I’ve always been curious about capsule wardrobes as I love the idea of having clothes that all match together. Plus I feel like I have too many clothes. So I’ve decided to start the process of building a capsule wardrobe. In fact, it’s one of my goals for 2024!
Phase one of the process is researching the basics of a capsule wardrobe – how to choose colors, what clothes I need, and taking stock of what items I have. So let’s dive into the research and planning of a capsule wardrobe!
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What is a Capsule Wardrobe?
When thinking about your closet, do all your clothes go together? If not, then you don’t have a capsule wardrobe! A capsule wardrobe essentially means that your clothes match together, so you can easily create outfits and your clothes all have multiple outfits to go with rather than only one outfit that it goes with.
Benefits of a Capsule Wardrobe
After we moved into our new home, one of the first things that we changed up was redoing the closet organization in the primary bedroom. I love the closet system that we bought as it provides lots of shelving and the dual closet rods for each side is perfect for our needs! Because of the new closet, I want to really focus on making the closet even more functional through building a capsule wardrobe that makes getting dressed even easier.
When building a capsule wardrobe, the color coordination makes selecting an outfit so much easier – which I could always use to save myself some thinking during the mornings. Another benefit is that you can invest in high quality pieces that will last for a long time!
Research Color Palettes
First, I researched how to select colors for a capsule wardrobe as the concept needs to have base colors, where you then add in accent colors or patterns that all can coordinate together.
I really liked this article from Lady Decluttered, as it also has swatches on there so you can see what colors they are specifically talking about. I also love this post from The Robinson Nest that gets you to think about what items you want in your capsule wardrobe and what to consider with your style!
For my accent colors, I branched off of what was on the post and settled on four accent colors – mainly so I will be able to mix and match throughout the seasons: blush pink, emerald green, sky blue, and ivory/cream. I chose these colors because I tend to gravitate towards them when shopping and just wanted to make sure that I have a color palette that has complimentary colors as well.
For more guidelines to learn more about building a capsule wardrobe, check out this post from Robinson Nest that goes more into style, accessorizing, and understanding clothes for your body type!
Research Capsule Wardrobe Checklists
The next step that I tackled was finding how many of each item I should aim for. For this, I went to Pinterest and looked up “capsule wardrobe checklists.” There were tons that popped up!
I settled on a combination of these two lists and adjusted as needed to fit my needs. One thing that I can appreciate with the capsule wardrobe is that you can make it work for you. If you tend to wear more short sleeve shirts, then have more of those. I’m a huge cardigan wearer – maybe it’s a teacher thing? – so I’ll make sure to have two cardigans within my capsule wardrobe to change it up when I want to!
Create Capsule Wardrobe List
As mentioned above, I tweaked the lists to fit my needs. So I made sure to type out everything I wanted within my wardrobe and the colors that I want them in as well. My list contains the following:
- Tops:
- 4 tank tops – 3 solid colors, 1 patterned
- 4 short sleeve shirts – 3 solid colors, 1 patterned
- 4 long sleeve shirts – 3 solid colors, 1 patterned
- 2 button ups
- 4 dressy shirts – can be short or long sleeve
- 4 sweaters – 3 solid colors, 1 patterned
- 2 cardigans
- Bottoms:
- Dark blue jeans
- Light blue jeans
- Solid color pants
- Black pants
- 2 Black leggings
- Mid-length/long skirt
- 2 sets of denim shorts
- 2 sets of denim overalls
- Jackets:
- Black jacket
- Lightweight jacket
- Winter jacket
- Vest
- Dresser jacket
- Denim jacket
- Workout clothes:
- 2 sets of shorts
- Sports jacket
- 4 sports bras
- 2 workout shirts
- 2 workout tanks
- Shoes:
- Workout shoes
- Everyday sneakers
- Flip flops
- Slip ons
- 2 sets of flats
- 2 sets of sandals
- Heeled ankle boots
- Flat ankle boots
- Tall boots
- Lingerie:
- 5 bras
- 14 pairs of underwear
- 14 sets of socks
- 4 pairs of pajamas
- 2 bathing suits
- 2 bodysuits
- Accessories:
- 2 scarves
- 1 purse
- 2 belts
Check Off Capsule Wardrobe Items
After building my list for my capsule wardrobe, now it’s time to move into taking inventory of what I have right now in my closet that fits into my capsule wardrobe list.
Next I’ll have to start cleaning out my closet and building the capsule wardrobe! Can’t wait to start that process of shopping – woo!
