At the beginning of July I was introduced to this idea of a “capsule wardrobe” by a friend who recommended this blog: Un-fancy, written by Caroline Joy Rector.
Ever since we moved into our new house (in November of 2013) I have been overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we have. Including my closet. I’ve realized how easy it is to accumulate and all the clutter was beginning to make my mind feel cluttered as well. After reading the Un-fancy blog and all the “ground rules” of a capsule wardrobe I was sold instantly. By the next morning I was beginning my purge. I was so pumped!
I followed the “rules” as Caroline had outlined on her blog with a few alterations. Because of the fact that I still operate in three realms (as I would call it): office, mom and artist — I did not feel paring my wardrobe down to the 37 pieces, that Caroline did, would work for me. I would either be left running mom errands, gardening or hiking in pencil skirts and heels OR wearing my jean cut offs and a t-shirt to work…. Yeah.
So I altered the rules a bit and added 15 more pieces (12 shirts/bottoms/dresses and 3 pair of shoes) to my closet for work attire. Overall that breaks down to 15 tops, 9 bottoms, 12 pair of shoes and 14 work pieces (50 pieces total). So far, its working fantastically! But to me it still seems like a lot. I hope to pare down this number even further as I get better and better at this whole capsule wardrobe thing… but for now I find it so easy to manage, counterintuitively inspiring and so simplistic — I could not be happier. Here’s to minimalism!
Okay, enough with the jibber jabber huh? Let’s get to the good stuff…. Here’s my current capsule wardrobe:
polka dot top (old) / sleeveless denim (refashion) / ivory peter pan top (old) / lace cream top (old) / gingham button down (spring purchase) / safari shirt (old) / military vest (refashion) / tribal print top (spring purchase) / black tee (old) / faux leather jacket (old) / chambray (old) / crochet top (old) / striped shirt (spring purchase) / denim vest (refashion) / cream sleeveless top (old)
black maxi (old) / white jeans (old) / dark skinnies (old) / ivory maxi skirt (old) / floral skirt (old) / jean cut offs (refashion) / boyfriend jeans (old) / black cropped dress pants (old) / white jean shorts
white blazer (old) / blush + black sleeveless blouse (old) / cream + black top (old) / striped blouse with lace collar (old) / coral pencil skirt (old) / black blazer (old) / shimmer ivory skirt (old) / black roll tab blouse (old) / black shift dress (old) / black cropped dress pants (old) / coral shift dress (old) / ivory lace fit + flare dress (old)
Since I decided to do this two weeks into the summer season, I went with items I already had in my closet. A lot of them are “old” — most from last year, a few pieces bought early this spring. In the future I expect that I will have several “new” pieces to share with you each season. Any questions, just let me know!
Note* I plan to include pictures of shoes in future capsule wardrobe posts, but omitted them for this one.
What are your thoughts? How did I do?! Are you considering switching to a capsule wardrobe?