Leggi questo post in Italiano

Here you'll find everything you need to know in order to create your capsule wardrobe. I'm sharing my experience in this post to help you do it in the best possible, fastest, cheapest and most sustainable way, because we'll start from what you already own in your closet of clothes. Are you ready? Let's dive into it!

 We have seen how to create a beauty capsule, with regard to makeup, accessories and underwear, in the dedicated post. Now, let's get to the heart of the capsule wardrobe, talking about clothing and accessories like shoes and bags. First of all though, let's answer a couple of questions.

WHAT'S A CAPSULE WARDROBE?

Actually, although many people think it's a new trend, the capsule wardrobe's concept was born in the seventies, by Susie Faux, owner of the London boutique Wardrobe. It consists of a collection of items, a limited number of pieces that are practically perfect for any occasion. Many of the owners of such a closet have a very specific number of items, but I don't like to set this kind of limits, as the needs of each of us are different so, first of all, we have to understand what we need most and then build our capsule wardrobe around these needs: for example, if you're required a specific dress code at work, obviously you'll prefer items that reflect this dress code, because your primary need is to have outfits for your office at least 5 days a week.

Basically, a capsule wardrobe is a time saver (and a money saver too!) 'cause you just need to take the first things you have at hand in your closet of clothes and put them on you: the purpose is to own evergreen pieces that go well with each other.

In the capsule wardrobe there must be items that go well with each other

HOW TO CREATE A CAPSULE WARDROBE?

Don't throw away your entire closet in order to start from scratch! It would be a big mistake both for the environment and your wallet. You have to start from what you already own, respect the clothes and the work of those who designed and created them; this is the real basis to start :)

Let's go first with the simple things: all worn out and unusable clothes and accessories. Get rid of them all or, if you're creative, reuse them and give them new life.

Move on to the items you no longer like and have not been worn for a lifetime! My neighbor, a seamstress, says that if a woman hasn't worn a piece of clothing for two year, she will never wear it again and she's so right! What to do with all these items? Very easy answer! You can donate, or sell them on a second-hand marketplace: I use Depop, I talked about it in a post (by the way, you're welcome if you want to browse through the items I have for sale) and recently I'm also trying Vinted.

Probably the next step is even simpler: let's talk wrong sizes. How many items do you have in your closet of clothes that no longer fit, but you keep them hoping to wear them again one day? I had so many, personally! I think I had more pieces in the wrong size than the right ones. There's no point in keep them, they only take up space in the wardrobe: giving them away, you'll allow those items to be used by someone who will love and wear them as you have in the past.

There's another tip always to keep in mind, especially talking about capsule wardobe, but not only in this case, that is knowing your shape in order to learn how to enhance your body. In the dedicated series, I analyzed the various body shapes point by point: hourglass, apple, triangle, inverted triangle and rectangle. If you don't know what your shape is, or you have any doubts, take a look at this post and do the simple test to clear your mind.

Why is it so important? Well, you'll only wear clothes that suit you and enhance your figure at the best, so you'll have to be sure that every piece in your wardrobe is good for your shape and it can be part of your capsule collection. For example, keeping baggy or oversized clothes is useless if you're an hourglass, because they don't look good on you; instead, keep the clothes that enhances your waist. The latter are allies for you and they can surely be part of your capsule wardrobe.

Tips for creating a capsule wardrobe

Also, pay attention to colours and fabrics: although almost everyone recommends building a capsule wardrobe in neutral colours (for example beige, gray, white, black) I believe that this varies a lot from person to person. There are those who managed to build a capsule wardrobe entirely in pastel or bright colours, and nobody forbids you to do it, but be careful! I recommend you to keep it basic if you don't feel particularly confident about colour and fabric combinations.

In any case, you can find all these tips in the free downloadable worksheet, just subscribe to the newsletter below and I'll send it to you by email: you will also find a printable table that will help you keep your progress handy.

COST PER WEAR

So, what do you REALLY need to have a complete wardrobe? Well, it depends on your needs, let me explain: you could easily create a capsule wardobe that cycles between the Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter seasons, or have some 4-season items and only change some of them based on the time of the year. However, remember that quality is ALWAYS preferred over quantity. The metric to consider is the Cost Per Wear.

