I love a good capsule wardrobe, but they can be tricky to build. Especially if you’ve never built a capsule wardrobe, or haven’t built one in awhile. So here are seven quick tips to help you build a capsule wardrobe you love.
If you don’t know what a capsule wardrobe is (or you want a refresher) here’s a post all about “what is a capsule wardrobe.”
If you’d like to go deeper into building your own capsule wardrobe. Check out Holly’s Guide to Building Your Next Capsule Wardrobe, I’ll walk you step by step through the process, and you can start (and finish!) building your next capsule wardrobe this afternoon. Find out more and buy your copy here.
7 quick tips to help you build a capsule wardrobe you love
Let’s dive in!
1. Think about the lifespan of the capsule wardrobe you’re designing.
Basically: how long do you want to keep this capsule wardrobe?
Not every capsule wardrobe has to be a forever wardrobe. And knowing (approximately) your intended capsule wardrobe lifespan will help you decide what to include. The two major considerations this will impact are: your closet’s size and weatherproofing needs.
For example: a capsule wardrobe with a lifespan of 7 days in the middle of summer can be smaller and doesn’t have to account for as many weather variations as a year-long capsule wardrobe.
2. Start small and build from there.
If you’re new to capsule wardrobes or haven’t built one in a couple years, start with a wardrobe for a short period of time. Capsule wardrobe lifespans can range anywhere from days to years. As you can imagine, committing to a capsule wardrobe for a week is a lot less daunting than a year.
3. Include both old and new clothes in your capsule.
Including both old favorites, and new experiments is a good idea for a couple reasons. First, it challenges you to wear and style clothes you’ve never worn before. Second, it also challenges you to wear and style much loved pieces of clothing in new ways.
You’ll probably discover new outfits, or styles, or ideas that you can keep once this particular capsule wardrobe has dissolved.
4. Limit the number of colors in your capsule wardrobe.
You’ll often hear advice to keep your capsule wardrobe in shades of neutral. But that is not necessary.
What is necessary is making sure all the colors in your capsule wardrobe work together. This is much easier if you limit the number of colors you include – even if every piece of clothing in your capsule wardrobe is neon.
5. Focus the colors in your capsule wardrobe on colors you like wearing.
This may sound obvious, but fashion marketing is effective, and a lot of it says capsule wardrobes must be in very specific colors. But you can absolutely build a vibrant and colorful capsule wardrobe if that’s what you like wearing.
Don’t feel like your capsule wardrobe has to be neutral just because “that’s what everyone else does.” Fill your wardrobe with colors you like wearing (capsule or otherwise).
6. Remember: a capsule wardrobe isn’t just a “small wardrobe.”
A capsule wardrobe is a wardrobe of highly interchangeable mix and match outfits. In a “perfect” capsule wardrobe, every single top (blouses, shirts, sweaters, etc) would work in an outfit with every single bottom (pants, skirts, shorts, etc) and this would hold true for every garment in your wardrobe.
Of course, we can’t always have perfection, but remember this concept when you’re building your own capsule wardrobe. You want to maximize the number of outfits, while minimizing the number of clothes you need, and ensuring the outfits you’re styling are ones you’ll actually wear.
Since the power of a capsule wardrobe is in it’s plug and play outfit potential – if a single garment works for you in only one or two outfits, swap it out for a more versatile piece of clothing.
7. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.
Meld potential and reality. Like we talked about above, in the perfect capsule every single item of clothing works in an outfit with every single other item of clothing. (A perfect capsule wardrobe is kind of like the perfect deck of cards in a deck building game).
In reality, some outfits won’t be your style, some outfits will be too similar, and some outfits will be hampered by your laundry schedule. Aim to build a capsule that works well on paper and also in your lifestyle.
Keep going with capsule wardrobes
And there we have it, 7 quick tips to help you build a capsule wardrobe you love.
Want to dive deeper into capsule wardrobes? Keep reading…
- Is a colorful, high-vibe capsule wardrobe possible?
- Stop wasting energy: Is a capsule wardrobe worth the effort?
- Bored with your capsule wardrobe? How to update it
- Should you change out your wardrobe with the seasons?
- 3 Ways to Refresh Your Style (without Shopping)
And don’t forget, if you’d like to dive deeper into building your own capsule wardrobe. Check out Holly’s Guide to Building Your Next Capsule Wardrobe, I’ll walk you step by step through the process, and you can start (and finish!) building your first, fourth, or forty-fourth capsule wardrobe this afternoon. Find out more and buy your copy here.