Hi friends, happy Wednesday! I’ve been obsessed with the idea of a capsule wardrobe from the first second I heard of the concept. In case you’re unfamiliar, a capsule wardrobe is a select number of carefully curated pieces that can be mixed and matched. It’s a very intentional collection of clothes and shoes designed to be versatile and fit all of your needs. Even with all of the clothes I have (and you can see the abundance that is my closet here) I somehow still find myself in there spinning in circles thinking I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!!!! Which is crazy silly and also embarrassing. And then I inevitably reach for the same thing I wore two days before, or one of the small collection of favorite pieces that are always in my rotation. I think I pretty much wear the same 40 pieces 95% of the time, so it’s only sensical that I do so with intention. And there are perks to this sort of wardrobe: I’ll truly only buy pieces that I love and know I’ll wear: there will be no dress that sits in the closest for 18 months without seeing any action. I’ll save money and time, shopping only seasonally to make small updates. I’ll leave a smaller footprint on the planet. I’ll have clear and easy choices that will make getting dressed simple. SO MANY BENEFITS!!!!!
As I said, I’ve loved the concept from the moment I heard of it but the HOW to do it always eluded me. It seemed a daunting task, to tackle a closet and make decisive choices about what stays/goes. It seemed complicated to try to figure out which pieces in the closet would go together and create a cohesive collection. Overall it just seemed like too major a task. Which is why I pretty much happy danced all over my office when I got an email introduction to Capsules, a site that walks you through the process each step of the way and makes creating a capsule wardrobe an organizational BREEZE! I’m going to show you the steps I took below so you can get a feel for the site. And below can see what I came up with for my Winter/Spring/Fall capsule wardrobe for our year on the road! I’ll be packing a few extra pieces for Summer but will be trying to make what I have work for the majority of the year. Can’t wait to hear what you think! xx- Sarah {This post was produced in partnership with Capsules, thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this site possible!}
Sources: army jacket, nude blouse, white high-waisted denim, white tank top, chambray shirt, off-shoulder blouse, denim top (have, shown), blue high-waisted denim (have), navy jacket, grey dress, black dress, striped dress, b+w sweater (shown here, no longer available), black denim, black dress, plaid shirt, grey coat (sold out), black mini, black tank, black joggers, tan hat, converse, black hat, black booties, black sandals, black heels (sold out), black flats. *Note: I tried to find photos of the exact items I own, but some of them are years old and no longer available. In those scenarios I found images of similar pieces and linked to them if possible.
Not shown: I didn’t include my workout or lounge clothes/shoes in this mockup but they make up the rest of my capsule collection and are just as well planned and sorted!
The whole process starts with a closet cleanout, which is such a great way to get hands-on with your current wardrobe. Capsule walks you through the process of sorting through everything you own to help you determine your style, and really refine what you already have. I stored items that I love and may want to revisit at some point as part of another collection, donated items that I knew I would never really wear, and got a good feeling for the items I have that I love and wear all the time.
After that process was complete (that was truly the hardest part) I went on to select colors that I found in my closet that were receiving the most wear- neutrals! I also chose accent colors that I loved, but realized in the end one of the mustards should have been a blue. It’s so easy to have a collection of neutrals that go together, but I would go bananas if I couldn’t have pops of color here and there so I tweaked my collection a bit to accommodate that. In the end I realized I like my color in the form of chambray, plaid and army green jackets.
I found this part to be pure genius! Capsule asks you to input the different weekly activities that you have and will need to accommodate for in your collection. I chose activities that I know I’ll be doing when we’re on the road, so mine are a probably a bit different than most people’s would be, but I think this is such a smart way to make sure your closet ducks are in a row. Especially for those who have to get dressed for work 5 days a week!
