Episode 004 Show Notes: Getting Started with a Capsule Wardrobe
/In episode 004, we chat about the very thing that inspired This Capsule Life — capsule wardrobes! I promise it’s not as scary and overwhelming as you might think — let’s dive on in.
What’s a capsule wardrobe?
A capsule wardrobe is a collection of clothing that’s composed of only interchangeable items in order to maximize the number of outfits that can be created. With a capsule wardrobe, you’d ideally have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning an excessive amount of clothing. Who else could use a capsule wardrobe in their life?!
Did you know some sources suggest adults make an average of 35,000 decisions per day? I have always had an overflowing closet — which I am so grateful for! — but now that I’ve grown older, picking an outfit from it just feels like another decision I have to make. And let’s be honest, adulting is hard enough as it is without making getting dressed more complicated!
And according to an infographic from MakeSpace in 2017, clutter effects our mental health. It can raise levels of the stress hormone cortisol, can wreck our diet, can trigger respiratory issues, and can decrease productivity. How much better would you feel without so much clutter overflowing from your closet?
How can you get started with a capsule wardrobe?
There are LOTS of resources out there about building a capsule wardrobe, and lots of different methods.
If you haven’t heard, Marie Kondo’s show is blowing up on Netflix! It’s called Tidying Up and is based off of her book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I love her method of auditing your possessions by simply asking yourself if the items spark joy. This is a great first step to reducing and editing your closet down from a scary number of clothes to a more manageable amount.
Then, with your edited closet, there are a variety of ways you can continue narrowing in on your ultimate capsule wardrobe. You can:
Build a capsule wardrobe by season
Build a capsule wardrobe around a set collection of colors you LOVE to wear
Build a capsule wardrobe around a type of wardrobe category — for example, do you live in yoga pants? Or wear a cute tee, distressed jeans, and a blazer more often than anything else?
Build your capsule wardrobe around YOUR lifestyle and what makes you happy.
What should you consider as you’re putting together a capsule wardrobe?
Following Marie Kondo’s method, does it spark joy?
What are the seasons like where you live?
What’s your lifestyle like?
How practical are the pieces you want to keep?
How many pieces are you aiming to narrow down to? A general guide is to land somewhere around 25-50 pieces.
Start your capsule wardrobe!
Get started with your capsule wardrobe by downloading this free worksheet I built for you that will help guide you in editing your closet, keeping track of what you have, identifying the staples you might need to purchase in the future, and figuring out how everything will go together.
My before and after capsule wardrobe photos
In this first stab at building my capsule wardrobe, I reduced my closet by about half of what was originally in there — there is now actually space between categories of clothing, you guys, it’s crazy! — it’s not stuffed to the brim!
I’m proud of what I accomplished, but as I chat about in the episode, my focus in this first round was to edit, edit, edit, and reduce the number of items in my closet. Ideally, I would like to challenge myself to be around the 50 pieces mark once I am able to truly create my capsule wardrobe. But this is definitely not an overnight process, and I know I’ll continue to refine, edit, and replace pieces with fewer staple pieces that go with more variations of outfits — while still keeping my style, of course.
Before
After
Buh-bye, clothes!
Join me on this Capsule Life journey!
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