How did you do with the first task?
The goal was to get a better sense of what you’re actually wearing. So many of us have a closet full of interesting clothing that we don’t actually wear. The reasons are numerous: doesn’t fit, doesn’t work with anything I actually wear, really isn’t my style, doesn’t fit my current lifestyle/work/job/social life. The items are for a future or past self.
Let go of that person. Be that person aspirational in style or size or lifestyle, remind yourself that you are you. Glorious you. Best to dress for yourself, who you currently are, what you currently enjoy/do/are, than some mythical person or yourself ten years ago.
What if I need multiple capsule wardrobes? This is a fair question. For many people their weekend wear does not transition to work and vice versa. Or say you have an intense clothing heavy hobby like training for a triathlon or you’re looking to place at regionals in square dancing this year. Or you’ve had three babies in the last seven years and your size range has been all over the place. This process is not about asking you to cut out your favorite hobbies or make you wear suits on the weekend. It’s about reminding yourself of what you actually wear.
If you’re in a size/lifestyle transition, like me, box up the clothes that don’t fit/work and give yourself a time frame for them. It could be a year or two or even three if you’re say, just starting adding to your family and expect to be pregnant again in the near future or are transitioning to a new job or say, moving to the country in two years to start a hobby farm. A year out, go through that box of clothing even if you are still unable to wear most of it. Cull it down a bit. Do some pruning. It will be easier to do this when the clothes have been out of sight for a year. You’ll have fresh eyes for what you really like and what you can see yourself wearing again.
Now, task #2 in building a capsule wardrobe. Shoes! Accessories! Fancy dress clothing!
- Select and photograph your most worn items. Then select your most loved items and take photos of those too.
- Your most loved items: why aren’t you wearing them more? Think about it. Write it down. Do they get lost in the shuffle or are they not suitable for your lifestyle? Is it such a memorable item or so bold, that you feel like it can’t be worn more than a few times a year?
Here’s a run down of my categories for fall/winter shoes, accessories and more formal clothing.
Shoes: rain boots, knee high walking boots with a small heel, black leather flats, Converse, D’Orsay style black patent pumps. I rarely wear the pumps but they stay because a few times a year we go somewhere special plus they can work with jeans and my blazer if I had a rare in-person work meeting. I had to say goodbye to my beloved Frye boots. Third pregnancy left my feet what must be a quarter size bigger and I just can’t wear them anymore.
Jewellery: wedding band and engagement ring, diamond studs (wear most days), pearl earrings, strand of pearls, diamond solitaire pendant, bracelet, stacking rings, watch. I’ve been very sensitive to metals in the last year so my few pieces of costume jewellery have been put away for now.
Dress up: black cocktail dress, white cocktail dress with black detail. The best black top I bought years ago that has been worn to bits. It’s worked for so many sizes and while pregnant. Black blazer that I can also wear in my day-to-day to dress up my mostly jeans wardrobe. No fancy Christmas party for us this year + I was nursing the baby so the dresses didn’t get out in 2015. Hope to change that this year.
Handbags: I have a medium mustard color cross body bag that is in tatters from three years of very heavy use. A wonderful Matt+Nat big shoulder bag in vegan leather that I bought nine years ago, small brown leather bag that I only use without kids along and a formal clutch. I also have a Lo & Sons OMG bag that is my laptop bag/big day out bag/overnight bag. I’m going to limp through the rest of the year with the cross body bag and decide next winter if it and the Matt + Nat can keep going for another year.
Resources for a smaller wardrobe.
- So in love with Un-Fancy.com and her capsule wardrobe tips. Her simple style is right in my wheelhouse and I’m lucky to have a casual work environment so tees, jeans and such work the full week for me. Great tips here on how she built her 37 piece seasonal capsule wardrobes. Thanks to Nienke for the link.
- The Vivienne Files: this is anti fast fashion, slowly curated and invested in, very structured in color, wardrobe building. I love it. I’m not in a season to really get started on it – very small children + size fluctuations – but I am so enthralled with how she builds out wardrobes based on pieces of art and accent colors.
Steel yourself… the last task comes out Thursday and it’s the hard bit. Get some boxes and bags ready!
I loved your advice about letting go of that mythical person when building a capsule wardrobe. I have been attempting to build a capsule wardrobe slowly, as my body settles after having my second baby (now two and half). A big part of what was holding me back from progressing was that has taken me a while to truly accept my body is just not going to be the same as before I had kids. Also a great idea to take photos of five most worn items and favourite items- I’m going to try that! x
Thanks for this reminder! I desperately need to sort out my jewelry and pair it down to just a few items. I feel like my shoe collection is in OK shape; the problem is that in Colorado, that still means like 7 pairs! 😉
Hahaha. Seven pairs. Old me would have laughed that you thought that was a lot. I used to own at least thirty pairs of shoes. But, I know what you mean about weather requiring multiple shoes. It’s cold enough here to break out real winter boots but I’m toughing it out with my rain boots for now.
Please don’t think I missed the point of this article, but I appreciated your name-dropping when it came to your bags…I’m on the hunt for a beautiful leather bag that will be my new favourite for years to come…and I need recommendations. Those two brands didn’t yield anything for me, but I was hoping you or your readers had other names to drop for my benefit. Trolling Amazon just isn’t cutting it and, well, I hate going to stores.
How much do you want to invest? M0851 has beautiful bags. They hold a sale once or twice a year in their factory in Montreal. A friend just got an amazing and timeless leather bag at that sale for 50% off. Once my life/kids can handle leather again I’ll invest in one of their bags. Hopefully some style mavens can send you some ideas 🙂
The part about letting go really resonates with me. There is a common theme in my clutter of this fantasy, perfect person I will be someday: books I plan to read but never do, clothes that look cute in the catalog but don’t make me feel like myself, cooking tools I’ll use when I take that cooking class. Those things just make me feel inadequate whenever I look at them! It’s time to accept that I’m a jeans and tee shirt gal, that I’ll probably never read those heavy novels (they’re always out there if I change my mind), and I can do plenty in the kitchen with a knife and cutting board and some elbow grease. I don’t need this stuff laying around.
Mandy – so true about this fantasy/perfect person that you hold onto most of your closet for. It was so freeing to let go of that ideal a few years back when I did my big closet purge.