Just for fun…I thought I’d try and create a 10-piece summer wardrobe (most pieces are sustainable: and/or made in the US, smaller designers, organic cotton…). I don’t like capsule wardrobes much, because I prefer my entire wardrobe be full of things I love and wear, not capsules that segment it into pieces. BUT, that doesn’t work for everyone, and I’m also realistic: my style shifts frequently, and one year (or day), I want waist-defining, the next I don’t, so I tend to keep the things that fit, and that I love, around to suit my sartorial mood at any given time, even if I don’t wear them at all for an entire season. Which makes for a full closet.
Absolutely there’s an appeal to selecting only a certain number of items a season to wear, so (in theory) you don’t have to think much about getting dressed, or about adding/subtracting anything to your wardrobe for a period of time. I’ve tried that, thinking it would “free up” brain space for other, “more important” things, but it turns out I LIKE to think about getting dressed, and I LIKE to dress according to my mood, not according to the select things I have to choose from in my smaller, capsule wardrobe. And I also think that IS rather important.
That said, I like to challenge myself every once in a while, just to see if I can do something different, and thought it would be interesting to try, again, wearing only a select few items for a time. I did this a couple years ago and quit six days in because I was bored, and didn’t feel like wearing my capsule items anymore. This is still pretty theoretical right now, I haven’t decided that I’m going to do it; this is just a for fun look at what my 10 items would be if I were.
What would your 10 items be? Could you do it? wear only 10 items all summer? How would you choose your items?
1 James Perse open back dress/James Perse slim black dress
2 Miranda Bennett raw silk skirt
3 Elizabeth Suzann Marlena Midi dress
4 Elizabeth Suzann silk Florence pants
5 Elizabeth Suzann linen harper tunic
6 6397 shorty jeans (seen above with the Harper tunic)
7 denim shorts (secondhand options for cutting off) – not shown, mine are 12-year old jeans I cut off
8 Everlane muscle tank (seen above with Elizabeth Suzann florence pants)
9 James Perse casual tee (seen above with Miranda Bennett skirt)
10 Pullover sweater/cardigan/denim jacket (Kowtow organic cotton cardigan)
Shoes:
Birkenstock Arizona Sandals
Beek Finch toe ring sandals
Outfit Combinations:
1 JP dress
2 JP dress + ES harper tunic
3 JP dress + denim jacket/pullover/cardigan
4 Miranda Bennett skirt + tank
5 Miranda Bennett skirt + tee
5 ES dress
6 ES dress + denim jacket/pullover/cardigan
7 ES florence pants + Everlane muscle tank
8 ES florence pants + JP casual tee
9 ES florence pants + ES harper tunic
10 6397 jeans + Tank
11 6397 jeans + tee
12 6397 jeans + Harper tunic
13 denim shorts + tank
14 denim shorts + tee
15 denim shorts + harper tunic
So..your turn: what would your ten items be? Could you do it? do you dress from a “smaller” wardrobe even though you don’t realize it?
More choices:
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I love this thought experiment! I’m like you — I LIKE thinking about what I’m going to wear….a lot! And even though I dream of a winnowed down closet, I just don’t think it really matches my life style. I don’t know that I really have “better” things to think about than my clothes. But like you, I also do want everything I own to be super great and to fit just the way I want. I’ve been toying with the idea of just doing a few days of intense mixing and matching with just a few items…maybe this is my answer! A theoretical, “for fun” 10 item wardrobe! Thanks for the inspiration, Grechen! <3
I don’t do capsules except for travel, but I agree the concept is fun to think through (esp since I usually come up with new outfit ideas) I’ve been thinking about my work capsule -I like to take a bubble bath on Sunday nights and shave, and tend to get lazy about shaving in my morning showers, so I’d do a knee length dress on Monday, maxi dress on Tuesday, ankle pants Wednesday. Then I’ll have to shave again or wear pants the rest of the week 😉 When I’m in between sizes I try to suppress the desire to shop (and rather focus on diet & exercise….) but having a handful of items in different sizes allows me to transition ok. I’d prefer to get to my goal healthy weight and stay there, of course, but life doesn’t seem to be all that accommodating lately. Tops are a little more forgiving (at least what I wear for work is) Add some basic black bottoms et voila – my weight gain/loss capsule 😉
i am in AWE of your planning around shaving kelly. that is brilliant, but way too much thought for me LOL – i just wear pants or a long dress the days i don’t feel like shaving, or just say f* it. most of the time, i just end up shaving every day, as much as i hate it
I do this all the time when I travel for work. Last year I managed to spend 2 weeks in Philadelphia with just 14 items (included two pairs of shoes, one watch and one bracelet). I use the Stylebook app to plan for travel, and while it was a giant pain initially to document all of my clothes (I didn’t do it all at once, it actually took a few weeks of remembering to capture individual pieces when I got dressed in the morning) – it’s actually quite useful for packing.
