How to Put Together a Capsule Wardrobe: For Beginners
The idea of dressing out of a capsule wardrobe may seem daunting, or even restrictive, but I can tell you from experience that it’s far from it. A well put together capsule wardrobe can have the opposite effect. If you know that all the pieces in your wardrobe fit you well, make you feel good, keep you comfortable for the season you are currently in, and on top of it go well together, getting dressed in the morning is a breeze.
The most challenging part of capsule dressing, in my opinion, is actually putting together the first capsule wardrobe. The average person owns about 100 items of clothing nowadays, and pairing down to less than 50 is incredibly daunting if you don’t know where to start. Let me help you get over that first hurtle.
While the initial instinct may be to grab your favorite items and start creating your capsule that way, chances are what you end up will be a random selection without much versatility. Instead, try using the two rules in share in this video:
Rule #1: You must be able to able to wear every single item in your capsule.
This means that everything fits properly, nothing is uncomfortable, you’re not worried about wardrobe malfunctions or issues with the weather, and that the pieces that you select reflect what you do on a day-to-day basis.
Rule #2: Use the formula 5-4-3-2-1.
5 Tops - Include dresses in this category
4 Bottoms
3 Layers - Jackets, cardigans, vests, sweaters, etc.
2 Pairs of Shoes
1 Special Item - A cocktail dress, a suit, hat, swimsuit, purse, belt, snow boots, etc. Whatever item YOU need in your wardrobe to make it practical.
My basic rule of thumb is that every top needs to work with at least two of the bottoms to give you ample outfit combinations. The more the merrier, of course!
One you select your 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1’s, get to editing! Take out what you’re not excited to wear, or pieces that are outliers and don’t pair well with the others. The idea is that when you’re done, you will have selected 15 pieces of clothing that you’re excited to wear and give you many outfit combinations.
The beauty of this formula is that it can always be expanded until you’ve reached a wardrobe that is comfortable in size for you. Including just one additional item in each of the categories will bring your count to only 20 - and doubling or tripling the formula will expand your wardrobe to a size where you don’t have to wear an item twice in a week if you don’t want to.
The idea is that you use this as a guideline to build a wardrobe that works for you. Whether you start by building a capsule for a trip, your workout clothes, a professional wardrobe, or for your life in general, keep in mind these two rules and I guarantee you’ll get a lot more mileage out of your capsule.
Let me know if you tried this and if it worked for you, and don’t forget to give the video a thumbs up if you want to see all the outfit combinations that we can put together with this particular wardrobe. Thanks for watching!