Tips for Building a Capsule Wardrobe
A few months' back I heard about the idea of a capsule wardrobe from my friend Natalie. When I first heard about building a capsule wardrobe, I thought the concept sounded like a very good way to organize what's important in your closet. It's essentially breaking your closet down into only the pieces that you actually wear most often. Then using those pieces, now coined capsule pieces, to mix-and-match, creating a plethora of wearable outfits.
NARROWING DOWN YOUR WARDROBE
Half the battle is getting into your closet to find out if you have pieces for building a capsule wardrobe. I have to admit, this part wasn't easy for me because it doesn't involve a lot of the trendy, fun pops-of-color pieces I love so much. But with that being said, it is also a great way to start building the foundation to an minimal, easy-to-pair together wardrobe. Now that is something I can handle. If you want to join me in building a capsule wardrobe, you can start by following these easy steps for narrowing down your capsule wardrobe pieces.
1| choose subtle patterns (think, patterns that have been around for-ev-er) - stripes, small polka dots, light florals, or no patterns
2| choose neutrals (think blues, creams, camels)
CREATE A FOUNDATION FOR BUILDING A CAPSULE WARDROBE
With these 2 steps out of the way, here is a good rule of thumb. If all of your pieces are in a similar color palate, you'll be able to create multiple outfits with only a few options. Choose 7 pieces by which to start building your capsule wardrobe. Why 7? It's a good Foundation. It's easy to start mixing and matching with 7 pieces. These seven pieces are organized as follows
2 tops
2 jackets (sweaters and blazers count as jackets too)
3 bottoms (jeans, leggings, and dresses count as bottoms)
Here's one thing to remember...those are going to be your go-to pieces but not the only pieces you have. I have waaaay more things I want to wear but this will help me build my foundation. And it will help you too. These are my, go-with-anything, wear-all-the-time-through-the-season pieces.
tops 1| chambray button down 2| Striped sweater top
outer layers 3 | gray cardigan 4 | camel colored blazer
bottoms 5 | denim shirt dress 6 | paige denim skinny jeans 7 | black leggings
USING THE PIECES TO BUILD 10 OUTFITS
I chose these 7 pieces to build my capsule wardrobe because they are a) in a neutral color family, b) they have subtle to no pattern (meaning I can pair them together without clashing prints), and c) they are some of my favorite pieces. With these 7 pieces, I'm going to show you how to pair them in as many ways as I can.
- CHAMBRAY TOP OUTFITS x 3
Style Tip: Add a bit of variety to your outfits, pair with unique accessories, bags, and shoes!
- STRIPED TOP OUTFITS x 4
- SHIRTDRESS OUTFITS x 3
I've mixed, matched, and layered to create 10 different outfits from 7 pieces I had in my closet. A few final thoughts on building a capsule wardrobe. Starting out with the narrowing down and reorganization is the toughest part. But after you tackle that first hurdle, it becomes easier and more efficient to put together outfits to build a wardrobe that you're going to love and wear over and over again! What do you think about building a capsule wardrobe? Can you do it? What pieces would you start with?
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