I fell in love with Capsule Wardrobes while studying a Fashion Styling e-course at the London College of Style. I love mixing and matching various pieces together. It’s always so exciting to see how different clothing items fit together. I discovered some of my favourite outfits just by playing dress up. But what I love the most about putting outfits together is the fact that it constantly challenges me to discover new ways of pairing my pieces and still maintain my signature personal style. I like my outfits to reflect who I am, fun, alive and young at heart!
Since I love being creative with pieces and accessories, what better way to do this than by having a capsule wardrobe!
A capsule wardrobe is a small collection of clothes made up of essential but versatile items of clothing that can be paired in different ways to form different outfits. A capsule wardrobe is usually made of about 24-37 items of clothing. There’s really no fixed number of items but the trend seems to hover around those figures. I like to have a capsule wardrobe for each season. I sort out my wardrobe every season, storing pieces and shoes that are for other seasons, so I can have room for what I can wear. This helps me see every piece, every accessory, easily.
Aside from being able see all I have, optimizing my closet space, and being creative with my outfits, a capsule wardrobe helps me save time and money on clothes. I don’t have to spend time thinking of which clothes to wear from my large collection of fashionable pieces.
Loving the sound of it? Here are 3 steps to get you started.
1. Empty your closet
Start by taking all your clothes and shoes out of your closet and laying them on your bed. This will give you a chance to take a good look at all the clothes you do have.
2. Sort your clothes into piles
You’ll be working with 3 piles:
• The ‘Love it’ Pile: In this pile, put in all the clothes you love and would wear any time, any day. These are the clothes that make you feel comfortable and confident. These are the ones that are worthy of going back into your closet.
• The ‘No way’ Pile: In this pile, put in the clothes that you don’t want to wear again. These are the clothes that you can donate, give away to a friend or family member, or sell.
• The ‘Maybe’ Pile: The rest of the clothes fall into this pile. They are usually the clothes that you may go back to, keep for sentimental reasons or are too expensive to let go of. You can keep these clothes in a box and stash them away in storage.
3. Assess The Love it Pile
Here, you’re going to apply a simple rule called the “3 of each” rule. Depending on the season, pick 9 pairs of shoes (that is, 3 pairs of flats, 3 pairs of heels and 3 pairs of boots), 9 bottoms (that is, 3 pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of shorts and 3 pairs of skirts) and 9 tops (that is, 3 tops, 3 sweaters, 3 t-shirts, 3 button-up shirts, 3 tank tops or 3 vests). Next, you can have 3 gamble items where you can do a mix of jackets or dresses (eg. 2 jackets and 1 dress, or 2 dresses and 1 jacket). Keep the remaining items from your Love it pile in a box in a nearby storage, so that it’s close by yet out of sight to keep you from being tempted to go through it.
Your capsule wardrobe is ready! Maintain your capsule wardrobe then change it every season so you have a fresh wardrobe every 3 months and dress weather appropriate as well.
Do you have a capsule wardrobe? What are your thoughts?