 WHAT IS COST PER WEAR AND HOW TO CALCULATE IT?

Cost per Wear is nothing more than the ratio between the cost of an item, the cost of its maintenance and the total times you'll wear it.

Let's take a very easy and basic example. You buy a pair of jeans for €100: if you wore it just once it would cost you exactly €100; if you wore it twice, it would cost you €50; if you wore it 100 times, it would cost you €1. What does this mean? That if you buy an excellent quality item that lasts a lifetime, you'll have made a bargain if you look at it in a long-term perspective. If you take care of it, that item will have been an investment for the future: some items lasts 20,30, 40 years! For example, I own a sweater from my mom that she bought when she was a teen and it's still in perfect conditions.

If, on the other hand, you buy a poor quality item for €10 and after 2 uses the seams begin to unfold, you have to repair it. The cost of maintenance is €10, for example, and that item it will have already cost you €20. Imagine that after 10 more times of use the fabric has been damaged, or the color has faded, you decide to throw it away ("not a problem, I only paid €10 for it" how many times have we said it?), its Cost per Wear would be €1,66. - €10 + €10 fo the maintenance / 12 number of times you have worn it - It's not so convenient, not to mention that you will have to buy another item in order to replace it.

So, the cost per wear formula is: cost of the item + maintenance cost / times of use.

 

Here's how the cost per wear is calculated and a practical example

Let's take another example: you buy a pair of jeans for €40, they're on sale so you think it's a deal, maybe they don't fit you perfectly or they're not particularly comfortable, but it doesn't matter, you got them on sale and they costed little. You wear them twice before you realize that they're not valid for daily wear, so you decide to give them away. In this case, their cost per wear will be €20 and you'll have to buy another pair that suit your needs. Not a good deal...

 

You find a pair of jeans for €300, they're quite expensive (consider that many shops allow payment in installments now) but they're perfect for you. You buy them and fall in love with them, you wear them 3 times a week for 5 years: in this period of time there are about 260 weeks, if you wear them 3 times a week for 260 weeks, you'll have worn them 780 times! Their cost per wear will be €0,38 (300/780=0,38) and this is a good deal.

 

This is the reason why you need to invest in clothes that nevere go out of fashion, of good quality and versatile, in order to save money in the long run.

 

CAPSULE WARDROBE

Now we're talking about the items that must be present in a good capsule wardrobe and I'll show you some example as you go.

DRESS

Perhaps it will shock you to know that we need only one dress in our daily life, a "quick-change" item that easily adapts to formal and casual occasions, which is the little black dress. This category includes all those rather simple, evergreen, midi lenght possibly dresses, that are a must-have in a capsule, but in general in a woman's wardrobe.

If you're not a fan of the black, you can opt for other types of colour or design, the important thing is that it's a versatile dress. The same goes for all the items we'll talk about in this post.

SKIRT

3 kind of skirts are enough for a well-stocked capsule wardrobe. We're talking about evergreen items you could use on a daily basis.

The jeans skirt cannot be missing in your closet, whether it's long, midi or mini it makes no difference, choose it based on your body shape (and I refer to the body shape series I linked earlier in this post). The second one is the pencil skirt, another must-have, suitable for both work and leisure time. The third one is the A-line or full circle skirt, always according to your shape.

PANTS

You'll have many combinations of outfits with only 4 pants! If you need classic cut pants for work, I suggest you to own 3 pairs of them and a pair of jeans; if you don't have this need, 2 jeans and 2 trousers to cycle within the week will be fine. The cut and the kind always depends on your body shape.

 

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something from those links, you don't pay a penny more, but I'll get a small commission, which helps me keeping the board afloat. Thank you!

 

Click on the images below to see the details.

