What makes up a capsule wardrobe

The goal behind building a capsule wardrobe is to create an effortless style for ourselves so that dressing up everyday becomes easy and stress free! Are you ready to start yours this year? Here are some easy steps to follow. The most important step to build a wardrobe that you will love is to know our style.

You can take this style quiz to get a broad sense of what style predominates in your life. These basic questions will get you started so that you can become aware of everything that you have and better understand how to strategically shop from now on.

There are many ways to do this, either by manually tracking down what you wore every day in a notebook, or you can also look into this app called Cladwell that lets you do this very easily via their subscription service. After documenting what you effortlessly wore during 30 days you will have a better understanding of your current capsule wardrobe that already exists in your closet. There is no magic number, a capsule is about selecting the things you love to wear and of course you will have cute formal dresses that you wear once a year to a wedding, or your sportswear and sleepwear.

These items are not part of your capsule. Before you sort into categories take a look at each item and make sure that the thought of wearing it someday makes you feel happy. Organize your clothes in all of these categories:. My all year basics: sweaters, jeans and sneakers. Document how many items you have in each category and decide to build a capsule for all year long, or seasonal capsules.

We all have different lifestyles, the important thing is to keep the items that we like to wear. Your email address will not be published. One of the best things the advisor did, besides show me how to dress to my body type, was to establish my colours!

We then looked at my best base neutral colours to build a capsule wardrobe around. After we looked at more fun accents to add, but only one or two at most and always small details only think scarves, jewelry, etc! She also emphasised the need to buy quality and that does mean spending more. To this day I still only have two pairs of jeans, three jumpers, three button downs, three long-sleeve shirts, three short sleeve shirts, two dresses, one pair of dress slacks.

I go shopping maybe times per year. I can literally dress myself in the dark and know that it will all match. Good luck!!!

I love the idea of base colors! So I just said no! Hard in the moment, but such a good practice. Love hearing about your experience with this Cassandra — thanks for sharing! I think I need a little help doing this.

Great to hear your story. Nice post! You have excellent taste in clothes. I especially love your boots! My summer capsule was rough because I was still unsure about what I was doing. However, I think I made it just a teensy bit too small. I know what makes me feel sexy, comfortable, professional, whatever.

In my first capsule I kept a lot of pieces that I loved because of the way they looked, but not for the way they felt. Like ponchos. Ponchos 4 lyfe. I saw a few months ago on the VIP page that you were doing this and I was so excited for you!

It really is! The number 19 is a little deceiving though because I keep a base wardrobe of like 50 items that just stay the same all through the year. Thank you for this post. This year is all about simplifying my life to make room for big things to come next year. Looks like I have a game plan for this weekend. Thanks for the great advice!

First let me say that I love your blog and all the useful information and of course wonderful recipes! This is not something I had heard of before but I would love to not have to try on three outfits before deciding what to wear.

Thank you for inspiring change in a positive way! Maybe 5 in a few categories, but not 5 total lol. The rest of this looks super amazing. Thank you for sharing.

I followed Un-Fancy and kept toying with the capsule idea. The only commitment I made was buying the pieces she linked and gaining more clothes ahah!! I am in the process of moving and need to cut waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down on my closet. Wish me luck… I start this project tomorrow at 10AM. Love love love your blog. Note: If you want an all-neutral minimalist capsule , then you can resume with Step 5 to choose your shoes and accessories. Otherwise, continue on…. Is your favorite color blush pink, olive, royal blue or red?

Go ahead and add a few tops or bottoms in your favorite color to your closet. Use the Wardrobe Coordinating Color Chart Make sure your accent color coordinates with your base color. I chose blush and sky blue as my two accent colors:. Now, add 1, 2 or 3 patterned items. They can be tops, bottoms, skirts or dresses. This type of top is usually either navy stripe or black stripe.

This type of top will go with nearly everything in your wardrobe. Other patterns that coordinate well with other items in your wardrobe is polka dots and floral fabrics. If you choose a floral top or pants, make sure the colors in the top, pants or skirt coordinates with your accent color and your base colors. This is a way to add texture and color to your wardrobe!

