I recently wrote about Project 333, which is a simple minimalist wardrobe challenge designed to help people create a capsule wardrobe. I’ve been dabbling with travel capsule wardrobes for years, but I’ve never created a strict minimalist wardrobe at home. My wardrobe is technically already very minimalist because I don’t have room for much. I share a double sliding wardrobe with Mr Smaggle and that’s all the space I have so, I work with it.
I thought I’d share my most capsule-y outfit today as a warm-up for the challenge I’m planning on doing in autumn. I’ve shared this dress so many times on the blog and on social media but it’s easily one of the best things I’ve ever bought. It’s not great for super hot days but it’s amazing for every other kind of weather. I can chuck tights on under it in winter and it looks ace with boots on super chilly days.
Wearing
Dress from Marimekko
I mentioned capsule wardrobes very briefly in one of my new year’s posts but I’ve received an unprecedented number of emails about this in the last week asking for more information. I’m going to put together a minimalist wardrobe challenge soon with a checklist and some rules (don’t we all love rules?) but to tide you over, here are a few existing minimalist wardrobe challenges that might just float your boat…
1. The 10 x 10 Challenge with Style Bee
The rules – 10 items, ten days
2. The New Minimalism Capsule Wardrobe Challenge
The rules – 37 items, 3 months, not including jewellery
The rules – 33 items, 3 months, includes everything but underwear
4. Styling You Capsule Wardrobe Challenge
The rules – create a functional wardrobe you love that suits your style
5. Un-Fancy Capsule Experiment
The rules – create a capsule wardrobe per season
The rules – Don’t buy any new clothes for 30 days (or longer, try a year!) and wear only what is in your closet
The rules – 7 pieces, for 7 days, 7 different outfits
I’m brainstorming some ideas for a capsule wardrobe challenge but here some stumbling blocks I’m coming across…
- I don’t generally wear pants. I have one pair of jeans I don’t hate at the moment but capsule wardrobes are easier/harder when you don’t wear pants, therefore you don’t really wear tops either. There’s not as much mix and match potential with a capsule wardrobe full of dresses which makes it easier to capsule but it also makes you look more like you’re wearing the same thing every day.
- I’m an average to tall size 14 gal and capsule wardrobes are hard because my weight fluctuates. I have dresses that sometimes fit and sometimes don’t and I can’t guarantee I’ll be totally comfortable in the same stuff for a full three months unless I choose only stretch or jersey items.
- I live in Melbourne and our weather is crazy. It’s possible I’ll need a ski jacket in summer.
I’m planning on doing a seasonal wardrobe for autumn but I need to come up with some rules, I just think things work better with structure. Stay tuned.
This outfit was worn for a crazy busy week. Lots of client work, lots of back-end tidying of both Smaggle and Crochet Coach, recording of Sweet Teen Club and catch ups. Good week. Busy week.
Have you ever tried a capsule wardrobe challenge? Would you want to try one?
P.S Also you should totally sign up for my newsletter. It’s full of cool stuff.
P.P.S Don’t forget Crochet Coach has a free trial offer period at the moment so make sure you sign up!
19 Comments
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Definitely with you on point number 2. I’ve always wanted to try a capsule wardrobe, but I’m not sure what to do with the rest of my clothes once I’ve picked 33 items. I’m also in the process of trying to lose weight, so it’s all a bit ‘am I making things even MORE difficult on myself’? Keen to come along when you start the project though. Can’t wait to see what you come up with. 🙂
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I’m still working on it – the dresses thing is a huge factor because I’m just not a separates gal.
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I’ve been thinking about doing a style challenge, and the 7 x 7 Remix sounds like a nice way to start 🙂
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I like that one too! I might just give it a go one of these days.
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I’m currently doing a modified version of Project 333 and loving it! My jewellery brings me joy so I didn’t include that, and I didn’t include shoes but I only left six pairs to choose from. Makes getting ready (and doing the laundry) so much easier.