 

 

An example of capsule wardrobe - pt.1

 

An example of capsule wardrobe - pt.2

T-SHIRTS, SWEATERS AND TOPS

Talking about t-shirts, 6 long-sleeved in Fall/Winter and 6 short-sleeved tops in Spring/Summer are a must: you must have one top available per day for the entire working week. On the other hand, 3 sleeveless tops are perfect: one of them could be in a 4-season fabric and be used under jackets, not only in Summer. Again, keep in mind the guidelines about your body shape to choose the style of these tops. Same thing goes for sweaters, 3 are enough to have a complete wardrobe, or if you like sweatshirts, 2 sweaters and a sweatshirt are fine too!

SHIRT

The shirt, preferably white, is a staple in the wardrobe: it saves many situations, so it's good to own a 4-season fabric shirt in order to wear it all year round.

CARDIGAN AND BLAZER

The blazer is another staple in a capsule wardrobe, especially if you have a dress code at work. It allows you to be elegant or casual depending on how you combine it. A cardigan cannot be missing too, which replaces the blazer on informal occasions.

JACKETS AND COATS

   3 pieces of outerwear are perfect for the capsule wardrobe. The first one is the denim jacket, which is a must-have just like the denim skirt and jeans; the second one is the trench coat, a good-quality, waterproof one; the third one is the wool coat for the Winter season.

SWIMWEAR

Many people have asked me how many swimsuits is useful to own. Well, in my humble opinion, make sure you have 3 kind of swimwear on hand, and I'm telling you why: one is the one-piece swimsuit that is always in fashion in basic colours and simple shapes (make sure it suits you well, take advantage of this post in order to be sure about it); a bikini that you can wear on a daily basis, and a more elegant one for special occasions, like poolside parties.

ACCESSORIES

Let's talk about accessories, bags and shoes specifically.

BAGS

As for bags, we have to take into account our occasions of use, but in general I recommend choosing them in resistant, 4-season fabrics, and in colours that match you wardrobe.

Specifically we need: a professional looking bag, large enough to be used for work; a casual and comfortable one, a backpack is also fine if you like its style; a medium-sized crossbody or shoulder bag, perfect for leisure or go for a walk. Then, there are two "special" bags, which are the handbag for formal occasion and a comfy, maxi bag for a weekend away or a short business trip.

Capsule Wardrobe: few elements, many outfits

SHOES

If you're a shoe lover, hold on tight as you may have a faint... Done? Ok! 

Shoes are also part of the capsule wardrobe and we have to keep an adequate number of pairs, which doesn't mean having so many to fill all the empty spaces in your wardrobe or in your house (ha!) 

Okay so, you have to own a few pairs of shoes to use all year round and make some variations based on seasons.

In general, it is a good move to have a pair of sneakers and two neutral heels in order to match any shoes with any outfit you wear. I recommend you to read this post to find out what kind of shoes suit you best.

Now, let's talk about seasons!

SPRING

Temperatures start to get milder, Spring is the season of rebirth, so you can play more with combinations and tones: I suggest you get two pair of bold heels, in order to elevate your look with a bit of colour contrast!

SUMMER

Let's free our fairy feet during Summer, so green light for open shoes. Two pair of sandals are great, and one of them must be with the wedge: they're comfy and cute, and can go well with any outfit. Choose the other one according to your body shape, it could be a flat sandal if you like it.

FALL

Mules are a must have during the first autumn period, when it starts to get cool, but not so cool. If the weather is uncertain instead, and you don't feel like wearing heels or sneakers, consider a good pair of oxford shoes.

 

WINTER 

During this season I like to have a wider choice of shoes available, because I prefer to have more of them on hand in case they get wet due to the rain. Generally, two pair of ankle or calf boots and a pair of high boots (whether they're cuissardes, knee-high or galoshes) are in my opinion the perfect number.

 

Read also: Harajuku Style - 9 Beautiful Pics [Japanese Street Style]

 

CONCLUSION

 

You can see, in the image above, how many combinations can be made using only a few elements, and I didn't even use accessories! Moreover, you can use your creativity to wear both clothes and accessories in a different way: for example, you can wear a dress as a skirt by pairing it with a sweater or a top, in order to expand your choice of outfits! So, if you're ready to make this step and embrace the capsule wardrobe in order to simplify you life (because I assure you, it simplifies it a TON) download the free worksheet and uses together with this post to start creating your capsule wardrobe :)

 

Pin this image to read this post later!