I was inspired by the year-long project Janice of the Vivienne Files took on last year, building a wardrobe one outfit at a time inspired by a scarf. I want to see if I can do something similar, completely aspirational, and see what I learn.

Try as I might, I failed at finding a scarf. I'm using a painting from one of my favorite abstract painters, Richard Diebenkorn. It's from his Ocean Park series, and has a soft beachy feel that I would love to bring into my own wardrobe. Note the angularity despite the low contrast. Neutrals are beige and inky blue, not my typical safe colors. Natural fabrics and drape with some structure called for, I think.

For January, I picked some fairly impractical winter clothes. Maybe my heroine is going on a vacation to a northern California beach town. Had to start with Vans for shoes, a classic from my beach days growing up. I struggled with the handbag, but I think more of those blues will come in future months, so I'm ok with it for now. Next month I will "get" the necessary coat. I totally dodged the question of metals for now. Thoughts on that?