My approach is the opposite of yours: I tend to choose two or three skirts/dresses/trousers and have more variety with tops.
I am eagerly awaiting an Elizabeth Suzann dress ordered approx. 4 weeks ago; I expect that will be on my packing list for June if I can get it altered in time after arrival. Right now I am living in a striped tank dress from Vince, and a paper bag skirt recently purchased from Getting Back to Square One. They will both be in my suitcase all summer long…
try it 🙂 even if you don’t do it, it’s still interesting to think about/learn from. it has been for me…
I’m about to live this–I’ll be in Madrid for four weeks this summer followed by two weeks in London. Totally different weather (Madrid=too hot for a bra, London=cool & rainy), and most days will be casual except for a week’s worth of professional event (thank God that’s in London, not Madrid). I only get one carry-on b/c we’re traveling with three kids and need the luggage space for work & baby equipment…so, thanks for the motivator to start thinking about this.
Over this past year, I have found that I definitely dress from a smaller wardrobe than I thought I did, but I’m still resistant to capsuling, for the reasons you mentioned. I am slowly weeding things out though. My biggest problem is that I will still buy pieces that I think I SHOULD have, rather than things I actually love and love to wear. Example: button down shirts.
My ten items would be: Everlane ryan muscle tank(s), black skinny jeans, black knit waterfall vest, a couple of scoop neck tees, black cardigan, my flat sandals, my Converse, and my Chelsea boots (all black of course!). This is what I wear to work and to places where I need to “look nice,” as in, not wear sweats.
I love the Kowtow cardigan! Are the sleeves on the slimmer side or more relaxed? I think about ordering a medium, but I like my sleeves slim.
TIA!
Slim!! They’re quite small on me actually and I’m wearing a medium. I think you will like it very much in that case 😉
I am doing a little 10 items, 10 days capsule/project. I’m doing it for fun, to see what different ways I can wear my favorite clothes. Today I’m layering a shirt over a dress, and I’ve never tried this combo before. I like to dress according to my mood, and if I really don’t want to wear something then I’ll go against my planned outfits and choose what I feel like wearing. I don’t blog about clothes, so it’s no big deal to change it up or quit. It’s been nice the past two nights, to not worry about my clothes. I have little kids, work long hours as a teacher, and have a 1 hour commute. So, it’s nice to not spend time at home trying to put outfits together (after the initial planning, of course!). I’d be a bit bored wearing only these items all summer, though!
I picked 2 pairs of sandals, 4 dresses, 1 skirt, 2 shirts, and 1 cardigan.
Good to know, thanks!
I actually tend to gravitate toward capsules — I find a lot of “stuff” to be stressful and that goes double for clothing. My lived drawbacks to living the capsule-esque lifestyle:
1 — If a key piece in your capsule gets damaged, dressing around the “gap” can be irritating or tedious until you’ve found a substitute. For example, I have a long, cement-gray silk cardigan I was using as a layering piece this spring, the sleeve got caught on something, and now it’s out of rotation while it’s in for repairs. So many outfits feel finished or perfect with this piece. I miss it!
2 — After a few months, one may crave variety. This is why I could never do a “formal” capsule — I like having the permission to rotate items in and out as the mood strikes, not on some schedule or “X pieces in Y days” challenge. I had to live out of a suitcase during renovations four years ago, and by the end of the nine-week process, I actually THREW OUT several of the pieces I had in heavy rotation because I was so sick of them, I needed them out of my sight.
3 — Clothes wear out faster. I have a black midi tube skirt and it’s been a building block in my closet for 14 months (weekly wear every week). Even with babying, it’s beginning to fade now. I can’t even begin to express how this irritates me.
4 — You have to plan carefully around both laundry and dry-cleaning. One of my favorite building blocks right now is a charcoal linen dress from Eileen Fisher and it’s dry-clean-only, and scheduling in drop-off and pick-up times for the cleaning — working around when I’m likely to need that black cashmere boatneck or that dress — is a PITA. And because I want my other stuff to last, I don’t throw much in the dryer, so laundry has to be done when I have the time for my washables to air dry.
All this aside, I do find it simplifying to have a smaller wardrobe with fewer choices. I just find that the process to simple can be time-intensive!
