4 Steps to a Capsule Wardrobe

The seasons are changing and so are our clothing choices. I took this year's transition from summer to autumn as an opportunity to weed out my closet and create a capsule wardrobe for myself.

A capsule wardrobe is a refined wardrobe of versatile essentials that can be worn interchangeably. 

Traditional capsule wardrobes are made of anywhere from seven to fifteen pieces. They use a basic color palette and high quality items that will not go out of style. When researching the capsule wardrobe, I was bombarded with sleek black business pants, white blouses, trench coats, and examples of dressing these things up or down with scarves, booties, and chunky jewelry. 

Needless to say, the traditional capsule wardrobe is not my style. Granted, it looks great and makes sense but it's not really for me. I love cutesy dresses and bright colors too much.

So starting from scratch, what is a girl to do?

Here are four easy steps I put together:

Step 1
Pick 5 to 7 favorite pieces from your closet. The clothing that you are always happy to wear.

Step 2
Look for similarities in these pieces. Pick 3 adjectives that describe them. This will define your style. You can then use these pieces as to create a base color palette for your overall look (it is okay to have a few outliers).

Step 3
Choose around 10 well fitting pieces that go with your colors and fill in the areas you might be missing. Example: jeans, solid t-shirts, easy to mix and match pieces.

Step 4
Slim down your wardrobe. This can seem a little daunting at first but you don't need to get rid of everything at once. I put my lesser worn clothing into a storage bin so if I find myself missing a specific piece, I can fish it out again. In a few months I will re-assess.

Questions to ask yourself when getting rid of clothes:

1. Does it fit?
2. Do I feel at all self-conscious in this?
3. Is it age appropriate?
4. Do I love this or just the idea of this?
5. Do I wear this?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, decide if you want to donate the piece, throw it out, or put it into storage for later assessment. 

Once you are done that, you can also put off-season clothes into storage as well. This will clear up space and help you organize your current clothes. 

Benefits of a capsule wardrobe:

Better organization, simplicity when getting dressed, feeling good about what you are wearing all the time, less clutter, and boosted immunity to impulse buys.

Happy organizing and best of luck!

Linking with: Fresh Fashion Forum, Style Me Wednesday, We are Fashion, High Latitude Style, Fashion Should Be Fun