The Great Fall Wardrobe Makeover, Part 2 - My Fall Accent Colours

Okay, yesterday you got the "treat" of seeing the totality of my fall/winter wardrobe lying on my bed! 

You got the delight of watching me pose, sans makeup, in three things that I just wasn't sure about...

and you saw my basic colour "sets" - black, navy, grey and a bit of khaki, with a heavy emphasis on the black and navy.

But it is the other colours that make my heart sing!

I have been obsessed with colour this year.  As you all know, this was THE year of colour in retail - and they were great colours for someone like me!



and



Taking pictures for this new blog has also been very helpful.  You are all very kind and complimentary when I wear colour, which tells me that I probably look best in some colour! :-)

And I have been reading a great book on colour:



You can buy it at Amazon here or in Canada, at my favourite bookseller Chapters, where it is being sold very cheaply here.

This book is great because you identify your style, and your colouring.  It reminds me of the old "colour" approach of the 1980s, but it is more foolproof and seems fresher.    According to the authors, and this would seem to be supported by what I get the most compliments on, I am a Moon.  That means I looks good in most blues, kelly greens and other rich green, pinks, some purples and the odd grey.

I could see this colour theory at work when I made "sets" of my other colours:

The Greens:

My 50 shades of green tops - lots of Jackies and a couple of Tippis (in Jade and kelly green and the new retro jade I just purchased in Boston).  The print is the nightshade floral camisole.  This print will be my touchstone print for fall.  I love the mix of greens, blues and dots of pink...While it was an early spring item from J Crew, it seems more fall-ish to me.

The bottoms in green - all skirts - moss tweed, the basket weave from this summer, the gardenshade floral, the pencil skirt in jade and last year's wool pencil skirt in viridian green.

The Blues:

These are my tops (you saw the skirt in yesterday's posts along with some navy tops) - lots of royal blue in a jackie twinset, my new blythe blouse, a periwinkle blue jackie twinset, a nice floral blue perfect shirt.  These colours make me feel healthy!

The pinks:

Okay - for some reason, I threw my animal print tops in here.  I don't know why.....I think I liked them with the burgundy pencil skirt!

This set includes a jackie twinset in sweet pink, a jackie cardigan in azalea, the pencil skirt in burgundy, matchstick cords in a maroon, wool cafe capris in bright dahlia, a casual jacket in a raspberry colour, a cashmere sweater in berry and one in a raspberry colour.  Also in this pile is the tippi in safari cat (a great off-season buy) and a Natasha blouse in animal print which I bought last spring and love)

I love these colour stories, but need to be somewhat careful how I wear them to the office as it is easy for me to go over the top!  A little can go a long way, especially on somone as tiny as me (aka short!).  As you know, I am also the boss where I work, and I want to look elegant, not like a walking green machine...

These will be my fall "colours" .  They will be matched with my basics and with accessories and they should make me happy!  I see some gaps, but that will have to wait for a later post in this series called "what I need or what I am missing".

Some colours that just weren't flattering have been relegated to the giveaway pile.  I know - you can add colourful accessories to those pieces (hello, Tippi in Heather Acorn!) but the reality is, I have lots of clothes and i have decided to only keep what I truly love and that I will reach for this fall and winter!!!

I will revisit this post every time I see a "Looks we Love" on the J Crew website in colours that are SO not me, but which I admire and then try recreate at home, to usually disasterous results....