My Capsule Wardrobe
Last year I read a book called “The Curated Closet” and I think it’s safe to say that it really did change my life and thought process. And you might be thinking that it’s just a book about clothes and shopping how much can it really change your life? Well, let’s think about this. We wear clothes every day. Those clothes can make us feel great or make us feel like a sloppy mess that doesn’t deserve the best in life. We choose what to wear everyday. Making decisions takes energy. And we only have so much energy. So if deciding what to wear when you get dressed every single day becomes and exhausting, stressful thing. Then learning about clothes and wardrobes and successful shopping can be something that will absolutely change your life.
Capsule Wardrobes
In case you aren’t familiar with this idea. Capsule wardrobes are a set number of pieces in your closet that all work well with each other. This way you love all the pieces you own. And you actually wear all the pieces you own. I’ve found I shop less and when I do buy something it is better quality and it’s a well thought out purchase.
My Uniform
Everyone has an outfit that they feel most like themselves in and for me that is a tee shirt (usually tucked or half tucked), jeans and loafers. I used to always try out new and fun things in an attempt to mix up my style and "feel" cooler. Well I'm plenty “cool” in what I feel most comfortable in. But it definitely took me time to accept this. I can still mix up my style and keep things fresh, but not with my outfit, with hats, scarves, jewelry and shape. Shape is a big one that helps. Wearing skinny jeans and a flowy tee and wearing flared jeans and a fitted tee are two totally different outfits. I do wear other outfit formula when the weather requires it. But this is pretty much my jam.
My Climate
I live in beautiful central California and the weather here doesn't get super cold (compared to other parts of the world, but we act like it is the arctic) but it can get pretty warm. We locals are super lucky however, the weather can really turn on a dime. For example we had a really cold couple of weeks here (low 60 degrees during the day and low 30's at night), and then bam! massive heat wave (mid 80's during the day and 50 or so at night). Rather then going through my bins of off season clothes every two weeks when our weather decides it is summer in January, I aimed to build a pretty universal capsule wardrobe. This means it is a pretty large capsule wardrobe as far as capsules go.
My Colors
Picking a color palette for my capsule seemed like an impossible task. But once I learned that not only neutrals have to be my neutrals, it became easy. So my neutrals are black, brown and denim. My accent colors are white, grey and beige. My pops of colors tend to be orange, red, mustard and forest green. These are the colors that I'm simply drawn to. My neutrals and accent colors are the colors most of my clothes are in. A couple of sweaters and tees and some accessories are in my pops of color choices. Making denim a neutral was the biggest game changer for my wardrobe. Before, I kept stopping myself from wearing certain colors with my jeans because they "clashed". However it does mean that I kinda look at all blue as a monotone. So wearing jeans and a blue tee feels far too monochromatic. But I do own a dress that is navy blue and it is one of my favorite pieces. I'm so comfortable in all of my clothes and they all work together very well.
My Wardrobe
So excluding shoes, coats/jackets, scarves, hats, and handbags I have 31 pieces in my everyday capsule and 27 pieces in my work wardrobe (which is all black because that is my dress code at work). There is some sharing between the 2 capsules. For example I will wear blue jeans from my everyday capsule with a black top from my work capsule to work. And other times I'll wear a striped shirt from my everyday wardrobe with black bottoms from my work wardrobe. Yes, I could combine the two and have one big capsule but I find it easier to have them separate for some reason. I do switch out my warm weather items for cooler weather items a couple times a year the other way around as well. So right now there are more warm clothes but enough cooler clothes for our random heat waves. In the summer I might put away my wool and cashmere for more tanks and tees.
My Climate
I live in beautiful central California and the weather here doesn't get super cold (compared to other parts of the world, but we act like it is the arctic) but it can get pretty warm. We locals are super lucky however, the weather can really turn on a dime. For example we had a really cold couple of weeks here (low 60 degrees during the day and low 30's at night), and then bam! massive heat wave (mid 80's during the day and 50 or so at night). Rather then going through my bins of off season clothes every two weeks when our weather decides it is summer in January, I aimed to build a pretty universal capsule wardrobe. This means it is a pretty large capsule wardrobe as far as capsules go.
My Colors
Picking a color palette for my capsule seemed like an impossible task. But once I learned that not only neutrals have to be my neutrals, it became easy. So my neutrals are black, brown and denim. My accent colors are white, grey and beige. My pops of colors tend to be orange, red, mustard and forest green. These are the colors that I'm simply drawn to. My neutrals and accent colors are the colors most of my clothes are in. A couple of sweaters and tees and some accessories are in my pops of color choices. Making denim a neutral was the biggest game changer for my wardrobe. Before, I kept stopping myself from wearing certain colors with my jeans because they "clashed". However it does mean that I kinda look at all blue as a monotone. So wearing jeans and a blue tee feels far too monochromatic. But I do own a dress that is navy blue and it is one of my favorite pieces. I'm so comfortable in all of my clothes and they all work together very well.
My Wardrobe
So excluding shoes, coats/jackets, scarves, hats, and handbags I have 31 pieces in my everyday capsule and 27 pieces in my work wardrobe (which is all black because that is my dress code at work). There is some sharing between the 2 capsules. For example I will wear blue jeans from my everyday capsule with a black top from my work capsule to work. And other times I'll wear a striped shirt from my everyday wardrobe with black bottoms from my work wardrobe. Yes, I could combine the two and have one big capsule but I find it easier to have them separate for some reason. I do switch out my warm weather items for cooler weather items a couple times a year the other way around as well. So right now there are more warm clothes but enough cooler clothes for our random heat waves. In the summer I might put away my wool and cashmere for more tanks and tees.
I exclude shoes and outerwear from my capsule because I just have no idea what I’ll need from day to day. And I’m lucky enough to have enough storage to keep them separate.
Everyday Capsule Wardrobe (fall/winter)
Everyday Capsule Wardrobe (fall/winter)
- 8 pairs of jeans
- 8 short sleeve tees
- 3 button up blouses
- 4 long sleeve tees
- 8 sweaters
- 5 cardigans
- 2 dresses
- 2 pairs of shorts
- 1 tank top
Work Capsule Wardrobe (all black)
- 5 pairs of pants (jeans, trousers and overalls)
- 8 shorts sleeve tees
- 2 skirts
- 2 long sleeve tees
- 2 sweaters
- 3 button up blouses
- 2 dresses
- 3 tank tops
- I always keep 1 cardigan at work
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