-
Since we starting trying to buy more ethical clothing, I'm definitely headed down this path.
I realized I loved it when at a recent bachelorette party weekend, I only brought one outfit to wear out. I feel good in it and I don't mind have lots of going out pictures in the same top. My friends spent a long time choosing between the options they brought.
-
That author is in my local mom's group! I just did that and am loving it. I WOH, so I have a bit more than 37 pieces because of work vs weekend, but definitely not double. Getting dressed is SOOOOO much easier now - everything matches, so I grab a top/bottom and go. I love it!
-
I am doing this for my maternity wardrobe. I have some pieces from last time but was generally unimpressed with the quality of stuff I bought.
Not counting shoes I am doing a 15 piece work capsule and 10 piece weekend capsule. I am sure as it goes on those numbers may grow a tad - but trying to buy less pieces so I can afford more quality items.
-
I often have to be very dressed for work, preferably in a suit. I think if you work in a more casual setting, this could work. That said, lately, I've been thinking that I might have too much. I weed out at the end of every season though, so that keeps things under control.
-
@BKCaribBaby: I agree. I work in jeans and t-shirt place. I could easily make do with 37 items.
-
@BKCaribBaby: I work in a formal environment and I actually think it will be easier than in a casual dress environment!
-
Hmm, I think I also wear a very small proportion of my clothes regularly, but I think it would also make me a little sad not to have a wider range on the days I fancied being a bit more creative. When I was bfing I hated being so limited in my outfits. Definitely need to purge though! Also to me 9 pairs of shoes is huge - one pair of Nike high tops and one pair of havianas and I'm set!
-
1) If your capsule only includes like 5 tops - how often are you doing laundry? I need to go at least a week+
- I just mostly do a capsule for my work clothes, so 5 tops plus a few dresses is more than enough to get me through the week.2) What do you do if you have a great skirt/top combo but it doesnt mix with the rest of the capsule?
- Keep it for now, but over time build up a better wardrobe of "mix and match" items. I love looking for items now that could be worn with khaki/brown or black pants.3) When shopping for the next capsule what happens if you get a really great deal on a piece you love but its not for the next season?
- Like above, I make sure to think about, Yes I love this top and its a great deal, but do I have 2-3 bottoms that would go with it?4) Or you have ideas about what you want in your capsule but cant find them in the right color/style in budget?
- Again this has been a slow process. I had a gray pair of pants and a gray pencil skirt that needed a specific shape black top. I just had to take my time to find the right top so that it could be worn with both bottoms. -
Just the fact that I'd get half my closet back is enough to make me want to give this a go. I think a capsule wardrobe would work eventhough my work & "play" clothes can not do double duty since my work clothes are business professional.
-
@Bubbles: Really? I'm just thinking about seasons (like 90+ degrees in here in NYC today compared with 20 degree just a few months ago. I would not wear the same dress, although maybe the same suit. I hate wearing certain things over again in the same week. Again, I am not the person for this. While I sometimes get annoyed with my wardrobe, I do like choices.
ETA: Also what about going out? I dress differently for that, too. See, I can't do this. 
-
@BKCaribBaby: I'm with you on the clothes, I do get into ruts of wearing the same things, but generally I need more choice to make me enjoy getting dressed! It's only shoes where I'm a serious minimalist - I'm a sahm so I don't need smart shoes, I don't do heels and I don't work out! I do have other shoes but I never wear them. I do also have a pair of wellies in the car boot for muddy walks
-
I hope to use my new post partum body as a reason to finally purge my closet and start on this capsule wardrobe this fall. The Facebook "look back" has made me realize I still have complete outfits from 6-8 years ago! I am not the same size, shape or style...so why do I still have them??
-
I kinda did this by force this summer b/c I pump at work so I need nursing friendly clothes, but didn't want to buy a lot, so I only wear the same 5 things and hey, it works! So that def is giving my motivation to do this to the rest of my clothes!
-
@Mrs D: @Bubbles: Oops! My comment was really was for Mrs. D, but I couldn't do two pairs of shoes.
I totally think this could work of you are a SAHM or have a job with certain attire.
-
@BKCaribBaby: I would plan to have a capsule for diff seasons at work. I'm in the Midwest so we have all seasons...I'd envision a summer capsule, a winter capsule and maybe some fall and spring transition pieces. Like my black pant suit works year round - but my tweed blazer would be swapped out for my linen blazer winter to summer! You know?!
Plus if you have 5 tops, a few sweaters and some cardigans you can easily go 10 days without repeating!
I'm going to try it with this pregnancy (once I'm exclusively in maternity clothes) and see how it goes!
-
@looch: I started doing this and suddenly I am wearing some never used stuff that had sentimental value and I got rid of 3verything that made me feel fat in any way. It really helped my self esteem, though I doubt I've scored any new fashion points.
