Creating a Capsule Wardrobe + What I Learned

Truth be told I do not wear a lot of the clothing that sits in my closet. In fact I have quite a few favorite items that I keep going back to and wearing. Many times I feel as if my closet is cluttered, and so I made an effort to clean out my closet. I don't have a ton of clothes or anything, but I have quite a few clothes I've had for years and my style has for sure changed since I was in middle school. I have since rearranged my closet and am so glad at how it turned out. I've divided my clothes into 7 categories: coats, spring/summer tops, fall/winter tops, dresses/skirts, basics and items that can be worn in any season, jackets, and bottoms. I plan to go through another phase of cleaning out my closet since it's organized and easier to go through. All the items I decide I don't want anymore are always donated and given away instead of tossed into a trash can. After this I will create a capsule wardrobe from my organized closet.

I didn't hear about capsule wardrobes until a teacher of mine mentioned how she has a capsule wardrobe. Typically a capsule wardrobe contains 33-37 pieces (I wonder why that is the magic number) and does not include work out clothes, pajamas, undergarments, business/special occasion dress and I believe coats. But for my capsule wardrobe I will include coats since I only wear a few anyways. I'm thinking that I want to create my capsule wardrobe with less than 37 pieces though.

With a capsule wardrobe you have a limited choice of what to wear, and ultimately you end up saving time when it comes to getting dressed. Also, I've heard that capsule wardrobes can help save your creativity for other things besides choosing what to wear. I for one love style and fashion, but it always feels great when you can find a great outfit in a short time without making numerous outfit changes.

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Here are a few things I learned from creating a capsule wardrobe/cleaning out my wardrobe:

1) Neutral colors are essential: pairing clothes together will be effortless.

2) Capsule wardrobes don't have to be only neutral colors. Have fun! Include some color because life is too short to not wear color.

3) Deciding on what to wear for an entire season is kind of difficult. It took me over an hour to make decisions.

4) Focusing on the clothes you already have makes shopping easier. If you find you're missing some key clothing pieces you'd like to have whether that be a pair of boots or a simple cardigan - you now know what to shop for.

5) Stuff definitely accumulates through the years.

6) There are lots of capsule wardrobe videos on YouTube anyone can use as a guide. Some of my favorites are by:

Vivianna Does Makeup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL8B0I-Gybc 
Erin McDevitt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v2Wdo9srjs
Alli Cherry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHagxFaslm0  
Meilin Hyde: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faihxNBREB4
Light by Coco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Koe7hhFUAEQ

7) Decluttering my closet has only made me appreciate/like the clothes I have even more.

8) Sometimes I think "Why did I even buy this?"

9) I still fit clothes from middle school...I really haven't grown that much.

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I am excited to begin my capsule wardrobe journey and I'll try to document my outfits over the next few months. I'll have photos of my capsule wardrobe in the next blog post coming soon.

Yours truly,

Soli