In my constant mission to not have stuff piled around that we don't need I tend to frequent Goodwill. Once or twice a year I will take everything I haven't worn in a year straight and send it off for someone else who might want it.
When it came time for my last GW round I thought I'd take it a step further and jump on the Capsule Wardrobe bandwagon.
If you aren't familiar with the idea it's an attempt at a minimalist wardrobe. You only keep a "few" items for each season and rotate your clothing.
In theory it's great, especially for someone with a lot of clothing and shoes.
When I really got into it though, I noticed something... I don't even has enough clothing to create a capsule wardrobe.
Seriously.
The shoe suggestions in many blog posts had me laughing, they had a lot of shoes. A lot. A. LOT.
So in my attempt to get rid of things I noticed something, to follow this I'd have to buy things.
Not happening.
Especially since I'm still battling that last 10 of "gained when weaning" weight.
Since the Capsule Wardrobe concept just clearly wasn't going to be a new way to purge, but instead a reason to spend, I scratched the idea.
............................................
Instead I just donated what I wasn't in love with anymore, and actually purged my t-shirt collection that looks more like rags considering the age of them and the damage working out does to shirts.
So what do I actually have? Let's talk about that.
2 Seasons, we live in a very warm place so dressing for 4 seasons isn't necessary.
Jeans :::: 1 super skinny, 1 slim leg, 1 boyfriend, 1 bootcut
Tops ::::: (14) enough to have a different one for 2 weeks [winter and summer, a few extra for season specific]
Dresses :::: (8) enough to wear a different one every Sunday for 2 months [only about 5 total for winter]
Pants :::: 1 skinny leg khaki, 1 bootcut khaki, 3 linen pants, 1 black pant
Shoes :::: [winter] 1 brown ankle boot, 1 grey ankle boot, 1 tall brown boot, 1 black tall boot [summer] 1 brown sandle, 1 black sandle, 1 birkenstock sandle, and 1 pair of cheap flip flops [year round] 1 black heel, 1 nude heel, 1 tennis shoe, 1 boat shoe, 1 pair of Toms
I also have a few scarves, 1 vest, and a couple sweaters to layer pieces. There's also 1 coat, 1 rain coat, 1 snow jacket, and 2 dresses for dressier occassions - one nude and one black. I also have a couple pair of leggings.
That's about it. Very basic.
After taking over 3ish closets in our Monroe house and having to move to a house with 3 closets I had to downsize. Then we moved to an apartment with 2 closets and downsizing had to happen again. Now I split a closet with Jeremy. Downstairs we keep our everyday wear/work clothing and upstairs we split the guest room closet with dressier clothing.
I've learned to buy things in solid neutrals to be able to buy less expensive clothing and wear it more often. I have a few tops and dresses with designs that are memorable, but overall if you stick to neutrals people generally won't notice you are re-wearing something. My students just refer to my outfits as my uniform. I can usually be found in the same style pant with the same shirt in a different color at work. My main color choices also tend to be black, nude, blue, and grey. There are a few pops of color in there, but I generally avoid white. I sweat a lot and white shirts tend to stain really quick.
So there you have it, why capsule wardrobes didn't work for me and what's actually in my closet.
