My Capsule Wardrobe Experience

 

Ever look at your closet and think.. I have nothing to wear, or how the heck did my closet get so cluttered? Or maybe you have held onto an item for far too long even though you haven’t touched it in years… That was me two weeks ago.. and my closet was a nightmare. So this whole Capsule Wardrobe thing. What the heck is it you ask… I was wondering the same thing. I had see a couple of mentions here in there on Pinterest and Instagram, but to be honest I thought eh, not for me. I don’t have that many clothes anyway. Well I can’t tell you how wrong I was. The more I read about it,  the more I was interested in it. The first site that really caught my attention was Un-Fancy. She describes a Capsule Wardrobe like this

Simple definition? It’s a mini wardrobe made up of really versatile pieces that you totally LOVE to wear.

I love this definition because its exactly that. When creating a capsule wardrobe, you are downsizing your closet and creating a more simple space in order to see potential in what you already have.

I was at a point where I would look in my closet and see NOTHING.. yet I had hundreds of pieces of clothing. This ungrateful attitude led to my decision to take the plunge and try this whole thing out. Some of you followed my Instagram stories the day I started and You can attest, I had way too many clothes. (Beware: This post contains images that may be too graphic for the OCD and Type A personality)

 

My PROCESS

First I laid out all of my clothes and one piece at a time I laid them in one of the following piles:

Love it

Its Okay

& Ew why do I even have this. <- I had to add a little humor to this daunting process.

When you are making these piles, here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

• My “love it” items were items I wear ALL the time, so obviously  they went to this pile. My “Its Okay” items, were things I think I like, but maybe they aren’t my “go to’s” when getting ready. My “Ew Why do I even have this” items were things that I haven’t worn in months, maybe even years, Worn down items, and items that are out of style. You will be tempted to keep items that you have emotional or memory attachments to, but don’t. Remember the point of this is to get rid of things you don’t wear. I had to remind myself a few times that I still have the memories and don’t need a piece of clothing to remember them.
• You will be separating the clothes into seasons in a bit so Don’t worry about that now… try and remember what clothes you wore every day in the last season or two.

Next look at your “love it” items and take out any items that are outside of the current season. You will want to create 2-4 different wardrobes. I did a Spring/Summer Wardrobe, and a Fall/Winter one.  Our weather here allows this, but if you need a more season specific wardrobe, you can do 4 different ones as well. (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall)

I moved my Love it items back to the closet and counted them. The magic number is somewhere around 37. You can create up to 100 outfits with these items if done correctly.  The one piece advice I love from Cottom Stem and her Process, was not to get hung up on the number. There are really no rules. Do you! But for the sake of not keeping everything, the number 40 stuck in my head.

Next I began to organize my clothes (Spring/Summer) in my closet by color palette. This was exciting because I noticed I have a very distinct style and even color palette… who knew? When looking back at my bed where the rest of my clothes laid,  most of the items I didn’t wear and even some of the “Its Okay” items were either not my current style or didn’t match my color palette.

Here is an awesome site that you can take a photos and convert into a color palette. Take a photo of your clothes together (spread them out a little so the generator can process all colors) and upload it to this site. The palette generator will show you your color palette.

The reason a color palette is so important is the versatility of the items. Once you have a Capsule Wardrobe completed, you should be able to mix and match your items creating outfits with interchangeable items. I had a few items that didn’t quite go with the palette, so I set it aside in a drawer. I am going to keep them (just in case) and if I don’t think of them in the next few months, then hey.. time to say buh bye. Make sure you have a few items with texture or pattern. These items will give you a little pop when needed.

If you are unsure of your style or color palette, head to Pinterest. Create an inspiration board full of outfits for this season. You will notice trends in your style and colors you are naturally drawn to. Go back to your closet and try to keep items that resemble your board choices.

Next I went back to my piles, I boxed up the Fall/Winter items and sent them to the garage. I looked at my “Its okay” pile once more and ruled out any that didn’t match my style or color palette. I only kept a few items from this pile. The “Ew why do I have this” items went to the Goodwill.

I downsized my closet to 40 items and holy heck, it feels good. This included shoes, bottoms, tops, dresses, and even one or two coats. The BIG challenge is and will be not shopping for at least 30 days. Try to avoid shopping so you can settle into your new style and keep from buying items you don’t need. Once those 30 days are up, limit yourself when shopping, avoid those impulse buys, and bring your color palette along for the trip. Good Luck friends.

 

Happy Capsuling!!!

If you have questions or thoughts you want to share.. I would love to hear them. 

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You can shop Uniquely Taylor Capsule Wardrobe Here.