After I inputted my activities Capsules provided me with a wardrobe breakdown (see below) that lists every piece! I then went through and tweaked it to reflect what I have in my closet, added colors and notes- and Capsules automatically created a shopping list for the pieces that I’m missing. It’s pretty fantastic, isn’t it?! I’m so excited to see it all together! I’m sure I’ll make a few more tweaks and refine a bit before we head out, but this is the definite direction and I’m loving it! So what do you think, could you get down with a capsule wardrobe? Would love to hear your thoughts! xx- Sarah
This looks so cool! I am going to try this now as for spring one of my goals is to have a more organized and chic wardrobe.
xx
This is genius.
I’m really excited to follow along and see how you end up feeling about your choices. I have been wanting to try this but haven’t quite worked up to it. You picked your items perfectly!
I would like a question.
You do outfit of the day sort of fashion posts. Does a capsule wardrobe or ‘uniform’ dressing really apply to you ?
In my opinion, the world is under peer pressure to adopt this wardrobe. The incredible Garance Dore once came out and wrote a post on throwing away her non basics and adopting stripe tops for uniqlo as her daily uniform. Of Course, we see her everyday in different outfits. This is not me criticizing her but saying, we are all under peer pressure to adopt this approach. Esply for fashion bloggers, I dont see it as sustainable. If you kept 40 items, you would become a blogger like Unfancy. And there is only so much that can be featured on the website.
For anyone who is not an outfit of the day sort of blogger, capsule wardrobes are incredible. They have worked wonders for me in freeing time and energy.
Hi Archana! I haven’t done a style post since November 3rd…. I wrote a post saying that I’m shifting the direction of the site to more food/travel/home decor and less fashion, especially for this next year while we’re on the road. But I agree, if I were posting weekly outfit posts it would get redundant unless it became a THING that I was only wearing these items and wanted to showcase how I’m mixing and matching them. I think maybe what’s bothersome is that you see bloggers stating one thing for a sponsored post and then contradicting themselves right after, which is then confusing and reduces their credibility. I’m not interested in doing that, I’m only taking sponsorships for companies I believe in, for products I support. So you can be assured, this is what I’m doing with my closet right now. And I truly love it. Cheers!
This is so awesome. I have been cleaning out all of my things with the goal of doing a capsule wardrobe this spring. I love how you’ve done yours and thank you so much for posting your journey.
Wow that sounds like a long process! But very worth it in the yet, it seems?
-Maggie http://www.thatgirlmags.com
It’s way easier than I expected and SO worth it!!! I am kicking myself for not having done it sooner!
I am really loving this idea. Does the site tell you where to shop for the items that it suggest?
No, I don’t know if that would make sense for every item suggested since ideally you’re creating it with mostly items you already own. BUT, it would be great if they add a feature that makes recommendations for items in your shopping list!
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing Sarah!
I know the coat is sold out but who makes it??! Thx!
Vince! 🙂
okay this is making me want to go out and shop! LOVING the concept of capsule clothing and also loving everything. you really could create several outfits out of all of those options. LOVE it. xx
Yes, but do so wisely!!!! Create your capsule first, otherwise you’ll end up with a closet full of trends that you’ll only wear a few times!!! 🙂 Thanks Caitlin!!!! 🙂
great pieces for a badass capsule collection!
http://www.bluelabelsboutique.com
http://www.fashionnotfear.wordpress.com
I’m loving that army jacket and striped dress! Also, I absolutely love this idea – would be really fun to give it a try!
x Sarah
http://www.bohochiccafe.com
This is amazing! Like you, I’ve considered creating a capsule wardrobe in an attempt to streamline my style but wondered where to start. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your experience with this! I can’t wait to start! Have fun adventuring!!
I am in desperate need of doing something like this, but it always seems so daunting! Capsule sounds like a really great way to do it!
I see so many posts talking about capsule collections. Thank you for laying out the thought process as well! So helpful and ideal for long time travel.
x Sarah
http://www.bohochiccafe.com
I’m going to give this a try. I really need to up my fashion game and look polished for work every day, but I’m also very limited on time. The capsule idea may be just what I need. 🙂
YES! Genius.
This is broken down so wonderfully! I recently did my own capsule wardrobe and I will definitely take this tips to heart!
This is a really helpful article. Clear instructions and love the images too! Keep up the good work.