A capsule wardrobe can be seen as a small collection of the items that you most love to wear. It helps you select your outfits more easily and mix and match for any occasion! A carefully selected capsule wardrobe ensures that you never complain about having nothing to wear. Your wardrobe will only contain those items that bring you joy and love to wear! If you’ve ever considered building a capsule wardrobe, here are my tips on how to create a capsule wardrobe in a few simple steps.
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How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe
What is a capsule wardrobe?
A capsule wardrobe is a collection of a set number of essential pieces of clothing which can be easily paired with the other items in your capsule wardrobe and used to create a variety of different looks. A capsule wardrobe should contain around 37 items in total. Items that are not included include swimwear, underwear, workout clothes accessories, jewellery, scarfs etc.
You can create 4 capsules to swap around according to the seasons, for example, you can have 4 separate capsule wardrobes for spring, summer, autumn and winter capsule. This way you don’t get bored too fast, you dress appropriately for the weather (especially if your country has all 4 seasons) and you can mix and match them/ reuse pieces throughout the capsules. Putting a capsule wardrobe together is not a quick project. It takes dedication, time and effort. You have to be strong-willed and be able to stick to it, but if you can do it, it will make life much easier.
Why create a capsule wardrobe?
Capsule wardrobes are a great idea if you’re looking for an easier way to decide on what to wear especially if you’re anything like me and complain about NEVER HAVING ANYTHING TO WEAR! A capsule wardrobe ensures you shop for clothes mindfully and with intention. You’re also shopping less, saving money and only buying what you need and what brings you joy.
Don’t be put off by the fact that the process to create a capsule wardrobe can take a little while, can include decluttering your clothes, organising your closets and putting some thought into what you want to wear, in the long run, once everything is set up and your capsule wardrobe complete, putting together your outfits will be much easier, happier, straight forward and less stressful.
Creating a capsule wardrobe will leave you with a clean and organised space as you will be storing only a minimal amount of clothes in your wardrobe. No more items that you haven’t worn in a long time, no more items that don’t fit you and no more items that don’t actually bring you joy. You will now have a greater love and appreciation for your wardrobe, clothes and day!
What Items you need to include in your capsule wardrobe
Before you begin, it is best to declutter and organise your clothes and wardrobe. Have you worn your jeans in the last 12 months? Does it fit? Will you wear it again? Does it bring joy to your life? Once you have finished decluttering you should be left with the items that you actually want to keep. From this pile, you can get started at formulating your capsule wardrobe.
Firstly, go through the list below and decide whether you have everything that you need for your capsule wardrobe and make a list of what else you need to buy. Secondly, decide on the season you are creating the capsule wardrobe for and choose the colour palette you would like to adopt for that particular capsule.
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I have listed categories of items you can include in your capsule wardrobe (with examples):
- Tops – Sweater, Sweatshirt, T-shirt, Tank, Blouse, Shirt, Jumper,
- Bottoms – Jeans, Skirt, Trousers, Leggings, Joggers, Dress
- Shoes – Ankle Boots, Long Boots, Trainers, Flats, Heels and Wedges
- Outerwear – Blazer, Coat, Cardigan, Jeans Jacket, Biker Jacket, Leather Jacket
Here is a list of the items of clothing you could have in your capsule wardrobe:
- Biker Jacket
- Statement Trousers
- Sweatshirt
- Smart Skirt
- Laid Back Sweater
- Black Ankle Boots
- True Blue Jeans
- Versatile Scarf
- Chic White Blouse
- Fancy Flat Shoes
- Wear-Everywhere Dress
- Posh Carry-All Bag
- Slick Coat
- Mid Heels
- Traditional Trouser Suit
- Plain Crossbody Bag
- Basic Belt
Don’t Forget
Always consider transitional pieces where the seasons may overlap. For example, in London, it may be spring or summer but it rains a lot. So you would need to pick your items accordingly to be ready for those weather changes. Another example would be a cardigan or lightweight mac which would be needed if it’s windy or slightly cooler in the warmer months.
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You can always try experimenting with bright colours for the colder months – just because it’s cold and dark doesn’t mean you can’t wear light colours. It can brighten up your day!
Decide on what items you need by thinking about how you spend your day – do you spend more time at home? or at work? Are you more of a fitness bunny or boss-babe? Answering these questions will help you create your ideal capsule wardrobe.
What Next?
Now you never complain about not having anything to wear. The point of creating a capsule wardrobe is to help you decide what to wear in advance. It helps you live more of a sustainable minimalistic life (or as much as is possible) and save money and be happier with clothes that bring you joy. Once you have gone through a couple of successful seasons with your capsule wardrobe, you could increase the number of items to 50 pieces.
I would love to see your capsule wardrobe pictures – why not tag me on IG @stylinglifetoday and your pictures with #SLTCapsuleWardrobeChallenge – so I can share the love too!
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Til next time
XoXo Monica XoXo
Great tips! Would you like to see my capsule wardrobe?
I’ll be sure to pop over and check it out.
Feeling lucky to live in tropical areas that only have two seasons – dry and rainy, which are essentially almost the same in reality lol – so it’s easier to downsize my wardrobe and create my capsule clothing selection. Anw, love your blog aesthetics! I just hit follow! 🙂
That’s so sweet of you! Thanks for following! Very nice seasons for you! Xxx
It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
This sounds like such a fun idea xx
Thank you 😊 give it a try if you’re looking to change things up in your closet!
I can’t wait to try it out with my clothes and wardrobe