I have tried and failed several times to create a capsule wardrobe. It seems to make me panic! The only time I have to, of course, is when packing for a trip. I inevitably don’t wear everything I have packed, or hate what I have packed. Sigh. I am leaving tomorrow for a two week trip and I am sure I will have trouble with my wardrobe! I seem to find something wrong with nearly every piece of clothing that I own. When I do find a piece I absolutely love, I am afraid to wear it or I spill some horrible substance on it or snag it with anything that comes near me. C’est la vie.
I love the items you have picked. I purchased the Florence pants in a small and OMG they are so tiny. The waist squeezes the life out of me, but I love how flowy the bottom half is.
This is interesting, and I love what you chose, Grechen. I don’t explicitly create “capsules,” but lately I do end up wearing and the same few things over and over within a season, and most potential new purchases get judged based on whether or not they’re likely to crack that little lineup. That all started happening a few years back, when I got the job I have now. I used to love playing around with my clothes, owning a lot of different things, trying on outfits and thinking about what I wanted to wear. Now with my monster commute and long work day (up at 4:30 am, rarely home before 8:30 pm), I don’t have time. I just want to throw something on and get out. And for awhile, I got dressed with the lights off, grabbing whatever I could see in the dark, because I didn’t want to disturb my sleeping husband, who worked nights until just a couple weeks ago. (I joke with co-workers that it’s one of the reasons I wear mostly black – but it’s really not a joke.)
So these last couple days’ posts have been inspiring. I’m considering making a more deliberate selection that pulls a few pieces out of hiding, and dedicating some easily accessible space to keep it all. I won’t call it a capsule, and it won’t be a “challenge” either, and I’ll reserve the right to add to it as I go along. But everything will be wearable, washable, comfortable, flattering enough and cool enough, and fit my crazy life.
At least I work in an industry/office where almost anything goes, so there’s a ton of overlap among my work and weekend clothes. Now, I’m not talking about what I’d wear to go roughhouse with my sister’s dogs or anything like that, but what I’d wear for the kinds of restaurants we usually go to, concerts, etc., is pretty much what I’d wear to work. I’m lucky, and it’s a huge help in keeping my wardrobe on the manageable side. I do get bored sometimes, but it’s much better than getting stressed out.
Grechen – these are some of my favourite kinds of posts from you – at night, if I’m stressed and can’t sleep, I don’t count sheep; instead, I try to put together my hypothetical capsule. It works like a charm – next thing you know, I’m asleep (and sometimes have very clever ideas for putting clothes together).
Having said that, could I really live with just 10 pieces of clothing – maybe, must maybe!!! At the very least, a worthwhile thought experiment.
Thank you, as always, for the thought and work you put into your blog.
I’m stubborn. And like you, I actually LIKE figuring out what I’m going to wear. So, out of my refusal to submit to authority and for my love of clothing, I will not choose 10 pieces of clothing for a capsule wardrobe. But the “Girl Scout” in me will rue the rebellion, and I’ll think about it a lot. I promise.
I did 4 months on 24 +2 items (+ 2 because I panic-bought some while travelling) – not including sports wear, shoes or underwear. This was covering late summer to late autumn in Australia and winter in New Zealand, so had to include some jumpers and cover-ups too, which I only wore in the last couple of weeks of the trip. It was tight, but doable, and I was able to be relatively dressy, smart enough for work, and cool enough for beach days and long walks etc. If I’d only had to plan for one season, 24 would have been plenty.
So I think 10 for a ‘summer’ is pushing it (esp. in the UK where I’d need to allow for cool days and rain!); if you have less than a week’s worth of complete outfits, I find you end up doing a lot of not-very-efficient partial washing loads. I’d probably be comfortable around the 12-15 item mark.
Just returned from 7 day trip with weather ranging from 12C heavy rain to 28C Sun -our English summer range. I wore Jeans, a short sleeved T shirt, a long sleeved blouse, a crew cardigan, a denim jacket, a raincoat, a scarf, and boots (all at once- it was cold and wet!) so that makes 8 items. On the hottest day I wore a dress and sandals, making 10. There is a limit to re-wearings when clothes are wet or sweaty, however so I don’t think I could have managed on 10 items. In addition I wore a long sleeved T shirt, 2 short sleeved T shirts, and 2 dresses , 1 cardigan, making 16. I think I could manage on these, although I would be tempted to add extra shoes and sandals and maybe a skirt.
which dress did you order?
actually after yesterday and a preview of the extreme summer heat, i may adjust my strategy and remove the pants, adding in another top or something. i cannot imagine wearing silk pants in this heat….
haha! too hot for a bra. i don’t wear a bra at home during the summer months as often as i can get away with it…
wow…that’s a challenge! six weeks, different weather. theoretically you could add a parka/rain jacket, a warmer pullover, and boots for the cooler/rainy weather. but i always worry about being cold…so i’d probably over-think it and bring way too much!!