Also, I bought a blazer to "fill out" the capsule since it seems to help a lot. Everything else I already had. It was nice to get rid of all the other stuff. Especially the painful shoes that have been piled on the floor of numerous closets for many years because i had'nt worn them out yet. -
***My sweaters are not in the capsule. I plan to just add leggings and sweaters and my winter coat on top of my summer wardrobe.
-
I decided to do this when I switched jobs and it is AMAZING! I realized I was wasting a ton of time in the mornings trying to choose from an exploding closet of clothes that didn't fit my post-partum body well, I didn't feel like I looked good at all. I spent some time thinking about what I wanted my style to be, weeded through my clothes, and did a shopping session with a personal shopper at Nordstrom for some good quality pieces that were versatile and fit well. It was time and money well spent. I now spend just a few minutes each day getting dressed and feel great about how I look most days (and I don't have a very good body image). I told a friend about it and she tried it and is loving it too. For any busy mom, I can't recommend it highly enough.
-
I like the idea of having a smaller closet that consists of higher quality pieces, versus what I currently have, which is a ton of clothes in different sizes and styles that were all generally bought on clearance and not the greatest quality. My problem is that my weight tends to fluctuate, so I have clothes in 3 different sizes. Whenever I reach my goal weight, I get rid of all my large clothes thinking that will be motivation for me to stay skinny, but then I gain a little weight and get frustrated that my current wardrobe is too tight. I don't want to spend a lot of money on larger clothes, so I buy cheap stuff to last me through until I lose weight, but that ends up being what I wear for months. I guess I need to either be more self-disciplined about what I eat or more realistic about what I should weigh.
-
@BKCaribBaby: I find it really challenging, as a working woman used to wearing suits, to get dressed on the weekends. I am fine with what to wear for work, but on the weekends I am either super casual in work out gear or way on the other extreme as super dressed up. I might just put the focus there.
So, if I were to begin, for the current season, 15 pieces, for weekend wear, I'd do 5 bottoms, 5 tops, 5 dresses.
5 bottoms: 1 pair white jeans, 1 pair solid color shorts, 1 pair printed shorts, 1 denim skirt, 1 khaki skirt
5 tops: 2 tunics, 2 graphic tees, 1 solid color tee
5 dresses: mix of solid and print
I also find that a lot of the things that you can do to stretch your outfits, like putting a button up shirt over a dress, or under a tank top just don't work for my life.
-
@MsHangry: I used my maternity leave to complete my capsule for returning to work! It turned out great!
I really liked pulling every thing out of my closet and putting together "outfits". Then I was able to kinda see what I needed. While on maternity leave, I would hit up the mall and instead of just browsing and looking for sales, I had a very specific list of items I needed!
-
Also, I changed my "pinterest" habits. When I would look for outfits, I specifically pinned styles that I LOVED that I knew would work for my body style and be able to mix and match.
Not this. Odd cut shirt, specific style cardigan. Shoes that would only match 1-2 outfits.
Versus a capsule.
-
As someone with a STUFFED large walk in closet full of clothes that I never wear, this really appeals to me. I think since I WOH I would have to do a separate work and casual capsule, but I'd really like to try this once I'm pp. Maybe I'll try this while on maternity leave, once I'm back into normal clothes!!
-
I like the idea but I could never utilize it or get rid of my clothes. My problem is I have to dress business professional and I'm not willing to do that on the weekends/free time so I would need to have almost 2 sets as well. I do wear a lot of solids/stripes so I think mixing and matching would be easier for me, however I get bored easily!
-
I love this idea and am always looking for ways to simplify since we live in such a small space without storage.
My challenges are: 1. We don't have laundry and have to send it out every few weeks.
2. I live in New England, so we get hot summers and cold winters.
3. I WOH and also attend a lot of events.I try to find pieces that pair well for my work wardrobe. Also, quality fabrics that can withstand a few wears. I keep my weekend clothes pretty simple, jeans, shorts and tshirts/sweatshirts.
-
@CakeLady: I'd love to hear more about how the personal shopper works and how much it costs (if you don't mind sharing)!
@T.H.O.U.: Now see, I take that first outfit you posted and I'd use that for inspiration for the capsule. Neutral beige pants, teal top (doesn't need to be that one) and teal accessories. Then you could change out the teal for any color. For what it's worth I always ignore the bag in outfit pics. When you're at work no one really sees you carrying your purse, so who cares if it's perfectly coordinated.
-
@T.H.O.U.: I recognize that second image from Banana Republic, I thought it was clever. There are always a few pairings that I question, but overall, that's the idea, I think.
-
I don't have close to 37 items in my closet, but I stay at home (and hate shopping) so I'm sure that makes it much easier for me.
