How To Create a Year-Round Capsule Wardrobe
Like many, I was first introduced to the concept of a capsule wardrobe when I learned about Project 333, and for a long time I understood capsule wardrobes to be seasonal. However, when the original concept of a capsule wardrobe appeared in the 1970’s, it was intended as a small collection of timeless, versatile pieces that allow a person (a woman, originally) to be properly dressed for any occasion that they may need to get dressed for. Turns out, seasonal capsule wardrobes are just the modern take on the original concept.
Even though the idea of capsule wardrobes is now greatly tied to the current pace of the fashion industry, and with that, blogger’s seasonal content schedules, the original concept stands. Not only is building a capsule wardrobe in the original way still very useful if you’re looking to have a versatile wardrobe for any occasion, but the concept also lends itself well to aspiring minimalists who live in places with temperate climates.
The key to creating a successful year-round capsule is in building it with only wardrobe basics. This is the part where I lose a lot of people, because they think wardrobe basics are boring and plain - and that’s why they could never dress from a capsule wardrobe. I’ll be blunt and tell you– that idea is just wrong.
SO THEN, WHAT IS A WARDROBE BASIC?
A wardrobe basic can be any item in your closet that is:
Versatile, meaning that it combines easily with a lot of other pieces
Timeless, or not particularly trendy
Reflective of your personal style, in terms of whether your style is more boho, classic, rock, business casual, etc.
Sets the quality level for the rest of your wardrobe*
The same jacket can be a basic for someone, and a statement for someone else. This one is from ShopBop.
*SIDE NOTE: this is my personal opinion. We wear our basics so often due to how versatile they are, that if we focus on finding the right quality basics for our personal style, the rest can accommodate different quality levels without detracting from the overall look of the style. This does not mean that all your basics should be in great condition or even new, especially if your personal style is relaxed, only that you should focus your efforts on these few pieces.
And at the risk of being redundant, I’ll say what a basic is NOT:
Plain
Boring
Solid
Neutral Color
Essentially, if you nail choosing your basics, the rest of your wardrobe comes together pretty easily. So don’t go thinking they’re not important!
PUTTING TOGETHER THE CAPSULE
I’m not the kind of person who likes to give people a list of ’10 Items You Must Have In Your Closet.’ I hate those lists. Everyone is different, and me giving you a list of essential items makes no sense if you’ll never wear them because you don’t feel comfortable in them, or because your lifestyle doesn’t have use for them. Your personal style impacts your capsule greatly, so instead, I suggest building a year-round capsule with my capsule wardrobe formula, and expanding it to a point that feels comfortable for you.
For a year-round capsule, I do recommend selecting a color palette, just to make finding items that work a lot easier. For this capsule, I selected two neutral colors, and four main colors.
I chose to not include accent colors because I wanted those to be able to change depending on the season and the trends.
It is also important to identify your most often worn dress code. If you have to wear business clothes to work, most of your clothing should be business styles. The more you consider how you spend your time when creating your capsule, the more likely you will select clothing that you get plenty of wear out of.
For this video, I chose to build a smart casual capsule, since it is the most common dress code that my viewers wear.
This capsule wardrobe consists of 20 pieces:
4 Tops
2 Dresses
5 Bottoms
4 Layering pieces
3 pairs of shoes
2 “Special Items,” in this case a purse and a pair of heels
What I love about putting together a capsule this way is that is can easily incorporate color trends and changes in temperature. Five additional items per season can easily create many more combinations without adding many pieces to the total. For example:
I hope this gives you a better idea of how you can build a capsule wardrobe that works for you year-round! Remember that you can incorporate any of these ideas to work with your personal taste – if you like bold colors and patterns, GO FOR IT! The same ideas apply.
As always, thanks or watching!