ah yes. the “shoulds” – i do that too, although much less often than i used to. it takes a lot of trial and error to get over that!
love your ten items 🙂
My idea of a capsule wardrobe is different from what’s out there. I basically have set outfits that can’t be mixed and matched with other items. I love thinking about and planning my wardrobe but I don’t care if my clothes are versatile in terms of one item needing to go with 3 or 4 other things in my wardrobe. Once I find an outfit that I love wearing day after day, I can wear that outfit for a long time. Of course I will usually have 3 outfits set up and I would rotate between those 3 for 2 weeks. For the summer that number increases to 4-5 because of laundry but I can stick with 5 outfits for the summer. I’m a lazy fashion lover.
i love to wear shirts over dresses, usually it’s a slim dress (JP) with an oversized/boxy tee or long sleeve top over in a contrasting color. it does feel weird at first though!
since i work at home, i definitely have the luxury of not having to get dressed in a rush, which i really appreciate 🙂 if i had kids/a commute, i would absolutely try to organize my outfits in advance – it would be worth the initial planning investment!
thanks for sharing your thoughts lisa!! those are all excellent things to keep in mind when creating a capsule – especially the laundry issue…
you and me both!! i find capsule wardrobes anxiety-inducing to the extreme. which is also why i panic trying to pack for travel. it seems to get easier every time though 🙂 i hope you have a nice trip and are pleased with your wardrobe!
haha! whatever works for you 🙂
i think we all do that sometimes though – wear the same outfit multiple times – but i do it mostly under duress LOL
i just have an aversion to wearing the same thing twice in a row, which is why i need quite a variety even when i travel. and i think i usually accomplish that, and have gotten better about it, but it’s hard to pack for multiple silhouettes/styles
I cannot do it except when forced by circumstances. I always want to burn my capsule travel wardrobe after trips . ;-( Furthermore I would be doing laundry all the time. I sadly don’t have the time or the organizational skills. Ok I do have the time but am lazy. And you know what? Not wearing the same stuff all the time means they last for years. I still have clothes from my teens that I wear from time to time. (Not the waisted or skinny stuff! Childbirth and menopause have increased my waist size 6 to 7 inches or sometimes even more: it varies….because that’s where all the weight changes up or down now go.) People think I shop a lot because of the size of my wardrobe, but really, I just buy quality and wear everything gently. That said, cudos for those who make it work, and I do love your summer capsule picks (although I think they are too heavy for high summer, even up here in t he great white north.)
The laundry thing is a sticking point for me too – like you, Lisa, I rarely put anything in the dryer. I do end up buying multiples of some things (I have two identical black skirts, for one example, and a couple of barely different black sleeveless dresses) so I have enough to get me through. I know that violates the spirit of making do with less, but I need the extras for this stress-less wardrobe to work.
I ordered the Marlena dress, midi length – just got an email that it will ship this week! The dress will be too long for me, I am sure of it, but I plan to wear it around the house for a couple of days to see how the fabric wears before deciding on a final hem length. I’m thinking that 2-3″ above the ankle will be ideal for flats and the occasional wedge or heeled sandal.
Good point! I always say for travel I pack for a week – no matter how long the trip is (could probably make do with 5 days but I don’t usually need to fit everything into a backpack) At home I do laundry once a week – I have a schedule and too many other things going on, so…I have to be able to make it through a work week plus something to wear while washing clothing…In my hypothetical capsule 🙂 (while traveling once, I did actually do my laundry while wearing goretex rain pants and a windbreaker but nothing else – everything was in the wash 😉
it might not be too long…how tall are you? i am 5’3″ + a few cm and i think the length is just right for me!
I just received the Marlena dress and it is a perfect fit right out of the box! I’m stunned, because the model on the website looks so tall. Maybe she’s just incredibly lithe? I’m about 5’2′ and the length is just right. I’m also pleasantly surprised that the deep V neckline isn’t too deep for me; I thought that I might need to have the shoulder nipped a bit for that. (It helps that I have a modest bustline.)
The weather here is unseasonably cool but I’m still going to wear the Marlena with a cardigan to an informal meeting at the office tomorrow!! I usually divide my time between working from a home office and travel, and I know this dress will get a ton of use in both spaces. I’m already thinking about another piece from ES. It’s a beautiful garment.
yay!! so glad you’re happy with the length as is.
one thing i will say about the v-neck is that i wore this dress over the weekend while we were out of town and the only bra i had to wear with it showed both in the back AND the front, which was sort of annoying. i need to remember that next time, and have a bra that is cut much lower/slimmer .