Is a capsule wardrobe worth it for you? Dressing yourself (just like feeding yourself) takes energy, which is why some people LOVE a capsule wardrobe. For them, it cuts down on the effort they spend getting dressed each morning. But that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone.
In this post, we’ll break down where you can spend your wardrobe energy, the trade offs, and if a capsule wardrobe may be worth it for you. If you don’t know what a capsule wardrobe is (or just want a refresher), here’s a post on what a capsule wardrobe is.
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 next capsule wardrobe this afternoon. Find out more and buy your copy here.
Clothing requires effort
Like it or hate it – getting dressed requires effort and energy.
If your closet is overflowing with clothes you never wear, it’ll take more effort. If your wardrobe is perfectly honed for you, it’ll take less effort.
When you’re a spoonie, getting dressed may take a substantial amount of energy for you. When you’re not, the energy required may be negligible.
Doing it all yourself will require your energy. Outsourcing some of it will use someone else’s energy. (You can also use a wardrobe inventory to outsource to your past-self.)
But regardless, clothing our bodies, and more specifically, building and keeping a wardrobe we love, takes effort and energy.
Specifically, our clothes require effort at specific 4 stages:
Our clothes require effort when we…
- obtain our clothes
- maintain our clothes
- put our clothes on each morning
- declutter our clothes
(Which is why Personal Style Fundamentals is broken up into these four sections. Sign up here for your free copy.)
Luckily we don’t have to exert the same amount of effort or energy at each stage. And most of the time, at least one of these stages is something we find significantly easier.
A slight detour into eyeshadow…
Do you know Tati? The beauty YouTuber?
If so, high-five. If not, all you really need to know is: she talks about beauty products (makeup, skincare, etc) on YouTube and focuses primarily on reviewing makeup – both high end and drugstore.
One of the things she talks about when comparing (good) expensive eyeshadows to (good) eyeshadows you can find at a drugstore, is ease of application. A higher price tag enables (though, like clothing, it does not guarantee) higher quality. The price tag enables a wider range of pigment options, more finely ground pigments, etc. and these can make the eyeshadow easier and faster to blend.
A skilled makeup artist can work with pretty much any makeup and make it look beautiful. But when working with lower quality materials they need to spend more time and effort creating the look.
When time and effort are spent manufacturing a high quality eyeshadow, time and effort can be saved when applying the eyeshadow each day.
When time and effort are saved manufacturing an eyeshadow, time and effort are then spent applying the eyeshadow each day.
Something similar happens with your closet.
Looking effortless is never without effort, so where will you spend yours?
Looking effortless is never without effort, so where will you focus your wardrobe related efforts? In this post we’ll be focusing on stages 1 and 2 of spending effort on your clothes (obtaining clothes and getting dressed each morning), but this concept can also be expanded to maintaining and decluttering as well.
The key is to find or decide where you want to apply your effort and apply it there. If you want an effortless morning, spend your effort building a closet that enables minimal effort getting dressed each morning – a capsule wardrobe, or a uniform are great options for this.
Alternatively, if you enjoy spending your energy putting outfits together each morning, gather pieces as you see them, but don’t focus too much energy on building a highly efficient wardrobe. Build a wardrobe with a ton of variety and maybe even some intentionally disparate pieces. It’ll take more effort to get dressed each morning but enables more experimenting when you get dressed.
How to decide if a capsule wardrobe is worth it to you
To decide where you want to spend your effort, think back to this morning. Did you take the energy to put a complete outfit together? How did it feel?
Did you enjoy the process and find it a fun use of your time? Great! Focus your effort on building a wardrobe that enables creative outfit building. (We also devote a whole day to this in 5 Days of Style.)
Did you resent having to try and put an outfit together or get frustrated with the process? If so, put your effort towards creating a closet that makes getting dressed each morning effortless. You’ll probably find a capsule wardrobe well worth the effort of building.
Neither of these are wrong. But if you’re the type of person who doesn’t want to spend effort in the morning, then don’t build a wardrobe that requires you to spend effort in the mornings to put together an outfit.
Or if you’re the type of person who enjoys putting outfits together and playing around with the qualities of your outfit each day, don’t build a wardrobe that limits your enjoyment.
So, is a capsule wardrobe worth it for you?
It comes down to: where do you want to spend your effort and energy?
Do you want to front load the effort and build a wardrobe (like a capsule wardrobe) that enables effortless mornings? Or do you want to spend your energy each morning putting together outfits and looks?
Neither is wrong. But if you’re the type of person who doesn’t want to spend effort in the morning, then don’t build a wardrobe that requires you to spend effort in the morning. And if you love putting a look together every morning that expresses how you’re feeling, don’t force yourself into a capsule wardrobe.
If you think a capsule wardrobe might be worth it for you, but you’re worried about having to stick to neutral colors, read Is a colorful, high-vibe capsule wardrobe possible? next.
If you’re ready for a capsule wardrobe, start with these 7 quick tips for building a capsule wardrobe you love.
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.
And if you want to offload some of the effort, let’s work together!