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I love that, if something brings you joy just keep it in! Most of these challenges are pretty flexible like that.
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I don’t think the capsule wardrobe concept really works for me – I like to have fun with fashion too much and my style inspirations are all over the place, so I guess I have mini capsules for each “theme” I like – from work fashion, gothy fashion, boho fashion, lounge around the house cutely fashion, etc.
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I think not embracing capsule wardrobes is as important as embracing them. If it’s not your thing, don’t stress about it!
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I have been attempting to arrive at a capsule wardrobe for years and I am finally there, except you are never really there as clothes wear out, become too big or small, get damaged etc. Now I just keep most of my clothes in my smallish wardrobe, have a few non-seasonal things in a spare room, and there is a basket for the things I can’t squeeze into when my weight is up, but I won’t get rid of as I am also a ‘fluctuator’.
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I’m the same, I tend to pack away non-seasonal things but Melbourne is pretty temperate so most of my clothes I can wear for most of the year.
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I like the theory of a capsule wardrobe but I am not brilliant at it in real life. If I could wear whatever I wanted every day – it would be easy. Jeans and a top every single day. For some weird reason I find jeans shopping the easiest thing in the world. Pants not so much. Anyway I digress, keen to see what you come up with. Perhaps a smaller, starter challenge to iron out the kinks?
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Yeah that’s a great idea – like an easy intro kind of thing. Pants are not my friend nor are jeans. I just don’t think I’m built for them it’s weird.
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I did the 30×30 challenge in November, which is 30 items for 30 days. And I absolutely hated it. After the first week I was bored and longing for items that weren’t included in my capsule wardrobe. The weather also turned really chilly, so a lot of the clothes I’d chosen needed jackets or jumpers for layering. It was an eye-opener for me, and made me realise that I love my eclectic style. While I might have a lot of clothes to choose from, I’m very selective about what new things I bring into my wardrobe and try to only buy things that I love and will wear often.
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See that’s awesome – do you think you needed to do the capsule to realise that?
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I really like the idea of a capsule wardrobe… but I feel like especially with the really minimalist ones, I’d have to spend half my life doing laundry!
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Same! I’ve recently pared back my underwear drawer and it’s made the biggest difference.
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I think one of the biggest things that anyone should understand when considering a capsule wardrobe is that it’s okay to not follow one particular set of rules. Understand that one challenge may not fit your lifestyle. And that’s okay. It’s adapting it to your own life and needs, your own rules, and your own style. Don’t be afraid to wear something in your closet because you didn’t include it in your capsule. That’s okay too. While understanding the minimalistic side to the capsule and learning to be happy with smaller amounts of “stuff” in our lives, we need to all also consider that along with the capsule is the art of embracing what we already have. The challenges that focus more on the idea of not buying anything else help guide us through an important lens of not being wasteful with what we’ve already got. I come from a background of the fast fashion industry and I had to quit and walk away from it. Consumerism is out of control these days, and I think those who are embracing these challenges and capsules are really helping bring attention to that. But they are also making it fun to learn to relove your clothes. I know weight fluctuations do come as a challenge for a lot of people. And everyone has to handle that differently depending on their needs. Buying second hand, vintage, or basic staples from ethical companies during those times could help counter the fact that one may need to buy more new clothes to fit. I don’t know that there is really and right or wrong way to do it.
I think the capsule challenges open up a ton of different conversations. It’s been really interesting to watch this wave of mentality flourish through our societies.
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[…] many times but the quality of their clothing is outstanding. I have three Marimekko dresses. This one, this one (which I’ve owned and worn regularly for 7 years!) and this one. They’ve all […]
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[…] many times but the quality of their clothing is outstanding. I have three Marimekko dresses. This one, this one (which I’ve owned and worn regularly for 7 years!) and this one. They’ve all […]
[…] dü?ünüyor ve ak?m hakk?nda daha fazla bilgi edinmek istiyorsan?z buraya, buraya ve buraya göz atabilirsiniz. Kolay […]