I thought I had talked about the concept of capsule wardrobing on the blog before, but after it got randomly brought up when we were recording Nice to Have a Friend last week, I realized I had never broached the topic on the blog before. I’m so curious if a lot of you have heard of capsule wardrobes before, but personally I hadn’t heard of one until probably 2017 when I saw this video on Youtube (love those youtubers by the way!).
So, what is a capsule wardrobe?
Simply put, a capsule wardrobe is a “set” of a certain number of pieces that you use to mix and match with for a specific season. Most people do a fall, winter, spring and summer capsule, but there are honestly no hard rules when it comes to capsuling.
I think the easiest way to explain it is through an example, so for instance, I am going to start a fall capsule wardrobe. I go through my closet and clean out any unnecessary items, set aside which items I think would go with my “capsule,” keep anything super sentimental like my wedding dress, engagement photo dress, etc, and finally put my summer/spring/true winter pieces in a different spot. I look at the items I want to keep for fall, maybe four pairs of pants, two shirts, three sweaters. Then, I can identify if there’s a piece I am truly missing and try to find the best deal on a great quality piece. Then, when all the pieces are acquired, I can start mixing and matching all the pieces to squeeze the most out of my “new” wardrobe!
Capsule Wardrobes are really about quality over quantity. I feel I have been basically doing a year-long capsule wardrobe since I began college, but I definitely haven’t been doing it by season. As a blogger, it might be hard to believe, but I generally don’t get new clothes very often. I am very choosy about what clothing items I bring into my rotation, and that usually means higher quality (more expensive). There are some rare exceptions to this, but because of my expensive preferences, I really only get clothes when they go on major sale, or if there’s something I really, truly need.
Would I ever start one?
With all that said, I feel like I’m the perfect candidate for a capsule wardrobe. Everything about it just makes sense to me. Actually, when I look back on it, I basically did a capsule wardrobe by force when I studied abroad in Italy for six weeks. I highly recommend trying a capsule wardrobe if you have any kind of trip similar to that coming up- you can also check out my packing blog post here.
So, yes! I would definitely complete a capsule wardrobe from season to season. I feel the only thing setting me back is the cost of a creating the “perfect” capsule wardrobe, but I am super interested in making baby steps toward one. The resource that really encouraged me to make the jump was Madison Clevenstine’s capsule wardrobe guide she posted on her blog. Definitely check that out if you’re looking for more classic capsule inspiration.
What are the first steps I might take?
I really want to go through my closet and purge those items that I keep saying “well, I might wear that sometime soon.” Surprise, I never end up wearing them! I also get into the bad habit of “burning out” a piece of clothing- meaning nothing is really wrong with it, but I just wore it too many times and the thought of wearing it again makes me aggravated? I don’t know if that makes sense, but most of the clothes I took to Italy were donated because I just wore them too much. So, I need to just make the jump and donate/sell those pieces because they are taking up too much room in my closet.
I also need to figure out my work situation a little bit better, I believe my office is going to be moving in the next year, and when we’re in our new space, I believe the dress code is going to change a little bit. I may have to have a separate mini-capsule for work related clothing!
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I hope this post was helpful, even in the tiniest way of just introducing you to this concept. I think it’s a super interesting idea, and has the potential to be great for mental health, the environment, time management, the list goes on. I will keep you all updated if I decide to start a fall capsule, but in the mean time, definitely let me know if you start one by tagging or messaging me on Instagram!
