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| I had to stand on a step stool for this! Add a full length mirror to the Want List. |
The outfit above is part of my capsule and what I wore out to lunch for our anniversary Friday. This is the Berkeley area and jeans work for almost everything. BTW, the Greek restaurant was very good and the atmosphere lovely.
WHY BOTHER WITH A SEASONAL CAPSULE WARDROBE?
The reason I do it is similar to what Dawn at the Minimal Mom says. I want to have fewer decisions and less to manage for this part of my life. I want the clothes in my closet to be ones I like to wear and fit my body as it is right now.
My Spring capsule covers April thru June and is similar to Project 333. It does not include outerwear or jewelry though. It also doesn’t include exercise clothing or sleepwear. I do think of those 4 categories as their own tiny capsules although I am rarely wearing jewelry in my life here so far.
Do you join in the capsule wardrobe approach or not and why?
SPRING HERE IS NOT LIKE SPRING ANYWHERE ELSE I HAVE LIVED
Last year I found the spring weather here difficult to plan for but this year I am doing better. My “reverse engineered” capsule wardrobe has to encompass lots of weather variety but few levels of dressiness fortunately.
Right now it is still mostly pretty cool with some warm afternoons. Lots of pulling on the light down or heavy fleece jackets in the morning and evening still. We don’t get consistently warm to hot weather until August or September. The rainy season is slowly coming to an end.
CREATING MY CAPSULE THIS YEAR
So how am I “reverse engineering” a capsule wardrobe for this season? I’m adding items to my capsule as I wear them and they work for more than one day.
So far I have 25 items that are all in my best colors or neutrals. As I try on items in my closet I am finding some to declutter as they are too worn or don’t fit well anymore. I am buying very little and only to fill gaps. Also the reality is that I will only do laundry once a week so the capsule has to cover that timeframe.
In addition to the outfit above I have 8 more tops ranging from a cashmere pullover to short sleeve v-neck, 5 toppers ranging from a medium weight pullover fleece to a linen jacket, and 3 more pairs of jeans.
The capsule so far also has 2 more scarves, 3 pairs of shoes and one purse. I expect more lighter weight tops, toppers and bottoms will be added as the weather shifts to more frequent warmer days
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| The orange top is “new” from ThredUp this season. |
THE ELEMENTS OF A GOOD CAPSULE WARDROBE FOR ME
I have learned the key to a workable seasonal capsule wardrobe for me here in the Berkeley area is being able to layer different levels of warmth tops and toppers and being prepared for rapid swings in temperature every few days. I want a variety of colors, textures and styles within a casual relaxed somewhat classic style. Every top and topper doesn’t have to work together though and bottoms are simply in a range of neutral shades.
Every item does have to be able to go in the washing machine. I am enjoying having a hand wash cycle on the machine in this house because I can even wash cashmere sweaters!
Nice arrangement of clothes. i dont do the capsule wardrobe because I dont have that many clothes and I wear the same thing over and over. I learned a long time ago that I get overwhelmed too easily so I wear, levis, or black yoga pants, black, white or grey Bombas T shirts, Old navy demin shirt over. I have 3 cashmere sweaters for cold weather in black and grey. I guess that's one thing I learned about minimalism is no visual clutter and to keep things simple.
ReplyDeleteThanks. You are fortunate to be able to wear black and white. When I was younger I could but now I look terribly ill and I do love color so that is ok.
DeleteSo far I haven't tried the capsule wardrobe, though I do find it very interesting. We just have such wild swings in weather that I really don't know if it would work.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I agree about wild swings in weather making it challenging. For me it is my need for variety and the wide variability of temps during the day right now. I don’t put the rest of my clothes away as I don’t have that many overall but this helps reduce decisions for me.
DeleteOne side of my closet is everyday wear (jeans & t-shirts); the other side is business casual since I still fill in at work occasionally. When my first grandson was born, I took care of him when my daughter returned to work. He had a little reflux, and I found that heather gray tees hid the spit up spots the best; to this day I still keep several in my lineup. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds perfect!
DeleteThese colors are all my favorites!! And your outfit looks lovely on you. The little neckerchief is the perfect pop of interest and color. I am wearing layers now because businesses are turning on the AC already and I am freezing. We hit 86* yesterday. Jumping practically into summer already!! I noticed Alison is adapting her capsule wardrobe to be monthly rather than seasonal. Would like to see what she is featuring but decided, after joining her for years, it was time I try to dress myself!!
ReplyDeleteHere’s to dressing ourselves 👍 I gained weight this winter annd have too many hot weather clothes and not enough for the cooler temps here so seeing what I can make of my current small wardrobe. I already added another sweater, heavy cardigan and scarf because it is cold most of the day. Not that I want 86 degree temps and freezing AC.
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