Capsule Wardrobes. Have you heard of these?
Image by Caroline Rector {link to www.un-fancy.com}
The more time I spend on the internet these days for business and creative inspiration searching, I have been running across more and more blogs about creating capsule wardrobes and then all of a sudden I notice Pinterest comes up with all these pins of capsule wardrobes, and the next thing I know, some of my favorite bloggers do capsule wardrobes too. They are all over the place. So I thought, I better do it too.
Well, my thought process was much more complicated than that really. I would like to think I'm not one to just quickly follow a trend just because. There are several reasons I feel like a capsule wardrobe is a good idea for me and these are as follows,
- I have a room packed full of clothes with very little space for my poor husband's clothes, yet every day I feel like I have nothing to wear
- I often buy things that I hate later and either feel guilty every time I look at it in my closet or worse, wear it out of guilt even though I don't feel great in it
- Because of the reason above, I often spend too much money on clothes that I end up not even liking
- I like the simplicity and minimalist nature of the capsule wardrobe
- I really do seem to only wear a handful of the same things time and time again anyway, and
- Now that I don't work in an office every day, I do find myself dressed like this most days (especially if I do actually go to yoga or pilates that day and I can't be bothered to change) and for that reason alone I don't really need as many clothes as I have
What is a Capsule Wardrobe?
So if you are wondering what a capsule wardrobe is, my favorite blog about it is http://www.un-fancy.com/. She breaks it down simply into what it is and how to build one and probably what I like most about her site is I absolutely looooooove her style.
So she says that a capsule wardrobe is essentially your wardrobe now, except tinier and made up of the most versatile pieces. As I interpret it, this is so you can basically live in these clothes for 3 months (essentially a season) and not want to gorge your eyes out from the sheer boredom and monotony of your closet. There is a lot of verbiage on her page that can help you get to the real nitty gritty of it all but this picture sums up the process pretty nicely.
Image by Caroline Rector {link to www.un-fancy.com}
Hopes & Concerns
Before I go any further, I must warn you that I have this kind of off-and-on love/hate relationship with clothes and fashion. The whole story behind which will have to be saved for another time. Needless to say though, the reason I do find it relevant to talk about my journey of creating this capsule wardrobe on a blog for my Event Décor and Rentals is that I do, despite my love/hate relationship with fashion, feel very strongly that our fashion is a daily way of expressing our creativity. There have been times in my life when I have worked a 9-5 office job and the only creative thing I got to do all day was pick out my outfit. No matter what, fashion always has been and always will be a way of telling a story, just as art does. It tells a story of who you are, where you live, what era you are living in, your interests, etc. And if you are a creative person like me, it can become very important. It is important that the colors match in an interesting and creative way, that your accessories throw in a daring focal point, that your shoes put the finishing touches on the daily art project that it is your mode du jour. And this is my attempt at making sure the story I'm telling, the art I am creating and expressing in my daily outfit, is the one I truly want to exhibit to the world.
The problem is, I don't always know what it is I want to exhibit to the world. Blame it on my eclectic taste, on my indecisiveness, on an actual lack of fashion sense, or as the capsule wardrobe philosophy would tell me, on the fact that I am not being organized and as intentional as I should in wardrobe planning. My style ranges from business professional, to bohemian, to Gap preppy. I guess I should re-phrase one of my reasons for doing this is not that I feel I have nothing to wear when I have a room packed full of clothes but more that I have so much to wear but none of it goes together. I am truly hoping the capsule wardrobe will solve this problem. I hope I will learn my true style, stick to it, minimize my wardrobe and my wardrobe expenditures, and minimize the guilt when looking through my closet. And, or course, I hope I will look stellar every time I step out of the house. I can't say that has always been the case.
You have heard my hopes. Now here are my fears. I don't think I am so much fearful that I will want to gorge my eyes out from boredom and monotony after wearing the same 37 things for 3 months. I guess my main concern comes down to whittling everything down to an actual number of 37 (it's such a tiny number for my great big closet), and to the guilt of getting rid of so much stuff. There is also the fact that I live in the Bay Area. So while everyone is getting ready for warm weather, we have just dealt with two weeks of the coldest weather we have had all year. It's all of a sudden winter and despite global warming, Mark Twain had something when he said, "The coldest winter I've ever experienced is a summer in San Francisco." So I will fill my Spring wardrobe with sweaters and flannels, but then again, California is full of micro-climates and we travel frequently. So then I need shorts and dresses when we go visit my family down south. First world problems, I know, but it makes this whole thing seem a lot more difficult.
The last concern is that I just have some outfits that although they are hardly ever worn, I'm not going to pack them up or get rid of them. Like my handful of nicer dresses for weddings and such. No, I don't want to contribute them to my 37 as that would take up precious numbers I desperately need. But I may have a wedding, or a last minute event to dress up for. Whatever shall I do?
My Plan, My Rules
Well, I do have a plan. And it may not stick to the exact rules of the Capsule Wardrobe but who said we can't make up our own rules, ones that are more conducive to our lifestyle. I'm the queen of making up my own rules, and besides, I'm sure I actually did read on one of the sites that there are no Capsule Wardrobe police and you are able to customize the idea as it works for you. The goal is just to minimize and be more intentional about your wardrobe, not stress over rules like a crazy person. They say you can change your number if that works for you. For me, I will stick to 37 but I will have more exception categories than they allow.
Their exception categories are:
1) underwear/undergarments
2) pajamas, and
3) workout clothes.
Supposedly shoes and outerwear do count towards the 37. I will have 5 extra exception categories.
1) fancy dresses
2) jackets - it's the Bay Area, I need a jacket most nights all through the year and I don't want to bother with figuring out which ones will be best for my seasonal wardrobe, especially if I really need that wool one some night in summer when all I have is my jean jacket
3) basics - this would be leggings, light-colored tank tops to wear under things, and some solid colored shirts that are worn more as accessories to outfits than the actual outfit itself
4) camping clothes - I like to camp and I have some clothes that although may not be fitting for the season, I still need out for those camping trips
5) shoes - maybe, I'm still debating
As a perfectionist, I want to do this the right way, but I'm giving myself this freedom as it's my first time. Maybe in the future I will see that it's not so hard to incorporate my jackets into the 37. Or maybe some of my basics are not as useful as I thought. I'll get rid of some and the ones remaining won't hurt my number 37 as much as the drawer full I have currently. But for now, it feels okay to have a few more exception categories.
So tomorrow I will begin the purge. I will keep you updated.
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