I added a black striped top and light blue striped top similar as the patterned items. For the shoes, you can add a pair or two in the same base color, navy or black, add a nude neutral pair of heels or flats, add a casual pair, like sneakers, add boots or sandals. The number of pairs of shoes your choose and the types of shoes depends on your lifestyle. For accessories, choose one or two handbags. A black or beige handbag is always a great addition to your wardrobe because the colors go well with your outfits.

Add a statement necklace or one or two scarves to complete your capsule. The finished capsule wardrobe! Now, enjoy getting dressed faster, having many outfits to wear, having a neat closet and love what you wear everyday! Do you want clothes and shoes already picked for you, along with outfit ideas, a packing list and more? When you shop through my links, it helps support my business at no additional cost to you so thank you! I enjoyed your Fall capsule wardrobe very much, but I would like to make a suggestion that would help busy women like me.

Would it be possible for you to format your outfits differently, so that Outfit 1 and Outfit 2 work out to be Day 1 and Day 2 and are not the same outfit with just different accessories?

I can only imagine how helpful it would be to print out the outfits and just mindlessly go into my closet and grab Outfit 25 on the 25th of the month and get dressed. Thank you for what you are already doing! I look forward to the Spring capsule! I agree! I had that same thought, so I did a lot of manual labor to get to that point. I printed out the outfits from screen shots, stacked them in stacks by top, then did a round robin choosing one from each stack in a row until I had exhausted them all.

Spoiler alert — there are more white and gray tops than any other so they ended up all together at the end. Now I mindlessly flip the page. Took me about an hour. Good luck! How would you be able to plan for future weather, outings the required day, etc?

Leanne, I would love to know where the rack came from that your beautiful capsule is hanging on. Lisa from Indiana. Thank you for asking Lisa! It is from Pottery Barn Teen. Question: what do you do with all your other clothes? Do you pack them away or hang them in the back of your closet?

You can sell or donate the others. Thank you! Great Post! I love the step by step tutorial. All the choices and colors go with my personal style and lifestyle. I really liked this post. I have always wanted to try this, at least with my work wardrobe and your post explains it so perfectly. Your capsule wardrobe books have completely changed the way I shop, and for the better. But it makes getting ready a breeze. This is really very well done.

I have wanted to do a capsule for around 4 years. It was so ridiculous. I am so glad I never got rid of my black and kept my basics even though I was told to go to chocolates so hard to find in stores and shoe stores and even bags and instead my gut ruled and I now have quite a lot to begin with. Add a good collection of black shoes in boots low, boots high, booties, kitten heels, flats, sandals and thongs and I am more than half way there. I feel like singing to have found out that my gut was right all along.

This is what I want. Thank you for taking the time to share it and thank God I found it. One last thing, you have great legs and carry those shorter skirts and heels very well.

Bless you. Thank you Dee! My e-Books also provide step-by-step instructions on how to create a capsule wardrobe, but I wanted to put the capsule process all in one easy-to-follow blog post for everyone to reference.

Thank you Aime! I have read many capsule wardrobe posts and this one by far takes the cake. I feel like I can do this easily without feeling like I need new pieces right away.

Look for pieces you already have that express your personal style and flatter your look. Look for clothing that goes well with your designated color palette. Find the clothes that express you instead of stifle you. For me that was fit and flare skirts. I adore them on others, but I feel like a five-year-old when I put them on. I feel the same way about anything loose and drapey.

Now that you know what your Twist is or Twists are. You can be a combination of multiple , look for the details that will tell your style story.

Do you have a lot of tops and only one good pair of pants that work with the season, fit well and look great on you? Do most of your shoes usually sit untouched or make you feel meh? Do you have a few go-to accessories you love and could wear with most outfits? Many try to narrow down their capsule wardrobe to a magic number. To me, the purpose of a capsule wardrobe is to simplify your closet, be intentional about what you buy, and show off your signature style from season to season.

If that means you need 54 pieces instead of 33, then go for it! You might really like more variety in your shoes — do it. The whole purpose of a capsule wardrobe is to serve you and your needs, not the other way around. Only you will know how many pieces you need for your capsule wardrobe. No machete required. Make getting dressed the easiest thing you do all day!

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