Happy Wednesday, my lovelies!
If you joined me last week you know I wrote all about my plans for whittling down my wardrobe (HERE), and how I also want to simplify getting dressed by creating a capsule wardrobe. Today I’m going to jump a little deeper into the details.
I had investigated how to implement a capsule wardrobe in the past, and the idea intrigued me. I’ve even half heartedly attempted it once or twice before. But I didn’t want to have to recreate the capsule every season, as many other capsule evangelists will suggest. So my compromise was to do a full time, ongoing capsule. Essentially, I’m curating a minimalist closet that works in a cohesive way all year round.
I actually created these guidelines for my capsule wardrobe before physically going through my closet, and trying to determine how many pieces to keep in each clothing category gave me anxiety. I’m sometimes obsessive about numbers (3, 9 and 30 are my faves, in case you were curious), so if whatever I’m doing doesn’t align I have a slight panic attack and fret about how to make the numbers work. Then I realized, there actually isn’t a rule saying I have to have a specific number of items. So the numbers below are educated guesstimates at the moment and may change as I live with this capsule IRL.
So without further ado, let’s delve into the details, shall we?
Color Palette
This may sound funny to some, but my color palette for my capsule is basically the same color palette I used for my house. These are colors I like and that go well with each other, so why not carry them over to my clothing. I had already leaned in this direction anyway, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch. I chose a palette of neutrals that will provide a base for foundation pieces like pants, sweaters and shoes; plus jewel tone accent colors and their tints as well.
- Neutrals: white/oatmeal, grey/beige, black/brown.
- Neutral Adjacent: navy/denim/chambray, olive/sage
- Accents: teal/aqua, coral/blush, plum/lilac, mustard/butter + red (red is the corporate color at my day job)
Patterns + Textures
In addition to my limited color palette, there are patterns and textures/details I’d like to infuse into my capsule as well.
- Floral
- “Abstract” Stripes
- Geometric / “Tribal”
- Irregular Dots
- Leopard
- Tie Dye
- Lace/Crochet
- Embroidery
- Fringe
Outfit Formulas
One of my goals for 2020 was to document my outfits every day. This was mostly to see what I had worn the week before so as not to duplicate an exact outfit too soon after wearing it previously. However, I find as I scroll through my OOTD album on my phone, that I have outfits that I definitely do not want to replicate EVER again, and others that I go back to over and over. So this ended up being a good tool for determining which outfit formulas actually work in reality and not just on paper.
If at all possible, I would like to rotate through my formulas during the week and use a different one each day so as not to look like I am wearing a uniform (though sometimes a uniform seems VERY appealing). I’ve been trying to implement this approach already but have had limited success. I’m hoping when I have a more compact wardrobe it will be easier to put outfits together using these formulas.
Autumn / Winter
- Skinny Pants / Leggings + Loose Longline Sweater
- Skinny Pants / Leggings + Fitted Tunic Top + Longline Cardigan / Flowy Vest / Blazer
- Wide Leg Pants + Fitted Top + Boxy Cropped Cardigan/Pullover Sweater
- Maxi Skirt + Fitted Top + Boxy Cropped Cardigan/Pullover Sweater
- Midi/Pencil Skirt + Loose Tunic / Longline Sweater
- Tee/Tank Dress + Chunky Cardigan + Leggings + Boots
- Long Sleeve Dress + Leggings + Boots
- Jeans + Pullover Sweater
- Jeans + Loose Tee + Cardigan
Spring / Summer
- Skinny Pants / Leggings + Tunic Blouse
- Skinny Pants / Leggings + Fitted Tunic Tee/Tank + Cropped Blouse
- Wide Leg Pants + Fitted Top
- Midi/Pencil Skirt + Flowy Blouse
- Tee/Tank Dress + Cardigan + Booties / Clogs
- Jeans + Loose Tee + Cardigan
- Shorts + Loose Tee + Cardigan
- Shorts + Flowy Blouse
Number of Pieces
- 15 Knit Tops (varying sleeve lengths: 3- Tanks, 3- Sleeveless; 3- Short; 3- 3/4; 3- Long)
- 12 Tees (3- Basic, 3- Graphic/Slogan, 6- Patterned)
- 12 Tunics (varying sleeve lengths: 6- Short, 3- 3/4, 3- Long)
- 3 Blouses (1- Sleeveless, 1- 3/4, 1- Long)
- 20 Sweaters/Finishing Pieces (2- Blazers, 1- Jean Jacket, 1- Chambray Shirt, 3- Vests, 1- Poncho, 1- Kimono)
- Dresses: 6 (varying sleeve lengths: 2- Sleeveless, 2- Short, 2- Long)
- Bottoms: 3 Skinny Pants / Leggings, 1 Wide Leg Pants, 3 Maxi Skirts, 1 Midi/Pencil Skirt, 4 Jeans, 3 Shorts
- Shoes: 3- Flats, 3- Booties, 4- Boots, 4- Clogs, 3- Slip Ons, 3- Sandals
Now it’s time to actually do the work and pick which pieces I’m going to keep. I think I’ll hold on to the items I remove from my wardrobe for a bit, just in case… but I’m excited to try this new approach to getting dressed, and will definitely report back whichever way the results go!