I attempted a capsule wardrobe last year and failed. I'm trying again this year and I know it's going to be a success.
What Is A Capsule Wardrobe?
Some people think of a capsule wardrobe as just the basic pieces that they build their wardrobe around, but that is NOT how I think of it. To me, a capsule wardrobe is a subset of your full wardrobe that you use exclusively for a season. That means the rest of your clothes get packed away and you use only the items in your capsule wardrobe.
Did you know the average person wears 20 % of their clothing 80 % of the time? If we already wear the same things over and over, why not get the rest of the stuff out of our way so we don't have to stress over it every time we open our closet?
Why Did I Fail?
I created a capsule wardrobe in the Spring of 2023. My intention was a 2 season capsule. This means that I intended to wear it for Spring and Summer. The problem was, I didn't pack away the rest of my clothes. I just moved them to the side so the items I didn't intend to use were still right there for me to choose. Now, add that together with the fact that I have a bad habit of saving the clothes I love for some mystical special occasion, and time and time again I dragged out items I didn't love as much, rather than wear my favorites that I had set aside as my capsule.
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This Time
I still plan on wearing this capsule for 2 seasons. This time it will be Fall and Winter. I do acknowledge that as Fall morphs into Winter, I might make a couple of small alterations (such as removing the 4 T-shirts and bringing in a warm sweater). But overall I think I will be much more successful. The reason? This year I cleared out another closet and moved all my non-capsule clothes into that closet. Out of sight is out of mind.
Project 333
My inspiration for a capsule wardrobe is Courtney Carver's book Project 333. I am not following her suggestions exactly, but close enough for me.
Project 333 encourages us to create a capsule of 33 items that will last for 3 months (one season). Courtney includes any clothes that she would wear in her normal life except workout clothes, pajamas or lounging on the couch clothes. She includes coats, shoes, and accessories, which I thought was a bit too much! I included shoes in mine, but not coats or accessories. I also didn't lock myself into 33 items, since I plan on using this capsule for 2 seasons (Fall & Winter).
My Capsule
What did I end up including in my capsule?
5 bottoms - 1 pair of black jeans, 1 pair of white jeans, 3 pairs of blue jeans in various cuts. I don't work outside of the home, but if I did I likely would have traded the black jeans and 2 pairs of blue jeans for dress pants.
4 T-shirts - a graphic tee, a dressy tee, a standard black tee, and a white with black stripes tee.
4 solid long-sleeve tees - 2 black (one tight, one baggy), 1 white, 1 burgundy
3 dressy-ish shirts - 1 black with white polka dots, 1 black collared shirt, 1 green tunic
5 button up shirts - 1 white, 1 red white and blue plaid, 1 blue stripes, 1 light blue, 1 dark blue
4 sweaters - 1 grey print, 1 beige, 1 black, 1 light weight black
1 turtleneck - charcoal gray ribbed
3 cardigans - 1 beige, 1 navy blue w/ stripes, 1 gray cashmere
2 blazers - 1 beige, 1 black
2 sweater wraps - 1 black, 1 charcoal gray
3 vests - 1 beige quilted, 1 burgundy and white plaid, 1 burgundy and white fleece
8 pairs of shoes - duck boots, timberlands, black ankle boots, brown ankle boots, gray mules, pink sneakers, hiking shoes, black flats
If you did the math, that's 36 items of clothing and 8 pairs of shoes. I suspect that this is still too much, but I think it's a good place to start. Have you ever considered trying a capsule wardrobe? I encourage you to give it a try. You have nothing to lose except decision fatigue!
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