a major shopping centre. I have decided that I am not going there on Sunday again. I felt I was in a temple to commerce.

Have a very blessed Sunday.

Anonymous said...

Morning all. Love your photos Pen; they made me giggle. To me, it just shows the different sides to us all because we can't always be the same (thank goodness). Much like your posts here...
Good luck with your writing!
Deb x

Pen Wilcock said...

:0)

Hi Deb!

Pen Wilcock said...

Hi Suzan — That's interesting what you say about a temple to commerce; I've often had the same thought about shopping centres. For a while I lived near Tunbridge Wells and then for a while in Bromley (both are largish English towns), and there was a shopping mall in each. Whenever I went there I couldn't help noticing how much the entrance made me think of gates to a temple precincts!

I have big feet — long, fairly wide and very shallow, much like a frogman's flippers! Also my joints are very soft and mobile, and I am rather tall. So heels are no good for me. My feet just end up slid down and squashed into the toe, because they aren't structural enough. I could wear sandals with heels, but then I end up taller than everyone else and I don't like it! End result, I wear Vivobarefoots and Birkis from the men's ranges, and plan all my clothing around outfits that look credible with those kind of shoes.

A new skirt every fortnight! For how long? That's 26 skirts a year! But it's sad when your favourites start to fade away. Happy sewing!

Rebecca said...

Mostly grey and black. I have very little knack (or desire) for accessorizing, I confess ...

Pen Wilcock said...

Well, I think that sounds very peaceful. It makes me feel calm just to think about it.

Suzan said...

I will probably sew another five or six. There is no real need for winter clothing here.

I rarely tower over anyone at 5"1".

Our local shopping centre is massive. So big that some stores have two storefronts. One at either end.

Lynda said...

My base is grey too, with a bit of black and muted greens and browns(?), but I do like colour, just not too close, so I have some rather colourful skirts (must put a photo on my blog sometime), but stick to plain colours for the top half in mostly black or other dark colour, and there you have it...the best of both worlds!!

PS - sorry about the long sentence...feel free to correct my grammar and punctuation Pen :))

Pen Wilcock said...

I really like the idea of you putting pics on your blog of your colours! Both the base colours and the bright accents.

Pen Wilcock said...

Suzan — 5'1" !! I am 5'7"

:0D

Five or six more sounds good — a nice selection.

Lucie said...

Oh I am envious of your settled sartorial state! I still get pushed around by the flash of a fun pattern or print urging me to buy it, only to find it sticking out like a beacon later on. Nothing in my wardrobe 'flows' much at all, and you'd think I'd have learned by now! So I love seeing your colours all snuggle up so nicely together Pen!

And a quick note to Jody Lee Collins - how lucky you are to be reading The Hawk and the Dove for the first time! It was such a joyous occasion to me to find a kindred spirit. I hope you have too.

Pen Wilcock said...

:0D

xx

BLD in MT said...

May they serve you well!! And thanks for the new word: sartorial! Why this wasn't in my vocab before I just can't imagine! And thanks for that back-to-back happytothinking photo pair. It brought a smile to my face.

Pen Wilcock said...

:0)

xx