-
@ShootingStar: The personal shopper is free! You can make an appointment online, the stylist will email to ask you a few questions about what you are looking for, they pick a bunch of stuff and have it ready in a dressing room when you get there. Then as you try stuff and they get a better sense of what you are looking for they go and grab other things you might like. I've done it twice now and it is so great - they know all the merchandise so they can quickly find things that will work for your body, budget, and lifestyle. They also help you make outfits and suggest how to accessorize. I totally sound like a sales person... I'm not, I swear
http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/personal-stylists -
@looch: @Mrs D: Yep. I totally agree that those of us with seasons could possibly pull this with two sets to cover the warmer and colder months. I definitely agree that my weekend casual wear is the hardest and probably the easiest to pair down. I have a lot of summer very casual clothes that I don’t wear as much. In general though, I think the combination of being mindful about what I buy and also making sure to purge consistently is probably what works best for me.
-
@BKCaribBaby: I agree - if I take nothing else away from this it is that I am much for mindful of the pieces I am buying these days. I think in some of my research of this topic I read that any shirt you buy should go with 2-3 different bottoms. I try to think about that.
I think its easy for me right now because I am staring down maternity clothes - so I know I can survive 6 or 7 months in almost just one capsule.
I love the others who have taken their PP time to really trim down their closet and I cannot wait to try the personal shopper service at nordstroms. I never knew it existed - what a great resource.
Now I just need to work on getting to a happy weight and staying there (post baby of course).
-
@looch: I think it is a great concept. I typically have a pretty minimal wardrobe anyway, but it would be nice to have everything really coordinate well to achieve more unique looks. I am a SAHM, so my typical outfit is jeans and a top. Not too interesting!
-
I really want to do something like this for work clothes. I work part-time and want to be able to easily mix and match. Right now I'm going more for replacing things that are never going to fit me again, getting more comfortable with my post-baby body and finding clothes that I feel good in!
-
Hmm I don't think I'd want to do this strictly, but as a SAHM I do have a lot of things that work in a similar way. I'm just not going to get rid of something just because it doesn't go with my capsule.
-
I seriously need to do this post partum... as in I need to take a blowtorch to my current wardrobe and start new!
-
Bumping this up in light of the recent post on the blog about capsule wardrobes....any new tips?
I've bought a few things for my casual fall/winter capsule:
ivory cable knit turtleneck sweater
dark green slim fitting vest
black and white large scale plaid button down shirt
black and white graphic print tee, this one wasn't on my list, but it's a trend item and i think I'll get a lot of wear from it
chambray button down -
I've been doing this for a few months now and LOVE it. Admittedly, I'm ready for fall because I'd like to rotate in a few different things, but overall it makes my mornings SO much easier!
If you who are concerned about seasons: you should have different capsules for different seasons. Probably not 100% different since odds are good that you wear a few staples year-round (jeans...), but it definitely makes sense to swap t-shirts for sweaters, etc... -
@looch: Do you follow Putting Me Together? She has some really great advice that I found in one of her packing posts and use for my capsule creation:
3 bottoms - At least one neutral and one colored. Third can be either. These can be pants or skirts, but I happened to choose all pants.
3 completer pieces - At least one neutral and one colored. Each of your bottoms should go with at least two completer pieces. I also chose one blazer instead of a third cardigan. This is partially because I needed to make a presentation at church and wanted to look nicer, but also to differentiate some of the looks from each other a bit more.
4 tops - 1-2 solids and simultaneously 2-3 in neutral-ish colors. I only chose one solid this time and really went back and forth about it. In the end it worked out, but having another solid would have made it easier. Your tops should each also go with at least 2 out of your 3 bottoms. This year each of my tops go with each of my bottoms whereas last year it was only 2 out of 3. That's why I was able to make more outfits this year with less pieces.
-
I think this is a great idea for a SAHM or someone who works in a casual office, but I could only implement it for my weekend wardrobe because my office is not only on the formal side of business casual, but I also can't keep wearing the same outfits over and over - even if I'm wearing them differently each time. I find that about 90% of my wardrobe is for work and 10% is for weekends because of the dressy style of my office.
I don't think it's a coincidence that this article/subject/blog appeared this time of year when everyone is switching out to a fall wardrobe. I think it's important to go through your closet twice a year at the least and purge/update!
-
@ShootingStar: I wouldn't say I follow religiously, but I do check it every now and then.
Another problem with capsules is that I have a hard time wearing items "alternative" ways. Like I'll wear a button down as a layer over a tee and under a vest, but I won't wear it as a sub for a blazer and tied at the waist or belted. I see those suggestions and they look cute on others, but not me.
ETA: Also what about going out? I dress differently for that, too. See, I can't do this. 
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite1
82 comments