Weekend Wardrobe: Colorful Jacket-Inspired 4x4 Wardrobe

Reversible Art Deco Jacket from Gump's

The idea for this post came from The Vivienne Files, where a colorful jacket was used as the starting point for a 4x4 wardrobe that I found particularly attractive.  I have had my eye on another colorful jacket for a while now, and described it in a previous post.  The Reversible Art Deco Jacket from Gump's shown above is awash in bright summery colors.

There are so many bright colors to choose from in this jacket!  Emboldened by my post from last week where I selected a rainbow of colors for a basic wardrobe, I decided to do the same this week using the jacket as my color source.  I am going to start the 4x4 wardrobe a little differently this time, with three basic bottoms in different colors in addition to the jacket:

Clockwise from top left: Gump's Reversible Art Deco Jacket; L.L. Bean Women's  Washed Straight-Leg Chinos in Classic Black; Coldwater Creek Crinkle Cotton Solid Maxi Skirt in Bright Turquoise; L.L. Bean Women's Premium Washable Linen Pants in White;.

Next up is a simple black skirt plus three tops in various colors:

Clockwise from top left: J. Crew Bi-Stretch Cotton No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Black; Coldwater Creek Essential Supima Shell in Black; Land's End Women's Short Sleeve Jewelneck Tee in Turquoise Bay; Land's End Women's Relaxed Supima V-Neck T-Shirt in Pineapple.

The third set includes a variety of tops in different styles and colors:

Clockwise from top left: Land's End Women's Relaxed Supima Crewneck T-Shirt in Classic Cherry; Land's End Women's Relaxed Supima V-Neck T-Shirt in Black; Coldwater Creek Solid Easy Care Sleeveless Tunic in Daffodil; Coldwater Creek Drape-Neck Shell in Bright Peridot.

And finally, a simple black dress and three more tops in various styles:

Clockwise from left: J. Crew Sleeveless Silk Dress in Black; Coldwater Casual Comfort Tee in Fresh Red; Pendleton Cotton Rib Tank in Larkspur; Coldwater Creek Essential Supima Boatneck Tee in Bright Peridot.

There was a method to my madness in the arrangement of each 4-piece set.  If you look at the columns in the complete 4x4 wardrobe diagram below, you will see outfit options (for example, the second column shows options for a column of black):

Because I wanted all pieces to work with the jacket, I stayed with solid-colored apparel, but tried to vary the styles to add interest.  I chose tailored black pants and skirt, plus another one of each with a less-structured fit.  As much as possible, I also tried to find tops with different necklines and sleeve lengths that were not too fussy-looking.

If I were to add another option, it would probably be a casual dress, perhaps one or both of the choices shown here:

Left: Catalog Favorites Casual Knit Dress in Turquoise; Right: Coldwater Creek Capri Knit Dress in Fresh Red.

And I had to share the perfect necklace for any ensemble from this basic wardrobe:

Zulu Pearl Long Necklace in Gypsy fron Samantha Davimes

I love bright color, and the colors in this 4x4 wardrobe make me happy.  I think I could live for a while with just these apparel items year-round (well, maybe I would have to add a couple pairs of jeans).  At the very least I should probably finally add that beautiful jacket to my clothes collection!